"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎٩‎٥] (١٧٨٢/٢٣٨)

95
keep his ill-gotten gains. Accordingly, on on the 4th March the
c Prince of TV ales having been brought into 2| fathoms of water and
the " Drake" and ''Swallow^ having taken up their stations about
three-quarters of a mile off shore^ a bombardment of the fort was begun ;
but the range was too great for the guns of the ff Prince of Wales/' and
the ordnance of the a Drake " and f( Swallow " proved too light for
battering. The only piece that did any execution was a mortar under
the direction of Lieutenant Thomas Dumford, " Fire Worker/' of which
the quoin gave way at the first, and the whole of the bed at the twentieth
discharge ; after these accidents it was still kept in action by means of
rope lashings, but accurate practice was no longer possible.
In the meanwhile a weak military detachment, reinforced by parties
from the ships and commanded apparently by Captain Palmer, attacked
the Naib's house, which was taken after an hour and a half's
fighting. Unfortunately the Persians, during the progress of the
attack, found means to remove most of the valuables through an embra
sure at the west end of the building, and the Naib's wife and family,
whom it was intended to capture and hold as hostages, made their escape
by the same way. Mr. Douglas was thus disappointed in his hope of
being able to recoup the Company's losses.
On the morning of the 5th March the Persian garrison, unable to
endure any longer the fire of the siugle British mortar, evacuated the
fort and retired westwards to the village of Sum. A party was then
landed, who, finding it impossible to remove the enemy's guns, spiked all
but two and burned the carriages. The killed in these operations were
three Europeans of the " Prince of Wales's " crew, four of the military
detachment, one of the train, and five sepoys. On the evening of the 7th,
a body of 350 horsemen having appeared in the vicinity, the landing
parties and staff of the Agency, together with ail the moveable property
that had been captured, were embarked on board ship.
It was determined, after due consideration, not to attack the Persian Further
Admiral Mulla 'Ali Shah in his fort at Q,ishm ; oue reason being that P^c^higs.
the mortar could not be used any longer, and another that the Admiral
had spent all his substance during the previous three years in subsidies
to the Shaikh of Ras-al-Khaimah. Mr. Douglas, however, ordered
Captains Court and Lindsey to seize the ship " Rahmani then lying
off Laft, which was in the possession of the Admiral's Qasimi ally ; but
after arrival there, on Captain Court " representing the risque and
dangers to be very great ", the attempt was countermanded.