erry, as the ally of Mr. Lally, Hyder Ali had greatly increased
his army. He had, in fact, deposed his benefactor and nominal master,
the Rajah of Mysore, and had established himself on his throne.
Moreover, Hyder Ali had conquered the rajahs and polygars of Sera,
Balapoor, Gooty, Harponelly, Chitteldroog, Bednore, and Soonda, with
other districts, and had extended his dominion almost to the banks of
Kistna. At this point of his conquests Hyder Ali was checked by Madhoo
Row, the Peishwa of the Mahrattas, who crossed the Kistna with an
immense body of cavalry, and not only deprived him of some of his recent
acquisitions, but compelled him to pay thirty two lacs of rupees. But
Ilyder Ali, though checked, was not destroyed. At a subsequent date he
undertook and achieved the conquest of Malabar; and he kept that country
quiet by cutting off all the Hindoo chiefs. His conquests induced the
English, the Mahrattas, and Nizam Ali, the ruler of Deccan, to form a
league against him. The Peishwa of the Mahrattas was the first to take
the field against him; and he was subsequently followed by Colonel Smith
at the head of a small English corps, and a large army of the Nabob of
the Carnatic, and by another large army under the Nizam of the Deccan.
Before Colonel Smith and the nizam, however, could join their forces to
those of the peishwa, he had consented, on the payment of thirty-five
lacs of rupees, to retire from the confederacy, and to quit Mysore. The
nizam himself was soon after discovered to be negociating a treaty with
Hyder Ali, the chief end of which was to expel the company from the
Carnatic; and Colonel Smith separated from him, and hastened to take
possession of the passes which led into that country. He was joined by
some reinforcements from Mohammed Ali, the Nabob of the Carnatic; but
he was soon compelled to retreat for Changama, a town about sixty miles
from Madras. In his route he was attacked by the three armies of Hyder
Ali, the peishwa, and the nizam, whom he bravely repulsed; but want
of provisions compelled him to continue his retreat till he reached
Trinomalee. He was still followed by the enemy, who plundered, burned,
and destroyed all the open country through which they passed. While
at Trinomalee, Colonel Smith made an unsuccessful attempt to stop the
ravages of the enemy; an attempt which chiefly failed from want of
cavalry. In the meantime, Hyder Ali sent his son Tippoo, with five
thousand horse, to Madras