[The Pirates of Malabar, and An Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago by John Biddulph]@TWC D-Link bookThe Pirates of Malabar, and An Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago CHAPTER III 6/15
The _President_ was set on fire in sixteen places, and lost eleven men killed and thirty-three wounded. In the following year the _Josiah_ ketch was attacked by the Sanganians while at anchor, and in the heat of the engagement blew up.
A few of the crew saved themselves in a skiff, but the greater number perished, among them the commander, Lieutenant Pitts, whose father was known in Bombay as 'the drunken lieutenant.' In September, 1685, the _Phoenix_, a British man-of-war that had been sent for a two-years' cruise in Indian waters, was attacked by a Sanganian vessel that mistook her for a merchantman.
It was almost a calm, and Captain Tyrrell hoisted out his boats to capture the Sanganian ship, but they were beaten off, so he sunk her with a couple of broadsides. Forty-one of the pirates were picked up, but many of them refused quarter, and one hundred and seven were killed or drowned.
The _Phoenix_ had three men killed, one wounded, and two drowned.
According to Hamilton, Sir George Byng, the first lieutenant, was dangerously wounded; but the log of the _Phoenix_ is silent on that point, though it gives the names of the casualties. Three years later, the _Thomas_, Captain Lavender, was less fortunate. Attacked by four Beyt ships, after a brave resistance, the _Thomas_ took fire, and all on board perished. Their depredations were not confined to the sea.
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