received an impertinent answer.  Immediatly our admiral gave an order to discharge a small culverin, the ball from which struck the vessel amidship, and I thought she was going to founder.  We gave chase, and some time after he again called on them to lower their sails.  “I would sooner die first than surrender!” replied the French commander.  The order was given to fire a second shot, which carried off five or six men; but, as these miserable devils are very good sailors, they maneuvered so well that we could not take one of them; and, notwithstanding all the guns we fired at them, we did not sink one of their ships.  We only got possession of one of their large boats, which was of great service to us afterward.  During the whole night our flag-ship (the San Pelayo) and the galley chased the French flag-ship (Trinity) and galley....

The next morning, being fully persuaded that the storm had made a wreck of our galley, or that, at least, she had been driven a hundred leagues out to sea, we decided that so soon as daylight came we would weigh anchor, and withdraw in good order, to a river (Seloy) which was below the French colony, and there disembark, and construct a fort, which we would defend until assistance came to us.

On Thursday, just as day appeared, we sailed toward the vessel at anchor, passed very close to her, and would certainly have captured her, when we saw another vessel appear on the open sea, which we thought was one of ours.  At the same moment, however, we thought we recognized the French admiral’s ship.  We perceived the ship on the open sea:  it was the French galley of which we had been in pursuit.  Finding ourselves between these two vessels, we decided to direct our course toward the galley, for the sake of deceiving them and preventing them from attacking us, so as not to give them any time to wait.  This bold maneuver having succeeded, we sought the river Seloy and port, of which I have spoken, where we had the good fortune to find our galley, and another vessel which had planned the same thing we had.  Two companies of infantry now disembarked:  that of Captain Andres Soyez Patino, and that of Captain Juan de San Vincente, who is a very distinguished gentleman.  They were well received by the Indians, who gave them a large house belonging to a chief, and situated near the shore of a river.  Immediately Captain Patino and Captain San Vincente, both men of talent and energy, ordered an intrenchment to be built around this house, with a slope of earth and fascines, these being the only means of defense possible in that country, where stones are nowhere to be found.  Up to to-day we have disembarked twenty-four pieces of bronze guns of different calibers, of which the least weighed fifteen hundred weight.  Our fort is at a distance of about fifteen leagues from that of the enemy (Fort Carolin).  The energy and talents of those two brave captains, joined to the efforts of their brave soldiers, who had no tools with which to work the earth, accomplished the construction of this fortress of defence; and, when the general disembarked he was quite surprized with what had been done.