the Jamalabad fort route. All this was accomplished in a secret and well-planned move on Ash Wednesday (24 February 1784). Accounts of the number of captives differ, ranging from 30,000 to 80,000. The generally accepted figure is 60,000, as per Tipu's own records. They were forced to climb nearly through the dense jungles and gorges of the Western Ghat mountain ranges along two routes; one group travelled along the Bantwal-Belthangadi-Kulshekar-Virajpet-Coorg-Mysore route, and the other along the Gersoppa falls (Shimoga) route. It was from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to the Barcoor Manuscript, written in Kannada by a Mangalorean Catholic from Barcoor after his return from Seringapatam, 20,000 of them (one-third) died on the march to Seringapatam due to hunger, disease, and ill treatment by the soldiers. At the camp at Jamalabad fort, Mangalorean Catholic leaders were thrown down from the fort. All Christian churches in South Canara, except the Hospet Church at Hospet and the Monte Mariano Church at Farangipet, were razed to the ground and all land owned by the captured Christians was taken over by Tipu and distributed among his favourites. After they were freed, all their belongings had disappeared and their deserted lands were being cultivated by the Bunts. After arriving at Seringapatam, the Christian captives were made to forcibly embrace Islam, were tortured, or sentenced to death. The young men who refused to embrace Islam were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears. They were seated on asses, paraded through the city, and thrown into the dungeons of Seringapatam. Historian Praxy Fernandes, author of Storm over Seringapatam: The Incredible Story of Hyder Ali & Tippu Sultan, states that contrary to popular belief, 40,000 Christians were not kept manacled in the dungeons of Seringapatam. Ludwig von Pastor, a German historian, claimed "countless" Mangalorean Catholics were hanged, including women with their children clinging around their necks. Others were trampled or dragged by elephants. The able-bodied young men were drafted into the army after being circumcised and converted to Islam. The young women and girls were distributed as wives to Muslim officers and favourites living in Seringapatam. According to Mr. Silva of Gangollim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam was found, Tipu had ordered the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet, and one hand as punishment. The persecutions continued until 1792. This was