No. 60.-— 1908.] coitto : history of ceylon. 425 



they did not fail to have great trouble, since they passed a 

 whole day fighting with garrisons that the enemy had in 

 different passes, whom they always left wounded. 



This affair becoming known to the princes who were carding 

 on the war within our territories, they left everything, and 

 hastened thither : and during this journey our people sallied 

 forth against them, and fell upon the garrisons that had been 

 left in their tranqueiras, and slaying some and putting others 

 to flight, they drove them out of the territories, and even 

 entered those of the enemy, where they did much damage, 

 and gathered many spoils. This took place between Novem- 

 ber past and the end of April of this year of 1598 in which we 

 are. The tyrant Dom Joao was extremely enraged at these 

 things, because in addition to the reputation that he lost with 

 the Chingallas, he became less feared by our people, who had 

 killed his principal captains and modeliares, the rest of whom 

 had become so cowed, that they now carried on the war feebly 

 and against their wishes, which were new weapons where- 

 with our people continued fighting with them. 



And because the tyrant feared that with the succour that 

 was coming to us from India our people would capture the fort 

 that he had on the confines of the Four Corlas, in which lay 

 all his strength and the security of those districts, he deter- 

 mined to undertake that affair in person, in order both the 

 better to provide for the safety of that fort, and by his presence 

 give energy to that war, and provoke and animate those 

 inhabitants that were under our obedience to rebel and go over 

 to him, so as to discourage our people, and divert the general 

 from sending to make war on him as he was doing within his 

 very house, and likewise to free his people from the evils with 

 which they were continually menaced by the daring and the 

 victories that our people daily gained. In this he did not 

 succeed as he expected, because the general had so many spies on 

 him, that he could not take a step or form a plan, of which he was 

 not speedily advised : upon which he acted with the necessary 

 promptness, because to this were always due the victories 

 that he gained ; and the tyrant , in order to effectuate what he 

 aimed at, betook himself to Candea, and prepared two armies, 

 one of a thousand picked soldiers, which he dispatched to the 

 port of Putalao, in order to assist all the troops of that district, 

 and to go against Chilao by the borders of the sea ; and another 

 of three thousand men, whom he ordered to go and fortify 

 themselves on our frontier of the Seven Corlas : and this they 

 did on the skirts of a hill, with the design that should the 

 general order an attack on any of these they would fall upon 

 our people in the rear, whereby they considered that they 

 would obtain a certain victory over them. 



