Such was the extent of their cannonade, that only in one small post, occupied by Alvaro de Mendoza with ten men, 600 bullets were picked up, some of which were two spans diameter.  The Portuguese were unable to answer with any thing like a correspondent fire, but, being well directed, their shot did great execution, and the small armed vessels plied from place to place with much diligence, doing great injury with their small guns.  One night an officer of the enemy was seen with a great number of torches passing a height opposite the fort of Benastarim, having a number of young women dancing before him.  On this occasion, Ferdinand de Sousa caused a cannon to be so exactly pointed among them, that the officer, with several of his torch-bearers and two couple of the dancers were seen to fly into the air.  As this was the time for dispatching the homeward-bound trade to Portugal, the governor was anxiously advised to stop that fleet, as it would deprive him of 400 men, who might be of great use in defending Goa; but ambitions of acquiring greater glory by conquering every difficulty, he ordered the ships to sail at their usual time, alleging that their cargoes were much wanted in Portugal, and that he trusted he should have a sufficient force remaining to defend the seat of government.

[Footnote 377:  In the original, there is along enumeration of twenty-four several posts, with the names of the officers commanding each, and the numbers in their respective detachments; all here omitted as uninteresting.—­E.]

The Portuguese had often the boldness to cross over and attack the enemy in their posts in the main-land, whence they brought away many prisoners and many heads of those they slew, with various arms and standards.  On one occasion, Don George de Menezes who commanded the armed vessels, and Don Pedro de Castro who landed with 200 Portuguese, made so great slaughter that the viceroy sent two carts loaded with heads to the city, to animate the inhabitants with this barbarous proof of the energy of the defence.  One night Gaspar and Lancelot Diaz penetrated four or five miles up the country with eighty men, burnt two villages with many detached houses, and brought away many prisoners, many heads of the slain enemy, and much cattle.  At another time these two brothers, with one hundred and thirty men, attacked the quarters of Coger Khan and Rumer Khan, where they made great havock, and destroyed all the preparations they had made for passing over into the island of Juan Lopez.  The enemy were astonished at the exploits performed by such small numbers, and still more so when they learnt that the viceroy had sent off Don Diego de Menezes with his squadron to the Malabar coast, and Don Ferdinand de Vasconcellos with four gallies and two small vessels, on an expedition to destroy Dabul.