e ends on shore, made them fast
to the guns, and hove off three of them, one after another, by the
capstan; and had the end of the hawser on shore, ready for the others,
when our marine videttes were surprised by the French, driven in, and
retreated to the beach with the loss of one man taken prisoner.

Not having sufficient force on shore to resist them, we re-embarked
our party, and the French, taking up a position behind the rocks,
commenced a heavy fire of musketry upon us. We answered it with
the same; and now and then gave them a great gun; but they had the
advantage of position, and wounded ten or eleven of our men from their
elevated stations behind the rocks. At sunset this ceased, when a boat
came off from the shore, pulled by one Spaniard; he brought a letter
for the captain, from the officer commanding the French detachment.
It presented the French captain's compliments to ours; regretted the
little interruption he had given to our occupation; remarked that the
weather was cold, and as he had been ordered off in a hurry, he had
not had time to provide himself; and as there was always a proper
feeling among _braves gens_, requested a few gallons of rum for
himself and followers.

This request was answered with a _polite note_, and the spirits
required. The British captain hoped the commandant and his party would
make themselves comfortable, and have a _bon repos_. The captain,
however, intended the Frenchman should pay for the spirits, though not
in money, and sent in the bill about one o'clock in the morning.

All at that hour was as still as death; the French guard had refreshed
themselves, and were enjoying the full extent of our captain's
benefaction, when he observed to us that it was a pity to lose the
boat which was left on shore, as well as the other brass guns, and
proposed making the attempt to bring off both. Five or six of us
stripped, and lowering ourselves into the water, very gently swam
ashore, in a breathless kind of silence, that would have done honour
to a Pawnee Loup Indian. The water was very cold, and at first almost
took away my respiration. We landed under the battery, and having
first secured our boat without noise, we crept softly up to where the
end of the hawsers lay by the side of the guns, to which we instantly
made them fast. About a dozen French soldiers were lying near, keeping
watch, fast asleep.

We might easily have killed them all; but as we considered they were
under