a pledge of their good faith, they
undertook to send out the keeledar immediately. Our occupying-party was
in readiness in the trenches. We, therefore, with the general,
quarter-master-general, and several others, with about twenty soldiers,
waited at the outer gate for the keeledar, who at last arrived, a poor
hoary-headed old man, who had been bound for proposing to give up the
fort before we commenced the siege. For having given utterance to such a
proposal, his mutinous troops had kept him confined till that moment.
When he was liberated, he looked the picture of misery and despair. His
white beard was clotted together from weeping, and he seemed almost
starved. We had given the garrison to understand that, if any treachery
was attempted, the governor's life should be the forfeit. At this
juncture, a most untoward circumstance occurred. An eight-mortar battery
erected in the village, being uninformed of this parley, opened their
new shelling fortification, to try the distance. The first shell fell
within five yards of General Watson's feet, and exploded; but, strange
to say, we all escaped. Another fell on the tree under which we were
standing, and another burst over our heads; but it miraculously happened
that no one was hurt. All was consternation. The poor old keeledar cried
out "Treachery!" and some few shots were fired from the garrison. I was
immediately dispatched towards our mortar-battery to stop their
proceedings; but I had not gone ten yards before a shell fell within
five paces of me. I immediately threw myself on my face, and hugged the
ground, and thus escaped. I am persuaded that, when the shell bursts, it
ascends a little, for I could hear the pieces buzzing over my head. The
danger being over, I again made the best use of my legs, when I met the
artillery-officer coming to see the effect of the shots which had been
fired, to judge of the distance for the next eight, which were all
ready. I was so completely out of breath that I could only say, "For
God's sake, stop your firing!"

The officer, alarmed at my appearance and manner, said, "What the devil
is the matter with you, Shipp?"--"Matter! my dear fellow," I replied;
"why, you have, I suppose, by this time killed the general,
quartermaster-general, and half the officers in camp." Hearing this he
set off at a gallop towards the fort, to see the extent of the mischief
he had done from his ignorance of the parley. I followed at a slow
trot, and was