'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎266] (285/622)

266
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
Mason, Mate. This Expedition was despatched to protect the
natives from the oppression of a tributary Burmese chief: pro
ceeding up a creek they passed a large village, and released an
immense fleet of canoes, into which the poor people, who had
been driven hither by the Burmese chief, embarked with their
goods, and moved into the river under the protection of the
boats, whence they proceeded to their respective homes. These
canoes, which were counted as they passed out into the main
stream, numbered thirteen hundred, and contained eight thou
sand and forty souls. The boats returned to Rangoon at day
break of New Year's Day, having been absent a week on their
errand of mercy.
On the 4th of January, 1853, Brigadier-General Steel em
barked at Rangoon, with his force, for Martaban, on board the
'Moozuffer/ 'Zenobia,' and 6 Berenice/ each towing a transport,
and H.M.S. 6 Sphinx,' bearing the broad pennant of Commodore
Lambert, towing a ship laden with ordnance and stores. On
the following day, the troops were disembarked at Martaban,
which was now defended by the 'Ferooz,' Commodore Lynch,
and three batteries, called respectively the North and South
Batteries, and the Hill Stockade, counting in all fourteen
pieces of ordnance. In the North Battery was one 68-pounder
from the 4 Zenobia,' which has been noted as so effective in
keeping the enemy away after their attack of the 26th of May;
this gun was now laid so as to command a stockade on a hill,
eighteen hundred yards distant. On the 14th of January,
General Steel set out for Tonghoo, which he entered after
a fatiguing march through two hundred and forty miles of
unknown forest.
The boats of the ' Ferooz' saw much service while she lay as
guardship at Martaban. In the latter part of December, 1852,
Lieutenant G. T. Holt had a sharp brush with the enemy off
the Moulmein River, in which Midshipman An experienced sailor, but not a commissioned officer. Thomas Stanley
Clay—afterwards Captain in the Bombay Fusiliers—and some
men were severely wounded. He writes to us :—" On return
ing to the 4 Ferooz' (from which I was distant some twenty
miles) through the creeks at night, we passed through the worst
fire I w 7 as ever under; how we escaped I don't know, for the
creeks were not more than fifty yards wide, if that, and less at
places. I at last tried firing rockets (signal) horizontally
through the bushes on both sides, and that so frightened them,
that we were left unmolested the rest of the way. The enemy
frequently hailed us, and told us to land and fight like men.
Our boats and oars were tremendously cut up by their slugs.
On this occasion I captured several war canoes, forty feet long,
no end of arms, old John Company's muskets, and destroye
their barns with about two or three hundred tons of rice. We