When war finally came, the Indians made useful allies [for Oglethorpe], first in the English attack on Pupo and Picolata in January, 1740, and later in the siege of Saint Augustine. At Pupo and Picolata the Indians drove the Spanish garrisons out and forced them into the safety of Fort San Marcos. In the summer [1740] the Indians served as scouts and raiders when Oglethorpe attempted to starve Saint Augustine into submission. Throughout the war Indian raids helped keep Montiano off balance militarily. At Bloody Marsh they also fought well in defense of Frederica. But for all of his success in securing Indian allies, Oglethorpe was not enthusiastic about his Indian friends. He admitted that the only way he could keep the Indians loyal was by continuous offers of presents. Without these gifts the natives would not fight. This had proved very costly, almost too costly, for the Indians never won any notable victories. On the Georgia-Florida chessboard the Indians served Oglethorpe as convenient pawns, but they were never successful in checkmating the Floridians, hanging on grimly in Saint Augustine and Apalache. Indians made useful raiders and scouts, but they were not decisive in turning the balance of power overwhelmingly in favor of the English. Their effectiveness was limited, and for Oglethorpe the Indian alliances hardly seemed worth the money and effort he had expended to secure them. As events proved, the Indians were not the key to victory in the “War of Jenkins’s Ear. (Tepaske GSF)