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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 313

suffering a cruel death. But tliey waxed bolder as years passed
by and tliey grew in strength.*
Since the capture of Ormuz, the Company had retained two
or three of their ships of war in the Persian Gulf for the pro-
tection of their commercial interests at Gombroon and the
agencies at Bushire and Bussorah, with which places, particularly
the latter, a considerable trade was carried on. The officers of
the Bombay Marine were enjoined not to interfere wnth the
piratical acts of the Arab tribes of the Persian Gulf, but only
to act in self-defence, which encouraged the Joasrais—who, like
all Easterns, construed non-intervention into an avowal of
weakness—to commit an act of treachery which brought its own
punishment. In the year 1797, the first capture of a British
vessel was made by the Joasmis. The ' Bassein,' snow, carrying
public despatches, was seized on the 18th of ]\Iay off Kams on
the Joasmi coast, by a fleet of dhows, and carried into Ras-ul-
Khymah, but was released after a detention of two days. In
the following October, the pirates, encouraged by the impunity
they had enjoyed, made their first attack upon a Company's
cruiser, but the reception they met with was not encouraging.
The Hon. Company's brig 'Viper,' of fourteen guns, was lying
in Bushire Roads, where were also some Joasmi dhows, under
the command of Sheikh Saleh, nephew to the Joasmi chief, who
was then at war with the Imaum of Muscat. As their object
was to intercept the Sooree Arabs who were at Bussorah,
no fear of any hostile movement on the part of these vessels
existed in the mind of the Captain of the ' Viper,' who jiroceeded
on shore to the house of the British Political Resident. This
gentleman, lulled by the protestations of friendship of Sheikh
Saleh, unwisely gave an order to the Captain of the ' Viper,'
to supply the dhows with powder and shot, ostensibly to attack
the Sooree Arabs; and no sooner had they secured enough for
their purpose, than the}^ weighed anclior as if for a cruise. It
was about eight o'clock in the morning, and the crew of
the Company's cruiser were having their breakfast on deck.
Suddenly two of the dhows, which were passing under the
' Viper's ' stern, opened fire with round shot upon the little
craft. The officers, who were below rushed upon deck. Lieu-
tenant Carruthers, the senior, called the men to quarters, and
none too soon, for the dhov/s, cramuied full of men, bore down
on the little man-of-war, intending to capture her by boarding.
The crew of the 'Viper' cut the cable and uiade sail on the
ship, while the guns were cast loose, and soon opened a well-
* Mr. J. Warden, Member of Council at Bombay, says in a paper on the
Joasmis that Ouuin Hussaiu-ben-Ali was invested by the Wahabees with the
fullest authority, which enabled him to compel the heads of the Joasmis residing
at Shargah and Eas-ul-Khymah, to cruise in conjunction with vessels from Kams
in the service of the Wahabees, against all ships, witliout exception, appearing
in the Gulf.