THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

USE OF FIRE-SHIPS 71
coast of Mitylene, where he cast anchor and cleared
for action. He had scarcely finished his preparations
when the Greeks attacked him. Sailing under the
stern of the Ottoman, so as to avoid his broadside,
they poured in a hail of shot; but their guns were
of small calibre, and the bullets for the most part
buried themselves harmlessly in the solid timbers of
the Turkish battle-ship.
Tombazes, recognising after a while the futility of
this method of attack, gave the order to cease fire, and
summoned a council of war to meet on his flag-ship.
It was now determined to have recourse to fire-ships,
which it
was remembered had been employed with
such signal success by the Russians against the Ottoman
fleet at the battle of Tcliesme in 1770. A Psariot
captain consented, for a sum of 40,000 piastres, to
sacrifice his brig for the purpose; and this was now
hastily prepared, and, manned by a crew of twenty
men, who had been secured by the promise of a bounty
of a hundred dollars each, it was despatched during the
night against the enemy. It was, however, timidly
manoeuvred, was ignited too soon, and drifted,
magnificently
ablaze, out to sea, without coming anywhere
near the Ottoman ship.
Soon after this failure, two more fire-ships having
arrived from Psara, another attempt was made, but