This insulting answer excited the highest degree of wrath and indignation
in the General's mind, and made him resolve to exert himself to the
utmost for humbling his pride. The opportunity of surprizing the place
being now lost, he had no other secure method left but to attack it at
the distance in which he then stood. For this purpose he opened his
batteries against the castle, and at the same time threw a number of
shells into the town. The fire was returned with equal spirit both from
the Spanish fort and from six half-gallies in the harbour, but so great
was the distance, that though they continued the cannonade for several
days, little execution was done on either side. Captain Warren, a brave
naval officer, perceiving that all efforts in this way for demolishing
the castle were vain and ineffectual, proposed to destroy the Spanish
gallies in the harbour, by an attack in the night, and offered to go
himself and head the attempt. A council of war was held to consider of
and concert a plan for that service; but, upon sounding the bar, it was
found it would admit no large ship to the attack, and with small ones it
was judged rash and impracticable, the gallies being covered by the
cannon of the castle, and therefore that design was dropt.

[Sidenote] Raises the siege.

In the mean time the Spanish commander observing the besiegers
embarrassed, and their operations beginning to relax, sent out a
detachment of three hundred men against Colonel Palmer, who surprised him
at Fort Moosa, and, while most of his party lay asleep, cut them almost
entirely to pieces. A few that accidentally escaped, went over in a small
boat to the Carolina regiment at Point Quartel. Some of the Chickesaw
Indians coming from that fort having met with a Spaniard, cut off his
head, agreeable to their savage manner of waging war, and presented it to
the General in his camp: but he rejected it with abhorrence, calling them