"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٢‎٥‎١] (١٧٨٢/١٤٠٦)

1251
proceeded to do, mostly upon inflated goat-skins; but Sadiq Khan wa.
to the riffhTT k TT ^ hiS and hea ^ stores OTe ■■
thengbt bank. Sulaimau Agha, Mntasallim of 13 asra h, had onlj
about 1,500 regular troops at his disposal, and, as their loyalty was not
attack ot ^ P u P° n ;. te decided to remain at Basrah and await the
attack of the Pecans behmd walls; but he set an admirable example to
by his courage and vigilance, and he showed great personal energy in
pushing forward the preparations for defence.
On the 19th of March, Mr. Moore sent one of the Pasha's new ketches
up the river to obtain information of the movements of the enemv • she
was commanded for the occasion by a lieutenant from one of the cruisers
and manned by European sailors ; and Mr. Abraham, one of the Factorv
statt, went in her. J
At 3 a.m . on the morning of the 21st of March, the fleet of the
reac erous Ka'ab Shaikh, who baa formerly promised the Turks that he
would not help the Persians but who had now changed his mind in view
of a possible sack of Basrah, slipped up the river from below the towu to
join Sadiq Khan's force. The British cruisers, which had apparently
received orders from the Agent to prevent such a iuuetion, unfortunately
did not perceive the Ka'ab Gallivats, 14 in number, until it was too late
to intercept them ; but they immediately gave chase The " Success "
and the "Eagle" having ultimately captured a Gallivat apiece, the prize
of the former was burned iu the river, while that of the latter was
brought back to Basrah. The rest of the Ka'ab fleet reached the Persian
camp though in a more or less damaged condition; and land batteries
winch the Persians had thrown up on the banks of the river made it
impossible lor the British squadron to attack them, after arrival there
with any chance of success. '
On the morning of the 22.id of March, the British Agent, perhaps
apprehending the consequences that his unsuccessful interference was
well calculated to produce, went on board the " Eagle, " to which the
treasure and valuables of the Factory had already been transferred The
same afternoon the " Success " and one of the Pasha's ketches returnea
from pursuing the enemy; and in the evening the Pasha's other ketch -
the one that had been sent up the river to reconnoitre upon the liith -
arrived, having met with some lemarkable adventures.
On her way up stream, in passing the Persian camp, she had been
haded and enquiry made why she did not salute the Persian Commander-
in-Chief, to which it was answered that she was going further up the river
and would fire the salute on her return. On the 21st, the encounter
S8 a.
Agency from
Fasrah, 17th
March to
10th April
1775.
19th March.
21st March.
22nd March.