'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎497] (528/582)

INSTRUCTIONS OF THE BOMBAY GOVERNMENT. 497
armed men were assembled on the beach, bearing large banners on
poles, and dancing around them with their arms, as if rallying
around a sacred standard, so that no sign of submission or con
quest was witnessed throughout.
Seeing that all our efforts were unavailing from the ships, and
judging that there was no chance of success in attempting to cut
these dows out with our boats, though every boat of the squadron
had been hoisted out before we left our first anchorage for that
purpose, the signal was made to weigh. The Ariel continued to
discharge about fifty shot after all the others had desisted, but
with as little avail as before; and thus ended this wordy negoti
ation, and the bloodless battle to which it eventually led.
The instructions of the Bombay Government had ordered that,
on the failure of the application for redress, the squadron should
retire, after signifying to the Chief, that he might expect the dis
pleasure of the British nation to be visited on him in return for
his hostile acts against their flag. Had this been strictly complied
with, the Joassamees might have remained in a state of suspense
with regard to the capture of our vessels, agitated between hope
and fear; and time would have been given to the Bombay Govern
ment to prepare a more formidable expedition against them, with
out exposing their vessels to capture during the interval. But by
this act of open warfare, which admitted of a triumph over our
weakness, and a contempt of our incapacity to accomplish what we
had attempted, all peace was at an end, and the slightly armed
merchant-ships of the English were exposed from this moment to
be attacked in their passage; since they must all pass in sight from
Ras-el-Khyma, on entering and on departing from the Gulf. It is
true that the destruction of the four dows which lay at anchor in
their harbour prepared for such depredations would have been a
temporary good, if it could have been effected; but even this
would have been but a trifling reduction of their blockading force,
while they had, as we were assured from other quarters, fifteen
sail cruising at the entrance of the Gulf, from Ras-el-Had on
3 s