THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
41 
situation of the fort occasioned much fatigue, and some loss to 
our troops. Several, both officers and men, were killed by the 
lire from it. During the siege a sally was made by a party of 
Malays in the Dutch service. They contrived to steal un- 
perceived into one of the batteries, spiked the guns, and killed 
some of our artillery-men, before they were repulsed and driven 
back into the fort. After a siege of three weeks, a breach was 
at last effected, and the English were preparing to storm ; when 
the Dutch Governor thought it more prudent to trust his safety 
to the terms of a capitulation, than the arms of his troops, 
although they were greatly superior in number to the force 
acting against them. 
The town of Trincomalee lies in latitude 8° 30'. It runs in 
a north-east direction along one branch of the bav. The 
country around it is mountainous and woody ; the soil uncul- 
tivated and rather barren, and the whole appearance wild. 
The woods, which are very thick, contain abundance of wild 
beasts of various descriptions ; particularly, wild hogs, buffaloes, 
and elephants. The latter often come down to the lakes in 
the neighbourhood of the fort, to drink and bathe ; they have 
been often shot within a mile of the town. 
Trincomalee from its situation and construction is naturally 
strong. It occupies more ground than Col umbo, but contains 
a much smaller number of houses, and those inferior in size 
and appearance to those which are to be met with in several 
towms on the south-west coast. The circumference of Trin- 
comalee, within the walls, is about three miles: within this space 
G 
