Page 259 - INDIANNAVYV1

HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAYY. 227

As to the means emplo^yed by the French, in Mauritius and
Bourbon, to obtain crews for their prizes, James, the naval his-
—
torian, says : " There coukl have been no diihcuit^Mn manning
the ' Caroline,' as the ' Caimoniere ' and ' Scmillante,' on their
departure for Europe as merchant ships, had left behind tlie
principal part of their crews. There was, also, we regret to
have to state, another source whence the French at the Isle of
France derived a supply both of sailors and soldiers, but chiefly
of the latter. When any prisoners were brought in, every art
was made use of to inveigle them into the French service. As
the bulk of the prisoners consisted of detachments of soldiers
taken out of the Indiamen, and as the majority of these were
Irish Catholics, an assurance that France had not yet abandoned
her intentions of conquering Ireland and restoring the Catholic
religion, was generally found a successful expedient, especially
when accompanied with threats of the most rigid confinement in
case of refusal. Other deserters, no doubt, had not tlie excuse
of the poor Hibernian to make. Nor were soldiers on this
occasion the only traitors ; between twenty and thirty of the
late ' Laurel's '* crew entered with the enemy they had so reso-
lutely fought."t In marked contrast to this was the conduct of
the Sepoy marines of the Company's cruiser ' Aurora,' fourteen
guns. Lieutenant Watkins, captured off Mauritius by the Frencli
frigates 'Iphigenia' and 'Astree.'
On the capture of the ' Aurora ' she was taken into Port
Louis, when every inducement was held oat to the marines to
consorts. The fourth and fifth batteries shared the fate of the others, and by
8.30, a.m., the town batteries, magazines, eight field-pieces, one Inmdred and
seventeen new and heavy guns of diU'erentcahbres, and ail the public stores, with
several prisoners, were in the possession of Colonel Keating and liis small force.
In the meantime tlie British squadron, having stood into the bay, had opened a
heavy fire on the French frigate, two captured Indiamen, and other armed vessels
in her company, as well as upon some batteries, and then having brought to an
anchor in the road, close off tlie town of St. Paul, began taking measures to secure
the ' Caroline' and the rest of the French ships, all of which iiad cut their cables
and were drifting on shore. The seamen of the squadron, however, soon suc-
ceeded in heaving the ships olf, without any material iujury. " Thus was ctleeted,"'
says James, "in the course of a few hours, by a British force of inconsiderable
amount, the capture of the only safe anchorage at Isle Bourbon, together with
its strong defences and shipping, and that with a total loss of fifteen killed, fifty-
eight wounded, and three missing." The captured sliips were the ' Caroline,' French
frigate, 'Grap))ler,' fourteen-guu brig, the Company's late trading ships, ' Streathani'
and ' Europe,' and five or six smaller vessels. By evening the demolition of the
dilierent gun and mortar batteries and of the magazines was complete, and the
wliole of the troops, marines, and seamen returned onboard their sliips.
On the 23rd, at daybreak, they were all in the boats, ready again to land, when
terms for the delivery of all public property in tlic town were drawn up and agreed
to. General Des Brusleys having shot himself, tlirough chagrin, as alleged, at
the success of the British, a prolongation of the armistice was granted for five
days. On the 28th the truce expired, and the British force immediately began
shipping the provisions, ordnance stores, antl small remainder of the cargoes of
the captured Indiamen. This done, Commodore Rowley made sail from the Bay
of St. Paul.
* The ' Laurel' was a British frigate captured by the Freneli.
t James' 'Naval History," Vol. v.
Q 2