Moral’s reports about the inadequate defenses of his colony were verified by the Cuban engineer Antonio de Arredondo, who surveyed the military situation in Florida at the request of the Council of the Indies. Arredondo’s report of November, 1736, stated that of the nine bronze cannon available at Fort San Marcos only two—a 36-pounder and a 6-pounder—were in good repair. The other seven were fit only for limited service or were useless. Among the iron cannon nineteen 8-pounders were in excellent condition, but there were only 800 8-pound cannon balls in Saint Augustine. Another 28-iron cannon might be pressed into service if absolutely essential, but Arredondo was dubious that they could last through a sustained siege. In all the Cuban engineer counted 6,586 cannon balls at Fort San Marcos, but many of these were suited for cannon either unavailable at the fort or in poor condition. [Note 8: Relacion jurada de Don Francisco Navarro, teniente de artilleria, 6/16/1736] Arredondo also found that Moral’s men were spread thinly throughout the colony. Eighty-nine men garrisoned at Fort San Marcos and the fortifications at Saint Augustine. Forty-five soldiers served in Apalache; 18 manned the twin forts of Pupo and Picolata; four cavalrymen guarded the mouth of the Saint John’s River; and three garrisoned Fort Diego, 20 miles north of Saint Augustine on the coast. Five soldiers lived on Santa Anastasia Island, four at Matanzas on the south entrance to Saint Augustine harbor, and one at Penon just south of the Matanzas lookout. The Indian villages of Chiquito and Pocotalaca each housed two soldiers and San Nicolas one. Of the 297 soldiers available in the regular Florida garrison, Arredondo found 80 too old, sick, or crippled for battlefield service. [Note 9: Arredondo 11/27/1736, 11/24/1736] (Tepaske GSF)