"He" (the Sunda Rajah) "is so excessive craving after money, that he is about sacrificing twelve men and twelve women with child, to get two pots of treasure which one of his magicians tells him lies buried near his palace."
While these events were taking place at Carwar, Boone found himself involved in trouble with Angria. For some time after the treaty made by Aislabie, Angria had respected Bombay trading ships, but of late he had begun to show his teeth again. In the beginning of 1716 he had made prize of a Company's boat in sight of the harbour, and of another belonging to a private merchant. Four private ships from Mahim, valued at 30,000 xeraphims, were also captured by him, and his ships trading to Bombay refused to pay harbour dues. While Hamilton was engaged at Carwar, Angria's fleet attacked and took the Success, East Indiaman, on its way from Surat. With an impoverished exchequer, a force weakened and disorganized by the Carwar adventure, and no ammunition in his magazine, Boone found himself in no condition to take active measures for the present.
In the vain hope of bringing Angria to reason, a letter of expostulation was written, which met with a hostile response, quickly followed by the capture of the Otter, a Bengal ship. A second letter of defiance was received, so, on the 7th May, in spite of inadequate resources, the Council resolved on striking a blow. An expedition against Gheriah was determined on, and twenty gallivats were sent down, manned with sepoys, to retake, if possible, the captured vessels, "if they were attacked, to repel force by force, and if possible plunder his country." The official record of the expedition is as follows:—
4th June.—Two gallivats returned having plundered a town in Angria's country, and brought away sixteen prisoners.
9th June.—Returned our gallivats, having by mismanagement of the chief officer lost about fifty men and destroyed one town of Angria's.
Downing, who was present, gives an account of the attack on Gheriah, though he makes a mistake as to the date. As it is the only account we have of what took place, it will be better to give it in his own words.
"On the 10th of the same instant the President reviewed the land forces on shore, and saw all things put in good and sufficient order. Major Vane, chief engineer for the Company, had tried all the mortars and coehorns, then fitted and stocked for the expedition. Mr. John Minims was appointed chief engineer for the direction of these mortars and coehorns, which did great service. We proceeded down the coast for Gerey, which is not above twelve hours' sail from Bombay, where we with all our navy soon arrived, and run boldly into the harbour. Captain Berlew (Bellew?) Commodore, and ranged a line from the eastermost part of the fortifications to the outer part of the harbour. Keeping all our small galleys and galleywats on the off-side under shelter. But they had strong fortifications on both sides; so that we left our strongest ships in the harbour, to make a breach in the walls, in order to storm the castle. The rocks were very high, and so slippery that one could hardly stand without a staff, and consequently not a place convenient to draw men up in any posture of defence. We endeavoured to get the fireship in, but could not; for on the east part of the fort they had a cove or creek, where they had laid up a great part of their fleet, and had got a strong boom across the same; so that we could not annoy them any otherwise than by throwing our bombs and coehorns very thick into the garrison, which we did for a considerable time, and were in hopes after the first and second day's siege, that we should have drove them out of that strong castle, but we soon found that the place was impregnable. For as we kept throwing our shells as fast as we could in regular time, cooling our chambers before we loaded again; after we had beat over two or three houses in the castle, the shells fell on the rocks in the inside the castle, and their weight and force of falling would break them without so much as their blowing up…. As to storming the walls, they were so high that our scaling ladders would not near reach the top of them…."
"After the second day we landed all our forces, taking the opportunity of the tide…. We got them all on shore, and marched up the country, without molestation; only now and then the castle would let fly a shot or two, which did us small damage. We attempted to march the army down to their shipping, and to set them on fire; but when we came within a mile of the place the land was all swampy, and so very muddy by the spring tides flowing over that we could not proceed. On our retreat they galled us very much by firing from the castle, we being obliged to come near the castle walls to take our forces off again. Here the gallant Captain Gordon was slightly wounded again…. I question whether there were a hundred men in the castle during the time of the siege…."
"We drew off our forces on the 18th April, and went up to Bombay to repair our frigates and take care of our wounded men, of whom we had a considerable number."
In no way discouraged by the failure, Boone at once set to work to prepare for a fresh attack on Angria. This time it was determined that Kennery, within sight of Bombay harbour, should be the object of attack, and all through the monsoon preparations were made.