There were about a thousand persons of all sorts in this castle, of whom the Portuguese and some Mahometans were sent away: But the Khan required certain Mahometans to be given up, who he pretended had revolted from him. They were accordingly delivered up, and, though he had formerly promised them mercy, he put them all to death. This castle had seventeen pieces of ordnance, one of which was a brass pedro, two iron demiculverins, four brass sackers, two iron minions, and six iron falcons.[305]
[Footnote 305: On a former occasion, we have given an account of the various kinds of ordnance used about the 17th century. The pedro was probably a gun of large calibre for throwing stone bullets. In modern times, cannon are designated by the weights of their respective balls, in combination with their being long or short, land or sea, field or garrison, single or double fortified, iron or brass.--E.]
Leaving some Englishmen to assist in keeping possession of this fortress along with the Persians, according to agreement, we set sail on the 4th February for Gambroon, on the mainland of Persia, within three leagues of Ormus, and directly opposite. Ruy Frere de Andrada, the late commander of Kismis, was sent off for Surat, in the Lion, accompanied by the Rose and Richard. The London, Jonas, Whale, and Dolphin, with the two prizes of 250 tons each, remained to transport the Persians in safety to Ormus. We were royally feasted at Gambroon by the Khan, who was much dissatisfied that Andrada and some of the Moors had not been delivered up to him, yet dissembled his discontent, in regard of his farther need for our ships in the enterprise against Ormus. After the feast, all the English gentlemen present were presented with vests, each according to his rank.
On the 9th of February we set sail for Ormus, having about two hundred Persian boats of all sizes, besides two frigates or barks, and our ships, having in them about 2500 or 3000 Persian soldiers, of various sorts. We anchored that night about two leagues from the castle; and next forenoon all the Persians were landed on the island of Ormus, a little way from the town, to which they marched in a confused manner, penetrating as far as the Meidan, or market-place, without resistance. The market-place was barricadoed and defended for some time by the Portuguese with shot and pikes; but the Persians soon made way, with small loss, and drove the Portuguese before them into the castle, like so many sheep. One Persian only, who first entered, was slain by a pike, and he who slew him soon lost his head, his heels being too heavy to carry it away.
On first entering the city, the Persian general, named Einam Culi Beg, placed captains with detachments of soldiers in various quarters, proclaiming that each officer was to be answerable for the safety of the quarter assigned to him, and threatening death to all who were found pillaging. Some infringing these orders were severely punished, some being hanged, others having their ears or noses cut off, and others bastinadoed even for trifles. Yet, in two or three days after, the shops and houses were forced open, and every man so wearied with carrying away plunder all day long, and sleeping so securely at night without any proper military precautions, that the Portuguese might easily have slain many, if they had ventured upon making a sally.
On the night of our landing, I took possession of a very commodious house for a factory, which, for convenience and goodness of its rooms, exceeded, as I think, any factory belonging to the Honourable Company. But it proved too hot for me on the 13th, in the night, as one of the master's mates of the Whale, with others of his companions, after I was in bed, by carelessness of candles, while searching for plunder, set a room on fire in which were some goods given me in charge by the general. Fortunately the wind favoured us, so that the house was not consumed. Considering the strength of this city, and that every house was as it were a little castle, I was astonished the Portuguese should have abandoned it so soon. But it seems they were afraid of being intercepted by the Persians in their retreat to the castle, and dreaded that the Mahometan inhabitants might have betrayed them.
The Persians began presently to throw up trenches, and daily approached nearer the castle, and, with our help, erected batteries for ordnance, and sconces or redoubts for securing their men, and protecting the trenches. With the cannon from our ships, we sore galled the Portuguese ships, forcing them to haul in as close as possible to the castle. On the 24th of February, four of our boats set fire to the San Pedro, formerly admiral of Andrada's fleet, which put all the rest in great danger, but the tide carried her out to sea, and her relics were towed on shore at Gambroon by the Arab and other country boats, some iron ordnance and shot being got out of her burnt carkass. The Khan was much rejoiced at this exploit.
The Persians having succeeded in constructing a mine under one of the bastions, which was charged with upwards of forty barrels of powder, it was exploded on the 17th of March, by which a practicable breach was made in the salient angle of the bastion. The Persians made immediately a fierce assault, and Shah Culi Beg got possession of the bastion with 200 of his bravest men, and maintained himself there for at least three hours; but the Portuguese made a brave defence, and with powder-pots, scalding lead, and other devices of fire, did much hurt to the assailants, burning, scalding, and slaying many of them, so that the Persians were at last driven out with considerable loss, most of them being wounded, scalded, or scorched. On the same day, the city was set on fire in several places, by the command of the Persian general, as was reported, because his Arab soldiers lurked among the houses, and could not be got forth to do any service in the siege.
To the number of four or five thousand men, we were now cooped up in a barren island without shelter, producing nothing in itself except salt; and I know not by what mistaken policy the general had been induced to send away all the rice and other victuals, by which means we were reduced to depend upon the continent for a daily supply of provisions, and even water; so that, if a fleet of Portuguese frigates had come, as was expected, we must have been famished, as the country boats durst not have ventured to us from the main. The rain water in the open cisterns was daily wasted, and became brackish, no care being taken to fill the jars and private cisterns in almost every house, while it remained good. The Persians are quite ignorant in the art of war, for they entered the breach without fear, precaution, or means of establishing themselves; and they lost with shame what they might have defended with honour. I observed other defects in their management, even of the very sinews of war; and I am astonished that Shah Abbas, the wonder of our age, should have sent his army on this expedition so weakly provided with money, arms, ammunition, ships, and all other necessaries. I am even satisfied that all the money belonging to the khan was consumed in one month's pay to our ships, and I fear we shall have to wait for the rest till the plunder is converted into money. In regard to arms and ammunition, they have only small pieces, with bows and arrows, and swords, some of their chiefs having coats of mail. They were so scarce of powder, that after blowing their mine, they had hardly enough to supply the small arms for entering the breach, though furnished with twenty or twenty-five barrels from our ships. They had not a single scaling-ladder to assist their entry. Were we to forsake them, they would soon be completely at a stand, yet they have already broken conditions with us in several things, and I much fear, when all is done, we shall be paid with reversions, and what else they themselves please.
Our ordnance so galled the Portuguese ships from the shore, that a galleon was sunk on the 19th of March, and two more on the 20th and 23d. The last come ship from Goa, which was their admiral, and one of the others, were, I think, sacrificed by the policy of the governor, that the garrison might have no means of escape, and might therefore defend themselves manfully to the last, in hopes of relief from Goa, though some thought they went down in consequence of injuries from sunken rocks, in hauling them so near the castle to get them out of the range of our battery.