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HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY. 29
111 lt)18 the Surat factors opened an intercourse with Mocha,
and despatched a trading vessel to the port of Jask, situated
not far from the entrance to the Persian Gulf; and, the veii-
about half an hour, then knowing there was another to be admitted into that
prime place of command, the night approaching, for that time gave over, putting
out a flag of council to call the captain of tlie Vice-Admiral, Captain Henry
Pepwell, who was to succeed, and the other commanders, aboard, to consult about
the prosecution of this encounter. The niglit being come, we now proceeded no
furtlaer. The carrack stood still on her course, putting forth a light in lier poop
for us to follow her, and about midnight came to an anchor under the island of
Mohilla, which when we perceived, we let fall our anchors too.
" The 7th, eai-Iy before it began to dawn, we prepared for a new assault, first
committing ourselves in pi-ajer to Almighty God ; towards the close of wliich
exercise, I spake some words of exhortation and encouragement to all the people
of the sliip tliere together assembled, but was presently out-rhetorick'd by our
new commander, who sjjake to the company thus, ' JVIy masters, I have never a
speech to make unto you, but to speak to the cooper to give every one of you a
good cup of sack, and so God bless us.' Here was a speech indeed, that was
short and sweet, that had something following it to make it most savoury, that it
might be tasted as well as heard. Sline was verbal, without any sucli relish, and
therefore I forbear to insert it. The morning come, we found the carrack so
close to tlie shore, and the nearest of our ships at least a league off, that we held
our hands for that day, expecting when she would weigh her anchor and stand off
to sea, a titter place to deal witli her. And that afternoon we chested our late
slain commander, putting some great shot with him into it, that he might pre-
sently sink, and without any ceremony of guns, &c., usual upon such occasions,
because our enemy should take no notice, put him overboard against the island of
Mohilla, where he made his own grave, as all dead bodies do, buried not in dust
but water. A little before night that present day the carrack departed again to
sea, we all loosed our anchors, opened our sails, and followed. The day now left
us, and our proud adversary, unwilling as it slionld seem to escape, put forth a
light as before for us to follow him, as afterward we did to purpose. The night
well uigh spent, we commended again ourselves and came to God, when I observed
more seeming devotion in our seamen that morning, than at any time before or
after, while I kept them company, who, for the generality, are such a kind of
people, that nothing will bow them, to bring them on their knees, but extreme
hazards. When this exercise was ended, the day began to appear in a red mantle,
And now we entered upon a
which proved bloody unto many that beheld it.
second encounter, our four ships resolving to take their turns one after the other,
that we might compel this proud Portuguese either to bend or break." Tlie
chaplain then describes the deatii of a seaman named Raven, " who immediately
before wo began to engage, came to me and told me that he had a desire to follow
his master;" also of a tailor, "who, while the company he sailed with were
engaged, brought his pressing-iron to one of the gunners, and desiring him to put
it into a piece of ordnance already laden, telling him tliat he would send it as a
token to the Portuguese, withal swearing that he woidd never work again at his
trade ; it jileased God immediately after to sentence him out of his own mouth,
and to let his tongue to fall upon himself, for that great piece was no sooner
discharged, but a great bullet was returned from the enemy, which struck him
dead."
" And now, reader," he continues, " thou may'st suppose us speaking again to
our adversary and he to us, in tiie harshest and loudest of all dialects, no argu-
ments being so strong as those that proceed from the mouths of guns and points
of swords. Our 'Charles,' the Admiral, played her ]iart lirst, and ere she had
been at defiance with her enemy half an hour, there came anol her great shot from
him, which hitting against one of our iron pieces mounted on our half-deck, brake
it into many little parts, which most dangerously wounded our new commander
and the maker of our ship, with three otiiers besides who received several hurts
Captain Pepwell's left eye, by a glance of a piece of that broken
by it. bullet,
was so torn, tliat it lay like rags upon his cheek, another hurt by a piece of tue
same bullet he received on his jawbone, and by another on the head, untl a fourth