324 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL XX. 



de Mancelos, Simao Leitao, Pero Rodrigues, and Antonio 

 Coelho who had concluded his service as captain of Coulao ; 

 and running along the coast they doubled Cape Comorim, 

 and made Tuticorim in order to cross over to Columbo ; and 

 so we shall leave them until we return to them 1 . 



Raju seeing that the summer had begun, which was the 

 time for the succours from without to begin to arrive, wished, 

 before they came, to try his hand once more and attack the 

 fortress by sea and by land, in order that the small force that 

 it had might be divided and the different parts and bastions 

 become weakened : and to this end he commanded his armada 

 to be got ready and set afloat, and ordered several modeliares 

 with their men to embark therein, and gave them instructions 

 as to what they had to do. All being ready, and the army 

 prepared, on the 20th of August towards evening they 

 unfurled in Raju's camp two flags, one white and the other red 2 , 

 and at once began confusedly to beat all the kettledrums 

 and blow all the trumpets ; and all these signals and each 

 by itself signified that the coming night would be a sad and 

 perilous one for the besieged, and that all the rest of the 

 force was about to deal with them. The captain spent that 

 evening in going the round of all the bastions and posts, and 

 in providing them with many munitions and arms, reminding 

 all the captains of their duties, setting before them the havoc 

 that so little before they had caused among those enemies ; 

 and that this time they must make them despair entirely 

 of that siege ; and being advised of the armada that had been 

 prepared, and that Raju had determined to attack him by 

 sea, he ordered Domingos de Aguiar 3 to embark in his little 

 ship with some soldiers, and did the same to Diogo de Mello 

 da Cunha and Joao Fernandes the Beardless in two foists 

 that were at the bar, with the men that he thought necessary, 

 and sufficient sailors, providing them with munitions, in 

 such manner that nothing remained to be done for them, 

 there taking part with him in all these things all the monks 

 of the city, who, as we have said, praying and fighting were 

 present in the greatest dangers and needs, the prelates that 

 night taking upon themselves the responsibility of the posts. 

 The father Frei Duarte Chanoca, commissary of the Minorites 

 in those parts, took under his charge the side towards Mapano 

 with a lay companion and some servants of the house with 



1 See the end of this chapter. 



2 This statement is curious, since a red flag seems to have been used 

 to denote defeat, while a white flag signalized victory (see Rep. on Keg. 

 Dist. 61 ; G. P. Qaz. 244). 



3 See supra, p. 288. 



