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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 169

galivats and tliirteeii armed traiikies,* of which he had received
information on the previous day. " At four," says Mr. Parsons,
* Trankies, though formerly much in use, are not now to be seen in the Persian
Grulf; they are impelled by both oars and sails. Tlie following are the species of
native craft that navigate the waters of the Gulf. The Baiil, a vessel with a long
fiddle-headed bow and two masts, which may be distinguished from other craft by
the inner part of the stern-post being ornamented with devices cut in the wood.
The Batil of the southern part of tiie Malabar coast is about 50 to GO feet in
lengtli, 16 to 18 feet in breadth, and 8 to 10 feet in depth, and has more of the
European form than any of the Indian-built vessels tliat are met with. The
after-part shows the origin to be of Portuguese construction, as it is very similar
to that of many of the boats still in use by the people of that country ; indeed
they are said to be of the same shape as the vessel in which Vasco da Gama
sailed to India, They have a deck ibre and aft, and are built in a very rough
manner, and fastened with nails and bolts. They are equipped with one mast
which inclines forward, and a square lug-sail, with one pair of shrouds and a
backstay ; also a small bowsprit at an angle of about forty-five degrees, with
a sort of jib-foresail. The Bagarah of the Persian Gulf is similar to the
Batil, with one mast and a small deck-house abaft.
The Baghalah, or Buggalow, is a species of native vessel which it is the fashion
*o call a '' dhow," though dhows are, at the present day, never seen in the
Gulf, or indeed, rarely anywhere, only a few being found at Jiddali and some
other ports. The bagha'ah is of great size, sometimes of 200 or 300 tons burden,
and carrying several guns—one called the " Duniyah," belonging to the Sultan
(if Bahrein, had ten. The Persian Gulf baghalahs have two masts raking forward,
like those of the batil and bagarah, and a higli poop with stern ports, antl a long
pointed bow. The baghalah is steered with an ordinary tiller, unlike the batil and
bagarah which are steered by "yoke lines" leading from a point a little above the
^ rt-aw- on the outside edge of the rudder,. The baghalah of the Gulf of Cutch is
one of the most ancient vessels to be met with. Mr. Edye, formerly Master Ship-
wright of the Royal Dockyard at Trincomali, describes these vessels minutely in
a paper communicated to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Their
extreme length, from stern to tailrail, is about 74 feet, the breadth 25 feet, and
the depth in hold 11 feet 6 inches, and they are about 150 tons burthen. 'J'he
peculiavity of form and extraordinary equipment of these vessels is said to have
been the same from the period of Alexander the Great. They are armed with
two guns on the after-part, and have their poop-decks with a round stern. Their
extreme section is abaft the waist or middle of the vessel : they are very broad in
proportion to their length, with a sharp rising floor ; the stern is straight, and
rakes very little more than the stern-post. These vessels are constructed with
timbers and planks, which are nail and trenail fastened in the most rude and
unsafe manner possible. The topside above the deck is barricaded with mats on
the outside of the timbers, which run up to about eight feet from the deck, and
when they have no cargo on board, this barricade is removed. They have only
one mast; and a lateen sail, the tack of which goes to the stem head as in all
other vessels.
The extraordinary longevity of these native vessels may be gathered from the
fact that in 1837, a baghalah, the " Deria Dowlut," or "Wealth of the Seas,"
which was built at Bownuggur, in the year 175t), was still trading in the Red
Sea.
The Arab dhow is a vessel generally of about 150 to 250 tons burthen by
measurement, and sometimes larger. It is grab-lniilt, with ten or twelve porta,
about 85 feet long from stem to stern, 20 feet 9 inches broad, ami 11 feet 6 inches
deep. These vessels have a great rise of floor, are calculated for sailing with
small cargoes, and are fully prepared, by internal equipment, for defence, with
decks, hatchways, ports, poop-deck, &c., like a vessel of war. Maiiyoftlicm
are sheathed, on two and a-lialf inch plank bottoms, with one inch board ; and
the preparation of chunam, cocoa-nut oil, and damar (country resin), which is
called "galgal," put between the planks and sheathing-boiird, causes tiic vessel to
be very dry and durable, and prevents the worm from attacking the bottom.
Tins worm is as great an enemy to timber in the water as the white ant is to it
on laud. On the outside of the shcathing-board there is a coat of chuuam or