ng of the ship in dock, and it was
his duty to summon the crew to work by a whistle. The office still
remains, though with functions modified by the introduction of steam. In
a merchant ship the boatswain is the foreman of the crew and is
sometimes also third or fourth mate.

BOBBILI, a town of British India, in the Vizagapatam district of Madras,
70 m. north of Vizagapatam town. Pop. (1901) 17,387. It is the residence
of a raja of old family, whose estate covers an area of 227 sq. m.;
estimated income, L40,000; permanent land revenue, L9000.

The attack on the fort at Bobbili made by General Bussy in 1756 is one
of the most memorable episodes in Indian history. There was a constant
feud between the chief of Bobbili and the raja of Vizianagram; and when
Bussy marched to restore order the raja persuaded him that the fault lay
with the chief of Bobbili and joined the French with 11,000 men against
his rival. In spite of the fact that the French field-pieces at once
made practicable breaches in the mud walls of the fort, the defenders
held out with desperate valour. Two assaults were repulsed after hours
of hand-to-hand fighting; and when, after a fresh bombardment, the
garrison saw that their case was hopeless, they killed their women and
children, and only succumbed at last to a third assault because every
man of them was either killed or mortally wounded. An old man, however,
crept out of a hut with a child, whom he presented to Bussy as the son
of the dead chief. Three nights later four followers of the chief of
Bobbili crept into the tent of the raja of Vizianagram and stabbed him
to death. The child, Chinna Ranga Rao, was invested by Bussy with his
father's estate, but during his minority it was seized by his uncle.
After a temporary arrangement of terms with the raja of Vizianagram the
old feud broke out again, and the Bobbili chief was forced to take
refuge in the nizam's country. In 1794, however, on the break-up of the
Vizianagram estate, Chinna Ranga Rao was restored by the British, and in
1801 a permanent settlement was made with his son. The title of raja was
recognized as hereditary in the family; that of maharaja was conferred
as a personal distinction on Sir Venkataswetachalapati Ranga Rao,
K.C.I.E., the adopted great-great-grandson of Chinna Ranga Rao.

For the siege see _Imp. Gazetteer of India_ (Oxford, 1908), s.v.
"Bobbili Estate."

BOBBIO, a town and episcopal see of Lombardy, Italy,