453 
Caranjah, situated on the east side of Bombay harbour; the for- 
tress was soon evacuated, and the Elephanta and Hog-island, at 
that time belonging to the Mahrattas, were surrendered to the 
English without opposition. 
Thus did the Company acquire these desirable possessions in 
the vicinity of Bombay; they have since been guaranteed by the 
Mahratta government, and form a part of the Bombay establish- 
ment. 
I paid an early visit to these new conquests: it is a plea- 
sant passage of a few hours from Bombay to Tannah, which so 
soon after the siege made a desolate appearance. The fort was 
a pentagon, with regular bastions, curtains, and towers, mounting 
more than a hundred cannon; most of which were damaged or 
dismounted during the siege: it was built by the Portugueze when 
masters of the island, and altered by the Mahrattas, who con- 
quered Salsette and Bassein during the Peshwaship of Bajerow. 
When in possession of the Mahrattas, the houses and gardens at 
Tannah reached very near the fortifications; the English engineer 
immediately removed them, to form an esplanade of five hundred 
yards from the east to the north-west tower; the other sides were 
rendered inaccessible by the river and morasses. Haifa mile from 
the fort is a Portugueze church, pleasantly situated on the side of 
a large tank, surrounded by mango and tamarind groves; the spires 
and domes of mosques and Hindoo temples rising amid their dark 
foliage, produce a good effect. 
I sailed from Salsette to Caranjah, and landed about two miles 
from the principal town, situated between two lofty mountains, on 
the west side: it was nothing more than a large Mahratta villao-e. 
