No. 60. — 1908.] couto : history of ceylok. 



227 



Nuno Fernandez de Atayde 1 and Pedro Luzarte, with forty 

 soldiers, to go by unfrequented paths and got into Columbo 

 Raju reached that fortress without being discovered, and at 

 once invested it, and assailed it all round with many 

 ladders, which he had brought for that purpose, more than 

 two thousand Moors 2 climbing to the top of the enceinte ; 

 but Dom Diogo de Atayde, who was not off his guard, 

 hastened to the defence with Dom Martinho de Castelbranco 

 and other fidalgos and knights ; and f ailing upon the enemy, 

 they killed many, and others were hurled down from 

 the walls ; but Raju hastened thither, and made them attack 

 again with great determination, putting all his strength 

 into it, going about himself in person and bringing up his 

 men, who strove with all valour all they could to regain the 

 walls, which our people defended with increased bravery ; 

 and such doughty deeds did they perform, that they obliged 

 Raju to retire, as he saw that day was breaking, leaving 

 around the walls more than five hundred Moors dead, 

 besides a large number of wounded whom he carried away 

 with him. Our people that were coming from Cotta in succour 

 reached that fortress at the time that Raju was already retiring, 

 and entered into it. 



The enemy, finding himself met with such opposition, and 

 obliged to withdraw from those walls with so much loss and 

 humiliation, became as if mad, and resolved to prosecute that 

 war by another and more rigorous method, which was, to kill 

 our people with hunger : and to this end he returned towards 

 Cotta, and beset the whole road from sea to sea, from Mapano 3 

 as far as Matual, whereby our people were rendered disheart- 

 ened of succour, nor could Nunc Fernandez de Atayde with the 

 others return from Columbo 4 . Raju went about like a madman , 

 inventing and seeking means by which he could finish that 

 business; and having many times held council, it was therein 

 resolved that though it might be with excessive trouble, the 

 most efficacious means to attain his end was to divert the 

 river that enclosed the city at various parts 5 , in order that, the 



1 Afterwards captain of Manar and later of Oolumbo (see infra, 

 pp. 305, note 5 , 441). 



2 The printed version omits " Moors " here and in every other place 

 where the word occurs in this chapter. (See infra, p. 232, note 1 .) 



3 See supra, p. 171, note 5 . 



4 The Rdjdvaliya, which is, as I have said, strangely defective 

 regarding this period, says (89) : — " Raja Sinha cut off communication 

 with the districts belonging to Kotte and Colombo, and stopped traffic 

 by preventing man and beast from going out or coming in." 



6 Cf. p. 216, supra. 



Q 2 



