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



371 



And as the captain-major determined to fall unawares 

 upon the city of Beligao 1 , which is four leagues from there, 

 he ordered Miguel Ferreira with his soldiers and the araches 

 with their lascarins to go thence from Galle by land along the 

 sea always in sight of the ships ; and Thome de Sousa went 

 following the course of the seashore until they reached the 

 city in the daybreak watch ; and those that had gone by 

 land attacking it, and Thome de Sousa, who immediately 

 disembarked, on the side facing the shore, and taking the 

 enemy unprepared, the city was entered, and at once set on 

 fire, that our people might not be impeded, the greater part 

 of which was consumed, and the inhabitants withdrew 2 and 

 fled inland. There our people remained that day making 

 search in the city, in which they found some prizes 3 . At 

 night Thome de Sousa ordered the same Miguel Ferreira 

 to go in his ship up the river, and fall unawares by night upon 

 a village, to which those that escaped from Beligao had re- 

 tired 4 . Having arrived there, Miguel Ferreira went to attack ; 

 but as they were already on the alert, and there were some 

 Moors there, he found such resistance of bombard and firelock 

 shots, that he was forced to return to the armada. Next day 6 

 Thome de Sousa went with the whole armada up the river, 

 and in the daybreak watch attempted the disembarkation, 

 giving the van to his brother Rodrigo Alvres and the araches ; 

 and having got on land, although there were many bombard 

 shots, they attacked a tranqueira that stood at the entrance to 

 the village, in which were the Moors ; but our men by dint of 

 firelock shots and cuts entered it, and the Moors retreated to 

 a bridge 6 that lies across the river in order to bar the passage 

 to our people, who went after them, whereupon they had a 

 very sharp fight, in which many of the enemy were killed, and 

 in spite of them they drove them thence, and captured the 

 bridge from them, and went following in pursuit of them for 

 the space of half a league. They being totally defeated, our 

 people entered the village, in which they found three houses, 

 one full of iron, which they threw into the sea, and the others 



1 The manuscript has " Biligao." 



2 The printed edition has " desprezdram " (despised), an error, 

 apparently, for despefdram. The manuscript wants these two words. 



3 That they did not get more was due, doubtless, to the fact that only 

 four years previously the town had been burnt by the Portuguese under 

 Pedro Homem Pereira, much valuable merchandise perishing in the 

 flames, (see supra, p. 266). 



4 Of. supra, p. 265, note 3 ; p. 266, note s . 



5 The manuscript omits these words. 



6 The printed edition has " point." 

 2B 2 



