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358 HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.

batteries burst into the room, and instantly exploding, killed
and wounded about one hundred of his fighting men, and
created infinite consternation throughout the garrison."
Of the sortie on the night of the 6th of December, an officer
—
of the Bombay IMarine, already quoted, says : " About 80 or
100 yards to the right of the howitzer battery was the backwater,
and the Arabs left the town at low-water about half- past eight
p.m., and by crouching down and keeping silent, got in the
rear, and made a rush on the battery without being perceived.
The surprise was complete, and had they continued the attack
along the trenches, our loss would have been severe, but having
gained the battery, they commenced dragging away the howitzer,
which they removed more than 100 yards ; Ibrahim, brother of
the chief, and a number of the Arabs, were wounded in the
battery. This was the only sortie made, and from what I have
learnt since from Hassan Bin Rahma, the Sheikh, its failure
quite dispirited the defenders, Avho, up to this time, had enter-
tained hopes of being able to hold the fort ; for the Arabs have
no idea of protracted operations, and concluded that if we did
not succeed in a few days we should retire. The following day
the seamen's battery opened, and the day after the breach was
practicable."
He continues, " Very little property was found, but about
eighty vessels of various sizes, from 250 to 40 tons, fell into the
hands of the captors. I have since learned that about forty of the
better class of boats had been secreted at places then unknown,
and the onl}'' property of value not removed from the town w-as
the chiefs, the most valuable and portable of which was buried.
His reason for this was, so he assured me, the fear that if he
bad sent away his property his people would not have remained
to fight. The number of guns mounted in the town was about
seventy or eighty, many of which were, however, unserviceable,
owing to the vents being half an inch in diameter and all
honej'-combed ; there were two or three brass guns, one a 24-
pounder. During the siege the seamen had their full share in
the duties, more particularly those of a laborious character
connected with the guns. Though the loss was not large,
scarce a man of the rifle company of the ()5th escaped a scratch
of some sort, but they never reported themselves wounded
unless quite disabled. On this occasion the Marine had full
justice done to them by the General and by their immediate
connnander, Sir F. A. Collier, who, both in his despatch to the
Admiral and to the Government, bore testimony to their zeal
and ability, and thanked many of the officers by name in
General Orders."*
* The following is Sir William Grant Keir's despatch to the address of the
Adjutant-General of the Army, describing the operations after tlie completion of
the landing — •' The troops were formed across the isthmus conuectiug the
: