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



383 



enemy, whom they attacked with great fury ; but as they 

 had raised their camp they set fire to the tranqueira and to all 

 that was in it, and took flight, and the same was done by those 

 in the other tranqueiras, Vijacon modeliar going in the rear- 

 guard rallying all the troops. Francisco Gomes Leitao and 

 the modeliar Diogo da Silva went following in pursuit of them , 

 having the support of Bom Joao Pereira, who kept on sounding 

 a bastard trumpet in order to encourage them. 



Vijacon modeliar, as soon as he reached the bridge of 

 Matacore 1 , finding that our people were following him, halted 

 by it on the other side, ordering it to be broken down in 

 great haste, in order that our people might not be able to 

 follow him. Those of the vanguard on reaching the bridge 

 on which they found that force of Raju's atapata beat the 

 kettledrums, to which the trumpet of Dom Joao Pereira 

 replied, at which signal Manoel de Sousa Coutinho made 

 haste, some volunteers going in advance, such as Joao Caiado 

 de Gamboa with thirty or forty 2 men, soldiers, and knights, 

 among whom Manoel Pereira do Lago, Domingo Leitao 

 Pereira 3 , and others whose names we have not discovered, and 

 arrived at the bridge, on which they found Francisco da Silva 

 the Castilian, a casado in Colurnbo, Francisco Gomes Leitao, 

 and Pedro da Silva modeliar, maintaining the encounter with 

 the enemy with great valour and spirit, the leader being 

 Francisco da Silva, who like a lion was on the bridge at blows 

 with the enemy, and had killed two Chingalas of Raju's 

 chief soldiers, gigantic men. Raju's captain-general turned 

 upon our people with such fury, that, overthrowing and 

 wounding ten or twelve, he drove them back from the bridge, 

 and this was the moment when Dom Joao Pereira arrived 

 with the rest of his company, and falling upon the enemy 

 they again won the bridge, which they crossed, and went 

 pursuing the enemy, who fled in disorder as far as the river 

 of Calane, which is nigh a league 4 , by very bad and intricate 

 roads, slaying and doing great havoc amongst them. The 

 captains with the rest of the army went as far as the part 

 where they halted ; and learning that our men were keeping 

 the enemy on the run at the double, and that Joao Caiado 

 was in advance, sent word to him that he was to perform the 

 office of captain of the van for the time, so that there might 



1 See supra, p. 292, note 7 . 



2 The printed edition has " three or four hundred." 



3 The manuscript by an oversight omits " do Lago Pereira." 



4 This must mean from the fort, and not from the Dematagoda 

 bridge : even so, the distance named is an extreme one. 



