On the twenty-fourth, about eight o’clock in the morning, they began to salute the enemy with artillery from the boulevards of the foundry and from San Andres, but with little effect, because the enemy were behind the churches which protected them.[55]
At nine in the morning, a small galley entered the bay, coming from the Embocadero of San Bernardino, with the news that the galleon “Philippino” had anchored in Palapa, on its return from Nueva España. The hostile squadron detached a swift frigate and four armed chaloupes, which gave chase to the galley. Having fired some shots at it, the galley made shore at Tambobo. At the same time the majority of the people on that galley, soldiers and passengers leaped into the water. Two chaloupes captured it. The captain, a subaltern, who was in charge of the galley, and some persons who had stayed aboard, were made prisoners of war. The chaloupes tried to tow the galley, but not being able to succeed in it, they took all that they could out of it,[55] except two six-pounder cannons which they were unable to move; and thereupon abandoned the galley and went back to their squadron. The captain-general had that galley set afire, after the two cannons had been taken out of it.
[55] “These were the two churches that Arandia desired to have demolished one year before his death, and for which the friars tried to excommunicate him. It is quite certain that these two citadels which were only eighty toises from the body of the city, hastened and furthered the capture of the city. By favor of these churches, the English raised and formed their batteries of cannons and mortars with the greatest (‘itS(‘. . . I have seen the ruins of one of these churches, whose walls were yet high enough to make excellent retrenchments with very little labor.” See Le Gentil, ii, pp. 239, 240.
[56] In this boat were captured money amounting to 30,000 pesos, and other objects of value. See Sitio y conquista, p. 42.