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diff --git a/19396-h/19396-h.htm b/19396-h/19396-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4bf58a4 --- /dev/null +++ b/19396-h/19396-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,13694 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of On The Spanish Main, by John Masefield. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 {text-align: center; clear: both; } + + hr { margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both;} + hr.chapter {margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + width: 65%;} + hr.small {margin-top: 1.25em; + margin-bottom: 1.25em; + width: 35%;} + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + td {text-align: left;} + td.center {text-align: center;} + td.right {text-align: right;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: 80%; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + text-align: right; + color: #999999; + background-color: inherit; + } + + .blockquot {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .lowercase {text-transform: lowercase;} + .sig {margin-left: 7em; padding-left: 9em; text-indent: -9em;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + img {border: none;} + + ul {list-style-type: none;} + li {padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + li.sub {margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + li.section{margin-top: 1em;} + + span.ralign {position: absolute; + right: 0; + text-align: right;} + p.toc {margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 12%;} + div.toc {margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%; position: relative;} + p.chdescr {margin-left: 7%; margin-right: 12%;} + + a {text-decoration: none;} + a[name] {position:absolute;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i18 {display: block; margin-left: 9em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + ins.correction { + text-decoration: none; + border-bottom-style: dashed; + border-bottom-color: gray; + border-bottom-width: 1px; + } + + .tnote {border: dashed 1px; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + padding-bottom: .5em; + padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; + padding-right: .5em;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of On the Spanish Main, by John Masefield + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: On the Spanish Main + Or, Some English forays on the Isthmus of Darien. + +Author: John Masefield + +Release Date: September 28, 2006 [EBook #19396] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE SPANISH MAIN *** + + + + +Produced by Frank van Drogen, Amy Cunningham and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div class="tnote"> +<h3>Transcriber's Notes</h3> + +<p>Obvious printing errors were repaired and noted by the use of +a dashed <ins class="correction" title="like this">underline</ins> +in the text. Scrolling the mouse over such text will display the change +that was made. Variation in hyphenation is as in the original text.</p> + +<p>The List of Illustrations lists the original page numbers; +however, for this etext the images have been moved to +appropriate locations in the text.</p> +</div> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 338px;"> +<a name="img010" id="img010"></a> +<a href="images/010.jpg"><img src="images/010_th.jpg" width="338" height="400" +alt="CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER" title="CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER" /></a> +<span class="caption">CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER</span> +</div> + + +<hr class="chapter" /> + +<h1>ON THE SPANISH MAIN</h1> + +<h3>OR, SOME ENGLISH FORAYS ON THE +ISTHMUS OF DARIEN. WITH A DESCRIPTION +OF THE BUCCANEERS AND A +SHORT ACCOUNT OF OLD-TIME +SHIPS AND SAILORS</h3> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: 2em;">BY</p> + +<h2>JOHN MASEFIELD</h2> + + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: 3em;">WITH TWENTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS AND A MAP</p> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: 3em;">METHUEN & CO.<br /> +36 ESSEX STREET W.C.<br /> +LONDON</p> + +<hr class="small" /> + +<p class="center"><i>First Published in 1906</i></p> + +<p class="center" style="margin-top: 3em;">THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED, EDINBURGH.</p> + + +<hr class="small" /> + +<p class="center">TO</p> + +<p class="center">JACK B. YEATS</p> + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span></p> +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="toc"> +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></h3> + +<p> <span class="ralign smcap lowercase">PAGE</span></p> + +<p class="toc">DRAKE'S VOYAGE TO THE WEST INDIES <span class="ralign">1</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr">His quarrel with the Spaniards—His preliminary raids—His +landfall—The secret harbour</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE ATTACK ON NOMBRE DE DIOS <span class="ralign">15</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The treasure of the Indies—The Bastimentos—A Spanish herald</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE CRUISE OFF THE MAIN <span class="ralign">26</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr"> +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: this topic should be after 'Cartagena'">The secret haven</ins>—The +cruise of the pinnaces—Cartagena—Death +of John Drake</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE ROAD TO PANAMA <span class="ralign">55</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The Maroons—The native city—The great tree—Panama—The +silver train—The failure—Venta Cruz</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">BACK TO THE MAIN BODY <span class="ralign">74</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The treasure train—The spoil—Captain Tetû hurt</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE ADVENTURE OF THE RAFT <span class="ralign">88</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Drake's voyage to the Catives—Homeward bound—The interrupted +sermon</p> +</div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> + +<div class="toc"> +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">JOHN OXENHAM <span class="ralign">98</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr">The voyage—His pinnace—Into the South Sea—Disaster—His +unhappy end</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE SPANISH RULE IN HISPANIOLA <span class="ralign">106</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Rise of the Buccaneers—The hunters of the wild +bulls—Tortuga—Buccaneer politics—Buccaneer customs</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">BUCCANEER CUSTOMS <span class="ralign">129</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Mansvelt and Morgan—Morgan's raid on Cuba—Puerto del +Principe</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE SACK OF PORTO BELLO <span class="ralign">148</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr">The Gulf of Maracaibo—Morgan's escape from the Spaniards</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">MORGAN'S GREAT RAID <span class="ralign">168</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Chagres castle—Across the isthmus—Sufferings of the +Buccaneers—Venta Cruz—Old Panama</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE SACK OF PANAMA <span class="ralign">197</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The burning of the city—Buccaneer excesses—An abortive +mutiny—Home—Morgan's defection</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">CAPTAIN DAMPIER <span class="ralign">218</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr">Campeachy—Logwood cutting—The march to Santa Maria</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE BATTLE OF PERICO <span class="ralign">245</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Arica—The South Sea cruise</p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span></p> + +<div class="toc"> +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">ACROSS THE ISTHMUS <span class="ralign">276</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The way home—Sufferings and adventures</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">SHIPS AND RIGS <span class="ralign">291</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr"><ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: additional topics are listed at the start of Chapter XVI">Pavesses</ins>—Top-arming—Banners—Boats</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">GUNS AND GUNNERS <span class="ralign">298</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Breech-loaders—Cartridges—Powder—The gunner's art</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE SHIP'S COMPANY <span class="ralign">311</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Captain—Master—Lieutenant—Warrant officers—Duties and +privileges</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">THE CHOOSING OF WATCHES <span class="ralign">322</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The petty tally—Food—Work—Punishments</p> + +<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">CHAPTER XX</a></h3> + +<p class="toc">IN ACTION <span class="ralign">334</span></p> + +<p class="toc" style="margin-top: 1.5em;"><a href="#INDEX">INDEX</a> <span class="ralign">341</span></p> +</div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span></p> +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + + +<div class="toc"> +<p> <span class="smcap lowercase ralign">PAGE</span></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#img010">CAPTAIN WILLIAM DAMPIER</a> <span class="ralign"><i>Frontispiece</i></span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img035">NOMBRE DE DIOS</a> <span class="ralign">12</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img051">CARTAGENA</a> <span class="ralign">26</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img067">CARTAGENA IN 1586, SHOWING THE DOUBLE HARBOUR</a> <span class="ralign">40</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">The ship in the foreground may be Drake's flagship, the + <i>Bonaventure</i></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img078">AN ELIZABETHAN WARSHIP</a> <span class="ralign">49</span></p> + +<p class="chdescr">A pinnace beyond, to the left</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img126">SHIP AND FLYING-FISH</a> <span class="ralign">95</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img147">A BUCCANEER'S SLAVE, WITH HIS MASTER'S GUN</a> <span class="ralign">114</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">A barbecue in right lower corner</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img167">OLD PORT ROYAL</a> <span class="ralign">132</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img177">PUERTO DEL PRINCIPE</a> <span class="ralign">142</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img187">PORTO BELLO, CIRCA 1740, SHOWING THE SITUATION AND DEFENCES OF + THE CITY</a> <span class="ralign">150</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img203">THE FIRESHIP DESTROYING THE "SPANISH ADMIRAL"</a> <span class="ralign">164</span></p> +<p class="chdescr">Castle de la Barra in background</p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img214">CHAGRES (CIRCA 1739)</a> <span class="ralign">173</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img223">THE ISTHMUS, SHOWING MORGAN'S LINE OF ADVANCE</a> <span class="ralign">180</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img240">NEW PANAMA</a> <span class="ralign">195</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img247">THE BATTLE OF PANAMA</a> <span class="ralign">200</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img259">SIR HENRY MORGAN</a> <span class="ralign">210</span></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span></p> +<div class="toc"> +<p class="toc"><a href="#img317">A DESCRIPTION OF ARICA</a> <span class="ralign">266</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img327">A DESCRIPTION OF HILO</a> <span class="ralign">274</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img348">AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON</a> <span class="ralign">293</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img354">AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON</a> <span class="ralign">297</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img369">A GALLIASSE</a> <span class="ralign">310</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#img384">THE "SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS"</a> <span class="ralign">323</span></p> + +<p class="toc"><a href="#map">MAP OF THE BUCCANEER CRUISING GROUNDS</a> <span class="ralign">340</span></p> +</div> + + + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h1><a name="ON_THE_SPANISH_MAIN" id="ON_THE_SPANISH_MAIN"></a>ON THE SPANISH MAIN</h1> + + + +<h2 style="margin-top: 2em;"><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I</h2> + +<h3>DRAKE'S VOYAGE TO THE WEST INDIES</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>His quarrel with the Spaniards—His preliminary raids—His +landfall—The secret harbour</p></div> + + +<p>Francis Drake, the first Englishman to make +himself "redoubtable to the Spaniards" on the +Spanish Main, was born near Tavistock about the year +1545. He was sent to sea, as a lad, aboard a Channel +coaster engaged in trade with the eastern counties, +France and Zeeland. When he was eighteen years of +age he joined his cousin, John Hawkins, then a great +and wealthy merchant, engaged in the slave trade. Four +years later he sailed with Hawkins on a memorable +trading voyage to the Spanish Main. On this occasion +he commanded a small vessel of fifty tons.</p> + +<p>The voyage was unfortunate from the beginning, for +the Spaniards had orders from their King to refuse to +trade with any foreigners. Before the English could get +rid of their freight the ships of their squadron were +severely battered by a hurricane, so that they were forced +to put into San Juan d'Ulloa, the port of Vera Cruz, +to refit. While they lay there a Spanish fleet arrived, +carrying a vast quantity of gold and silver for transhipment +to Spain. It was not to Hawkins' advantage to +allow this Spanish force to enter the haven, for he feared +that they would treat him as a pirate if they had an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> +opportunity to do so. However, the Spaniards came to +terms with him, an agreement was signed by both parties, +and the Spanish ships were allowed into the port. The +next day the Spaniards treacherously attacked the English +squadron, sank one of the ships at her moorings, killed +many of the men, captured a number more, and drove the +survivors to sea in Drake's ship the <i>Judith</i>, and a larger +ship called the <i>Minion</i>. It was this treacherous attack +(and, perhaps, some earlier treachery not recorded) which +made Drake an implacable enemy of the Spaniards for +the next twenty-eight years.</p> + +<p>After the disaster at San Juan d'Ulloa, Drake endeavoured +to obtain some recompense for the losses he +had sustained. But "finding that no recompence could +be recovered out of Spain by any of his own means, or by +her Majesties letters; he used such helpes as he might +by two severall Voyages into the West Indies." In the +first of these two voyages, in 1570, he had two ships, the +<i>Dragon</i> and the <i>Swan</i>. In the second, in 1571, he sailed +in the <i>Swan</i> without company. The <i>Swan</i> was a small +vessel of only five and twenty tons, but she was a "lucky" +ship, and an incomparable sailer. We know little of +these two voyages, though a Spanish letter (quoted by Mr +Corbett) tells us of a Spanish ship he took; and Thomas +Moone, Drake's coxswain, speaks of them as having been +"rich and gainfull." Probably Drake employed a good +deal of his time in preparing for a future raid, for when +he ventured out in earnest in 1572 he showed himself +singularly well acquainted with the town he attacked. +The account from which we take our information expressly +states that this is what he did. He went, it says, +"to gaine such intelligences as might further him to get +some amends for his losse. And having, in those two +Voyages, gotten such certaine notice of the persons and +places aymed at, as he thought requisite; and thereupon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> +with good deliberation, resolved on a third Voyage, he +accordingly prepared his Ships and Company ... as now +followes further to be declared."</p> + +<p>There can be little doubt that the two tentative voyages +were highly profitable, for Drake was able to fit out his +third expedition with a care and completeness almost +unknown at that time. The ships were "richly furnished, +with victuals and apparel for a whole year: and no lesse +heedfully provided of all manner of Munition, Artillery, +Artificers, stuffe and tooles, that were requisite for such a +Man-of-war in such an attempt." He himself, as Admiral +of the expedition, commanded the larger ship, the <i>Pascha</i> of +Plymouth, of seventy tons. His younger brother, John Drake, +sailed as captain of the <i>Swan</i>. In all there were seventy-three +men and boys in the expedition; and we read that +they were mostly young men—"the eldest ... fifty, all the +rest under thirty." They were all volunteers—a fact that +shows that Drake had gained a reputation for luck +in these adventures. Forty-seven of the seventy-three +sailed aboard the <i>Pascha</i>; while the <i>Swan</i> carried the remaining +twenty-six, probably with some inconvenience. +Carefully stowed away in the holds of the two vessels +were "three dainty Pinnases, made in Plimouth, taken +asunder all in pieces, to be set up as occasion served." +This instance of Drake's forethought makes it very clear +that the expedition had been planned with extreme care. +The comfort of the men had been studied: witness the +supply of "apparell." There was a doctor aboard, though +he does not seem to have been "a great proficient" in his +art; and the expedition was so unusually healthy that +we feel convinced that Drake had some specific for the +scurvy.</p> + +<p>"On Whitsunday Eve, being the 24 of May, 1572," the +two ships "set sayl from out of the Sound of Plimouth," +with intent to land at Nombre de Dios (Name of God)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> +a town on the northern coast of the Isthmus of Darien, +at that time "the granary of the West Indies, wherein +the golden harvest brought from Peru and Mexico to +Panama was hoarded up till it could be conveyed into +Spain." The wind was steady from the north-east the +day they sailed, so that the watchers from the shore must +soon have lost sight of them. No doubt the boats of all +the ships in the Sound came off to give the adventurers +a parting cheer, or, should they need it, a tow to sea. No +doubt the two ships were very gay with colours and +noisy with the firing of farewells. Then at last, as the +sails began to draw, and the water began to bubble from +the bows, the trumpeters sounded "A loath to depart," +the anchor came to the cathead, and the boats splashed +back to Plymouth, their crews jolly with the parting +glasses.</p> + +<p>The wind that swept the two ships out of port continued +steady at north-east, "and gave us a very good passage," +taking them within sight of Porto Santo, one of the +Madeiras, within twelve days of their leaving Plymouth. +The wind continued fair when they stood to the westward, +after sighting the Canaries, so that neither ship so much +as shortened sail "untill 25 dayes after," when the +men in the painted tops descried the high land of +Guadaloupe. They stood to the south of Guadaloupe, +as though to pass between that island and Dominica, but +seeing some Indians busily fishing off a rocky island to +the south of Dominica they determined to recruit there +before proceeding farther. This island was probably +Marygalante, a pleasant island full of trees, a sort of +summer fishing ground for the Dominican Indians. There +is good anchorage off many parts of it; and Drake +anchored to the south, sending the men ashore to live +in tents for their refreshment. They also watered their +ships while lying at anchor "out of one of those goodly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> +rivers which fall down off the mountain." Running water +was always looked upon as less wholesome than spring +water; and, perhaps, they burnt a bag of biscuit on the +beach, and put the charcoal in the casks to destroy any +possible infection. They saw no Indians on the island, +though they came across "certain poore cottages built with +Palmito boughs and branches," in which they supposed +the Indians lodged when engaged upon their fishery. +Having filled the casks, and stowed them aboard again, +the ships weighed anchor, and sailed away south towards +the mainland. On the fifth day, keeping well to seaward, +thirty miles from the shore, to avoid discovery, they made +the high land of Santa Martha on "the Terra Firma." +Having made the landfall they sailed westward into the +Gulf of Darien, and in six days more (during two of +which the ships were becalmed) they came to a secret +anchorage which Drake had discovered in his former +voyage. He had named it Port Pheasant, "by reason of +the great store of those goodly fowls which he and his +Company did then dayly kill and feed on in that place." +"It was a fine round Bay, of very safe harbour for all +winds, lying between two high points, not past half a +cable's length (or a hundred yards) over at the mouth, +but within eight or ten cables' length every way, having +ten or twelve fadome water, more or lesse, full of good +fish, the soile also very fruitfull." Drake had been there +"within a year and few days before," and had left the +shore clear of tangle, with alleys and paths by which men +might walk in the woods, after goodly fowls or otherwise; +but a year of that steaming climate had spoiled his +handiwork. The tangle of many-blossomed creepers and +succulent green grasses had spread across the paths "as +that we doubted at first whether this were the same place +or no." We do not know where this romantic harbour +lies, for the Gulf of Darien is still unsurveyed. We know<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> +only that it is somewhere nearly equidistant from +Santiago de Tolu (to the east) and Nombre de Dios (to +the west). Roughly speaking, it was 120 miles from either +place, so that "there dwelt no Spaniards within thirty-five +leagues." Before the anchors were down, and the sails +furled Drake ordered out the boat, intending to go ashore. +As they neared the landing-place they spied a smoke in +the woods—a smoke too big to come from an Indian's fire. +Drake ordered another boat to be manned with musketeers +and bowmen, suspecting that the Spaniards had found +the place, and that the landing would be disputed. On +beaching the boats they discovered "evident markes" +that a Plymouth ship, under the command of one John +Garret, had been there but a day or two before. He had +left a plate of lead, of the sort supplied to ships to nail +across shot-holes, "nailed fast to a mighty great tree," +some thirty feet in girth. On the lead a letter had been +cut:</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap">Captain Drake</span>,<br /> +</p> + +<p style="text-indent: 8em;">if you fortune to come to this Port, +make hast away; for the Spanyards which you had with +you here the last year, have bewrayed this place, and taken +away all that you left here. I departed from hence this +present 7 of July, 1572.</p> + +<p class="sig">Your very loving friend,<br /> +<span class="smcap">John Garret.</span></p> + +<p>The smoke was from a fire which Garret and his men +had kindled in a great hollow tree, that was probably +rotted into touchwood. It had smouldered for five days +or more, sending up a thick smoke, to warn any coming +to the harbour to proceed with caution.</p> + +<p>The announcement that the place was known to the +Spaniards did not weigh very heavily upon Drake; nor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +is it likely that he suffered much from the loss of his +hidden stores, for nothing of any value could have been +left in such a climate. He determined not to leave +"before he had built his Pinnaces," and therefore, as +soon as the ships were moored, he ordered the pieces to +be brought ashore "for the Carpenters to set up." The +rest of the company was set to the building of a fort +upon the beach by the cutting down of trees, "and haling +them together with great Pullies and halsers." The fort +was built in the form of a pentagon, with a sort of sea-gate +opening on the bay, for the easy launching of the pinnaces. +This gate could be closed at night by the drawing +of a log across the opening. They dug no trench, but +cleared the ground instead, so that for twenty yards all +round the stockhouse there was nothing to hinder a +marksman or afford cover to an enemy. Beyond that +twenty yards the forest closed in, with its wall of living +greenery, with trees "of a marvellous height" tangled +over with the brilliant blossoms of many creepers. The +writer of the account seems to have been one of the +building party that sweated the logs into position. "The +wood of those trees," he writes, "is as heavie, or heavier, +than Brasil or Lignum Vitæ, and is in colour white."</p> + +<p>The very next day an English barque came sailing into +the anchorage, with two prizes, in her wake—"a Spanish +Carvell of Sivell," which had despatches aboard her for +the Governor of Nombre de Dios, and a shallop with oars, +picked up off Cape Blanco to the eastward. She was the +property of Sir Edward Horsey, at that time Governor +of the Isle of Wight, a gallant gentleman, who received +"sweetmeats and Canarie wine" from French pirates +plying in the Channel. Her captain was one James +Rawse, or Rause; and she carried thirty men, some of +whom had been with Drake the year before. Captain +Rause, on hearing Drake's intentions, was eager "to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> +joyne in consort with him." We may well imagine that +Drake cared little for his company; but conditions were +agreed upon, an agreement signed, and the two crews +set to work together. Within seven days the pinnaces +had been set up, and launched, and stored with all things +necessary. Then early one morning (the 20th of July) +the ships got their anchors, and hoisted sail for Nombre +de Dios, arriving three days later at the Isles of Pines, +a group of little islands covered with fir-trees, not far to +the west of the mouth of the Gulf of Darien. At the Pine +Islands they found two frigates of Nombre de Dios, +"lading plank and timber from thence," the soft fir wood +being greatly in demand on the mainland, where the trees +were harder, and difficult to work. The wood was being +handled by negroes, who gave Drake some intelligence of +the state of affairs at the little town he intended to attack. +They said that the town was in a state of siege, expecting +to be attacked at any moment by the armies of the +Cimmeroons, who had "neere surprised it" only six weeks +before. The Cimmeroons were "a black people, which +about eighty yeares past, fledd from the Spaniards their +Masters, by reason of their cruelty, and are since growne +to a nation, under two Kings of their owne: the one +inhabiteth to the west, th'other to the East of the way +from Nombre de Dios to Panama." They were much +dreaded by the Spaniards, with whom they were at constant +war. The late alarm had caused the Governor to +send to Panama for troops, and "certaine souldiers" were +expected daily to aid in the defence of the town.</p> + +<p>Having gathered this intelligence Drake landed the +negroes on the mainland, so that they might rejoin their +countrymen if they wished to do so. In any case, +by landing them so far from home he prevented them +from giving information of his being in those waters. +"For hee was loath to put the towne to too much charge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> +(which hee knew they would willingly bestowe) in providing +before hand, for his entertainment." But being anxious +to avoid all possibility of discovery "he hastened his going +thither, with as much speed and secrecy as possibly he +could." It had taken him three days to get to the Isles +of Pines from his secret harbour—a distance certainly not +more than 120 miles. He now resolved to leave the three +ships and the carvel—all four grown more or less foul-bottomed +and slow—in the care of Captain Rause, with +just sufficient men to work them. With the three dainty +pinnaces and the oared shallop that Rause had taken, he +hoped to make rather swifter progress than he had been +making. He took with him in the four boats fifty-three +of his own company and twenty of Captain Rause's +men, arranging them in order according to the military +text-book: "six Targets, six Firepikes, twelve Pikes, +twenty-four Muskets and Callivers, sixteene Bowes, and +six Partizans, two Drums, and two Trumpets"—making +seventy-four men in all, the seventy-fourth being the +commander, Drake. Having furnished the boats for the +sea with his usual care Drake parted company, and sailed +slowly to the westward, making about fifteen miles a day +under oars and sails. Perhaps he sailed only at night, +in order to avoid discovery and to rest his men. Early on +the morning of the 28th July they landed "at the Island +of Cativaas," or Catives, off the mouth of the St Francis +River. Here Drake delivered them "their severall armes, +which hitherto he had kept very faire and safe in good +caske," so that neither the heavy dew nor the sea-water +should rust them or wet the powder. He drilled them +on the shore before the heat of the sun became too great, +and after the drill he spoke to them "after his manner," +declaring "the greatnes of the hope of good things that +was there, the weaknesse of the towne being unwalled, and +the hope he had of prevailing to recompence his wrongs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> +... especially ... as hee should be utterly undiscovered." +In the afternoon, when the sun's strength was past, they +set sail again, standing in close to the shore "that wee +might not be descried of the watch-house." By sunset +they were within two leagues of the point of the bay to +the north-north-east of the town; and here they lowered +their sails, and dropped anchor, "riding so untill it was +darke night." When the night had fallen they stood in +shore again, "with as much silence as wee could," till they +were past the point of the harbour "under the high land," +and "there wee stayed all silent, purposing to attempt the +towne in the dawning of the day, after that wee had reposed +ourselves for a while."</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Nombre de Dios</span></h3> + +<p>Nombre de Dios was founded by Diego di Niqueza +early in the sixteenth century, about the year 1510. +It received its name from a remark the founder made +on his first setting foot ashore: "Here we will found a +settlement in the name of God." It was never a large +place, for the bay lay exposed to the prevalent winds, +being open to the north and north-east. There was fair +holding ground; but the bay was shallow and full of rocks, +and a northerly gale always raised such a sea that a +ship was hardly safe with six anchors out. The district +was very unhealthy, and the water found there was bad +and in little quantity. There was, however, a spring of +good water on an island at the mouth of the harbour. +To the shoreward there were wooded hills, with marshy +ground on their lower slopes, feeding a little river emptying +to the north of the town. The houses came right down +to the sea, and the trees right down to the houses, so that +"tigers [<i>i.e.</i> jaguars] often came into the town," to carry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> +away dogs, fowls, and children. Few ships lay there +without burying a third of their hands; for the fever raged +there, as it rages in some of the Brazilian ports at the +present time. The place was also supposed to favour +the spread of leprosy. The road to Panama entered the +town at the south-east; and there was a gate at this point, +though the town was never walled about. The city seems +to have been built about a great central square, with +straight streets crossing at right angles. Like Cartagena +and Porto Bello, it was as dull as a city of the dead until +the galleons came thither from Cartagena to take on +board "the chests of gold and silver" received from the +Governor of Panama and the golden lands to the south. +When the galleons anchored, the merchants went ashore +with their goods, and pitched sailcloth booths for them +in the central square, and held a gallant fair till they +were sold—most of the bartering being done by torchlight, +in the cool of the night. Panama was distant some fifty-five +miles; and the road thither was extremely bad, owing +to the frequent heavy rains and the consequent flooding +of the trackway. At the time of Drake's raid, there were +in all some sixty wooden houses in the place, inhabited +in the <i>tiempo muerto</i>, or dead time, by about thirty people. +"The rest," we read, "doe goe to Panama after the fleet +is gone." Those who stayed must have had a weary life +of it, for there could have been nothing for them to do +save to go a-fishing. The fever never left the place, and +there was always the dread of the Cimmeroons. Out in +the bay there was the steaming water, with a few rotten +hulks waiting to be cast ashore, and two or three rocky +islets sticking up for the sea to break against. There was +nothing for an inhabitant to do except to fish, and nothing +for him to see except the water, with the dripping green +trees beside it, and, perhaps, an advice boat slipping past +for Cartagena. Once a year an express came to the bay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> +from Panama to say that the Peru fleet had arrived at +that port. A letter was then sent to Cartagena or to San +Juan d'Ulloa to order the great galleons there anchored +to come to collect the treasure, and convey it into Spain. +Before they dropped anchor in the Nombre de Dios bay +that city was filled to overflowing by soldiers and merchants +from Panama and the adjacent cities. Waggons +of maize and cassava were dragged into the streets, with +numbers of fowls and hogs. Lodgings rose in value, until +a "middle chamber" could not be had for less than +1000 crowns. Desperate efforts were made to collect +ballast for the supply ships. Then the treasure trains +from Panama began to arrive. Soldiers marched in, +escorting strings of mules carrying chests of gold and +silver, goatskins filled with bezoar stones, and bales of +vicuna wool. The town became musical with the bells +of the mules' harness. Llamas spat and hissed at the +street corners. The Plaza became a scene of gaiety and +bustle. Folk arrived hourly by the muddy track from +Panama. Ships dropped anchor hourly, ringing their +bells and firing salutes of cannon. The grand fair then +began, and the city would be populous and stirring till +the galleons had cleared the harbour on the voyage to +Spain. As soon as the fleet was gone the city emptied +as rapidly as it had filled. The merchants and merry-makers +vanished back to Panama, and the thirty odd +wretched souls who stayed, began their dreary vigil until +the next year, when the galleons returned. In 1584, on +the report of Antonio Baptista, surveyor to the King of +Spain, the trade was removed to Porto Bello, a beautiful +bay, discovered and named by Columbus, lying some +twenty miles farther to the west. It is a good harbour +for all winds, and offers every convenience for the careening +of vessels. The surveyor thought it in every way a +superior harbour. "Neither," he writes, "will so many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> +die there as there daily doe in Nombre de Dios." By +the middle of the seventeenth century the ruins of the +old town were barely discernible; but all traces of them +have long since disappeared. Dampier (writing of the +year 1682) says that: "I have lain ashore in the place +where that City stood; but it is all overgrown with +Wood; so as toe leave noe sign that any Town hath been +there." A thick green cane brake has overgrown the +Plaza. The battery has crumbled away. The church bell +which made such a clatter has long since ceased to sound. +The latest Admiralty Chart ignores the place.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img035" id="img035"></a> +<a href="images/035.jpg"><img src="images/035_th.jpg" width="400" height="299" +alt="NOMBRE DE DIOS" title="NOMBRE DE DIOS" /></a> +<span class="caption">NOMBRE DE DIOS</span> +</div> + +<p>The Cimmeroons frequently attacked the city while +it was in occupation. Once they captured and destroyed +it.</p> + +<p>Drake visited the town a second time in 1595. It was +then a "bigge" town, having large streets and "houses +very hie, all built of timber," "one church very faire," and +"a show in their shops of great store of merchandises that +had been there."<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> There was a mill above the town, +and a little watch-house "upon the top of another hill +in the woods." To the east there was a fresh river "with +houses, and all about it gardens." The native quarter was +some miles away in the woods. Drake burned the town, +a deed which caused the inhabitants to migrate to Porto +Bello. It was at Nombre de Dios that Drake contracted +the flux of which he died. The town witnessed his first +triumph and final discomfiture.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p> +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Note.</i>—The authorities for this and the following chapters are:</p> + +<p>1. "Sir Francis Drake Reviv'd" (first published in 1626), by Philip +Nichols, Preacher, helped, no doubt, by Drake himself and some of his +company. 2. The scanty notice of the raid given in Hakluyt. 3. The +story of Lopez Vaz, a Portuguese, also in Hakluyt.</p> + +<p>For the description of Nombre de Dios I have trusted to the account +of Drake's last voyage printed in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 587. In the same +collection there is a translation from a very interesting report by a Spanish +commissioner to the King of Spain. This paper gives reasons for the +transference of the town to Porto Bello. One or two Ruttiers, or Mariner's +Guides, make mention of the port, and of these the best is given in Hakluyt. +It is also mentioned (but very curtly) in Herrera's History, in Dampier's +Voyages, and in the account left by Champlain after his short visit to +Panama. I know of no plan or picture of the place. The drawing +reproduced here, from Schenk's "Hecatompolis," is purely imaginary, +however pretty. For my remarks on "Cruces," or Venta Cruz, I am +indebted to friends who have lived many years in Panama, and to an +interesting article in <i>The Geographical Journal</i> (December-July 1903, p. 325), +by Colonel G. E. Church, M. Am. Soc. C.E.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II</h2> + +<h3>THE ATTACK ON NOMBRE DE DIOS</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The treasure of the Indies—The Bastimentos—A Spanish herald</p></div> + + +<p>It may now have been ten o'clock at night, and we may +reckon that the boats were still four or five miles from +the town, the lights of which, if any burned, must have been +plainly visible to the south and south-south-west. To +many of those who rocked there in the bay the coming tussle +was to be the first engagement. The night wind may +have seemed a little chilly, and the night and the strange +town full of terrors. The men fell to talking in whispers, +and the constraint and strangeness of it all, the noise of +the clucking water, the cold of the night, and the thought +of what the negro lumbermen had said, began to get upon +their nerves. They talked of the strength of the town +(and indeed, although it was an open bay, without good +water, it had at that time much of the importance +of Porto Bello, in the following century). They talked +"especially" of the reported troop of soldiers from +Panama, for Spanish infantry were the finest in the world, +and the presence of a company in addition to the garrison +would be enough to beat off the little band in the +boats. Drake heard these conversations, and saw his +young men getting out of hand, and "thought it best to +put these conceits out of their heads." As the moon rose +he persuaded them "that it was the day dawning"—a +fiction made the more easy by the intervention of the +high land between the watchers and the horizon. By the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> +growing light the boats stole farther in, arriving "at the +towne, a large hower sooner than first was purposed. For +wee arrived there by three of the clock after midnight." +It happened that a "ship of <i>Spaine</i>, of sixtie Tunnes, laden +with Canary wines and other commodities" had but newly +arrived in the bay, "and had not yet furld her sprit-saile." +It was the custom for ships to discharge half of their +cargoes at one of the islands in the bay, so as to draw less +water when they ventured farther in. Perhaps this ship of +Spain was about to discharge her butts and tierces. At +any rate her men were on deck, and the light of the moon +enabled them to see the four pinnaces, "an extraordinary +number" in so small a port, rowing hard, "with many +Oares," towards the landing. The Spaniards sent away +their "Gundeloe," or small boat (gondola, as we should +say), to warn the townsmen; but Drake edged a little to +the west, cutting in between the boat and the shore, +so as to force her "to goe to th'other side of the Bay." +Drake's boats then got ashore upon the sands, not +more than twenty yards from the houses, directly under +a battery. There was no quay, and no sea-sentry save a +single gunner, asleep among the guns, who fled as they +clambered up the redoubt. Inside the little fort there +were six great pieces of brass ordnance, some demi- some +whole culverin, throwing shot of 10-18 lbs. weight for a +distance of a mile. It did not take long to dismount +these guns, and spike them, by beating soft metal +nails into the touch-holes, and snapping them off flush +with the orifice. But though the men worked quickly +the gunner was quicker yet. He ran through the narrow +streets, shouting the alarm, and the town woke up like +one man, expecting that the Cimmeroons were on them +from the woods. Someone ran to the church, and set the +great bell swinging. The windows went up, and the +doors slammed, as the townsfolk hurried to their weapons,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> +and out into the streets. The place rang with cries and +with the rapid beating of the drums, for the drummers +ran about the streets beating vigorously to rouse out the +soldiers. Drake made the battery harmless and set a +guard of twelve men over the boats on the sand. He then +marched hurriedly to the little hill commanding the bay, +to the east of the houses; for he had heard some talk of a +battery being placed there, "which might scour round +about the town," and he wished to put it out of action +before venturing upon the city. He left half his company, +about thirty men, to keep the foot of the hill, and climbed +to the summit, where he found a "very fit place prepared," +but no guns in position. He returned to the company at +the foot of the mount, and bade his brother, with John +Oxnam, or Oxenham, a gallant captain, and sixteen men, +"to go about, behind the King's Treasure House, and +enter near the easter end of the Market Place." He +himself with the rest would pass up the broad street into +the market-place with sound of drum and trumpet. The +firepikes, "divided half to the one, and half to the other +company, served no less for fright to the enemy than light +of our men, who by this means might discern every place +very well as if it were near day." The drums beat up +gallantly, the trumpets blew points of war, and the poor +citizens, scared from their beds, and not yet sure of their +enemy, stood shivering in the dawn, "marvelling what the +matter might be." In a few moments the two companies +were entering the Plaza, making a dreadful racket as they +marched, to add to the confusion of the townsfolk, who +thought them far stronger than they really were. The +soldiers of the garrison, with some of the citizens, fell into +some sort of order "at the south east end of the Market +Place, near the Governor's House, and not far from the +gate of the town." They chose this position because it +secured them a retreat, in the event of a repulse, along the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> +road to Panama. The western end of the Plaza had been +hung with lines, from which lighted matches dangled, so +that the enemy might think that troops were there, +"whereas indeed there were not past two or three that +taught these lines to dance," and even these ran away +as soon as the firepikes displayed the fraud. The church +bell was still ringing at the end of the Plaza, and the +townsfolk were still crying out as they ran for Panama, +when Drake's party stormed into the square from the +road leading to the sea. As they hove in sight the +Spanish troops gave them "a jolly hot volley of shot," +aimed very low, so as to ricochet from the sand. Drake's +men at once replied with a volley from their calivers and +a flight of arrows, "fine roving shafts," which did great +execution. Without waiting to reload they at once +charged in upon the Spaniards, coming at once "to push +of pike" and point and edge. The hurry of the surprise +was such that the Spaniards had no side-arms, and when +once the English had closed, their troops were powerless. +As the parties met, the company under Oxenham came into +the Plaza at the double, by the eastern road, with their +trumpets blowing and the firepikes alight. The Spaniards +made no further fight of it. They flung their weapons +down, and fled along the forest road. For a little distance +the cheering sailors followed them, catching their feet in +muskets and linstocks, which the troops had flung away in +their hurry.</p> + +<p>Having dispersed the enemy, the men reformed in the +Plaza, "where a tree groweth hard by the Cross." Some +hands were detailed to stop the ringing of the alarm bell, +which still clanged crazily in the belfry; but the church +was securely fastened, and it was found impossible to +stop the ringing without setting the place on fire, which +Drake forbade. While the men were trying to get +into the church, Drake forced two or three prisoners to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> +show him the Governor's house, where the mule trains +from Panama were unloaded. Only the silver was stored +in that place; for the gold, pearls, and jewels, "being there +once entered by the King's officer," were locked in a +treasure-house, "very strongly built of lime and stone," at +a little distance from the Cross, not far from the water-side. +At the Governor's house they found the door wide open, +and "a fair gennet ready saddled" waiting for the +Governor to descend. A torch or candle was burning +on the balcony, and by its light the adventurers saw +"a huge heap of silver" in the open space beneath the +dwelling-rooms. It was a pile of bars of silver, heaped +against the wall in a mass that was roughly estimated +to be seventy feet in length, ten feet across, and twelve +feet high—each bar weighing about forty pounds. The +men were for breaking their ranks in order to plunder the +pile; but Drake bade them stand to their arms. The +King's treasure-house, he said, contained more gold and +pearls than they could take away; and presently, he said, +they would break the place open, and see what lay within. +He then marched his men back into the Plaza.</p> + +<p>All this time the town was filled with confusion. Guns +were being fired and folk were crying out in the streets. +It was not yet light, and certain of the garrison, who had +been quartered outside the city, ran to and fro with burning +matches, shouting out "Que gente? Que gente?" +The town at that time was very full of people, and this +noise and confusion, and the sight of so many running +figures, began to alarm the boat guard on the beach. One +Diego, a negro, who had joined them on the sands, had +told them that the garrison had been reinforced only +eight days before by 150 Spanish soldiers.</p> + +<p>This report, coupled with the anxiety of their position, +seems to have put the boat party into a panic. They +sent off messengers to Drake, saying that the pinnaces<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> +were "in danger to be taken," and that the force would +be overwhelmed as soon as it grew light enough for the +Spaniards to see the littleness of the band which had +attacked them. Diego's words confirmed the statements +of the lumbermen at the Isles of Pines. The men of +Drake's party were young. They had never fought +before. They had been on the rack, as it were, for +several days. They were now quite out of hand, and +something of their panic began to spread among the +party on the Plaza. Before Drake could do more than +despatch his brother, with John Oxenham, to reassure the +guard, and see how matters stood, the situation became +yet more complicated. "A mighty shower of rain, with +a terrible storm of thunder and lightning," burst furiously +upon them, making such a roaring that none could hear +his own voice. As in all such storms, the rain came down +in a torrent, hiding the town from view in a blinding +downpour. The men ran for the shelter of "a certain +shade or penthouse, at the western end of the King's +Treasure House," but before they could gain the cover +some of their bowstrings were wetted "and some of our +match and powder hurt." As soon as the shelter had +been reached, the bowstrings were shifted, the guns +reprimed, and the match changed upon the linstocks. +While the industrious were thus employed, a number +of the hands began talking of the reports which had +reached them from the boats. They were "muttering +of the forces of the town," evidently anxious to be gone +from thence, or at least stirring. Drake heard the +muttered talk going up and down the shed, and promptly +told the men that he had brought them to the mouth +of the Treasure of the World, and that if they came away +without it they might blame nobody but themselves.</p> + +<p>At the end of a "long half-hour" the storm began to +abate, and Drake felt that he must put an end to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> +panic. It was evidently dangerous to allow the men any +"longer leisure to demur of those doubts," nor was it safe +to give the enemy a chance of rallying. He stepped forward, +bidding his brother, with John Oxenham and his +party, to break open the King's treasure-house, while he, +with the remainder of the hands, maintained the Plaza. +"But as he stepped forward his strength and sight and +speech failed him, and he began to faint for want of +blood." He had been hit in the leg with a bullet at +the first encounter, yet in the greatness of his heart he +had not complained, although suffering considerable pain. +He had seen that many of his men had "already gotten +many good things" from the booths and houses in the Plaza, +and he knew very well that these men would take the +first opportunity to slink away down to the boats. He +had, therefore, said nothing about his wound, nor was it +light enough for his men to see that he was bleeding. +On his fainting they noticed that the sand was bloody, +"the blood having filled the very first prints which our +footsteps made"—a sight which amazed and dismayed +them, for they "thought it not credible" that a man +should "spare so much blood and live." They gave him +a cordial to drink, "wherewith he recovered himself," and +bound his scarf about his leg "for the stopping of the +blood." They then entreated him "to be content to go +with them aboard," there to have his wound probed and +dressed before adventuring farther. This did not satisfy +Drake, for he knew very well that if the Spaniards rallied, +the town would be lost, for it was "utterly impossible, +at least very unlikely, that ever they should, for that +time, return again, to recover the state in which they +now were." He begged them to leave him where he +was, and to get the treasure, for "it were more honourable +for himself to jeopard his life for so great a benefit, than +to leave off so high an enterprise unperformed." But to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> +this the men would not listen. With Drake, their captain, +alive "they might recover wealth sufficient" at any time, +but with Drake dead "they should hardly be able to +recover home." Those who had picked up a little booty +in the raid were only too glad of an excuse to get to +the boats, while those who were most eager to break +the treasure-house, would not allow Drake to put his +life in hazard. Drake, poor man, was spent with loss +of blood, and could not reason with them, so that, "with +force mingled with fair entreaty, they bare him aboard +his pinnace, and so abandoned a most rich spoil for +the present, only to preserve their Captain's life." It was +just daybreak when they got to the boats, so that they +were able to take stock of each other in the early +morning light before shoving off from the beach. They +had lost but one man, "a trumpeter," who was shot dead +in the Plaza in the first assault, "his Trumpet still in his +hand." Many were wounded, but the Captain's wound +seems to have been the most serious. As they rowed +out from the town the surgeons among them provided +remedies and salves for the wounded. As they neared +the open sea the men took the opportunity to attack +"the aforesaid ship of wines," for "the more comfort of +the company." They made her a prize with no great +trouble, but before they got her clear of the haven they +received a shot or two from the dismantled battery. One +of the culverins which they had tumbled to the ground +was remounted by some of the garrison, "so as they +made a shot at us." The shot did not hit the mark, and +the four boats, with their prize, got clear away to the +Isle of Bastimentos, or Isle of Victuals, about a league +to the westward of the harbour. They stayed there +for the next two days, to cure the wounded men and +to refresh themselves, "in the goodly gardens which we +there found." The island was stocked with dainty roots<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> +and fruits, "besides great plenty of poultry," for it served +the citizens as a farm and market-garden, "from which +their fresh provisions were derived." Soon after they +had come to anchor, and established themselves among +the fruit-trees, a flag of truce came off from the Governor +of the city. It was carried by a Spanish captain, who +had come to Nombre de Dios with the company of troops +from Panama. He was a handsome gentleman, of a +delicate carriage and of an elaborate politeness. He was +come, of course, as a spy, but he began with the assurance +that he came "of mere good will," to see the heroes who +had attempted the town with so small a party. At the +first, he said, the townsfolk had thought them Frenchmen, +from whom they looked for little mercy, but that afterwards, +when the arrows had shown them that they were +English, they had less fear, for they knew the humanity +of that race. Although, he said, his curiosity to see such +brave folk were sufficient warrant for his adventuring +among them, he had also a commission from the Governor. +That gentleman wished to know whether their captain +was the same Captain Drake, of whom some of the townsfolk +talked as being so kind to his prisoners. He then +asked whether the arrows used in the battle in the Plaza +had been poisoned, for many Spaniards had been wounded +by them, and would fain know how to treat the wounds. +Lastly he wished to know whether they were in need +of victuals or other necessaries, pledging the Governor's +word that he would do all he could to supply anything +they wanted. The questions seem to us a little transparent, +and so they seemed to Drake, but Drake was +always a courteous and ceremonious gentleman. He +replied that he was the Captain Drake they meant; that +"it was never his manner to use poisoned arrows"; that +the wounds could be cured by the usual methods; and +that as for wants, the Isle of Bastimentos would supply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> +him. He wanted nothing, he said, "but some of that +special commodity which that country yielded." And, +therefore, he advised the Governor "to hold open his eyes, +for before he departed, if God lent him life and leave, he +meant to reap some of their harvest, which they got out +of the earth, and send into Spain to trouble all the earth." +The answer seems to have nettled the Spanish spy, for he +asked ("if he might, without offence, move such a question") +why the English had left the town when 360 tons of +silver, with gold to a far greater value, had been lying +at their mercy. Drake showed him the "true cause" of +his unwilling retreat to the pinnaces. The answer moved +the Spaniard to remark that "the English had no less +reason in departing, than courage in attempting,"—a remark +made with a mental note that the townsfolk would be well +advised to leave this Drake alone on his island, without +sending boats out to attack him. Drake then entertained +the spy to dinner, "with great favour and courteous entertainment, +and such gifts as most contented him." As +he made his way to his boat after dinner he vowed and +protested that "he was never so much honoured of any +in his life." He must have had a curious story for the +Governor when he got ashore to the town.</p> + +<p>As soon as the trumpets had sounded the departure +of the flag of truce, Drake sent for Diego, the negro, who +had joined the boat party in the morning. From Diego +he learned many "intelligences of importance," none of +them, perhaps, more grateful to Drake than the news that +his name was highly honoured among the Maroons or +Cimmeroons. Diego begged that Drake would give him +an opportunity of treating with the chiefs of these savages, +as by their help, he said, they "might have gold and +silver enough." The matter was debated among the +company, while Drake gave effect to another of his plans. +Not more than thirty miles away along the coast was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> +certain river, "the River of Chagres," which trended in +a south-easterly direction towards Panama across the +isthmus. It was navigable to within six leagues of Panama, +and at the point to which it was navigable there stood +"a little town called Venta Cruz." When the road from +Panama to Nombre de Dios was impracticable, owing +to the rains, or the raids of the Maroons, the treasure was +carried to Venta Cruz, and there shipped aboard swift +vessels, built for oars and sails, which carried the precious +stuff to Nombre de Dios. Drake had a mind to look into +Venta Cruz to surprise some of the treasure on its way. +He, therefore, sent away his brother, with two pinnaces and +a steady man named Ellis Hixom, to examine the Chagres +River, and to bring back a report of its fitness for boats +such as theirs. Having seen them stand to the west, +Drake ordered his men aboard early in the morning of +the 31st July. The sweeps were shipped and the sails +hoisted, and the pinnaces made off with their captured +wine ship to rejoin Captain Rause at the Isles of Pines, +or Port Plenty. They arrived at their haven on the +evening of the 1st of August, after a sail of thirty-six +hours. Captain Rause was angry that the raid had not +been more successful, and felt that it was useless to stay +longer in those seas, now that the Spaniards knew that +they were on the coast. He waited till the pinnaces +returned from Chagres River, as some of his hands were +in them; but as soon as they arrived he parted company, +after dissolving partnership with Drake. Drake seems to +have been glad to see him go.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III</h2> + +<h3>THE CRUISE OFF THE MAIN</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The cruise of the pinnaces—Cartagena—The secret haven—Death +of John Drake</p></div> + + +<p>While they were waiting for the pinnaces Drake +had the ships set in order, the arms scoured, and +everything made ready for the next adventure. He had +taken Nombre de Dios so easily that he felt confident +of treating Cartagena, the chiefest town in those waters, +in the same way. On the 7th of August he set sail +for Cartagena with his two ships and three pinnaces, +making no attempt upon the mainland as he sailed, as +he did not wish to be discovered. He met with calms +and light airs on the passage, and did not arrive off +Cartagena until the evening of the 13th August. He +came to anchor in seven-fathom water between the islands +of Charesha (which we cannot now identify) and St +Barnards, now known as San Barnardo. As soon as the +sails were furled, Drake manned his three pinnaces, and +rowed about the island into the harbour of Cartagena, +"where, at the very entry, he found a frigate at anchor." +He hooked on to her chains, and boarded her, finding +her an easy spoil, for she had been left in the care of +"only one old man." They asked this old sailor where +the rest of the company had gone. He answered that +they were gone ashore in their gundeloe that evening, +to fight about a mistress, adding that about two hours +before, a pinnace had gone past under sail, with her oars +out, and the men rowing furiously. Her men had hailed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> +his vessel as they passed, asking whether any French +or English men had been there. Upon answer that there +had been none they bade him look to himself, and +rowed on up the coast. Within an hour of their going +past the harbour the city batteries had fired many cannon, +as though some danger were toward. One of the old man's +mates had then gone aloft "to descry what might be the +cause." He had looked over the narrow neck of land +which shuts the harbour from the sea, and had espied +"divers frigates and small shipping bringing themselves +within the Castle." This report showed Drake that he +had been discovered, but the information did not greatly +move him. He gathered from the old mariner that a +great ship of Seville lay moored just round the next point, +with her yards across, "being bound the next morning for +St Domingo," or Hispaniola. Drake "took this old man +into his pinnace to verify that which he had informed, +and rowed towards this ship." As he drew near, the +Spanish mariners hailed them, asking "whence the shallops +came." Drake answered: "From Nombre de Dios." His +answer set the Spaniards cursing and damning him for +a heretic English buccaneer. "We gave no heed to their +words," says the narrative, but hooked on to the chains +and ports, on the starboard bow, starboard quarter, and +port beam, and laid her aboard without further talk. +It was something of a task to get on board, for the ship +stood high in the water, being of 240 tons, (and as +far as we can judge) in ballast. Having gained the ship's +waist they tossed the gratings and hatch covers down +into the lower decks. The Spaniards gave up the ship +without fighting, and retired, with their weapons, to the +hold. Two or three of their younger seamen went forward, +and hid in the manger, where they were found as +soon as the dark decks were lit by a lantern from the +pinnaces. The raiders then cut the ship's cables, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span> +towed her "without the island into the sound right afore +the town," just beyond the shot of the citizens' great +guns. As they towed her out, the town took the alarm, +the bells were rung, thirty great cannon were fired, and +the garrison, both horse and foot, well armed with +calivers, marched down "to the very point of the wood," +to impeach them "if they might" in their going out to +sea. The next morning (Drake being still within the +outer harbour) he captured two Spanish frigates "in which +there were two, who called themselves King's Scrivanos +[notaries] the one of Cartagena, the other of Veragua." +The boats, which were sparsely manned, had been at +Nombre de Dios at the time of the raid. They were +now bound for Cartagena with double letters of advice, +"to certify that Captain Drake had been at Nombre +de Dios, and taken it; and had it not been that he was +hurt with some blessed shot, by all likelihood he had +sacked it. He was yet still upon the coast," ran the +letter, "and they should therefore carefully prepare for +him."</p> + +<p>Sailing out of the haven (by the Boca Chica, or Little +Mouth) Drake set his pinnaces ashore, and stood +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'awayto'">away to</ins> +the San Barnardo Islands, to the south of the town, where +he found "great store of fish" as a change of diet for his +men. He then cruised up and down among the islands, +considering what he should attempt. He had been discovered +at the two chief cities on the Main, but he had +not yet made his voyage (<i>i.e.</i> it had not yet paid expenses), +and until he had met with the Maroons, and +earned "a little comfortable dew of Heaven," he meant +to stay upon the coast. He, therefore, planned to diminish +his squadron, for with the two ships to keep it was difficult +to man the pinnaces, and the pinnaces had proved peculiarly +fitted for the work in hand. With one ship destroyed, +and the other converted into a storeship, his movements<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span> +would, he thought, be much less hampered; "but knowing +the affection of his company, how loath they were to +leave either of their ships, being both so good sailers +and so well furnished; he purposed in himself some policy +to make them most willing to effect what he intended." +He, therefore, sent for Thomas Moone, who was carpenter +aboard the <i>Swan</i>, and held a conference with him in +the cabin. Having pledged him to secrecy, he gave him +an order to scuttle that swift little ship in the middle +of the second watch, or two in the morning. He was +"to go down secretly into the well of the ship, and with +a spike-gimlet to bore three holes, as near the keel as +he could, and lay something against it [oakum or the +like] that the force of the water entering, might make +no great noise, nor be discovered by a boiling up." +Thomas Moone "at the hearing hereof" was utterly +dismayed, for to him the project seemed flat burglary +as ever was committed. Why, he asked, should the +Captain want to sink so good a ship, a ship both "new +and strong," in which they had sailed together in two +"rich and gainfull" voyages? If the Captain's brother +(John Drake, who was master of the <i>Swan</i>) and the +rest of the company (twenty-six hands in all) should catch +him at such practices he thought verily they would heave +him overboard. However, Drake promised that the matter +should be kept secret "till all of them should be glad +of it." On these terms Moone consented to scuttle the +<i>Swan</i> that night.</p> + +<p>The next morning, a little after daybreak, Drake called +away his pinnace, "proposing to go a-fishing." Rowing +down to the <i>Swan</i> he hailed her, asking his brother to +go with him. John Drake was in his bunk at the time, +and replied that "he would follow presently," or if it would +please him to stay a very little he would attend him. +Drake saw that the deed was done; for the <i>Swan</i> was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> +slowly settling. He would not stay for his brother, but +asked casually, "as making no great account of it," +why their barque was so deep in the sea. John Drake +thought little of the question, but sent a man down to +the steward, who had charge of the hold, to inquire +"whether there were any water in the ship, or what other +cause might be?" The steward, "hastily stepping down +at his usual scuttle," was wet to the waist before he +reached the foot of the ladder. Very greatly scared he +hurried out of the hold, "as if the water had followed +him," crying out that the ship was full of water. John +Drake at once called all hands to mend ship, sending +some below to find the leak and the remainder to the +pumps. The men turned to "very willingly," so that +"there was no need to hasten them," and John Drake +left them at their work while he reported the "strange +chance" to his brother. He could not understand how +it had happened. They had not pumped twice in six +weeks before, and now they had six feet of water in +the hold. He hoped his brother would give him "leave +from attending him in fishing," as he wished to find the +leak without delay. Drake offered to send the <i>Pascha's</i> +men abroad to take a spell at the pumps, but this John +Drake did not wish. He had men enough, he said; +and he would like his brother to continue his fishing, +so that they might have fresh fish for dinner. On getting +back to the <i>Swan</i> he found that the pumps had gained +very little on the leak, "yet such was their love to the +bark, ... that they ceased not, but to the utmost of their +strength laboured all that they might, till three in the +afternoon." By that time the <i>Pascha's</i> men, helped by +Drake himself, had taken turn about at the pump brakes, +and the pumping had been carried on for eight or nine +hours without ceasing. The pumping had freed her only +about a foot and a half, and the leak was still undiscovered.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> +The men were tired out, for the sun was now at his hottest, +and Drake adds slyly that they "had now a less liking +of her than before, and greater content to hear of some +means for remedy." We gather from what follows, that +when he asked them what they wished to do, they left +it all to him. He, therefore, suggested that John Drake +should go aboard the <i>Pascha</i> as her captain. He himself, +he said, would shift into a pinnace; while the <i>Swan</i> should +be set on fire, and abandoned as soon as her gear was +taken out of her. The pinnaces came aboard the sinking +ship, and the men pillaged her of all her stores. Powder, +tar, and the like were scattered about her decks; and +she was then set on fire, and watched until she sank. +Thus "our Captain had his desire, and men enough for +his pinnaces."</p> + +<p>The next morning, the 16th August, the squadron bore +away for the Gulf of Darien, to find some secret harbour +where they might leave the ship at anchor, "not discoverable +by the enemy," who thereby might imagine them +quite departed from the coast. Drake intended to take +two of the pinnaces along the Main as soon as they had +hidden away the <i>Pascha</i>, for he was minded to go a cruise +up the Rio Grande, or Magdalena River. In his absence +John Drake was to take the third pinnace, with Diego, +the negro, as a guide, to open up communications with +the Cimmeroons. By the 21st of August they arrived +in the Gulf; and Drake sought out a secret anchorage, far +from any trade route, where the squadron might lie quietly +till the fame of their being on the coast might cease. +They found a place suited to their needs, and dropped +their anchors in its secret channels, in "a fit and convenient +road," where a sailor might take his ease over a +rum bowl. Drake took his men ashore, and cleared a +large plot of ground "both of trees and brakes" as a site +for a little village, trimly thatched with palm leaves, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> +was built by Diego, the negro, after the Indian fashion, +for the "more comfort of the company." The archers +made themselves butts to shoot at, because they had +"many that delighted in that exercise and wanted not +a fletcher to keep the bows and arrows in order." The +rest of the company, "every one as he liked best," disported +merrily at bowls and quoits, fleeting the time +carelessly as they did in the Golden Age. "For our +Captain allowed one half of the company to pass their +time thus, every other day interchangeable," the other +half of the crew being put to the provision of fresh food +and the necessary work aboard the vessels. Drake took +especial interest in trying the powers of the pinnaces, +trimming them in every conceivable way, so as to learn +their capacity under any circumstance. The smiths set +up their forge, "being furnished out of England with anvil, +iron, and coals" (surely Drake never forgot anything), +which stood the expedition "in great stead," for, no doubt, +there was much iron-work that needed repair. The +country swarmed with conies, hogs, deer, and fowl, so +that the men lived upon fresh meat, or upon the fish in +the creeks, "whereof there was great plenty." The woods +were full of wholesome fruits, though, perhaps, the water +of the neighbouring rivers was not quite all that could +be wished. They stayed in this pleasant haven for fifteen +days, at the end of which Drake took his two pinnaces, +leaving John Drake behind in charge of the <i>Pascha</i> +and the remaining pinnace, and sailed away along the +coast to explore the Rio Grande. He kept the pinnaces +far out at sea to avoid discovery, and landed on the 8th of +September about six miles to the westward of the river's +mouth, in order to obtain some fresh beef from the Indian +cowherds. The district was then rich pasture-land, as +rich as the modern pastures in Argentina. It was grazed +over by vast herds of cattle, savage and swift, which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> +Spaniards placed in charge of Indian cowboys. When +the beeves were slaughtered, their meat was dried into +charqui, or "boucanned," over a slow fire, into which the +hide was thrown. It was then sent down to Cartagena, +for the provisioning of the galleons going home. The +province (Nueva Reyna) was less pestilential than its +westward neighbours. Sugar was grown there in the +semi-marshy tracts near the river. Gold was to be found +there in considerable quantities, and there were several +pearl fisheries upon the coasts. The district was more +populous than any part of Spanish America, for it was +not only healthier, but more open, affording little cover +for Maroons.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img051" id="img051"></a> +<a href="images/051.jpg"><img src="images/051_th.jpg" width="400" height="300" +alt="CARTAGENA" title="CARTAGENA" /></a> +<span class="caption">CARTAGENA</span> +</div> + +<p>On landing, Drake met some Indians in charge of +a herd of steers. They asked him in broken Spanish +"What they would have." Drake gave them to understand +that he wished to buy some fresh meat, upon which +they picked out several cattle "with ease and so readily, +as if they had a special commandment over them, whereas +they would not abide us to come near them." The Indians +have just that skill in handling cattle which the negroes +have in handling mules. They did Drake this service +willingly, "because our Captain, according to his custom, +contented them for their pains with such things as they +account greatly of." He left them in high good humour, +promising him that if he came again he should have what +he desired of them. Drake left the shore as soon as his +pinnaces were laden with fresh meat, and sailed on up the +coast till he reached the lesser, or western, mouth of the +Rio Grande, "where we entered about three of the clock." +The river runs with a great fierceness, so that the hands +were able to draw fresh water "for their beverage" a mile +and a half from the mouth. It was a current almost too +fierce to row against in the hot sun, so that five hours' +hard rowing only brought them six miles on their way<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> +upstream. They then moored the pinnaces to a great +tree that grew on the bank. They ate their suppers in +that place, hoping to pass a quiet evening, but with the +darkness there came such a terrible thunderstorm "as +made us not a little to marvel at," though Drake assured +the younger men that in that country such storms soon +passed. It wetted them to the bone, no doubt, but within +three-quarters of an hour it had blown over and become +calm. Immediately the rain had ceased, the air began +to hum with many wings, and forth came "a kind of flies +of that country, called mosquitoes, like our gnats," which +bit them spitefully as they lay in the bottoms of the +boats. It was much too hot to lie beneath a blanket, and +the men did not know how to kindle a "smudge" of +smouldering aromatic leaves. They had no pork fat +nor paraffin to rub upon their hands and faces, according +to the modern practice, and "the juice of lemons," which +gave them a little relief, must have been a poor substitute. +"We could not rest all that night," says the narrative. +At daybreak the next morning they rowed away from that +place, "rowing in the eddy" along the banks, where the +current helped them. Where the eddy failed, as in swift and +shallow places, they hauled the boats up with great labour +by making a hawser fast to a tree ahead, and hauling up +to it, as on a guess-warp. The work of rowing, or warping, +was done by spells, watch and watch, "each company +their half-hour glass," till about three in the afternoon, +by which time they had come some fifteen miles. They +passed two Indians who sat in a canoe a-fishing; but the +Indians took them to be Spaniards, and Drake let them +think so, for he did not wish to be discovered. About an +hour later they espied "certain houses on the other side +of the river," a mile or so from them, the river being +very broad—so great, says the narrative, "that a man can +scantly be discerned from side to side." A Spaniard,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> +who had charge of those houses, espied them from the +vantage of the bank, and promptly kindled a smoke "for +a signal to turn that way," being lonely up there in the +wilds, and anxious for news of the world. As they rowed +across the current to him he waved to them "with his +hat and his long hanging sleeves" to come ashore, but +as soon as he perceived them to be foreigners he took to +his heels, and fled from the river-side. The adventurers +found that he was a sort of store or warehouse keeper, in +charge of five houses "all full of white rusk, dried bacon, +that country cheese (like Holland cheese in fashion—<i>i.e.</i> +round—but far more delicate in taste, of which they send +into Spain as special presents), many sorts of sweetmeats, +and conserves; with great store of sugar: being provided +to serve the fleet returning to Spain." As they loaded +their pinnaces with these provisions they talked with a +poor Indian woman, who told them that about thirty +trading vessels were expected from Cartagena. The news +caused them to use despatch in their lading, so that by +nightfall they were embarked again, and rowing downstream +against the wind. The Spaniards of Villa del +Rey, a city some two miles inland from the storehouses, +endeavoured to hinder their passage by marching their +Indians to the bushes on the river-bank, and causing +them to shoot their arrows as the boats rowed past. They +did not do any damage to the adventurers, who rowed +downstream a few miles, and then moored their boats +for the night. Early the next morning they reached the +mouth of the river, and here they hauled ashore to put +the pinnaces in trim. The provisions were unloaded, and +the boats thoroughly cleansed, after which the packages +were stowed securely, so as to withstand the tossings of +the seas. The squadron then proceeded to the westward, +going out of their course for several miles in order to +overhaul a Spanish barque. They "imagined she had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> +some gold or treasure going for Spain," but on search in +her hold they could find only sugar and hides. They, +therefore, let her go, and stood off again for the secret +harbour. The next day they took some five or six small +frigates, bound from Santiago de Tolu to Cartagena, with +ladings of "live hogs, hens, and maize, which we call +Guinea wheat." They examined the crews of these ships +for news "of their preparations for us," and then dismissed +them, reserving only two of the half-dozen prizes "because +they were so well stored with good victuals." Three days +later they arrived at the hidden anchorage, which Drake +called Port Plenty, because of abundance of "good victuals" +that they took while lying there. Provision ships were +passing continually, either to Nombre de Dios or Cartagena, +with food for the citizens or for the victualling of +the plate fleets. "So that if we had been two thousand, +yea, three thousand, persons, we might with our pinnaces +easily have provided them sufficient victuals of wine, +meal, rusk, cassavi (a kind of bread made of a root called +Yucca, whose juice is poison, but the substance good and +wholesome), dried beef, dried fish, live sheep, live hogs, +abundance of hens, besides the infinite store of dainty +fresh fish, very easily to be taken every day." So much +food was taken, that the company, under the direction of +Diego, the negro, were forced to build "four several magazines +or storehouses, some ten, some twenty leagues +asunder," on the Main, or on the islands near it, for its +storage. They intended to stay upon the coast until +their voyage was "made," and, therefore, needed magazines +of the kind for the future plenishing of their lazarettoes. +We read that Diego, the negro, was of special service to +them in the building of these houses, for, like all the +Maroons, he was extremely skilful at the craft. They +were probably huts of mud and wattle, thatched with +palm leaves, "with a Sort of Door made of Macaw-Wood,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> +and Bamboes." From these magazines Drake relieved +two French ships "in extreme want"; while his men and +their allies the Cimmeroons lived at free quarters all the +time they stayed there.</p> + +<p>While the Captain had been cruising up the Magdalena, +his brother, John Drake, had been westward along the +coast with Diego, "the Negro aforesaid," in his pinnace. +Diego had landed on the coast to talk with "certain of +the Cimmeroons," who exchanged hostages with Drake's +party, and agreed upon a meeting-place at a little river +midway between the Cabezas, or "Headlands," and the +anchorage. Drake talked with these hostages as soon +as he arrived from the seas. He found them two "very +sensible men," most ready to help him against the +common enemy. They told him that "their Nation +conceited great joy of his arrivall"; for they had heard of +Nombre de Dios and of his former raids upon the coast, +and gladly welcomed the suggested alliance. Their chief +and tribe, they said, were encamped near the aforementioned +little river, the Rio Diego, to await Drake's +decision. Having compared the talk of these men with +the reports he had gathered from the Indian cowherds +and Spanish prisoners, he consulted his brother (who had +seen the Maroons at the Rio Diego camp), and asked +"those of best service with him" what were fittest to +be done. John Drake advised that the ships should +proceed to the westward, to the Rio Diego, for near +the mouth of that stream he had discovered a choice +hiding-place. It could be reached by many channels, but +only by the most careful pilotage, for the channels were +full of rocks and shoals. The channels twisted sluggishly +among a multitude of islands, which were gorgeous with +rhododendron shrubs, and alive with butterflies, blue and +scarlet, that sunned themselves, in blots of colour, upon +the heavy green leaves. Among the blossomed branches<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> +there were parrots screaming, and the little hummingbirds, +like flying jewels, darting from flower to flower. +Up above them the great trees towered, shutting out the +sight of the sea, so that a dozen ships might have lain +in that place without being observed from the open water. +The description of this hiding-place moved Drake to +proceed thither at once with his two pinnaces, the two +Maroons, and his brother John, giving orders for the ship +to follow the next morning. The pinnaces arrived there +the next day, and found the Cimmeroons encamped there, +some of them at the river's mouth, the others "in a wood +by the river's side." A solemn feast was prepared, at +which the Maroons gave "good testimonies of their joy +and good will" towards the adventurers. After the feast, +the tribe marched away to the Rio Guana, intending to +meet with another tribe, at that time camped among the +hills. The pinnaces returned from Rio Diego, wondering +why the ship had not arrived, and anxious for her safety. +They found her, on the 16th September, in the place +where they had left her, "but in far other state," for a +tempest had set her on her side, and sorely spoiled her +trim, so that it took two days to repair the damage done. +A pinnace was then despatched to the Rio Diego anchorage, +to go "amongst the shoals and sandy places, to +sound out the channel." On the 19th of September the +<i>Pascha</i> was warily piloted to moorings, "with much ado to +recover the road among so many flats and shoals." Her +berth was about five leagues from the Cativaas, or Catives, +"betwixt an island and the Main"—the island being about +half-a-mile from the shore, some three acres in extent, +"flat, and very full of trees and bushes."</p> + +<p>The anchors were hardly in the ground, when the +friendly tribe of Cimmeroons appeared upon the shore, +with several others whom they had met in the mountains. +They were all fetched aboard, "to their great comfort and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> +our content," and a council was held forthwith. Drake +then asked the chiefs how they could help him to obtain +some gold and silver. They replied that nothing could be +done for another five months, because the autumn, the +rainy season, was upon them, during which time no +treasure would be moved from Panama. Had they known +that he wanted gold, they said, they would have satisfied +him, for they had taken a great store from the Spaniards +in a foray, and had flung it into the rivers, which were +now too high for them to hope to recover it by diving. +He must, therefore, wait, they said, till the rains had +ceased in the coming March, when they could attack a +treasure train together. The answer was a little unexpected, +but not unpleasant, for Drake was willing to +remain on the coast for another year if need were. He +at once resolved to build himself a fort upon the island, +"for the planting of all our ordnance therein, and for our +safeguard, if the enemy in all this time, should chance +to come." The Cimmeroons cut down a number of +Palmito boughs and branches, and soon had two large +sheds built, both trim and watertight, for the housing of +the company. The boats were then sent ashore to the +Main to bring over timber for the building of the fortress. +This stronghold was built in the shape of a triangle, with +a deep ditch all round it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="img067" id="img067"></a> +<a href="images/067.jpg"><img src="images/067_th.jpg" width="500" height="367" +alt="CARTAGENA IN 1586, SHOWING THE DOUBLE HARBOUR; THE SHIP IN THE FOREGROUND MAY BE DRAKE'S FLAGSHIP, THE _BONAVENTURE_" +title="CARTAGENA IN 1586, SHOWING THE DOUBLE HARBOUR" /></a> +<span class="caption">CARTAGENA IN 1586, SHOWING THE DOUBLE HARBOUR<br /> +THE SHIP IN THE FOREGROUND MAY BE DRAKE'S FLAGSHIP, THE <i>BONAVENTURE</i></span> +</div> + +<p>The building was a full thirteen feet in height, built of +tree boles from the Main, with earth from the trench to +take the place of mortar. The ship's guns were hoisted +out of the ship and rafted over to the fortress, and there +mounted at the embrasures. For platforms for the guns +they used the planks of one of the frigates captured near +Cartagena. When the heavy work of lumber handling +had been finished, but before the fort was ready for use, +Drake took John Oxenham, with two of the pinnaces, +upon a cruise to the east. He feared that a life of ease<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> +ashore would soon make his mariners discontented and +eager to be home. It was, therefore, necessary to invent +distractions for them. Instead of going at once towards +his quarry he sailed along leisurely, close to the coast, +stopping a night at one little island for a feast on a kind +of bird like spur-kites, the flesh of which was very +delicate. He stopped another night at another island, +because "of a great kind of shellfish of a foot long," which +the company called whelks. As soon as these delectable +islands had been left astern, the pinnaces "hauled off into +the sea," across the bright, sunny water, blue and flashing, +gleaming with the silver arrows of the flying-fish, in order +to make the Isles of San Barnardo. They chased two +frigates ashore before they came to moorings, after which +they scrubbed and trimmed their boats, spent a day +fishing from the rocks, and set sail again for Santiago de +Tolu. Here they landed in a garden, close to the city, to +the delight of some Indians who were working there. +After bargaining together for the garden stuff the +Indians left their bows and arrows with the sailors while +they ran to pluck "many sorts of dainty fruits and roots," +such as the garden yielded. Drake paid for the green +stuff, and had it taken aboard, after inquiring strictly as +to the state of the country and the plate fleets. The +company then rowed away for Cartagena, eating their +"mellions and winter cherries" with a good appetite. +They rowed through the Boca Chica, or Little Mouth, +into the splendid harbour, where they set sail, "having the +wind large," towards the inner haven and the city. They +anchored "right over against the goodly Garden Island," +where the fruit was a sore temptation to the seamen, who +longed to rob the trees. Drake would not allow them to +land, for he feared an ambush, and, indeed, a few hours +later, as they passed by the point of the island, they were +fired at from the orchards with "a volley of a hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> +shot," one of which wounded a sailor. There was little to +be done in the harbour, so they put to sea again. They +took a barque the next morning about six miles from the +port. She was a ship of fifty tons, laden with soap and +sweetmeats, bound from St Domingo towards Cartagena. +She was armed with "swords, targets and some small +shot, besides four iron bases." Her captain and passengers +had slipped ashore in the boat as soon as they had spied +the pinnaces, but the captain's silken flag, woven in +colours, with his coat-of-arms, had been left behind as a +spoil. Having sent her company ashore, "saving a young +Negro two or three years old, which we brought away," +they sailed her into Cartagena harbour, with the pinnaces +towing astern. They anchored at the mouth of the inner +haven to await events. During the afternoon the Scrivano, +or King's notary, aforementioned, rode down "to the +point by the wood side" with a little troop of horsemen. +The Scrivano displayed a flag of truce, and came aboard, to +worry Drake with his oily lawyer's manner and elaborate, +transparent lies. He promised to obtain fresh meat for +him as a slight return for "his manifold favours, etc." but +Drake saw that it was but a plot of the Governor's to keep +him in the port till they could trap him. He thanked the +supple liar, kept a good lookout throughout the night, and +stood to sea as soon as the sun rose. He took two frigates +the next day, just outside the harbour. They were small +boats in ballast, one of twelve, one of fifty tons, bound for +St Domingo. He brought them to anchor in a bravery, +"within saker shot of the east Bulwark," and then dismissed +their mariners ashore. On the 21st October, the +morning after this adventure, the Spaniards sent a flag of +truce to the headland at the mouth of the Boca Chica. +Drake manned one of his pinnaces, and rowed ashore to +see what they wanted. When about 200 yards from +the point the Spaniards fled into the wood, as though<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> +afraid of the boat's guns—hoping, no doubt, that Drake +would follow, and allow them to ambush him. Drake +dropped his grapnel over the stern of the pinnace, and +veered the boat ashore, little by little, till the bows grated +on the sand. As she touched he leaped boldly ashore, in +sight of the Spanish troops, "to declare that he durst set +his foot a land." The Spaniards seem to have made a rush +towards him, whereupon he got on board again, bade his +men warp the boat out by the cable, and "rid awhile," +some 100 yards from the shore, in the smooth green +water, watching the fish finning past the weeds. Seeing +that Drake was less foolish than they had hoped, the +Spaniards came out upon the sands, at the edge of the +wood, and bade one of their number take his clothes off, +to swim to the boat with a message. The lad stripped, +and swam off to the boat, "as with a Message from the +Governor," asking them why they had come to the coast, +and why they stayed there. Drake replied that he had +come to trade, "for he had tin, pewter, cloth, and other +merchandise that they needed," with which reply the +youth swam back to the soldiers. After some talk upon +the sands, the men-at-arms sent him back with an answer. +"The King," they said, "had forbidden them to traffic +with any foreign nation, for any commodities, except +powder and shot; of which, if he had any store, they +would be his merchants." Drake answered that he had +come all the way from England to exchange his commodities +for gold and silver, and had little will to return +"without his errand." He told them that, in his opinion, +they were "like to have little rest" if they would not +traffic with him fairly in the way of business. He then +gave the messenger "a fair shirt for a reward," and +despatched him back to his masters. The lad rolled the +shirt about his head in the Indian fashion, and swam back +"very speedily," using, perhaps, the swift Indian stroke.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> +He did not return that day, though Drake waited for him +until sunset, when the pinnace pulled slowly back to the +two frigates, "within saker shot [or three-quarters of a +mile] of the east Bulwark." The adventurers lay there all +that night, expecting to be attacked. The guns were +loaded, and cartridges made ready, and a strict lookout +was kept. At dawn they saw two sails running down +towards them from the Boca Chica on a fresh easterly +breeze. Drake manned his two pinnaces, leaving the +frigates empty, expecting to have a fight for their possession. +Before he came within gunshot of the Spaniards he +had to use his oars, for the wind fell, thereby lessening the +advantage the Spanish had. As the boats neared each +other Drake's mariners "saw many heads peeping over +board" along the gunwales of the enemy. They perceived +then that the two ships had been manned to occupy +Drake's attention, while another squadron made a dash +from the town, "from the eastern Bulwark," to retake his +two prizes. But Drake "prevented both their drifts." +He bade John Oxenham remain there with the one +pinnace, "to entertain these two Men of war," while he, +with the other, rowed furiously back to the two prizes. +Quick as he had been the Spaniards had been quicker. +They had rowed out in a large canoe, which had made +two trips, so that one frigate was now full of Spaniards, +who had cut her cables, while the canoe towed her towards +the batteries. As Drake ranged up alongside, the towline +was cast adrift by the men in the canoe; while the gallants +on the deck leaped overboard, to swim ashore, leaving +their rapiers, guns, and powder flasks behind them. Drake +watched them swim out of danger, and then set the larger +ship on fire. The smaller of the two he scuttled where she +lay, "giving them to understand by this, that we perceived +their secret practices." As soon as the frigates were +disposed of, the pinnace returned to John Oxenham, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> +was lying to by the two men-of-war, waiting for them to +open fire. As the Captain's pinnace drew near, the +wind shifted to the north, and blew freshly, so that both +the English boats, being to shoreward of the enemy, were +forced to run before it, into the harbour, "to the great joy +of the Spaniards," who thought they were running away. +Directly they were past the point, "and felt smooth water," +they obtained the weather-gage, exchanged a few shots, +and dropped their anchors, keeping well to windward of +the enemy. The Spaniards also anchored; but as the wind +freshened into "a norther" they thought it best to put +ashore, and, therefore, retired to the town.</p> + +<p>For the next four days it blew very hard from the west, +with cold rain squalls, to the great discomfort of all hands, +who could keep neither warm nor dry. On the fifth day +(27th October) a frigate came in from the sea, and they +at once attacked her, hoping to find shelter aboard her +after the four days of wet and cold. The Spaniards ran +her ashore on the point by the Boca Chica, "unhanging +her rudder and taking away her sails, that she might not +easily be carried away." However, the boats dashed +alongside, intending to board her. As they came alongside, +a company of horse and foot advanced on to the +sands from the woods, opening fire on them as soon as +they had formed. The pinnaces replied with their muskets +and heavy guns, sending a shot "so near a brave cavalier" +that the whole party retreated to the coverts. From the +thick brush they were able to save the frigate from +capture without danger to themselves; so Drake abandoned +her, and set to sea again, in the teeth of the gale, intending +to win to Las Serenas, some rocks six miles to +sea, off which he thought he could anchor, with his +masts down, until the weather moderated. But when +he arrived off the rocks, a mighty sea was beating over +them, so that he had to run back to Cartagena, where he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> +remained six days, "notwithstanding the Spaniards grieved +greatly at our abode there so long."</p> + +<p>On the 2nd of November the Governor of Cartagena +made a determined attempt to destroy him or drive him +out to sea. He manned three vessels—"a great shallop, +a fine gundeloe and a great canoe"—with Spanish +musketeers and Indians with poisoned arrows. These +attacked with no great spirit, for as soon as the pinnaces +advanced they retreated, and presently "went ashore into +the woods," from which an ambush "of some sixty shot" +opened a smart fire. As the ambush began to blaze away +from the bushes, Drake saw that two pinnaces and a +frigate, manned with musketeers and archers, were warping +towards him from the town, in the teeth of the wind. +As this second line of battle neared the scene of action, the +Spaniards left the ambush in the wood, and ran down the +sands to the gundeloe and canoe, which they manned, and +again thrust from the shore. Drake then stood away into +the haven, out of shot of the shore guns, and cast anchor +in the great open space, with the two pinnaces lying close +together, one immediately ahead of the other. He rigged +the sides of the pinnaces with bonnets, the narrow lengths +of canvas which were laced to the feet of sails to give them +greater spread. With these for his close-fights, or war-girdles, +he waved to the Spaniards to attack. They rowed +up cheering, all five boats of them, "assuring their fellows +of the day." Had they pushed the attack home, the issue +might have been different, but the sight of the close-fights +frightened them. They lay on their oars "at caliver-shot +distance," and opened a smart musketry fire, "spending +powder apace," without pausing, for two or three hours. +One man was wounded on Drake's side. The Spanish +loss could not be told, but Drake's men could plainly see +that the Spanish pinnaces had been shot through and +through. One lucky shot went into a Spanish powder<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> +tub, which thereupon exploded. Drake at once weighed +anchor, intending to run them down while they were in +confusion. He had the wind of them, and would have +been able to do this without difficulty, but they did not +wait his coming. They got to their oars in a hurry, and +rowed to their defence in the woods—the fight being at an +end before the frigate could warp to windward into action.</p> + +<p>Being weary of these continual fruitless tussles, "and +because our victuals grew scant," Drake sailed from the +port the following morning, in slightly better weather, +hoping to get fresh provisions at the Rio Grande, where +he had met with such abundance a few days before. The +wind was still fresh from the west, so that he could not +rejoin his ship nor reach one of his magazines. He took +two days in sailing to the Magdalena, but when he arrived +there he found the country stripped. "We found bare +nothing, not so much as any people left," for the Spaniards +had ordered everyone to retire to the hills, driving their +cattle with them, "that we might not be relieved by them." +The outlook was now serious, for there was very little food +left, and that of most indifferent quality, much of it being +spoiled by the rains and the salt water. On the day of +their landfall they rowed hard for several hours to capture +a frigate, but she was as bare of food as they. "She had +neither meat nor money," and so "our great hope" was +"converted into grief." Sailors get used to living upon +short allowance. The men tightened their belts to stay +their hunger, and splashed salt water on their chests to +allay their thirst. They ran for Santa Martha, a little city +to the east, where they hoped "to find some shipping in +the road, or limpets on the rocks, or succour against the +storm in that good harbour." They found no shipping +there, however, and little succour against the storm. +They anchored "under the western point, where is high +land," but they could not venture in, for the town was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> +strongly fortified (later raiders were less squeamish). The +Spaniards had seen them come to moorings, and managed +to send some thirty or forty musketeers among the rocks, +within gunshot of them. These kept up a continual +musket fire, which did bodily hurt to none, but proved +a sad annoyance to sailors who were wearied and out +of victuals. They found it impossible to reply to the +musketry, for the rocks hid the musketeers from view. +There was nothing for it but to "up kedge and cut," in +the hope of finding some less troublous berth. As they +worked across the Santa Martha bay the culverins in the +city batteries opened fire. One shot "made a near +escape," for it fell between the pinnaces as they lay +together in "conference of what was best to be done."</p> + +<p>The company were inclined to bring the cruise to an +end, and begged that they might "put themselves a land, +some place to the Eastward, to get victuals." They +thought it would be better to trust to the courtesy of +the country people than to keep the seas as they were, +in the cold and heavy weather, with a couple of leaky, +open boats. Drake disliked this advice, and recommended +that they should run on for Rio de la Hacha, or even as +far as Curaçoa, where they would be likely to meet with +victual ships indifferently defended. The men aboard +John Oxenham's pinnace answered that they would +willingly follow him throughout the world, but they +did not see, they said, how the pinnaces could stand +such weather as they had had. Nor did they see how +they were going to live with such little food aboard, +for they had "only one gammon of bacon and thirty +pounds of biscuit for eighteen men"—a bare two days' +half allowance. Drake replied that they were better off +than he was, "who had but one gammon of bacon and +forty pounds of biscuit for his twenty-four men; and +therefore [he went on] he doubted not but they would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> +take such part as he did, and willingly depend upon +God's Almighty providence, which never faileth them +that trust in Him." He did not wait for any further +talk, but hoisted his fore-sail and put his helm up for +Curaçoa, knowing that the other pinnace would not refuse +to follow him. With "sorrowful hearts in respect of the +weak pinnace, yet desirous to follow their captain," the +weary crew stood after him on the same course. They +had not gone more than three leagues when, lo!—balm +in Gilead—"a sail plying to the westward" under her foresail +and main-sail. There was "great joy" in that hunger-bitten +company, who promptly "vowed together, that we +would have her, or else it should cost us dear." Coming +up with her they found her to be a Spanish ship of more +than ninety tons. Drake "waved amain" to her, the usual +summons to surrender; but she "despised our summons," +and at once opened fire on them, but without success, for +the sea was running very high. The sea was too high +for them to board her, so they set small storm-sails, and +stood in chase, intending to "keep her company to her +small content till fairer weather might lay the sea." They +followed her for two hours, when "it pleased God" to +send a great shower, which, of course, beat down the sea +into "a reasonable calm," so that they could pepper her +with their guns "and approach her at pleasure." She +made but a slight resistance after that, and "in short +time we had taken her; finding her laden with victuals +well powdered [salted] and dried: which at that present +we received as sent us of God's great mercy."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img078" id="img078"></a> +<a href="images/078.jpg"><img src="images/078_th.jpg" width="400" height="289" +alt="AN ELIZABETHAN WAR-SHIP; A PINNACE BEYOND, TO THE LEFT" +title="AN ELIZABETHAN WAR-SHIP" /></a> +<span class="caption">AN ELIZABETHAN WAR-SHIP<br /> +A PINNACE BEYOND, TO THE LEFT</span> +</div> + +<p>After a stormy night at sea, Drake sent Ellis Hixom, +"who had then charge of his pinnace, to search out some +harbour along the coast." Hixom soon discovered a +little bay, where there was good holding ground, with +sufficient depth of water to float the prize. They entered +the new port, and dropped their anchors there, promising<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span> +the Spaniards their clothes, as well as their liberty, if +they would but bring them to a clear spring of water and +a supply of fresh meat. The Spaniards, who knew the +coast very well, soon brought them to an Indian village, +where the natives "were clothed and governed by a +Spaniard." They stayed there all the day, cutting wood +for their fire, filling water casks, and storing the purchased +meat. The Indians helped them with all their might, +for Drake, following his custom, gave them "content and +satisfaction" for the work they did for him. Towards +night Drake called his men aboard, leaving the Spanish +prisoners ashore, according to his promise, "to their great +content." The wood, water casks, and sides of meat +were duly stored, the anchors were brought to the bows, +and the adventurers put to sea again towards the secret +harbour. That day one of their men died from "a sickness +which had begun to kindle among us, two or three +days before." What the cause of this malady was "we +knew not of certainty," but "we imputed it to the cold +which our men had taken, lying without succour in the +pinnaces." It may have been pleurisy, or pneumonia, or +some low fever. The dead man was Charles Glub, "one +of our Quarter Masters, a very tall man, and a right good +mariner, taken away to the great grief of Captain and +company"—a sufficiently beautiful epitaph for any man. +"But howsoever it was," runs the touching account, "thus +it pleased God to visit us, and yet in favour to restore +unto health all the rest of our company that were touched +with this disease, which were not a few."</p> + +<p>The 15th of November broke bright and fine, though +the wind still blew from the west. Drake ordered the +<i>Minion</i>, the smaller of his two pinnaces, to part company, +"to hasten away before him towards his ships at Port +Diego ... to carry news of his coming, and to put all +things in a readiness for our land journey if they heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span> +anything of the Fleet's arrival." If they wanted wine, +he said, they had better put in at San Barnardo, and +empty some of the caches in the sand there, where they +had buried many bottles. Seven days later Drake put +in at San Barnardo for the same commodity, "finding +but twelve <i>botijos</i> of wine of all the store we left, which +had escaped the curious search of the enemy who had +been there, for they were deep in the ground." Perhaps +the crew of the <i>Minion</i> were the guilty ones. About the +27th of November the Captain's party arrived at Port +Diego, where they found all things in good order, "but +received very heavy news of the death of John Drake, +our Captain's brother, and another young man called +Richard Allen, which were both slain at one time [on +the 9th October, the day Drake left the isle of shell-fish] +as they attempted the boarding of a frigate." Drake had +been deeply attached to this brother, whom he looked +upon as a "young man of great hope." His death was +a sore blow to him, all the more because it happened in +his absence, when he could neither warn him of the risks +he ran nor comfort him as he lay a-dying.</p> + +<p>He had been in the pinnace, it seems, with a cargo of +planks from the Spanish wreck, carrying the timber for +the platform of the battery. It was a bright, sunny +morning, and the men were rowing lazily towards the fort, +"when they saw this frigate at sea." The men were in +merry heart, and eager for a game at handystrokes. They +were "very importunate on him, to give chase and set upon +this frigate, which they deemed had been a fit booty for +them." He told them that they "wanted weapons to +assail"; that, for all they knew, the frigate might be full of +men and guns; and that their boat was cumbered up with +planks, required for his brother's service. These answers +were not enough for them, and "still they urged him with +words and supposals." "If you will needs," said he;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>—"Adventure. +It shall never be said that I will be hindmost, +neither shall you report to my brother that you +lost your voyage by any cowardice you found in me." +The men armed themselves as they could with stretchers +from the boat, or anything that came to hand. They +hove the planks overboard to make a clear fighting space, +and "took them such poor weapons as they had: viz., a +broken pointed rapier, one old visgee, and a rusty caliver. +John Drake took the rapier and made a gauntlet of his +pillow, Richard Allen the visgee, both standing at the +head of the pinnace called Eion. Robert took the caliver, +and so boarded." It was a gallant, mad attempt, but +utterly hopeless from the first. The frigate was "armed +round about with a close fight of hides," and "full of +pikes and calivers, which were discharged in their faces, +and deadly wounded those that were in the fore ship, +John Drake in the belly, and Richard Allen in the head." +Though they were both sorely hurt, they shoved the +pinnace clear with their oars, and so left the frigate, and +hurried home to their ship, where "within an hour after" +this young man of great hope ended his days, "greatly +lamented of all the company." He was buried in that +place, with Richard Allen his shipmate, among the +brilliant shrubs, over which the parrots chatter.</p> + +<p>For the next four or five weeks the company remained +at Fort Diego with the Maroons, their allies. They fared +sumptuously every day on the food stored within the +magazine; while "daily out of the woods" they took wild +hogs, the "very good sort of a beast called warre," that +Dampier ate, besides great store of turkeys, pheasants, +and numberless guanas, "which make very good Broath." +The men were in good health, and well contented; but a +day or two after the New Year (January 1573) "half a score +of our company fell down sick together, and the most of +them died within two or three days." They did not know<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> +what the sickness was, nor do they leave us much information +to enable us to diagnose it. They called it a +calenture, or fever, and attributed it to "the sudden +change from cold to heat, or by reason of brackish water +which had been taken in by our pinnace, through the +sloth of their men in the mouth of the river, not rowing +further in where the water was good." We cannot wonder +that they died from drinking the water of that sluggish +tropical river, for in the rainy season such water is often +poisonous to the fish in the sea some half-a-mile from +the shore. It comes down from the hills thick with +pestilential matter. It sweeps away the rotting leaves +and branches, the dead and drowned animals, from the +flooded woods and savannahs. "And I believe," says +Dampier, "it receives a strong Tincture from the Roots +of several Kind of Trees, Herbs, etc., and especially where +there is any stagnancy of the Water, it soon corrupts; and +possibly the Serpents and other poisonous Vermin and +Insects may not a little contribute to its bad qualities." +Whatever it was, the disease raged among the men with +great violence—as many as thirty being down with it at +the one time. Among those who died was Joseph Drake, +another brother of the Captain, "who died in our Captain's +arms." The many deaths caused something like a panic +among the men, and Drake, in his distress, determined +to hold a post-mortem upon his brother's corpse "that the +cause [of the disease] might be the better discerned, and +consequently remedied." The operation was performed +by the surgeon, "who found his liver swollen, his heart +as it were sodden, and his guts all fair." The corpse of +one dead from yellow-fever displays very similar symptoms; +and the muddy foreshore on which they were camped +would, doubtless, swarm with the yellow-fever mosquito. +The sick seem to have recovered swiftly—a trait observable +in yellow-fever patients. This, says the narrative, "was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> +first and last experiment that our Captain made of anatomy +in this voyage." The surgeon who made this examination +"over-lived him not past four days"—a fact which +very possibly saved the lives of half the company. He +had had the sickness at its first beginning among them, +but had recovered. He died, we are told, "of an overbold +practice which he would needs make upon himself, +by receiving an over-strong purgation of his own device, +after which taken he never spake; nor his Boy recovered +the health which he lost by tasting it, till he saw England." +He seems to have taken the draught directly after the +operation, as a remedy against infection from the corpse. +The boy, who, perhaps, acted as assistant at the operation, +may have thought it necessary to drink his master's heeltaps +by way of safeguard.</p> + +<p>While the company lay thus fever-stricken at the fort, +the Maroons had been wandering abroad among the forest, +ranging the country up and down "between Nombre de +Dios and us, to learn what they might for us." During +the last few days of January 1573 they came in with the +news that the plate fleet "had certainly arrived in +Nombre de Dios." On the 30th of January, therefore, +Drake ordered the <i>Lion</i>, one of the three pinnaces, to +proceed "to the seamost islands of the Cativaas," a few +miles from the fort, to "descry the truth of the report" +by observing whether many frigates were going towards +Nombre de Dios from the east, as with provisions for the +fleet. The <i>Lion</i> remained at sea for a few days, when she +captured a frigate laden with "maize, hens, and pompions +from Tolu." She had the Scrivano of Tolu aboard +her, with eleven men and one woman. From these they +learned that the fleet was certainly at Nombre de Dios, +as the Indians had informed them. The prisoners were +"used very courteously," and "diligently guarded from +the deadly hatred of the Cimmeroons," who used every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> +means in their power to obtain them from the English, +so that "they might cut their throats to revenge their +wrongs and injuries." Drake warned his allies not to +touch them "or give them ill countenance"; but, feeling +a little doubtful of their safety, he placed them aboard the +Spanish prize, in charge of Ellis Hixom, and had the ship +hauled ashore to the island, "which we termed Slaughter +Island (because so many of our men died there)." He +was about to start upon "his journey for Panama by +land," and he could not follow his usual custom of letting +his prisoners go free.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV</h2> + +<h3>THE ROAD TO PANAMA</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The Maroons—The native city—The great tree—Panama—The +silver train—The failure—Venta Cruz</p></div> + + +<p>When the Spanish prize had been warped to her +berth at Slaughter Island, Drake called his men +together, with the chiefs of the Maroons, to a solemn +council of war about the fire. He then discussed with +them, with his usual care, the equipment necessary for an +undertaking of the kind in hand. He was going to cross +the isthmus with them, those "20 leagues of death and +misery," in order to surprise one of the recuas, or treasure +trains, as it wandered north upon the road from Panama +to Nombre de Dios. It was, as he says, "a great and long +journey," through jungles, across swamps, and up precipitous +crags. Any error in equipment would be paid +for in blood. It was essential, therefore, that they should +strictly debate "what kind of weapons, what store of +victuals, and what manner of apparel" would be fittest for +them. The Maroons "especially advised" him "to carry as +great store of shoes as possibly he might, by reason of +so many rivers with stone and gravel as they were to +pass." This advice was followed by all hands, who provided +themselves with a good store of boots and spare +leather, thereby saving themselves from much annoyance +from jiguas, or jiggers, and the venomous leeches of the +swamps. The sickness had destroyed twenty-eight of the +company. Three had died of wounds or in battle, and +one had died from cold and exposure in the pinnace. Of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> +the remaining forty-two Drake selected eighteen of the +best. A number were still ill abed, and these he left +behind in the care of Ellis Hixom and his little band of +shipkeepers. The dried meat and biscuit were then packed +carefully into bundles. The eighteen took their weapons, +with such necessaries as they thought they might require. +Drake called Hixom aside, and gave him "straight charge, +in any case not to trust any messenger that should come +in his name with any tokens, unless he brought his handwriting: +which he knew could not be counterfeited by the +Cimaroons or Spaniards." A last farewell was taken; +thirty brawny Cimmeroons swung the packs upon their +shoulders, shaking their javelins in salute. The shipkeepers +sounded "A loath to depart," and dipped their +colours. The forty-eight adventurers then formed into +order, and marched away into the forest on their perilous +journey.</p> + +<p>Having such stalwart carriers, the English were able +to march light, "not troubled with anything but our +furniture." The Maroons carried "every one of them two +sorts of arrows" in addition to the packs of victuals, for +they had promised to provide fresh food upon the march +for all the company. "Every day we were marching by +sun-rising," says the narrative, taking the cool of the +morning before the sun was hot. At "ten in the forenoon" +a halt was called for dinner, which they ate in quiet "ever +near some river." This halt lasted until after twelve. +Then they marched again till four, at which time they +sought out a river-bank for their camping ground. Often +they slept in old huts built by the Indians "when they +travelled through these woods," but more frequently the +Maroons built them new ones, having a strange skill in +that craft. Then they would light little fires of wood +inside the huts, giving a clear red glow, with just sufficient +smoke to keep away mosquitoes. They would sup<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> +pleasantly together there, snugly sheltered from the rain +if any fell; warm if it were cold, as on the hills; and cool +if it were hot, as in the jungle. When the Indians had lit +their little "light Wood" candles these huts must have +been delightful places, full of jolly talk and merry music. +Outside, by the river-brink, the frogs would croak; and, +perhaps, the adventurers heard "the shriekings of Snakes +and other Insects," such as scared Lionel Wafer there +about a century later. Those who ventured out into the +night were perplexed by the innumerable multitude of +fireflies that spangled the darkness with their golden +sparks. In the mornings the brilliant blue and green +macaws aroused them with their guttural cries "like Men +who speak much in the Throat." The chicaly bird began +his musical quick cuckoo cry, the corrosou tolled out his +bell notes, the "waggish kinds of Monkeys" screamed and +chattered in the branches, playing "a thousand antick +Tricks." Then the sun came up in his splendour above +the living wall of greenery, and the men buckled on their +gear, and fell in for the road.</p> + +<p>As they marched, they sometimes met with droves of +peccary or warree. Then six Maroons would lay their +burdens down, and make a slaughter of them, bringing +away as much of the dainty wild pork as they could carry. +Always they had an abundance of fresh fruit, such as +"Mammeas" ("very wholesome and delicious"), "Guavas, +Palmitos, Pinos, Oranges, Lemons and divers others." Then +there were others which were eaten "first dry roasted," as +"Plantains, Potatoes, and such like," besides bananas and +the delicious sapadilloes. On one occasion +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">"the</ins> Cimaroons +found an otter, and prepared it to be drest: our +Captain marvelling at it. Pedro, our chief Cimaroon, +asked him, "Are you a man of war, and in want; and +yet doubt whether this be meat, that hath blood? +Herewithal [we read] our Captain rebuked himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> +secretly, that he had so slightly considered of it +before."</p> + +<p>After three days' wandering in the woods the Maroons +brought them to a trim little Maroon town, which was built +on the side of a hill by a pretty river. It was surrounded +by "a dyke of eight feet broad, and a thick mud wall of +ten feet high, sufficient to stop a sudden surpriser. It +had one long and broad street, lying east and west, and +two other cross streets of less breadth and length," containing +in all some "five or six and fifty households." +It was "kept so clean and sweet, that not only the houses, +but the very streets were pleasant to behold"—a thing, +doubtless, marvellous to one accustomed to an Elizabethan +English town. "In this town we saw they lived very +civilly and cleanly," for, as soon as the company marched +in, the thirty carriers "washed themselves in the river and +changed their apparel," which was "very fine and fitly made," +after the Spanish cut. The clothes, by all accounts, were only +worn on state occasions. They were long cotton gowns, +either white or rusty black, "shap'd like our Carter's Frocks."</p> + +<p>The town was thirty-five leagues from Nombre de Dios +and forty-five from Panama. It had been surprised the +year before Drake came there (1572) by 150 Spanish +troops under "a gallant gentleman," who had been guided +thither by a recreant Maroon. He attacked a little before +the dawn, and cut down many women and children, but +failed to prevent the escape of nearly all the men. In a +little while they rallied, and attacked the Spaniards with +great fury, killing their guide and four-fifths of their +company. The wretched remnant straggled back as best +they could "to return answer to them which sent them." +The natives living there at the time of Drake's visit kept +a continual watch some three miles from the town, to +prevent a second surprise. Any Spaniards whom they +met they "killed like beasts."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p> + +<p>The adventurers passed a night in the town, and stayed +until noon of the day following. The Maroons told them +stories of their battles with the Spaniards, while Drake +inquired into "their affection in religion." He learned +that they had no kind of priests; "only they held the +Cross in great reputation"—having, perhaps, learned so +much of Christianity from the Spaniards. Drake seems +to have done a little earnest missionary work, for he +persuaded them "to leave their crosses, and to learn the +Lord's Prayer, and to be instructed in some measure +concerning God's true worship." After dinner on the +7th of February the company took to the roads again, +refusing to take any of the countless recruits who offered +their services. Four Maroons went on ahead to mark a +trail by breaking branches or flinging a bunch of leaves +upon the ground. After these four, marched twelve more +Maroons as a sort of vanguard. Then came Drake with +his men and the two Maroon chiefs. Another troop of +twelve Maroons brought up the rear. The Maroons +marched in strict silence, "which they also required us +to keep," for it is the custom among nearly all savage +folk to remain silent on the trail.</p> + +<p>The way now led them through parts less swampy, and, +therefore, less densely tangled over than those nearer +the "North Sea." "All the way was through woods very +cool and pleasant," says the narrative, "by reason of those +goodly and high trees, that grow there so thick." They +were mounting by slow degrees to the "ridge between +the two seas," and the woodland was getting clear of +undergrowth. As later buccaneers have noted, the upper +land of the isthmus is wooded with vast trees, whose +branches shut out the sun. Beneath these trees a man +may walk with pleasure, or indeed ride, for there is hardly +any undergrowth. The branches are so thick together +that the lower ground receives no sunlight, and, therefore,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> +little grows there. The heat of the sun is shut out, and +"it is cooler travelling there ... in that hot region, than +it is in ... England in the summer time." As the men +began to ascend, the Maroons told them that not far away +there grew a great tree about midway between the oceans, +"from which we might at once discern the North Sea +from whence we came, and the South Sea whither we +were going." On the 11th of February, after four days of +slow but steady climbing, they "came to the height of the +desired hill, a very high hill, lying East and West, like a +ridge between the two seas." It was ten o'clock in the +forenoon, the hour at which the dinner halt was made. +Pedro, the Maroon chief, now took Drake's hand, and +"prayed him to follow him if he was desirous to see at +once the two seas which he had so longed for." Drake +followed Pedro to the hilltop, to the "goodly and great +high Tree," of which the Maroons had spoken. He found +that they had hacked out steps upon the bole, "to ascend +up near unto the top," where they had built a pleasant +little hut of branches thatched from the sun, "wherein ten +or twelve men might easily sit." "South and north of +this Tree" the Maroons had felled certain trees "that the +prospect might be the clearer." At its base there was a +number of strong houses "that had been built long before," +perhaps by an older people than the Cimmeroons. +The tree seems to have been a place of much resort among +that people, as it lay in their paths across the isthmus, and +towards the west.</p> + +<p>Drake climbed the tree with Pedro to the little sunny +bower at the top. A fresh breeze which was blowing, had +blown away the mists and the heat haze, so that the +whole isthmus lay exposed before him, in the golden +sunlight. There to the north, like a bright blue jewel, +was "the Atlantic Ocean whence now we came." There +to the south, some thirty miles away, was "that sea of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> +which he had heard such golden reports." He looked at +the wonderful South Sea, and "besought Almighty God +of His goodness, to give him life and leave to sail once in +an English ship, in that sea." The prayer was granted to +him, for in five years' time he was off that very coast with +such a spoil as no ship ever took before. Having glutted +his eyes with the sight, Drake called up all his English +followers, and "acquainted John Oxenham especially with +this his petition and purpose, if it would please God to grant +him that happiness." Oxenham answered fervently that +"unless our Captain did beat him from his company, he +would follow him, by God's grace." He fulfilled his vow a few +months later, with disaster to himself and his associates.</p> + +<p>"Thoroughly satisfied with the sight of the seas," the +men descended to their dinner with excellent appetite. +They then pushed on lightly as before, through continual +forest, for another two days. On the 13th of February, +when they had gained the west side of the Cheapo River, +the forest broke away into little knots of trees green and +goodly, which showed like islands in a rolling ocean of +green grass. They were come to the famous savannahs, +over which roamed herds of black cattle, swift and savage. +Everywhere about them was the wiry stipa grass, and +"a kind of grass with a stalk as big as a great wheaten +reed, which hath a blade issuing from the top of it, on +which though the cattle feed, yet it groweth every day +higher, until the top be too high for an ox to reach." The +inhabitants of the country were wont to burn the grass +every year, but "after it is thus burnt" it "springeth up +fresh like green corn" within three days. "Such," says +the narrative, "is the great fruitfulness of the soil: by +reason of the evenness of the day and the night, and the +rich dews which fall every morning." As the raiders +advanced along this glorious grass-land they sometimes +caught sight of Panama. Whenever they topped a rise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> +they could see the city, though very far away; and at last, +"on the last day," they saw the ships riding in the road, +with the blue Pacific trembling away into the sky beyond +them. Now was the woodcock near the gin, and now the +raiders had to watch their steps. There was no cover on +those rolling sweeps of grass. They were within a day's +journey of the city. The grass-land (as Drake gathered +from his guides) was a favourite hunting-ground of the +city poulterers, for there, as Drake puts it, "the Dames of +Panama are wont to send forth hunters and fowlers, for +taking of sundry dainty fowl, which the land yieldeth." +Such a body of men as theirs might readily be detected +by one of these sportsmen, and one such detection would +surely ruin the attempt. They therefore, crept like snakes +"out of all ordinary way," worming themselves through +the grass-clumps till they came to a little river-bed, in +which a trickle of water ran slowly across the sun-bleached +pebbles. They were minded to reach a grove or wood +about a league from Panama. The sun beat upon them +fiercely, and it was necessary for them to travel in the +heat of the day. In that open country the midday heat +was intense, but they contrived to gain the shelter of the +wood by three that afternoon. "This last day," says the +narrative, "our Captain did behold and view the most +of all that fair city, discerning the large street which lieth +directly from the sea into the land, South and North."</p> + +<p>Having gained the shelter of the wood, Drake chose +out a Maroon "that had served a master in Panama" to +venture into the city as a spy. He dressed the man "in +such apparel as the Negroes of Panama do use to wear," +and sent him off to the town an hour before night, "so +that by the closing in of the evening he might be in the +city." He gave the man strict charge to find out "the +certain night, and the time of the night, when the carriers +laded the Treasure from the King's Treasure House to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> +Nombre de Dios." The first stage of the journey (from +Panama to Venta Cruz) was always undertaken in the +cool of the night, "because the country is all champion, +and consequently by day very hot." From Venta Cruz +to Nombre de Dios "they travel always by day and not +by night, because all that way is full of woods and therefore +very cool." Drake's plan was to waylay one of the +treasure trains on the night journey towards Venta Cruz. +The Maroon soon returned to the little wood where the +men were lying. He had entered the town without +trouble, and had met with some old companions, who had +told him all he wished to know. A treasure train was to +start that very night, for a great Spanish gentleman, the +treasurer of Lima, "was intending to pass into Spain" in +a swift advice ship which stayed for him at Nombre de +Dios. "His daughter and family" were coming with +him, "having fourteen mules in company, of which eight +were laden with gold, and one with jewels." After this +troop, two other recuas, "of fifty mules in each," would +take the road, carrying victuals and wine for the fleet, +"with some little quantity of silver."</p> + +<p>As soon as the news had been conveyed to Drake, he +marched his men away from Panama towards Venta Cruz, +some four leagues' journey. He halted them about two +leagues to the south of Venta Cruz, in a clump of tall +grass, and then examined a Spanish prisoner whom his +scouts had caught. Two of the Maroons, stealing forward +along the line of march, had scented the acrid smoke of a +burning match carried by some arquebusier. They had +crept up "by scent of the said match," and had heard a +sound of snoring coming from the grass by the roadside. +A Spanish sentry had fallen asleep upon his post, "and +being but one they fell upon him, stopped his mouth from +crying, put out his match," and bound him so effectually +"that they well near strangled him." He was in the pay<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span> +of the King's treasurer, who had hired him, with others, +to guard the treasure train upon its march from Venta +Cruz. He had fallen asleep while waiting for the mules +to arrive, as he knew that he would get no sleep until the +company he marched with was safe in Nombre de Dios. +He was in terror of his life, for he believed that he had +fallen into the hands of the Maroons, from whom he +might expect no mercy. When he learned that he was +a prisoner to Francis Drake he plucked up courage, "and +was bold to make two requests unto him." First, he asked +that Drake would order the Maroons to spare his life, for +he knew that they "hated the Spaniards, especially the +soldiers, extremely," but a word from such a Captain would +be enough to save him. The second request was also +personal. He assured them, upon the faith of a soldier, +that "they should have that night more gold, besides +jewels, and pearls of great price, than all they could carry"; +if not, he swore, let them deal with him as they would. +But, he added, if the raiders are successful, "then it might +please our Captain to give unto him, as much as might +suffice for him and his mistress to live upon, as he had +heard our Captain had done to divers others"—promising, +in such a case, to make his name as famous as any of them +which had received the like favour.</p> + +<p>Being now "at the place appointed" Drake divided his +men into two companies. With eight Englishmen and +fifteen Cimmeroons he marched to some long grass about +fifty paces from the road. He sent John Oxenham, with +Pedro and the other company of men, to the other side of +the road, at the same distance from it, but a little farther +to the south, in order that, "as occasion served, the former +company might take the foremost mules by the heads," +while Oxenham's party did that service for those which +followed. The arrangement also provided "that if we +should have need to use our weapons that night, we might<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> +be sure not to endamage our fellows." Having reached +their stations, the men lay down to wait, keeping as quiet +as they could. In about an hour's time they heard the +clanging of many mule bells, making a loud music, in the +direction of Venta Cruz. Mules were returning from that +town to Panama; for with the fleet at Nombre de Dios +there was much business between the two seaports, and +the mule trains were going and coming several times a +day. As they listened, they heard more mule bells ringing +far away on the road from Panama. The treasurer with +his company was coming.</p> + +<p>Now, Drake had given strict orders that no man should +show himself, or as much as budge from his station, "but +let all that came from Venta Cruz [which was nothing +but merchandise] to pass quietly." Yet one of the men, +probably one of Oxenham's men, of the name of Robert +Pike, now disobeyed those orders. "Having drunken +too much aqua-vitæ without water," he forgot himself. +He rose from his place in the grass, "enticing a Cimaroon +with him," and crept up close to the road, "with +intent to have shown his forwardness on the foremost +mules." Almost immediately a cavalier came trotting +past from Venta Cruz upon a fine horse, with a little +page running at the stirrup. As he trotted by, Robert +Pike "rose up to see what he was." The Cimmeroon +promptly pulled him down, and sat upon him; but his +promptness came too late to save the situation. All +the English had put their shirts over their other apparel, +"that we might be sure to know our own men in the +pell mell in the night." The Spanish cavalier had glanced +in Robert Pike's direction, and had seen a figure rising +from the grass "half all in white" and very conspicuous. +He had heard of Drake's being on the coast, and at +once came to the conclusion that that arch-pirate had +found his way through the woods to reward himself for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> +his disappointment at Nombre de Dios. He was evidently +a man of great presence of mind. He put spurs +to his horse, and galloped off down the road, partly to +escape the danger, but partly also to warn the treasure +train, the bells of which were now clanging loudly at a +little distance from the ambuscade.</p> + +<p>Drake heard the trotting horse's hoofs clatter out into +a furious gallop. He suspected that he had been discovered, +"but could not imagine by whose fault, neither +did the time give him the leasure to search." It was +a still night, and he had heard no noise, yet something +had startled the cavalier. Earnestly hoping that the +rider had been alarmed by the silence of the night and +the well-known danger of the road, he lay down among +the grass again to wait for the mules to come. The +bells clanged nearer and nearer, till at last the mules +were trotting past the ambush. The captains blew their +whistles to the attack. The raiders rose from the grass-clumps +with a cheer. There was a rush across the narrow +trackway at the drivers, the mules were seized, and in +a moment, two full recuas were in the raiders' hands.</p> + +<p>So far all had gone merrily. The sailors turned to +loot the mule packs, congratulating themselves upon their +glorious good fortune. It must have been a strange scene +to witness—the mules scared and savage, the jolly seamen +laughing as they pulled the packs away, the Maroons +grinning and chattering, and the harness and the bells +jingling out a music to the night. As the packs were +ripped open a mutter of disappointment began to sound +among the ranks of the spoilers. Pack after pack was +found to consist of merchandise—vicuna wool, or dried +provender for the galleons. The amount of silver found +amounted to a bare two horse loads. Gold there was +none. The jewels of the King's treasurer were not to be +discovered. The angry sailors turned upon the muleteers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span> +for an explanation. The chief muleteer, "a very sensible +fellow," was taken to Drake, who soon learned from him +the reason why the catch was so poor. The cavalier who +had noticed Robert Pike was the saviour of the +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original lacks .">treasure.</ins> +As soon as the figure half all in white had risen ghost-like +by the road, he had galloped to the treasure mules to +report what he had seen to the treasurer. The thing he +had seen was vague, but it was yet too unusual to pass +unnoticed. Drake, he said, was a person of devilish resource, +and it was highly probable, he thought, that +the pirates had come "in covert through the woods" +to recoup themselves for their former disappointments. +A white shirt was the usual uniform for men engaged +in night attacks. No Maroon would wear such a thing +in that locality, and, therefore, it would be well to let +the food train pass ahead of the treasure. The loss +of the food train would be a little matter, while it would +surely show them whether an ambush lay in wait or not. +The treasurer had accordingly drawn his company aside +to allow the food mules to get ahead of him. As soon +as the noise upon the road advised him that the enemy +had made their spring, he withdrew quietly towards +Panama. "Thus," says the narrative, "we were disappointed +of a most rich booty: which is to be though +God would not should be taken, for that, by all likelihood, +it was well gotten by that Treasurer."</p> + +<p>We are not told what happened to Robert Pike, but +it is probable that he had a bad five minutes when the +muleteer's story reached the sailors. It was bad enough +to have marched all day under a broiling sun, and to lose +a royal fortune at the end; but that was not all, nor nearly +all: they were now discovered to the enemy, who lay +in considerable force in their front and rear. They were +wearied out with marching, yet they knew very well that unless +they "shifted for themselves betimes" all the Spaniards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> +of Panama would be upon them. They had a bare two +or three hours' grace in which to secure themselves. +They had marched four leagues that night, and by marching +back those same four leagues they might win to +cover by the morning. If they marched forward they +might gain the forest in two leagues; but Venta Cruz lay +in the road, and Venta Cruz was guarded day and night +by a company of Spanish troops. To reach the forest +by the latter road they would have to make a way with +their swords, but with men so tired and out of heart +it seemed the likelier route of the two. It was better, +Drake thought, "to encounter his enemies while he had +strength remaining, than to be encountered or chased +when they should be worn out with weariness." He +bade all hands to eat and drink from the provisions found +upon the mules, and while they took their supper he +told them what he had resolved to do. He called upon +Pedro, the Maroon, by name, asking "whether he would +give his hand not to forsake him." Pedro swore that +he would rather die at his feet than desert him in such +a pass—a vow which assured Drake of the loyalty of +his allies. As soon as supper was over, he bade the men +mount upon the mules, so that they might not weary +themselves with marching. An hour's trot brought them +to the woods within a mile of Venta Cruz, where they +dismounted, and went afoot, after bidding the muleteers +not to follow if they cared for whole skins. The road +was here some ten or twelve feet broad, "so as two Recuas +may pass one by another." It was paved with cobbles, +which had been beaten into the mud by Indian slaves. +On either side of it was the dense tropical forest, "as thick +as our thickest hedges in England that are oftenest cut." +Among the tangle, about half-a-mile from the town, the +Spaniards had taken up a strong position. The town +guard of musketeers had been reinforced by a number<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> +of friars from a religious house. They lay there, hidden +in the jungle, blowing their matches to keep them burning +clearly. Two Maroons, whom Drake had sent forward +as scouts, crept back to him with the news that the +enemy were there in force, for they had smelt the reek +of the smouldering matches and heard the hushed noise +of many men moving in the scrub. Drake gave orders +that no man should fire till the Spaniards had given them +a volley, for he thought they would first parley with him, +"as indeed fell out." Soon afterwards, as the men neared +the Spanish ambush, a Spanish captain rose from the road, +and "cried out, Hoo!" Drake answered with, "Hallo!"—the +sailor's reply to a hail. The Spaniard then put the +query "Que gente?" to which Drake answered "Englishmen." +The Spaniard, "in the name of the King of Spain +his master," then charged him to surrender, passing his +word as a gentleman soldier that the whole company +should be treated courteously. Drake made a few quick +steps towards the Spaniard, crying out that "for the +honour of the Queen of England, his mistress, he must +have passage that way." As he advanced, he fired his +pistol towards him, in order to draw the Spanish fire. +Immediately the thicket burst out into flame; for the +ambush took the shot for a signal, and fired off their +whole volley. Drake received several hail-shot in his +body. Many of the men were wounded, and one man +fell sorely hurt. As the volley crackled out its last few +shots, Drake blew his whistle, as a signal to his men +to fire. A volley of shot and arrows was fired into the +thicket, and the company at once advanced, "with intent +to come to handy strokes." As they stormed forward +to the thicket, the Spaniards fled towards a position of +greater strength. Drake called upon his men to double +forward to prevent them. The Maroons at once rushed +to the front, "with their arrows ready in their bows, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> +their manner of country dance or leap, singing Yó péhó! +Yó péhó, and so got before us where they continued +their leap and song after the manner of their own country +wars." The Spaniards heard the war-cry ringing out +behind them, and fell back rapidly upon the town. Near +the town's end a party of them rallied, forming a sort +of rearguard to cover the retreat. As they took up a +position in the woods, the Maroons charged them upon +both flanks, while the English rushed their centre. There +was a mad moment of fighting in the scrub. A Maroon +went down with a pike through the body; but he contrived +to kill the pikeman before he died. Several +Englishmen were hurt. The Spaniards' loss is not +mentioned, but it was probably severe. They broke and +fled before the fury of the attack, and the whole body +of fighting men, "friars and all," were thrust back into +the town by the raiders. As they ran, the raiders pressed +them home, shouting and slaying. The gates were open. +The Spanish never had another chance to rally, and the +town was taken with a rush a very few minutes after +the captain's challenge in the wood.</p> + + +<h3><span class="smcap">Venta Cruz</span></h3> + +<p>Venta Cruz, the modern Cruces, stood, and still stands, +on the west or left bank of the Chagres River. It marks +the highest point to which boats may penetrate from the +North Sea. Right opposite the town the river broadens +out to a considerable width, affording berths for a number +of vessels of slight draught. At the time of Drake's raid +it was a place of much importance. The land route from +Panama to Nombre de Dios was, as we have said, boggy, +dangerous, and pestilential. The freight charges for mule +transport across the isthmus were excessive, ranging from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> +twenty-five to thirty dollars of assayed silver for a mule +load of 200 pounds weight—a charge which works +out at nearly £70 a ton. Even in the dry season the +roads were bad, and the mule trains were never safe from +the Maroons. Many merchants, therefore, sent their goods +to Venta Cruz in flat-bottomed boats of about fifteen tons. +These would sail from Nombre de Dios to the mouth of +the Chagres River, where they struck sail, and took to +their sweeps. The current was not very violent except +in the upper reaches, and the boats were generally able +to gain Venta Cruz in a few days—in about three days +in dry weather and about twelve in the rains. A towing-path +was advocated at one time; but it does not seem to +have been laid, though the river-banks are in many places +flat and sandy, and free from the dense undergrowth of +the tropics. As soon as the boats arrived at Venta Cruz +they were dragged alongside the jetty on the river-bank, +and their cargoes were transferred to some strong stone +warehouses. In due course the goods were packed on +mules, and driven away down the road to Panama, a +distance of some fifteen or eighteen miles, which the +mules would cover in about eight hours. The town at +the time of Drake's raid contained about forty or fifty +houses, some of them handsome stone structures decorated +with carven work. The river-bank was covered with +a great many warehouses, and there were several official +buildings, handsome enough, for the Governor and the +King's officers. There was a monastery full of friars, +"where we found above a thousand bulls and pardons, +newly sent from Rome." Perhaps there was also some +sort of a barrack for the troops. The only church was +the great church of the monastery. The town was not +fortified, but the houses made a sort of hedge around it; +and there were but two entrances—the one from the forest, +by which Drake's party entered; the other leading over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> +a pontoon bridge towards the hilly woods beyond the +Chagres. Attached to the monastery, and tended by +the monks and their servants, was a sort of sanatorium +and lying-in hospital. Nombre de Dios was so unhealthy, +so full of malaria and yellow fever, "that no Spaniard +or white woman" could ever be delivered there without +the loss of the child on the second or third day. It was +the custom of the matrons of Nombre de Dios to proceed +to Venta Cruz or to Panama to give birth to their +children. The babes were left in the place where they +were born, in the care of the friars, until they were five +or six years old. They were then brought to Nombre +de Dios, where "if they escaped sickness the first or +second month, they commonly lived in it as healthily +as in any other place." Life in Venta Cruz must have +been far from pleasant. The Maroons were a continual +menace, but the town was too well guarded, and too close +to Panama, for them to put the place in serious danger. +The inhabitants had to keep within the township; for the +forest lay just beyond the houses, and lonely wanderers +were certain to be stabbed by lurking Maroons or carried +off by jaguars. In the season the mule trains were continually +coming and going, either along the swampy track +to Nombre de Dios or from Nombre de Dios to Panama. +Boats came sleepily up the Chagres to drop their anchors +by the jetty, with news from the Old World and the commodities +which the New World did not yield. It must, +then, have been one of the most eventful places in the +uncomfortable isthmus; but no place can be very pleasant +which has an annual rainfall of 120 inches and a mean +annual temperature of about 80°. The country adjacent +is indescribably beautiful; the river is clear and brilliant; +the woods are gorgeous with many-coloured blossoms, +and with birds and butterflies that gleam in green and +blue among the leaves. During the rains the river some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>times +rises forty feet in a night, and sweeps into the town +with masses of rotting verdure from the hills. There is +always fever in the place, but in the rainy season it is +more virulent than in the dry. At present the town has +few white inhabitants. The fair stone houses which Drake +saw are long since gone, having been destroyed in one of +the buccaneering raids a century later. The modern town +is a mere collection of dirty huts, inhabited by negroes, +half-breeds, and Indians.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V</h2> + +<h3>BACK TO THE MAIN BODY</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The treasure train—The spoil—Captain Tetû hurt</p></div> + + +<p>As soon as the town was in his hands, Drake set guards +on the bridge across the Chagres and at the gate +by which he had entered the town. He gave orders to +the Maroons that they were not to molest women or +unarmed men. He gave them free permission to take +what they would from the stores and houses, and then +went in person to comfort some gentlewomen "which had +lately been delivered of children there." They were in +terror of their lives, for they had heard the shouts and +firing, and had thought that the Maroons were coming. +They refused to listen to the various comforters whom +Drake had sent to them, and "never ceased most earnestly +entreating" that Drake himself would come to them. +Drake succeeded in reassuring them that nothing "to +the worth of a garter" would be taken from them. They +then dried their tears, and were comforted.</p> + +<p>The raiders stayed in the town about an hour and a half, +during which time they succeeded in getting together a +little comfortable dew of heaven—not gold, indeed, nor +silver, but yet "good pillage." Drake allowed them this +latitude so that they might not be cast down by the disappointment +of the night. He gave orders, however, that +no heavy loot should be carried from the town, because +they had yet many miles to go, and were still in danger +of attack. While the men were getting their spoils together, +ready for marching, and eating a hasty breakfast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> +in the early morning light, a sudden fusillade began at +the Panama gate. Some ten or twelve cavaliers had +galloped in from Panama, supposing that the pirates +had left the town. They had come on confidently, right +up to the muzzles of the sentries' muskets. They had +then been met with a shattering volley, which killed and +wounded half their number and sent the others scattering +to the woods. Fearing that they were but a scouting +party, and that a troop of horse might be following to +support them, Drake gave the word to fall in for the +road. The spoil, such as it was, was shouldered; Drake +blew a blast upon his whistle; the men formed up into +their accustomed marching order, and tramped away from +Venta Cruz, across the Chagres bridge, just as the dawn +set the parrots screeching and woke the monkeys to their +morning song. They seem to have expected no pursuit; +but Drake was not a man to run unnecessary risks. His +men, including the Maroons, were "grown very valiant," +yet they were granted no further chance to show their +valour. Drake told them that they had now been "well +near a fortnight" from the ship, with her company of sick +and sorry sailors. He was anxious to rejoin her without +delay, so the word was given to force the marching. He +refused to visit the Indian villages, though the Maroons +begged him earnestly to do so. His one wish was to +rejoin Ellis Hixom. He "hustled" his little company +without mercy, encouraging them "with such example +and speech that the way seemed much shorter." He +himself, we are told, "marched most cheerfully," telling +his comrades of the golden spoils they would win before +they sailed again for England. There was little ease +on that march to the coast, for Drake would allow no +one to leave the ranks. When provisions ran out they +had to march on empty stomachs. There was no hunting +of the peccary or the deer, as on the jolly progress west<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>ward. +"We marched many days with hungry stomachs," +says the narrative, and such was the hurry of the march +that many of the men "fainted with sickness of weariness." +Their clothes were hanging on their backs in shreds and +tatters. Their boots had long since cracked and rotted. +Many of them were marching with their feet wrapped up +in rags. Many of them were so footsore they could +scarcely put their feet upon the ground. Swaying, limping, +utterly road-weary, they came tottering into a little +village which the Maroons had built as a rest-house for +them, about three leagues from the ship. They were +quite exhausted. Their feet were bloody and swollen. +The last stages had been marched with great bodily +suffering, "all our men complaining of the tenderness +of their feet." Drake complained also, "sometimes without +cause, but sometimes with cause indeed; which made +the rest to bear the burden the more easily." Some of +the men were carried in by the Maroons. Indeed, the +Maroons had saved the whole party from collapse, for +they not only built them shelter huts at night, carried +the weary, and found, or made, them a road to travel +by, but they also bore the whole burden of the company's +arms and necessaries. Their fellows who had stayed with +Ellis Hixom had built the little town in the woods, for +the refreshment of all hands, in case they should arrive +worn out with marching. At sunset on the evening of +Saturday, the 22nd of February, the weary crew arrived +at the little town, to the great joy of the Maroons who +kept watch and ward there. The tired men lay down +to rest, while Drake "despatched a Cimaroon with a +token and certain order to the Master."</p> + +<p>The day had dawned before this messenger arrived upon +the sands near which the ship was moored. He hailed +her, crying out that he came with news, and immediately +a boat pushed off, manned by men "which longed to hear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span> +of our Captain's speeding." As soon as he appeared before +Ellis Hixom, he handed over Drake's golden toothpick, +"which he said our Captain had sent for a token to Ellis +Hixom, with charge to meet him at such a river." The +sight of the golden toothpick was too much for Ellis +Hixom. He knew it to be his Captain's property, but +coming as it did, without a sign in writing, it convinced +him that "something had befallen our Captain otherwise +than well." The Maroon saw him staring "as amazed," +and told him that it was dark when Drake had packed +him off, so that no letter could be sent, "but yet with the +point of his knife, he wrote something upon the toothpick, +'which,' he said, 'should be sufficient to gain credit to the +messenger.'" Looking closely at the sliver of gold, Hixom +saw a sentence scratched upon it: "By me, Francis +Drake," which convinced him that the message was +genuine. He at once called away one of the pinnaces, +storing her with "what provision he could," and promptly +set sail for the mouth of the Tortugos River, a few miles +along the coast, to the west of where he lay, for there +Drake intended to await him.</p> + +<p>At about three o'clock that afternoon, Drake marched +his men, or all who were fit to march, out of the forest to +the sandy beach at the river's mouth. Half-an-hour later +the tattered ragamuffins saw the pinnace running in to +take them off, "which was unto us all a double rejoicing: +first that we saw them, and next, so soon." The whole +company stood up together on the beach to sing some of +the psalms of thanksgiving—praising God "most heartily, +for that we saw our pinnace and fellows again." To Ellis +Hixom and his gang of shipkeepers the raiders appeared +"as men strangely changed," though Drake was less +changed than the others, in spite of the wound he got at +Venta Cruz. The three weeks' march in that abominable +country, and the last few days of "fasting and sore travail,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> +would have been enough to "fore pine and waste" the very +strongest, while "the grief we drew inwardly, for that +we returned without that gold and treasure we hoped for, +did no doubt show her print and footsteps in our faces." +The next day the pinnace rowed "to another river in the +bottom of the bay" to pick up the stragglers who had +stayed to rest with the Maroons. The company was +then reunited in the secret haven. Wonderful tales were +told of the journey across the isthmus, of the South Sea, +with its lovely city, and of the rush through the grass in +the darkness, when the mule bells came clanging past, that +night near Venta Cruz. The sick men recovering from +their calentures "were thoroughly revived" by these tales. +They importuned Drake to take them with him on the +next foray; for Drake gave out that he meant not to leave +off thus, but would once again attempt the same journey. +In the general rejoicing and merry-making it is possible +that Robert Pike remained aloof in the darkness of the +'tween decks, deprived of his allowance of aqua-vitæ.</p> + +<p>Drake noted the eager spirit among his men, and determined +to give it vent. He called them together to a +consultation, at which they discussed what was best to be +done until the mule trains again set forth from Panama. +There was Veragua, "a rich town lying to the Westward, +between Nombre de Dios and Nicaragua, where is the +richest mine of fine gold that is on this North side." At +Veragua also there were little rivers, in which "oftentimes +they find pieces of gold as big as peas." Then, if Veragua +were thought ill of, as too difficult, there were treasure +ships to intercept as they wallowed home for Spain from +Nombre de Dios. Or the men might keep themselves +employed in capturing victual frigates for the stocking of +the ship before they attacked another recua. This last +scheme was flouted by many as unnecessary. They had +food enough, they said, and what they lacked the country<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span> +would supply, but the treasure, the comfortable dew of +heaven, for which they had come so far, was the main +thing, and to get that they were ready to venture on the +galleons, soldiers or no soldiers. At this point the Maroons +were called in to give their opinion. Most of them had +served the Spaniards as slaves in one town or another of +the Main. Several of them had worked under the whip +of a wealthy Spaniard in Veragua, a creature of the name +of Pezoro, who was "bad and cruel, not only to his slaves, +but unto all men." This gentleman lived in a strong stone +house at a little distance from the town. He had amassed +a vast quantity of treasure, for he owned a gold mine, +which he worked with 100 slaves. He lived with a +guard of soldiers, but the Maroons felt confident that by +attacking from the shore side of the house they could +easily break in upon him. His gold was stored in his +house "in certain great chests." If they succeeded in +surprising the house, it would be an easy matter to make +a spoil of the whole. Drake did not care for the scheme, +as it involved a long march through the woods. He +hesitated to put his men to so much labour, for he had +now seen something of this woodland marching, and knew +how desperate a toil it was. He thought that they would +be better employed in gathering victuals and looking out +for treasure transports. They might practise both crafts +at the same time by separating into two companies. John +Oxenham, in the <i>Bear</i> frigate, could sail "Eastwards +towards Tolu, to see what store of victuals would come +athwart his halse." In the meanwhile he would take +the <i>Minion</i> pinnace to the west, to "lie off and on the +Cabezas" in order to intercept any treasure transports +coming from Veragua or Nicaragua to Nombre de +Dios. Those of the Maroons who cared to stay aboard +the <i>Pascha</i> were free to do so. The rest were dismissed +"most courteously" with "gifts and favours" of the sorts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span> +most pleasing to them, such as knives, iron, coloured +ribbons and cloth.</p> + +<p>The companies were picked; the pinnaces received +their stores; sails were bent and set, and the two boats +sailed away to their stations. Off the Cabezas the <i>Minion</i> +fell in with a frigate from Nicaragua "in which was some +gold and a Genoese pilot." Drake treated this pilot in his +usual liberal manner till he won him over to his interests. +He had been in Veragua harbour, he said, but eight days +before. He knew the channel perfectly, so that he could +carry Drake in, at night if need were, at any state of the +tide. The townsfolk, he said, were in a panic on account +of Drake's presence in those seas; they were in such a +state of terror that they could not decide upon a scheme +to defend the town in case he attacked it. Signor Pezoro +was thinking of removing himself to the South Seas. The +harbour lay open to any enemy, for the only guns in the +place were up at the town, about fifteen miles from the +haven's mouth. If Drake made a sudden dash, he said, he +would be able to cut out a frigate in the harbour. She +was fitting for the sea there, and was very nearly ready +to sail. She had aboard her "above a million of gold," +which, with a little promptness and courage, might become +the property of the raiders. On hearing of this golden +booty, Drake thought of all that the Maroons had told +him. He was minded to return to the anchorage, to fetch +off some of those who had lived with Senor Pezoro, in +order that he might have a check upon the pilot's statements, +and a guide, if need were, to the city. The Genoese +dissuaded him from this scheme, pointing out that a return +to the ship would waste several days, during which the +frigate might get away to sea. Drake, therefore, took the +packets of gold from the Nicaraguan prize, and dismissed +her "somewhat lighter to hasten her journey." He then +got his oars out, and made all haste to the west, under a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span> +press of sail, "to get this harbour, and to enter it by night." +He hoped to cut out the treasure ship and to have a look +at the house of Senor Pezoro—two investments which would +"make" the voyage if all went well. But as the boat drew +near to the mouth of the harbour "we heard the report +of two Chambers, and farther off, about a league within +the bay, two others as it were answering them." The +Spaniards had espied the boat, and had fired signal guns +to warn the shipping and the town. The report of the +guns called the Spaniards to arms—an exercise they were +more ready to since the Governor of Panama had warned +them to expect Drake. "The rich Gnuffe Pezoro," it was +thought, had paid the cost of the sentries. "It was not +God's will that we should enter at that time," says the +narrative. The wind shifted opportunely to the westward; +and Drake put his helm up, and ran away to the +east, where he picked up the <i>Bear</i>, "according to appointment." +Oxenham had had a very prosperous and pleasant +cruise, for off Tolu he had come across a victual frigate +"in which there were ten men [whom they set ashore], +great store of maize, twenty-eight fat hogs, and two +hundred hens." The lading was discharged into the <i>Pascha</i> +on the 19th and 20th of March as a seasonable refreshment +to the company. The frigate pleased Drake, for +though she was small (not twenty tons, in fact) she was +strong, new, and of a beautiful model. As soon as her +cargo was out of her, he laid her on her side, and scraped +and tallowed her "to make her a Man of war." He then +fitted her with guns from the <i>Pascha</i>, and stored her with +provisions for a cruise. The Spaniards taken in her had +spoken of "two little galleys built in Nombre de Dios, to +waft [tow] the Chagres Fleet to and fro." They were "not +yet both launched," and the Chagres fleet lay waiting for +them within the mouth of the Chagres River. Drake +"purposed now to adventure for that Fleet." The day on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> +which he made his plan was Easter Sunday, the 22nd +March. "And to hearten his company" for that bold +attempt "he feasted them that Easter Day with great +cheer and cheerfulness" on the dainties taken from the +Spaniards.</p> + +<p>The next day, he manned "the new tallowed frigate of +Tolu," and sailed away west (with Oxenham in the <i>Bear</i> +in company) "towards the Cativaas," where they landed +to refresh themselves. As they played about upon the sand, +flinging pebbles at the land-crabs, they saw a sail to the +westward coming down towards them. They at once +repaired aboard, and made sail, and "plied towards" the +stranger, thinking her to be a Spaniard. The stranger +held on her course as though to run the raiders aboard, +"till he perceived by our confidence that we were no +Spaniards, and conjectured we were those Englishmen +of whom he had heard long before." He bore up suddenly +under the lee of the English ships, "and in token of +amity shot off his lee ordnance"—a salute which Drake +at once acknowledged by a similar discharge. As the +ships neared each other, the stranger hailed Drake, saying +that he was Captain Tetû, or Le Testu, a Frenchman of +Newhaven (or Havre), in desperate want of water. He +had been looking for Drake, he said, for the past five +weeks, "and prayed our Captain to help him to some +water, for that he had nothing but wine and cider aboard +him, which had brought his men into great sickness"—gastritis +or dysentery. Drake at once sent a boat aboard +with a cask or two of drink, and some fresh meat, "willing +him to follow us to the next port, where he should have +both water and victuals."</p> + +<p>As soon as they had brought their ships to anchor, the +French captain sent Drake "a case of pistols, and a fair +gilt scimitar (which had been the late King's of France) +whom Monsieur Montgomery hurt in the eye." The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> +Frenchman had received it from "Monsieur Strozze," or +Strozzi, a famous general of banditti. Drake accepted +the gift in the magnificent manner peculiar to him, +sending the bearer back to Tetû with a chain of gold +supporting a tablet of enamel. Having exchanged gifts, +according to the custom of the sea, Captain Tetû came +off to visit Drake. He was a Huguenot privateer, who +had been in France at the time of the Massacre of St +Bartholomew, the murder of Coligny, "and divers others +murders." He had "thought those Frenchmen the happiest +which were farthest from France," and had, therefore, put +to sea to escape from persecution. He was now cruising +off the Spanish Main, "a Man of war as we were." He +had heard much of Drake's spoils upon the coast, and +"desired to know" how he too might win a little Spanish +gold. His ship was a fine craft of more than eighty tons, +manned by seventy men and boys. He asked Drake to +take him into partnership, so that they might share the +next adventure.</p> + +<p>The offer was not very welcome to Drake, for the +French company was more than double the strength of +the English. Drake had but thirty-one men left alive, +and he regarded Tetû with a good deal of jealousy and +a good deal of distrust. Yet with only thirty-one men +he could hardly hope to succeed in any great adventure. +If he joined with the French, he thought there would be +danger of their appropriating most of the booty after +using him and his men as their tools. The English sailors +were of the same opinion; but it was at last decided that +Tetû, with twenty picked hands, should be admitted to +partnership, "to serve with our Captain for halves." It +was something of a risk, but by admitting only twenty +of the seventy men the risk was minimised. They were +not enough to overpower Drake in case they wished to +make away with all the booty, yet they made him suffi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>ciently +strong to attempt the schemes he had in hand. +An agreement was, therefore, signed; a boat was sent to +the secret anchorage to bring the Cimmeroons; and the +three ships then sailed away to the east, to the magazines +of food which Drake had stored some weeks before.</p> + +<p>Here they lay at anchor for five or six days to enable +the sick Frenchmen to get their health and strength +after their weeks of misery. The Huguenot ship was +revictualled from the magazines and then taken with +the <i>Bear</i> into the secret haven. The third pinnace, the +<i>Lion</i>, had been sunk a few days before, but the other +two, the <i>Eion</i> and the <i>Minion</i>, with the new Tolu +frigate, were set in order for the next adventure. Drake +chose fifteen of his remaining thirty hands, and sent them +down into the pinnaces with a few Maroons. The twenty +Frenchmen joined him, under their captain, and the +expedition then set sail for Rio Francisco, fifteen miles +from Nombre de Dios. As they sailed, the Maroons gave +out that the frigate was too deep a ship to cross the Rio +Francisco bar, which had little water on it at that season +of the year. They, therefore, sailed her back, and left +her at the Cabezas, "manned with English and French, in +the charge of Richard Doble," with strict orders not to +venture out until the return of the pinnaces.</p> + +<p>Putting her complement into the pinnaces, they again +set sail for the mouth of the Francisco River. They +crossed the bar without difficulty, and rowed their boats +upstream. They landed some miles from the sea, leaving +the pinnaces in charge of some Maroons. These had +orders to leave the river, and hide themselves in the +Cabezas, and to await the raiders at the landing-place, +without fail, in four days' time.</p> + +<p>As soon as Drake had landed, he ordered the company +in the formation he had used on his march to Panama. +He enjoined strict silence upon all, and gave the word<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> +to march. They set forward silently, through the cane-brakes +and lush undergrowth, upon the long, seven leagues +march to the town of Nombre de Dios. They marched +all day uncomplainingly, so that at dusk they had crept +to within a mile of the trackway, a little to the south of +the town. They were now on some gently rising ground, +with the swamps and Nombre de Dios at their feet. It +made a good camping-ground; and there they passed the +night of the 31st of March, resting and feasting "in great +stillness, in a most convenient place." They were so close +to the town that they could hear the church bells ringing +and the clatter of the hammers in the bay, where the +carpenters were at work upon the treasure ships. They +were working there busily, beating in the rivets all night, +in the coolness, to fit the ships for sea. Nearer to them, +a little to the west, was the trackway, so that they could +hear the mule trains going past to Panama with a great +noise of ringing bells.</p> + +<p>Early on the morning of the 1st of April they heard +a great clang of bells among the woods. The mule trains +were coming in from Venta Cruz—three mule trains +according to the Cimmeroons, laden with "more gold and +silver than all of us could bear away." The adventurers +took their weapons, and crept through the scrub to the +trackway "to hear the bells." In a few minutes, when +each side of the track had been manned by the adventurers, +the treasure trains trotted up with a great +clang and clatter. There were three complete recuas, +"one of 50 mules, the other two of 70 each, every of +which carried 300 lbs. of silver; which in all amounted +to near thirty tons." The trains were guarded by a half +company of Spanish foot, "fifteen to each company." The +soldiers marched by the side of the trains, blowing on +their matches to keep the smouldering ends alight. As +the leading mules came up with the head of the ambush<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> +Drake blew a blast upon his whistle. The raiders rose +from their hiding-place, and fired a volley of shot and +arrows at the troops. At the same moment tarry hands +were laid upon the heads of the leading mules, so that +"all the rest stayed and lay down as their manner is." +The Spanish soldiers, taken by surprise, were yet a credit +to their colours. They fell into confusion at the first +assault, but immediately rallied. A brisk skirmish began, +over the bodies of the mules, with sharp firing of muskets +and arrows. Captain Tetû was hit in the belly with +a charge of hail-shot; a Maroon was shot dead; and then +the sailors cleared the road with a rush, driving the +Spanish pell-mell towards the town. Then with feverish +hands they cast adrift the mule packs "to ease some of +the mules, which were heaviest loaden, of their carriage." +They were among such wealth as few men have looked +upon at the one time. How much they took will never +now be known, but each man there had as much pure +gold, in bars and quoits, as he could carry. They buried +about fifteen tons of silver +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">"partly</ins> +in the burrows which +the great land-crabs had made in the earth, and partly +under old trees which were fallen thereabout, and partly in +the sand and gravel of a river, "not very deep of water." +Some of it, no doubt, remains there to this day.</p> + +<p>In about two hours' time, they were ready to return to +their pinnaces. They formed into order, and hurried +away towards the woods, making as much haste as the +weight of plunder would allow. As they gained the +shelter of the forest they heard a troop of horse, with +some arquebusiers, coming hurriedly to the rescue of +the mules. They attempted no pursuit, for no Spaniard +cared to enter the forest to attack a force in which +Maroons were serving. The raiders were, therefore, able +to get clear away into the jungle. All that day and the +next day they hurried eastward through the scrub.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span> +They made a brief pause, as they tramped, to lay down +Captain Tetû, whose wound prevented him from marching. +He could go no farther, and begged that he might +be left behind in the forest, "in hope that some rest would +recover him better strength." Two French sailors stayed +with him to protect him.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI</h2> + +<h3>THE ADVENTURE OF THE RAFT</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Drake's voyage to the Catives—Homeward bound—The interrupted +sermon</p></div> + + +<p>When the retreating force had gone about two +leagues, they discovered that a Frenchman was +missing from the ranks. He had not been hurt in the +fight; but there was no time to search for him (as a matter +of fact, he had drunk too much wine, and had lost +himself in the woods), so again they pressed on to the +pinnaces and safety. On the 3rd of April, utterly worn +out with the hurry of the retreat, they came to the +Francisco River. They were staggering under the weight +of all their plunder, and, to complete their misery, they +were wet to the skin with a rain-storm which had raged +all night. To their horror they found no pinnaces awaiting +them, but out at sea, not far from the coast, were seven +Spanish pinnaces which had been beating up the inlets for +them. These were now rowing as though directly from +the rendezvous at the Cabezas, so that the draggled band +upon the shore made no doubt that their pinnaces had +been sunk, their friends killed or taken, and the retreat +cut off.</p> + +<p>Drake's chief fear, on seeing these Spanish boats, was +that "they had compelled our men by torture to confess +where his frigate and ships were." To the disheartened +folk about him it seemed that all hope of returning home +was now gone, for they made no doubt that the ships were +by this time destroyed. Some of them flung down their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span> +gold in despair, while all felt something of the general +panic. The Maroons recommended that the march should +be made by land, "though it were sixteen days' journey," +promising them that, if the ships were taken, they might +sojourn among them in the forest as long as they wished. +The sailors were in too great "distress and +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original lacks "">perplexity"</ins> +to listen to counsel; but Drake had a genius for handling +situations of the kind, and he now came forward to quell +the uproar. The men were babbling and swearing in open +mutiny, and the case demanded violent remedy. He +called for silence, telling the mutineers that he was no +whit better off than they were; that it was no time to give +way to fear, but a time to keep a stiff upper lip, and play +the man. He reminded them that, even if the Spaniards +had taken the pinnaces, "which God forbid," "yet they must +have time to search them, time to examine the mariners, +time to execute their resolution after it is determined." +"Before all these times be taken," he exclaimed angrily, +"we may get to our ships if ye will." They might not +hope to go by land, he said, for it would take too long, +and the ways would be too foul. But why should they +not go by water? There was the river at their feet, +roaring down in full spate, tumbling the trunks of trees +destroyed in last night's storm. Why in the world should +they not make a raft of the trees, "and put ourselves to +sea"? "I will be one," he concluded, "who will be the +other?" The appeal went home to the sailors. An +Englishman named John Smith at once came forward, with +a couple of Frenchmen "who could swim very well." The +Maroons formed into a line beside the river, and the tree +trunks were caught and hauled ashore to form the body of +the raft. The branches were trimmed with the hatchets +they had brought to clear a path through the forest. The +boles were fastened together with thongs stolen from the +recua, and with the pliant bejuca growing all about them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span> +The men worked merrily, convinced that Drake would +find a way to bring the ship to them. As soon as the +raft was built, a mast was stepped in her, on which a +biscuit sack was hoisted for a sail. A young tree, working +in a crutch, served them as a steering oar. The four men +went aboard, a line was laid out to the bar, and the +curious raft was hauled off into the sea. The last of the +storm of the night before was still roaring up aloft. A +high sea was running, and the wind blew strong from the +west. Drake put his helm up, and stood off before it, +crying out to the company that "if it pleased God, he +should put his foot in safety aboard his frigate, he would, +God willing, by one means or other get them all aboard, +in despite of all the Spaniards in the Indies."</p> + +<p>Those who have sailed on a raft in calm water will +appreciate the courage of Drake's deed. The four men +aboard her had to squat in several inches of salt water, +holding on for their lives, while the green seas came racing +over them "to the arm pits" at "every surge of the wave." +The day was intensely hot in spite of the wind, and +"what with the parching of the sun and what with the +beating of the salt water, they had all of them their skins +much fretted away." With blistered and cracking faces, +parched with the heat and the salt, and shivering from the +continual immersion, they sailed for six hours, making +about a knot and a half an hour. When they had made +their third league "God gave them the sight of two +pinnaces" beating towards them under oars and sail, and +making heavy weather of it. The sight of the boats was +a great joy to the four sufferers on the raft. They edged +towards them as best they could, crying out that all was +safe, "so that there was no cause of fear." It was now +twilight, and the wind, already fierce, was blowing up into +a gale. In the failing light, with the spray sweeping into +their eyes, the men aboard the pinnaces could not see the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> +raft, nor could they make headway towards her with the +wind as it was. As Drake watched, he saw them bear up +for a cove to the lee of a point of land, where they could +shelter for the night. He waited a few moments to see if +they would put forth again, but soon saw that they had +anchored. He then ran his raft ashore to windward of +them, on the other side of the headland. He was very +angry with the pinnaces' hands for their disobedience of +orders. Had they done as he had commanded them, they +would have been in the Francisco River the night before, +and all the pains and danger of the raft would have been +unnecessary. Drake, therefore, resolved to play a trick +upon them. As soon as he landed, he set off running to +the haven where the boats lay, followed by John Smith +and the two Frenchmen—all running "in great haste," "as +if they had been chased by the enemy." The hands in +the pinnaces saw the four men hurrying towards them, +and at once concluded that the Spaniards had destroyed +the expedition, and that these four hunted wretches were +the sole survivors. In an agony of suspense they got the +four men into the boats, eagerly asking where the others +were, and in what state. To these inquiries "he answered +coldly, 'Well'"—an answer which convinced them that +their mates were either dead or in the hands of the +Spaniards. Drake watched their misery for a little while, +and then being "willing to rid all doubts, and fill them +with joy," he took from the bosom of his shirt "a quoit of +gold," giving thanks to God that the voyage was at last +"made." Some Frenchmen were in the boat, and to these +he broke the news of Captain Tetû's wound and how he +had been left behind in the forest, "and two of his company +with him." He then bade the men to get the grapnels up, +as he was determined to row to the Rio Francisco that +night. After the anchors were raised, and the oars +shipped, a few hours of desperate rowing brought them to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> +the river's mouth, where the company had camped about a +fire. By the dawn of the next day the whole expedition +was embarked, and the pinnaces (their planking cracking +with the weight of treasure) were running eastward with a +fresh wind dead astern. They picked up the frigate that +morning, and then stood on for the ships, under sail, with +great joy. Soon they were lying safe at anchor in the +shelter of the secret haven at Fort Diego. All the gold +and silver were laid together in a heap, and there in the +full view of all hands, French and English, Drake weighed +it on the steward's meat scales, dividing it into two +equal portions, to the satisfaction of everyone. The +French took their portion aboard their ship as soon +as it had been allotted to them. They then begged +Drake for some more sea-stores, to fit them for the +sea, and he gave them a quantity of provisions from +his secret magazines. They then filled their water casks, +and stood away to the west, to cruise for a few days +off the Cabezas in the hope of obtaining news of +Captain Tetû.</p> + +<p>As soon as they had gone, Drake ordered his old ship, +the <i>Pascha</i>, to be stripped of all things necessary for the +fitting of the frigate, the Spanish prize. The long months +at Port Diego had left her very foul, and it was easier +to dismantle her than to fit her for the sea. While she +was being stripped to equip the frigate, Drake organised +another expedition to recover Captain Tetû and the +buried silver. His men would not allow him to take a +part in this final adventure, so Oxenham, and one Thomas +Sherwell, were placed in command. Drake accompanied +them as far as the Francisco River, taking an oar in one +of the pinnaces which conveyed them. As they rowed +lightly up the stream, the reeds were thrust aside, and +one of Captain Tetû's two comrades came staggering out, +and fell upon his knees. In a broken voice he thanked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> +God that ever Drake was born to deliver him thus, after +he had given up all hope.</p> + +<p>He told them that he had been surprised by the +Spaniards half-an-hour after he had taken up his post +beside his wounded captain. As the Spaniards came +upon them, he took to his heels, followed by his mate. +He had been carrying a lot of pillage, but as he ran +he threw it all away, including a box of jewels, which +caught his mate's eye as it fell in the grass. "His fellow +took it up, and burdened himself so sore that he could +make no speed," so that the Spaniards soon overtook him, +and carried him away with Captain Tetû. Having taken +two of the three Frenchmen, the Spaniards were content +to leave the chase, and the poor survivor had contrived to +reach the Rio Francisco after several days of wandering +in the woods. As for the silver which they had buried +so carefully in the sands, "he thought that it was all +gone ... for that ... there had been near two thousand +Spaniards and Negroes there to dig and search for it." +Notwithstanding this report, John Oxenham with a company +of twenty-seven men, marched west to view the +place. He found that the earth "every way a mile +distant had been digged and turned up," for the Spaniards +had put their captives to the torture to learn what had +been done with the treasure. Most of it had been recovered +by this means, "yet nevertheless, for all that +narrow search," a little of the dew of heaven was still +glimmering in the crab-holes. The company was able +to rout out some quantity of refined gold, with thirteen +bars of silver, weighing some forty pounds apiece. With +this spoil upon their backs, they returned to the Rio +Francisco, where the pinnaces took them off to the +frigate.</p> + +<p>Now that the voyage was made, it was "high time +to think of homeward," before the Spaniards should<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span> +fit out men-of-war against them. Drake was anxious +to give the <i>Pascha</i> to the Spanish prisoners, as some +compensation for their weeks of captivity. He could not +part with her, however, till he had secured another vessel +to act as tender, or victualler, to his little frigate. He +determined to make a cast to the east, as far as the Rio +Grande, to look for some suitable ship. The Huguenot +privateer, which had been lying off the Cabezas, sailed +eastward in his company, having abandoned Captain +Tetû and his two shipmates to the mercies of the +Spaniards. They stood along the coast together as +far as the Isles of San Barnardo, where the French +ship parted company. The Spanish plate fleet, with +its guard of galleons, was riding at the entry to +Cartagena, and the Frenchmen feared that by coming +too near they might be taken. They, therefore, saluted +Drake with guns and colours, and shaped their course +for Hispaniola and home.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img126" id="img126"></a> +<a href="images/126.jpg"><img src="images/126_th.jpg" width="400" height="320" +alt="SHIP AND FLYING FISH" title="SHIP AND FLYING FISH" /></a> +<span class="caption">SHIP AND FLYING FISH</span> +</div> + +<p>But Drake held on in his way in a bravery, determined +to see the Rio Grande before returning home. He sailed +past Cartagena almost within gunshot, "in the sight of +all the Fleet, with a flag of St George in the main top +of our frigate, with silk streamers and ancients down +to the water, sailing forward with a large wind." Late +that night they arrived off the mouth of the Rio Grande, +where they shortened sail, "and lay off and on." At +midnight the wind veered round to the eastward, so +that the victuallers at anchor in the river were able to +set sail for Cartagena. About two o'clock in the morning +a frigate slipped over the bar under small sail, and ran +past Drake towards the west. The English at once opened +fire upon her with their shot and arrows, to which the +Spaniards replied with their quick-firing guns. While +the English gunners plied her with missiles a pinnace +laid her aboard, at which the Spaniards leaped overboard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> +and swam for the shore. The newly taken frigate proved +to be some seven or eight tons larger than the one +in which the English had come to the east. She was +laden with maize, hens, and hogs, and a large quantity +of honey from the wild bees of Nueva Reyna. As +soon as the day dawned, the two frigates sailed +away again to the Cabezas to prepare for the voyage +home.</p> + +<p>The prize's cargo was discharged upon the beach. Both +frigates were then hove down, and the Spanish prisoners +(taken some weeks before) were allowed to depart aboard +the <i>Pascha</i>. The barnacles were scrubbed and burned +off the frigates; their bends were resheathed and retallowed; +the provisions were stowed in good trim; +water casks were filled; and all things set in order for +the voyage. The dainty pinnaces, which had done them +such good service, and carried them so many weary miles, +were then torn to pieces, and burned, "that the Cimaroons +might have the iron-work." Lastly, Drake asked Pedro +and three Maroon chiefs to go through both the frigates +"to see what they liked." He wished them to choose +themselves some farewell gifts, and promised them that +they should have what they asked, unless it were essential +to the safety of the vessels. We are not told the choice +of the three Maroon chiefs, but we read that Pedro chose +the "fair gilt scimitar," the gift of Captain Tetû, which +had once belonged to Henri II. of France. Drake had not +meant to part with it, but Pedro begged for it so prettily, +through the mouth of one Francis Tucker, that Drake +gave it him "with many good words," together with a +quantity of silk and linen for the wives of those who +had marched with him. They then bade adieu to the +delighted Pedro and his fellows, for it was time to set +sail for England. With a salute of guns and colours, +with the trumpets sounding, and the ships' companies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> +to give a cheer, the two little frigates slipped out of their +harbour, and stood away under all sail for Cape St +Antonio. They took a small barque laden with hides +upon the way, but dismissed her as being useless to them +after they had robbed her of her pump. At Cape St +Antonio they salted and dried a number of turtles, as +provisions for the voyage. Then they took their departure +cheerfully towards the north, intending to call at Newfoundland +to fill with water. The wind blew steadily +from the south and west to blow them home, so that +this scheme was abandoned. Abundant rain supplied +their water casks, the wind held steady, the sun shone, +and the blue miles slipped away. "Within twenty-three +days" they passed "from the Cape of Florida to the +Isles of Scilly," the two Spanish frigates being admirable +sailers. With the silk streamers flying in a bravery the +two ships sailed into Plymouth "on Sunday, about sermon +time, August the 9th, 1573." There they dropped anchor +to the thunder of the guns, to the great joy of all the +townsfolk. "The news of our Captain's return ... did so +speedily pass over all the church, and surpass their minds +with desire and delight to see him, that very few or none +remained with the Preacher, all hastening to see the +evidence of God's love and blessing towards our Gracious +Queen and country, by the fruit of our Captain's labour +and success. <i>Soli Deo Gloria.</i>"</p> + +<p>We may take leave of him at this point, with the +Plymouth bells ringing him a welcome and the worshippers +flocking down to see him land.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Note.</i>—"There were at the time," says the narrative, "belonging to +Cartagena, Nombre de Dios, Rio Grande, Santa Marta, Rio de la Hacha, +Venta Cruz, Veragua, Nicaragua, the Honduras, Jamaica, etc.; above +200 frigates; some of 120 tons, others but of 10 or 12 tons, but the most +of 30 or 40 tons, which all had intercourse between Cartagena and Nombre +de Dios. The most of which, during our abode in those parts, we took; and +some of them twice or thrice each."</p> + +<p>Most of these frigates were provision ships, but in all of them, no doubt, +there was a certain amount of gold and silver, besides uncut jewels or pearls +from the King's Islands. We do not know the amount of Drake's plunder, +but with the spoil of all these frigates, added to the loot of the recua, it +must have been very considerable. He may have made as much as £40,000, +or more, or less. It is as well to put the estimate low.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII</h2> + +<h3>JOHN OXENHAM</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The voyage—His pinnace—Into the South Sea—Disaster—His +unhappy end</p></div> + + +<p>The John Oxenham, or Oxnam, who followed Drake +to Nombre de Dios, and stood with him that sunny +day watching the blue Pacific from the tree-top, was a +Devonshire gentleman from South Tawton. He was of +good family and well to do. He may, perhaps, have given +money towards the fitting out of Drake's squadron. It +is at least certain that he held in that voyage a +position of authority considerably greater than that of +"soldier, mariner, and cook"—the rates assigned to him +by Sir Richard Hawkins. On his return from the +Nombre de Dios raid, he disappears, and it is uncertain +whether he followed Drake to Ireland, or settled down +at home in Devonshire. He did not forget the oath he +had sworn to his old Captain, to follow him to the South +Sea in God's good time. But after waiting a year or +two, and finding that Drake was not ready to attempt +that adventure, he determined to go at his own charge, +with such men as he could find. He was well known in +the little Devon seaports as a bold sailor and fiery sea-captain. +He was "a fine figure of a man," and the glory +of Drake's raid was partly his. He was looked upon as +one of the chief men in that foray. He had, therefore, +little difficulty in getting recruits for a new voyage to the +Main.</p> + +<p>In the year 1574 he set sail from Plymouth in a fine +ship of 140 tons, with a crew of seventy men and boys.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> +He made a fair passage to the Main, and anchored in +Drake's old anchorage—either that of the secret haven, +in the Gulf of Darien, or that farther west, among the +Catives. Here he went ashore, and made friends with +the Maroons, some of whom, no doubt, were old acquaintances, +still gay with beads or iron-work which he had +given them two years before. They told him that the +treasure trains "from Panama to Nombre de Dios" were +now strongly guarded by Spanish soldiers, so that he +might not hope to win such a golden booty as Drake +had won, by holding up a recua on the march. Oxenham, +therefore, determined "to do that which never any man +before enterprised"—by leaving his ship, marching over +the watershed, building a pinnace in the woods, and +going for a cruise on the South Sea. He dragged his +ship far into the haven, struck her topmasts, and left her +among the trees, beached on the mud, and covered with +green boughs so as to be hidden from view. Her great +guns were swung ashore, and buried, and the graves of +them strewn with leaves and brushwood. He then armed +his men with their calivers and their sacks of victual, +"and so went with the Negroes," dragging with them two +small guns, probably quick-firing guns, mounted on staves +of wood or iron. Hawkins says that he left four or five +men behind him as shipkeepers. After a march of "about +twelve leagues into the maine-land" the Maroons brought +him to a river "that goeth to the South Sea." Here the +party halted, and built themselves little huts of boughs to +live in while they made themselves a ship.</p> + +<p>They cut down some trees here, and built themselves +a pinnace "which was five and fortie foot by the keele." +They seem to have brought their sails and tackling with +them, but had they not done so they could have made +shift with the rough Indian cloth and the fibrous, easily +twisted bark of the maho-tree. Having built this little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span> +ship, they went aboard of her, and dropped downstream +to the Pacific—the first English crew, but not the first +Englishman, to sail those waters. Six negroes came with +them to act as guides. As soon as they had sailed out +of the river's mouth, they made for the Pearl Islands, or +Islands of the King, "which is five and twentie leagues +from Panama." Here they lay very close, in some snug +inlet hidden from the sea. Some of them went inland +to a rocky cliff, to watch the seas for ships coming northward +from Peru with treasure from the gold and silver +mines. The islands are in the fairway between Panama +and Lima, but ten days passed before the watchers saw +a sail, and cried out to those in the boat. "There came +a small Barke by, which came from Peru, from a place +called Quito"; and the pinnace dashed alongside of her, +and carried her by the sword, before her sailors learned +what was the matter. She was laden with "sixtie thousand +pezos of golde, and much victuals." John Oxenham took +her lading, and kept the barque by him, while he stayed +on at the islands. At the end of six days, another +"barke" came by, from Lima, "in whiche he tooke an +hundred thousand pezos of silver in barres." This was +plunder enough to "make" any voyage, and with this +John Oxenham was content. Before he sailed away, +however, he marched upon one or two of the Pearl +fisheries, where he found a few +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original has , instead of .">pearls.</ins> +He then sailed +northward to the river's mouth taking his prizes with +him, with all the prisoners.</p> + +<p>At the river's mouth he very foolishly "sent away the +two prizes that hee tooke"—a piece of clemency which +knotted the rope under his ear. He then sailed up the +river, helping his pinnace by poles, oars, and warps, but +making slow progress.</p> + +<p>Before he reached this river, the negroes of the Pearl +Islands sent word to the Governor of Panama that English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span> +pirates had been in those seas plundering their fisheries. +"Within two days" the Governor despatched four galleys, +"with negroes to rowe," and twenty-five musketeers in +each galley, under the Captain John de Ortega, to search +the Pearl Islands very thoroughly for those robbers. They +reached the islands, learned in which direction the pirate +ships had gone, and rowed away north to overtake them. +As they came near the land, they fell in with the two +prizes, the men of which were able to tell them how the +pirates had gone up the river but a few days before.</p> + +<p>John de Ortega came to the river's mouth with his four +galleys, and "knew not which way to take, because there +were three partitions in the river, to goe up in." He +decided at last to go up the greatest, and was actually +rowing towards it, when "he saw comming down a lesser +river many feathers of hennes, which the Englishmen had +pulled to eate." These drifting feathers, thrown overboard +so carelessly, decided the Spanish captain. He +turned up the lesser river "where he saw the feathers," +and bade his negroes give way heartily. Four days +later, he saw the English pinnace drawn up on the river-bank +"upon the sands," guarded by six of her crew. +The musketeers at once fired a volley, which killed one +of the Englishmen, and sent the other five scattering +to the cover of the woods. There was nothing in the +pinnace but bread and meat. All the gold pezoes and +the bars of silver had been landed.</p> + +<p>The presence of the boat guard warned the Spanish +captain that the main body of the pirates was near at +hand. He determined to land eighty of his musketeers +to search those woods before returning home. "Hee +had not gone half a league" before he found one of the +native huts, thatched with palm leaves, in which were +"all the Englishmen's goods and the gold and silver +also." The Englishmen were lying about the hut, many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span> +of them unarmed, with no sentry keeping a lookout +for them. Taken by surprise as they were, they ran +away into the woods, leaving all things in the hands of +the Spaniards. The Spaniards carried the treasure back +to the galleys, and rowed slowly down the river "without +following the Englishmen any further."</p> + +<p>It appeared later, that Oxenham had ordered his men +to carry the gold and silver from the place where they +had hauled the pinnace ashore, to the place where the +ship was hidden. To this the mariners joyfully assented, +"for hee promised to give them part of it besides their +wages." Unfortunately, they wished this "part of it" +paid to them at once, before they shifted an ingot—a +want which seemed to reflect upon John Oxenham's +honour. He was naturally very angry "because they +would not take his word" to pay them something handsome +when he reached home. He was a choleric sea-captain, +and began, very naturally, to damn them for +their insolence. "He fell out with them, and they with +him," says Hakluyt. One of them, stung by his Captain's +curses, "would have killed the Captaine" there and then, +with his caliver,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> or sailor's knife. This last act was too +much. Oxenham gave them a few final curses, and told +them that, if such were their temper, they should not so +much as touch a quoit of the treasure, but that he would +get Maroons to carry it. He then left them, and went +alone into the forest to find Maroons for the porterage. +As he came back towards the camp, with a gang of +negroes, he met the five survivors of the boat guard +"and the rest also which ran from the house," all very +penitent and sorry now that the mischief had been done. +They told him of the loss of the treasure, and looked to +him for guidance and advice, promising a better behaviour +in the future. Oxenham told them that if they helped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span> +him to recover the treasure, they should have half of +it, "if they got it from the Spaniards." "The Negroes +promised to help him with their bows and arrows," and +with this addition to their force they set off down the +river-bank in pursuit.</p> + +<p>After three days' travelling, they came upon the +Spaniards, in camp, on the bank of the river, apparently +in some strong position, sheltered with trees. +Oxenham at once fell on "with great fury," exposing +himself and his men to the bullets of the musketeers. +The Spaniards were used to woodland fighting. Each +musketeer retired behind a tree, and fired from behind +it, without showing more than his head and shoulders, +and then but for a moment. The Englishmen charged +up the slope to the muzzles of the guns, but were repulsed +with loss, losing eleven men killed and five men taken +alive. The number of wounded is not stated. The +negroes, who were less active in the charge, lost only +five men. The +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">Spaniards</ins> +loss was two killed "and five +sore hurt." The English were beaten off the ground, +and routed. They made no attempt to rally, and did +not fall on a second time.</p> + +<p>The Spanish captain asked his prisoners why they had +not crossed the isthmus to their ship in the days before +the pursuit began. To this the prisoners answered with +the tale of their mutinies, adding that their Captain would +not stay longer in those parts now that his company had +been routed. The Spaniards then buried their dead, retired +on board their galleys, and rowed home to Panama, +taking with them their prisoners and the English pinnace. +When they arrived in that city, the prisoners were +tortured till they confessed where their ship was hidden. +Advice was then sent to Nombre de Dios, where four +pinnaces were at once equipped to seek out the secret +haven. They soon found the ship, "and brought her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span> +to Nombre de Dios," where her guns and buried stores +were divided among the King's ships employed in the +work of the coast. While this search for the ship +was being made, the Viceroy of Peru sent out 150 +musketeers to destroy the "fiftie English men" remaining +alive. These troops, conducted by Maroons, soon +found the English in a camp by the river, "making of +certaine Canoas to goe into the North Sea, and there +to take some Bark or other." Many of them were sick +and ill, "and were taken." The rest escaped into the +forest, where they tried to make some arrangement with +the negroes. The negroes, it seems, were angry with +Oxenham for his failure to keep his word to them. They +had agreed to help him on condition that they might +have all the Spanish prisoners to torture "to feed their +insatiable revenges." Oxenham had released his prisoners, +as we have seen, and the Maroons had been disappointed +of their dish of roasted Spaniards' hearts. They were +naturally very angry, and told John Oxenham, when +he came to them for help, that his misfortunes were +entirely due to his own folly. Had he kept his word, +they said, he would have reached his ship without suffering +these reverses. After a few days, being weary of +keeping so many foreigners, they betrayed the English +sailors to the Spaniards. "They were brought to +Panama," to the justice of that city, who asked John +Oxenham "whether hee had the Queene's licence, or the +licence of any other Prince or Lord, for his attempt." +To this John Oxenham answered that he had no licence +saving his sword. He was then condemned to death +with the rest of his company, with the exception of two +(or five) ships' boys. After a night or two in Panama +prison, within sound of the surf of the Pacific, the mariners +were led out, and shot. Oxenham and the master and +the pilot were sent to Lima, where they were hanged<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> +as pirates in the square of the city. A force of musketeers +was then sent into the interior, to reduce the Maroons +"which had assisted those English men." The punitive +force "executed great justice," till "the Negroes grew wise +and wary," after which there was no more justice to be done. +The ships' boys, who were spared, were probably sold as +slaves in Lima, or Panama. They probably lived in those +towns for the rest of their lives, and may have become good +Catholics, and wealthy, after due probation under the whip.</p> + +<p>Sir Richard Hawkins, who was in Panama in 1593, and +who may have heard a Spanish version of the history, +tells us that aboard the treasure ship taken by Oxenham +were "two peeces of speciall estimation: the one a table +of massie gold, with emralds ... a present to the King; +the other a lady of singular beautie." According to Sir +Richard, John Oxenham fell in love with this lady, and +it was through her prayers that he released the other +prisoners. He is said to have "kept the lady" when +he turned the other prisoners away. The lady's "sonne, +or a nephew," who was among those thus discharged, +made every effort to redeem his mother (or aunt). He +prayed so vehemently and "with such diligence," to the +Governor at Panama, that the four galleys were granted +to him "within few howers." The story is not corroborated; +but Oxenham was very human, and Spanish +beauty, like other beauty, is worth sinning for.</p> + +<p>A year or two later, Captain Andrew Barker of Bristol, +while cruising off the Main, captured a Spanish frigate +"between Chagre and Veragua." On board of her, pointing +through the port-holes, were four cast-iron guns which +had been aboard John Oxenham's ship. They were brought +to England, and left in the Scilly Islands, <span class="smcap lowercase">A.D.</span> 1576.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Note.</i>—The story of John Oxenham is taken from "Purchas his Pilgrimes," +vol. iv. (the original large 4to edition); and from Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 526. +Another version of the tale is given in Sir R. Hawkins' "Observations." He +is also mentioned in Hakluyt's account of Andrew Barker.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII</h2> + +<h3>THE SPANISH RULE IN HISPANIOLA</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Rise of the buccaneers—The hunters of the wild bulls—Tortuga—Buccaneer +politics—Buccaneer customs</p></div> + + +<p>In 1492, when Columbus landed on Hayti, he found +there about 1,000,000 Indians, of a gentle refinement +of manners, living peaceably under their kings or +caciques. They were "faint-hearted creatures," "a barbarous +sort of people, totally given to sensuality and a +brutish custom of life, hating all manner of labour, +and only inclined to run from place to place." The +Spaniards killed many thousands of them, hunted a +number with their bloodhounds, sent a number to work +the gold-mines, and caused about a third of the population +to commit suicide or die of famine. They discouraged +sensuality and a distaste for work so zealously that +within twenty years they had reduced the population to +less than a twentieth part of its original 1,000,000 of souls. +They then called the island Hispaniola, and built a city, +on the south coast, as the capital. This city they called +Nueva Ysabel, in honour of the Queen of Spain, but the +name was soon changed to that of St Domingo.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<p>Those Indians who were not enslaved, retired to the +inmost parts of the island, to the shelter of the thickest +woods, where they maintained themselves by hunting. +The swine and cattle, which had belonged to their fellows +in their prosperous days, ran wild, and swarmed all over +the island in incredible numbers. The dogs of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span> +caciques also took to the woods, where they ranged in packs +of two or three score, hunting the wild swine and the +calves. The Spaniards seem to have left the interior of +the island to the few survivors, as they had too few slaves +to cultivate it. They settled themselves at St Domingo, +and at various places upon the coast, such as Santiago +and St John of Goave. They planted tobacco, sugar, +chocolate, and ginger, and carried on a considerable trade +with the cities on the Main and in the mother country.</p> + +<p>Hayti, or Hispaniola, is in the fairway of ships coming +from Europe towards the Main. It was at one time +looked upon as the landfall to be made before proceeding +west to Vera Cruz or south to Cartagena. The French, +English, and Hollanders, who visited those seas "maugre +the King of Spain's beard," discovered it at a very early +date. They were not slow to recognise its many advantages. +The Spanish, who fiercely resented the presence +of any foreigners in a part of the world apportioned to +Spain by the Pope, did all they could to destroy them +whenever they had the opportunity. But the Spanish +population in the Indies was small, and spread over a +vast area, and restricted, by Government rules, to certain +lines of action. They could not patrol the Indies with +a number of guarda costas sufficient to exclude all foreign +ships, nor could they set guards, in forts, at every estancia +or anchorage in the vast coast-line of the islands. Nor +could they enforce the Spanish law, which forbade the +settlers to trade with the merchants of other countries. +It often happened that a ship from France, Holland, or +England arrived upon the coasts of Hispaniola, or some +other Spanish colony, off some settlement without a +garrison. The settlers in these out-of-the-way places +were very glad to trade with such ships, for the freight +they brought was cheaper and of better quality than that +which paid duty to their King. The goods were landed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span> +and paid for. The ships sent their crews ashore to fill +fresh water or to reprovision, and then sailed home for +Europe, to return the next year with new goods. On +the St Domingo or Hispaniola coasts there are countless +creeks and inlets, making good harbours, where these +smuggling ships might anchor or careen. The land was +well watered and densely wooded, so that casks could be +filled, and firewood obtained, without difficulty on any +part of the coast. Moreover, the herds of wild cattle and +droves of wild boars enabled the ships to reprovision +without cost. Before the end of the sixteenth century, it +had become the custom for privateers to recruit upon the +coast of Hispaniola, much as Drake recruited at Port +Plenty. The ships used to sail or warp into some snug +cove, where they could be laid upon the careen to allow +their barnacles to be burned away. The crews then landed, +and pitched themselves tents of sails upon the beach, while +some of their number took their muskets, and went to kill +the cattle in the woods. In that climate, meat does not +keep for more than a few hours, and it often happened +that the mariners had little salt to spare for the salting +of their kill. They, therefore, cured the meat in a manner +they had learned from the Carib Indians. The process +will be described later on.</p> + +<p>The Spanish guarda costas, which were swift small +vessels like the frigates Drake captured on the Main, +did all they could to suppress the illegal trafficking. +Their captains had orders to take no prisoners, and every +"interloper" who fell into their hands was either hanged, +like Oxenham, or shot, like Oxenham's mariners. The +huntsmen in the woods were sometimes fired at by parties +of Spaniards from the towns. There was continual war +between the Spaniards, the surviving natives, and the +interlopers. But when the Massacre of St Bartholomew +drove many Huguenots across the water to follow the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> +fortunes of captains like Le Testu, and when the news +of Drake's success at Nombre de Dios came to England, +the interlopers began to swarm the seas in dangerous +multitudes. Before 1580, the western coast of Hispaniola +had become a sort of colony, to which the desperate and +the adventurous came in companies. The ships used to lie +at anchor in the creeks, while a number of the men from +each ship went ashore to hunt cattle and wild boars. +Many of the sailors found the life of the hunter passing +pleasant. There were no watches to keep, no master to +obey, no bad food to grumble at, and, better still, no +work to do, save the pleasant work of shooting cattle for +one's dinner. Many of them found the life so delightful +that they did not care to leave it when the time came for +their ships to sail for Europe. Men who had failed to +win any booty on the "Terra Firma," and had no jolly +drinking-bout to look for on the quays at home, were +often glad to stay behind at the hunting till some more +fortunate captain should put in in want of men. Shipwrecked +men, men who were of little use at sea, men +"who had disagreed with their commander," began to +settle on the coast in little fellowships.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> They set on foot +a regular traffic with the ships which anchored there. They +killed great quantities of meat, which they exchanged +(to the ships' captains) for strong waters, muskets, powder +and ball, woven stuffs, and iron-ware. After a time, they +began to preserve the hides, "by pegging them out very +tite on the Ground,"—a commodity of value, by which they +made much money. The bones they did not seem to have +utilised after they had split them for their marrow. The +tallow and suet were sold to the ships—the one to grease +the ships' bottoms when careened, the other as an article +for export to the European countries. It was a wild life, +full of merriment and danger. The Spaniards killed a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> +number of them, both French and English, but the +casualties on the Spanish side were probably a good +deal the heavier. The huntsmen became more numerous. +For all that the Spaniards could do, their settlements +and factories grew larger. The life attracted people, in +spite of all its perils, just as tunny fishing attracted the +young gallant in Cervantes. A day of hunting in the +woods, a night of jollity, with songs, over a cup of drink, +among adventurous companions—<i>qué cosa tan bonita!</i> +We cannot wonder that it had a fascination. If a few +poor fellows in their leather coats lay out on the +savannahs with Spanish bullets in their skulls, the rum +went none the less merrily about the camp fires of those +who got away.</p> + +<p>In 1586, on New Year's Day to be exact, Sir Francis +Drake arrived off Hispaniola with his fleet. He had a +Greek pilot with him, who helped him up the roads to +within gunshot of St Domingo. The old Spanish city +was not prepared for battle, and the Governor made of it +"a New Year's gift" to the valorous raiders. The town +was sacked, and the squadron sailed away to pillage +Cartagena and St Augustine. Drake's raid was so +successful that privateers came swarming in his steps +to plunder the weakened Spanish towns. They settled on +the west and north-west coasts of Hispaniola, compelling +any Spanish settlers whom they found to retire to the east +and south. The French and English had now a firm +foothold in the Indies. Without assistance from their +respective Governments they had won the right to live +there, "maugre the King of Spain's beard." In a few +years' time, they had become so prosperous that the +Governments of France and England resolved to plant +a colony in the Caribbee Islands, or Lesser Antilles. They +thought that such a colony would be of benefit to the +earlier adventurers by giving them official recognition and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> +protection. A royal colony of French and English was, +therefore, established on the island of St Christopher, or +St Kitts, one of the Caribbees, to the east of Hispaniola, +in the year 1625. The island was divided between the +two companies. They combined very amicably in a +murderous attack upon the natives, and then fell to +quarrelling about the possession of an island to the +south.</p> + +<p>As the Governments had foreseen, their action in establishing +a colony upon St Kitts did much to stimulate +the settlements in Hispaniola. The hunters went farther +afield, for the cattle had gradually left the western coast +for the interior. The anchorages by Cape Tiburon, or +"Cape Shark," and Samana, were filled with ships, both +privateers and traders, loading with hides and tallow or +victualling for a raid upon the Main. The huntsmen and +hidecurers, French and English, had grown wealthy. +Many of them had slaves, in addition to other valuable +property. Their growing wealth made them anxious to +secure themselves from any sudden attack by land +or sea.</p> + +<p>At the north-west end of Hispaniola, separated from that +island by a narrow strip of sea, there is a humpbacked +little island, a few miles long, rather hilly in its centre, +and very densely wooded. At a distance it resembles a +swimming turtle, so that the adventurers on Hispaniola +called it Tortuga, or Turtle Island. Later on, it was +known as Petit Guaves. Between this Tortuga and the +larger island there was an excellent anchorage for ships, +which had been defended at one time by a Spanish +garrison. The Spaniards had gone away, leaving the +place unguarded. The wealthier settlers seized the island, +built themselves factories and houses, and made it "their +head-quarters, or place of general rendezvous." After +they had settled there, they seem to have thought them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>selves +secure.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> In 1638 the Spaniards attacked the +place, at a time when nearly all the men were absent +at the hunting. They killed all they found upon the +island, and stayed there some little time, hanging those +who surrendered to them after the first encounter. +Having massacred some 200 or 300 settlers, and destroyed +as many buildings as they could, the Spaniards +sailed away, thinking it unnecessary to leave a garrison +behind them. In this they acted foolishly, for their +atrocities stirred the interlopers to revenge themselves. +A band of them returned to Tortuga, to the ruins which +the Spaniards had left standing. Here they formed +themselves into a corporate body, with the intention to +attack the Spanish at the first opportunity. Here, too, +for the first time, they elected a commander. It was +at this crisis in their history that they began to be known +as buccaneers, or people who practise the boucan, the +native way of curing meat. It is now time to explain the +meaning of the word and to give some account of the +modes of life of the folk who brought it to our language.</p> + +<p>The Carib Indians, and the kindred tribes on the +Brazilian coast, had a peculiar way of curing meat for +preservation. They used to build a wooden grille or +grating, raised upon poles some two or three feet high, +above their camp fires. This grating was called by the +Indians barbecue. The meat to be preserved, were it ox, +fish, wild boar, or human being, was then laid upon the +grille. The fire underneath the grille was kept low, and +fed with green sticks, and with the offal, hide, and bones +of the slaughtered animal. This process was called +boucanning, from an Indian word "boucan," which seems +to have signified "dried meat" and "camp-fire." Buccaneer, +in its original sense, meant one who practised the +boucan.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span></p> + +<p>Meat thus cured kept good for several months. It was of +delicate flavour, "red as a rose," and of a tempting smell. +It could be eaten without further cookery. Sometimes +the meat was cut into pieces, and salted, before it was +boucanned—a practice which made it keep a little longer +than it would otherwise have done. Sometimes it was +merely cut in strips, roughly rubbed with brine, and hung +in the sun to dry into charqui, or jerked beef. The flesh +of the wild hog made the most toothsome boucanned +meat. It kept good a little longer than the beef, but it +needed more careful treatment, as stowage in a damp +lazaretto turned it bad at once. The hunters took especial +care to kill none but the choicest wild boars for sea-store. +Lean boars and sows were never killed. Many hunters, it +seems, confined themselves to hunting boars, leaving the +beeves as unworthy quarry.</p> + +<p>When hunting, the buccaneers went on foot, in small +parties of four or five. The country in which they hunted +was densely wooded, so that they could not ride. Each +huntsman carried a gun of a peculiar make, with a barrel +four and a half feet long and a spade-shaped stock. The +long barrel made the gun carry very true. For ramrods +they carried three or four straight sticks of lance wood—a +wood almost as hard as iron, and much more easily replaced. +The balls used, weighed from one to two ounces +apiece. The powder was of the very best make known. +It was exported specially from Normandy—a country +which sent out many buccaneers, whose phrases still linger +in the Norman patois. For powder flask they used a +hollow gourd, which was first dried in the sun. When it +had dried to a fitting hardness it was covered with cuir-bouilli, +or boiled leather, which made it watertight. A +pointed stopper secured the mouth, and made a sort of +handle to the whole, by which it could be secured to the +strap which the hunter slung across his shoulders. Each<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span> +hunter carried a light tent, made of linen or thin canvas. +The tents rolled up into a narrow compass, like a bandolier, +so that they could be carried without trouble. The +woods were so thick that the leggings of the huntsmen +had to be of special strength. They were made of bull or +boar hide, the hair worn outwards.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Moccasins, or shoes +for hunting, were made of dressed bull's hide. The clothes +worn at sea or while out hunting were "uniformly slovenly." +A big heavy hat, wide in the brim and running up into a +peak, protected the wearer from sunstroke. A dirty linen +shirt, which custom decreed should not be washed, was the +usual wear. It tucked into a dirty pair of linen drawers +or knickerbockers, which garments were always dyed +a dull red in the blood of the beasts killed. A sailor's +belt went round the waist, with a long machete or sheath-knife +secured to it at the back. Such was the attire of a +master hunter, buccaneer, or Brother of the Coast. Many +of them had valets or servants sent out to them from +France for a term of three years. These valets were +treated with abominable cruelty, and put to all manner of +bitter labour. A valet who had served his time was presented +with a gun and powder, two shirts and a hat—an +equipment which enabled him to enter business on his +own account. Every hunting party was arranged on the +system of share and share alike. The parties usually +made their plans at the Tortuga taverns. They agreed +with the sugar and tobacco planters to supply the plantations +with meat in exchange for tobacco. They then +loaded up their valets with hunters' necessaries, and sailed +for Hispaniola. Often they remained in the woods for a +year or two, sending their servants to the coast from time +to time with loads of meat and hides. They hunted, as a +rule, without dogs, though some sought out the whelps of +the wild mastiffs and trained them to hunt the boars.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span> +They stalked their quarry carefully, and shot it from +behind a tree. In the evenings they boucanned their kill, +pegged out the hides as tightly as they could, smoked a +pipe or two about the fire, and prepared a glorious meal +of marrow, "toute chaude"—their favourite dish. After +supper they pitched their little linen tents, smeared their +faces with grease to keep away the insects, put some wood +upon the fire, and retired to sleep, with little thought of +the beauty of the fireflies. They slept to leeward of +the fires, and as near to them as possible, so that the +smoke might blow over them, and keep off the mosquitoes. +They used to place wet tobacco leaf and the leaves of +certain plants among the embers in order that the smoke +might be more pungent.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 323px;"> +<a name="img147" id="img147"></a> +<a href="images/147.jpg"><img src="images/147_th.jpg" width="323" height="400" +alt="A BUCCANEER'S SLAVE, WITH HIS MASTER'S GUN; A BARBECUE IN RIGHT LOWER CORNER" +title="A BUCCANEER'S SLAVE, WITH HIS MASTER'S GUN" /></a> +<span class="caption">A BUCCANEER'S SLAVE, WITH HIS MASTER'S GUN<br /> +A BARBECUE IN RIGHT LOWER CORNER</span> +</div> + +<p>When the hunt was over, the parties would return to the +coast to dispose of all they carried home, and to receive +all they had earned during their absence. It was a +lucrative business, and two years' hunting in the woods +brought to each hunter a considerable sum of money. As +soon as they touched their cash, they retired to Tortuga, +where they bought new guns, powder, bullets, small shot, +knives, and axes "against another going out or hunting." +When the new munitions had been paid for, the buccaneers +knew exactly how much money they could spend in self-indulgence. +Those who have seen a cowboy on a holiday, +or a sailor newly home from the seas, will understand the +nature of the "great liberality" these hunters practised on +such occasions. One who saw a good deal of their way +of life<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> has written that their chief vice, or debauchery, +was that of drunkenness, "which they exercise for the +most part with brandy. This they drink as liberally as +the Spaniards do clear fountain water. Sometimes they +buy together a pipe of wine; this they stave at the one +end, and never cease drinking till they have made an end<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> +of it. Thus they celebrate the festivals of Bacchus so long +as they have any money left." The island of Tortuga +must have witnessed some strange scenes. We may +picture a squalid little "cow town," with tropical vegetation +growing up to the doors. A few rough bungalow +houses, a few huts thatched with palm leaves, a few casks +standing in the shade of pent roofs. To seaward a few +ships of small tonnage lying at anchor. To landward hilly +ground, broken into strips of tillage, where some wretches +hoe tobacco under the lash. In the street, in the sunlight, +lie a few savage dogs. At one of the houses, a buccaneer +has just finished flogging his valet; he is now pouring +lemon juice, mixed with salt and pepper, into the raw, red +flesh. At another house, a gang of dirty men in dirty +scarlet drawers are drinking turn about out of a pan of +brandy. The reader may complete the sketch should he +find it sufficiently attractive.</p> + +<p>When the buccaneers elected their first captain, they +had made but few determined forays against the Spaniards. +The greater number of them were French cattle hunters +dealing in boucanned meat, hides, and tallow. A few +hunted wild boars; a few more planted tobacco of great +excellence, with a little sugar, a little indigo, and a little +manioc. Among the company were a number of wild +Englishmen, of the stamp of Oxenham, who made Tortuga +their base and pleasure-house, using it as a port from +which to sally out to plunder Spanish ships. After a +cruise, these pirates sometimes went ashore for a month +or two of cattle hunting. Often enough, the French cattle +hunters took their places on the ships. The sailors and +huntsmen soon became amphibious, varying the life of the +woods with that of a sailor, and sometimes relaxing after +a cruise with a year's work in the tobacco fields. In 1638, +when the Spanish made their raid, there were considerable +numbers (certainly several hundreds) of men engaged in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span> +these three occupations. After the raid they increased +in number rapidly; for after the raid they began to revenge +themselves by systematic raids upon the Spaniards—a +business which attracted hundreds of young men from +France and England. After the raid, too, the French and +English Governments began to treat the planters of the +St Kitts colony unjustly, so that many poor men were +forced to leave their plots of ground there. These men +left the colonies to join the buccaneers at Tortuga, who +soon became so numerous that they might have made an +independent state had they but agreed among themselves. +This they could not do, for the French had designs upon +Tortuga. A French garrison was landed on the island, +seemingly to protect the French planters from the English, +but in reality to seize the place for the French crown. +Another garrison encamped upon the coast of the larger +island. The English were now in a position like that of +the spar in the tale.<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> They could no longer follow the +business of cattle hunting; they could no longer find an +anchorage and a ready market at Tortuga. They were +forced, therefore, to find some other rendezvous, where +they could refit after a cruise upon the Main. They withdrew +themselves more and more from the French buccaneers, +though the two parties frequently combined in +enterprises of danger and importance. They seem to have +relinquished Tortuga without fighting. They were less +attached to the place than the French. Their holdings +were fewer, and they had but a minor share in the cattle +hunting. But for many years to come they regarded the +French buccaneers with suspicion, as doubtful allies. +When they sailed away from Tortuga they sought out +other haunts on islands partly settled by the English.</p> + +<p>In 1655, when an English fleet under Penn and Venables +came to the Indies to attack the Spaniards, a body of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span> +English buccaneers who had settled at Barbadoes came +in their ships to join the colours. In all, 5000 of them +mustered, but the service they performed was of poor +quality. The combined force attacked St Domingo, and +suffered a severe repulse. They then sailed for Jamaica, +which they took without much difficulty. The buccaneers +found Jamaica a place peculiarly suited to them: it +swarmed with wild cattle; it had a good harbour; it lay +conveniently for raids upon the Main. They began to +settle there, at Port Royal, with the troops left there by +Cromwell's orders. They planted tobacco and sugar, +followed the boucan, and lived as they had lived in the +past at Hispaniola. Whenever England was at war with +Spain the Governor of the island gave them commissions +to go privateering against the Spanish. A percentage of +the spoil was always paid to the Governor, while the constant +raiding on the Main prevented the Spaniards from +attacking the new colony in force. The buccaneers were +thus of great use to the Colonial Government. They +brought in money to the Treasury and kept the Spanish +troops engaged. The governors of the French islands +acted in precisely the same way. They gave the French +buccaneers every encouragement. When France was at +peace with Spain they sent to Portugal ("which country +was then at war with Spain") for Portuguese commissions, +with which the buccaneer captains could go cruising. +The English buccaneers often visited the French islands +in order to obtain similar commissions. When England +was at war with Spain the French came to Port Royal for +commissions from the English Governor. It was not a +very moral state of affairs; but the Colonial governors +argued that the buccaneers were useful, that they brought +in money, and that they could be disowned at any time +should Spain make peace with all the interloping countries.</p> + +<p>The buccaneers now began "to make themselves re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>doubtable +to the Spaniards, and to spread riches and +abundance in our Colonies." They raided Nueva Segovia, +took a number of Spanish ships, and sacked Maracaibo +and western Gibraltar. Their captains on these raids were +Frenchmen and Portuguese. The spoils they took were +enormous, for they tortured every prisoner they captured +until he revealed to them where he had hidden his gold. +They treated the Spaniards with every conceivable barbarity, +nor were the Spaniards more merciful when the +chance offered.</p> + +<p>The buccaneers, French and English, had a number of +peculiar customs or laws by which their strange society +was held together. They seem to have had some definite +religious beliefs, for we read of a French captain who shot +a buccaneer "in the church" for irreverence at Mass. No +buccaneer was allowed to hunt or to cure meat upon a +Sunday. No crew put to sea upon a cruise without first +going to church to ask a blessing on their enterprise. No +crew got drunk, on the return to port after a successful +trip, until thanks had been declared for the dew of heaven +they had gathered. After a cruise, the men were expected +to fling all their loot into a pile, from which the chiefs +made their selection and division. Each buccaneer was +called upon to hold up his right hand, and to swear that +he had not concealed any portion of the spoil. If, after +making oath, a man were found to have secreted anything, +he was bundled overboard, or marooned when the +ship next made the land. Each buccaneer had a mate +or comrade, with whom he shared all things, and to whom +his property devolved in the event of death.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> In many +cases the partnership lasted during life. A love for his +partner was usually the only tender sentiment a buccaneer +allowed himself.</p> + +<p>When a number of buccaneers grew tired of plucking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span> +weeds<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> from the tobacco ground, and felt the allurement +of the sea, and longed to go a-cruising, they used to send +an Indian, or a negro slave, to their fellows up the coast, +inviting them to come to drink a dram with them. A +day was named for the rendezvous, and a store was +cleared, or a tobacco drying-house prepared, or perhaps +a tent of sails was pitched, for the place of meeting. +Early on the morning fixed for the council, a barrel of +brandy was rolled up for the refreshment of the guests, +while the black slaves put some sweet potatoes in a +net to boil for the gentlemen's breakfasts. Presently +a canoa or periagua would come round the headland +from the sea, under a single sail—the topgallant-sail of +some sunk Spanish ship. In her would be some ten +or a dozen men, of all countries, anxious for a cruise +upon the Main. Some would be Englishmen from the +tobacco fields on Sixteen-Mile Walk. One or two of +them were broken Royalists, of gentle birth, with a +memory in their hearts of English country houses. +Others were Irishmen from Montserrat, the wretched +Kernes deported after the storm of Tredah. Some were +French hunters from the Hispaniola woods, with the +tan upon their cheeks, and a habit of silence due to +many lonely marches on the trail. The new-comers +brought their arms with them: muskets with long single +barrels, heavy pistols, machetes, or sword-like knives, and +a cask or two of powder and ball. During the morning +other parties drifted in. Hunters, and planters, and old, +grizzled seamen came swaggering down the trackways +to the place of meeting. Most of them were dressed +in the dirty shirts and blood-stained drawers of the +profession, but some there were who wore a scarlet +cloak or a purple serape which had been stitched for a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> +Spaniard on the Main. Among the party were generally +some Indians from Campeachy—tall fellows of a +blackish copper colour, with javelins in their hands for +the spearing of fish. All of this company would gather +in the council chamber, where a rich planter sat at a +table with some paper scrolls in front of him.</p> + +<p>As soon as sufficient men had come to muster, the +planter<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> would begin proceedings by offering a certain +sum of money towards the equipment of a roving +squadron. The assembled buccaneers then asked him +to what port he purposed cruising. He would suggest +one or two, giving his reasons, perhaps bringing in an +Indian with news of a gold mine on the Main, or of a +treasure-house that might be sacked, or of a plate ship +about to sail eastward. Among these suggestions one +at least was certain to be plausible. Another buccaneer +would then offer to lend a good canoa, with, perhaps, a +cask or two of meat as sea-provision. Others would +offer powder and ball, money to purchase brandy for +the voyage, or roll tobacco for the solace of the men. +Those who could offer nothing, but were eager to contribute +and to bear a hand, would pledge themselves +to pay a share of the expenses out of the profits of the +cruise. When the president had written down the list +of contributions he called upon the company to elect +a captain. This was seldom a difficult matter, for some +experienced sailor—a good fellow, brave as a lion, and +fortunate in love and war—was sure to be among them. +Having chosen the captain, the company elected sailing +masters, gunners, chirurgeons (if they had them), and +the other officers necessary to the economy of ships of +war. They then discussed the "lays" or shares to be +allotted to each man out of the general booty.</p> + +<p>Those who lent the ships and bore the cost of the pro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>visioning, +were generally allotted one-third of all the +plunder taken. The captain received three shares, sometimes +six or seven shares, according to his fortune. The +minor officers received two shares apiece. The men or +common adventurers received each one share. No +plunder was allotted until an allowance had been made +for those who were wounded on the cruise. Compensation +varied from time to time, but the scale most generally +used was as follows<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>:—"For the loss of a right +arm six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the +loss of a left arm five hundred pieces of eight, or five +slaves; for a right leg five hundred pieces of eight, or +five slaves; for a left leg four hundred pieces of eight, +or four slaves; for an eye one hundred pieces of eight, +or one slave; for a finger of the hand the same reward +as for the eye."</p> + +<p>In addition to this compensation, a wounded man received +a crown a day (say three shillings) for two months +after the division of the spoil. If the booty were too little +to allow of the declaration of a dividend, the wounded were +put ashore at the port of rendezvous, and the adventurers +kept the seas until they had enough to bring them home.</p> + +<p>In the years of buccaneer prosperity, when Port Royal +was full of ruffians eager to go cruising, the proceedings +may often have been less regular. A voyage was sometimes +arranged in the taverns, where the gangs drank +punch, or rumbo, a draught of rum and water (taken half-and-half, +and sweetened with crude sugar) so long as +their money lasted. If a gang had a ship, or the offer +of a ship, and had but little silver left them from their last +cruise, they would go aboard with their muskets, shot, +and powder casks, trusting to fortune to obtain stores. +Nearly every ship's company had a Mosquito Indian, +or more than one, to act as guide ashore, in places where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span> +a native's woodcraft was essential to a white man's safety. +At sea these Indians supplied the mariners with fish, for +they were singularly skilful with the fish spear. When +a gang of buccaneers put to sea without provisions, they +generally steered to the feeding grounds of the sea-turtles, +or to some place where the sea-cows, or manatees, were +found.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> Here the Indians were sent out in small canoas, +with their spears and tortoise irons. The spears were +not unlike our modern harpoons. The tortoise irons +were short, heavy arrow heads, which penetrated the +turtle's shell when rightly thrown. The heads were attached +to a stick, and to a cord which they made of a +fibrous bark. When the blow had gone home, the stick +came adrift, leaving the iron in the wound, with the cord +still fast to it. When the turtles had been hauled aboard, +their flesh was salted with the brine taken from the +natural salt-pans to be found among the islands. When +a manatee was killed, the hide was stripped away, and +hung to dry. It was then cut into thongs, and put to +various uses. The buccaneers made grummets, or rings, +of it, for use in their row boats instead of tholes or +rowlocks. The meat of manatee, though extremely delicate, +did not take salt so readily as that of turtles. Turtle +was the stand-by of the hungry buccaneer when far from +the Main or the Jamaican barbecues. In addition to the +turtle they had a dish of fish whenever the Indians were +so fortunate as to find a shoal, or when the private fishing +lines, of which each sailor carried several, were successful. +Two Mosquito Indians, it was said, could keep 100 +men in fish with no other weapons than their spears and +irons. In coasting along the Main, a buccaneer captain +could always obtain sufficient food for his immediate need, +for hardly any part of the coast was destitute of land-crabs, +oysters, fruit, deer, peccary, or warree. But for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> +a continued cruise with a large crew this hand-to-mouth +supply was insufficient.</p> + +<p>The buccaneers sometimes began a cruise by sailing to +an estancia in Hispaniola, or on the Main, where they +might supply their harness casks with flesh. They used +to attack these estancias, or "hog-yards," at night. They +began by capturing the swine or cattle-herds, and threatening +them with death should they refuse to give them the +meat they needed. Having chosen as many beeves or +swine as seemed sufficient for their purpose, they kicked +the herds for their pains, and put the meat in pickle.<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> +They then visited some other Spanish house for a supply +of rum or brandy, or a few hat-loads of sugar in the crude. +Tobacco they stole from the drying-rooms of planters +they disliked. Lemons, limes, and other anti-scorbutics +they plucked from the trees, when fortune sent them to +the coast. Flour they generally captured from the +Spanish. They seldom were without a supply, for it +is often mentioned as a marching ration—"a doughboy, +or dumpling," boiled with fat, in a sort of heavy cake, +a very portable and filling kind of victual. At sea their +staple food was flesh—either boucanned meat or salted +turtle. Their allowance, "twice a day to every one," was +"as much as he can eat, without either weight or measure." +Water and strong liquors were allowed (while they lasted) +in the same liberal spirit. This reckless generosity was +recklessly abused. Meat and drink, so easily provided, +were always improvidently spent. Probably few buccaneer +ships returned from a cruise with the hands on +full allowance. The rule was "drunk and full, or dry +and empty, to hell with bloody misers"—the proverb +of the American merchant sailor of to-day. They knew +no mean in anything. That which came easily might +go lightly: there was more where that came from.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span></p> +<p>When the ship had been thus victualled the gang +went aboard her to discuss where they should go "to +seek their desperate fortunes." The preliminary agreement +was put in writing, much as in the former case, +allotting each man his due share of the expected spoil. +We read that the carpenter who "careened, mended, and +rigged the vessel" was generally allotted a fee of from +twenty-five to forty pounds for his pains—a sum drawn +from the common stock or "purchase" subsequently taken +by the adventurers. For the surgeon "and his chest of +medicaments" they provided a "competent salary" of +from fifty to sixty pounds. Boys received half-a-share, +"by reason that, when they take a better vessel than their +own, it is the duty of the boys to set fire to the ship or +boat wherein they are, and then retire to the prize which +they have taken." All shares were allotted on the good +old rule: "No prey, No pay," so that all had a keen incentive +to bestir themselves. They were also "very civil +and charitable to each other," observing "among themselves, +very good orders." They sailed together like a +company of brothers, or rather, since that were an imperfect +simile, like a company of jolly comrades. Locks +and keys were forbidden among them, as they are forbidden +in ship's fo'c's'les to this day; for every man was +expected to show that he put trust in his mates. A man +caught thieving from his fellow was whipped about the +ship by all hands with little whips of ropeyarn or of +fibrous maho bark. His back was then pickled with +some salt, after which he was discharged the company. +If a man were in want of clothes, he had but to ask a +shipmate to obtain all he required. They were not very +curious in the rigging or cleansing of their ships; nor did +they keep watch with any regularity. They set their +Mosquito Indians in the tops to keep a good lookout; +for the Indians were long-sighted folk, who could descry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> +a ship at sea at a greater distance than a white man. +They slept, as a rule, on "mats" upon the deck, in the +open air. Few of them used hammocks, nor did they +greatly care if the rain drenched them as they lay +asleep.</p> + +<p>After the raids of Morgan, the buccaneers seem to +have been more humane to the Spaniards whom they +captured. They treated them as Drake treated them, +with all courtesy. They discovered that the cutting out +of prisoners' hearts, and eating of them raw without +salt, as had been the custom of one of the most famous +buccaneers, was far less profitable than the priming of +a prisoner with his own aqua-vitæ. The later buccaneers, +such as Dampier, were singularly zealous in the collection +of information of "the Towns within 20 leagues of the sea, +on all the coast from Trinidado down to La Vera Cruz; and +are able to give a near guess of the strength and riches +of them." For, as Dampier says, "they make it their +business to examine all Prisoners that fall into their +hands, concerning the Country, Town, or City that they +belong to; whether born there, or how long they have +known it? how many families? whether most Spaniards? +or whether the major part are not Copper-colour'd, +as Mulattoes [people half white, half black], Mustesoes +[mestizos, or people half white, half Indian. These are +not the same as mustees, or octoroons], or Indians? whether +rich, and what their riches do consist in? and what their +chiefest manufactures? If fortified, how many Great +Guns, and what number of small Arms? whether it is +possible to come undescried on them? How many Look-outs +or Centinels? for such the Spaniards always keep; +and how the Look-outs are placed? Whether possible to +avoid the Look-outs or take them? If any River or +Creek comes near it, or where the best Landing? or +numerous other such questions, which their curiosities<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span> +lead them to demand. And if they have had any former +discourse of such places from other Prisoners, they compare +one with the other; then examine again, and enquire +if he or any of them, are capable to be guides to conduct +a party of men thither: if not, where and how any +Prisoner may be taken that may do it, and from thence +they afterwards lay their Schemes to prosecute whatever +design they take in hand."</p> + +<p>If, after such a careful questioning as that just mentioned, +the rovers decided to attack a city on the Main at some +little distance from the sea, they would debate among +themselves the possibility of reaching the place by river. +Nearly all the wealthy Spanish towns were on a river, +if not on the sea; and though the rivers were unwholesome, +and often rapid, it was easier to ascend them in boats +than to march upon their banks through jungle. If on +inquiry it were found that the suggested town stood on +a navigable river, the privateers would proceed to some +island, such as St Andreas, where they could cut down +cedar-trees to make them boats. St Andreas, like many +West Indian islands, was of a stony, sandy soil, very +favourable to the growth of cedar-trees. Having arrived +at such an island, the men went ashore to cut timber. +They were generally good lumbermen, for many buccaneers +would go to cut logwood in Campeachy when trade was +slack. As soon as a cedar had been felled, the limbs were +lopped away, and the outside rudely fashioned to the +likeness of a boat. If they were making a periagua, they +left the stern "flat"—that is, cut off sharply without +modelling; if they were making a canoa, they pointed +both ends, as a Red Indian points his birch-bark. The +bottom of the boat in either case was made flat, for +convenience in hauling over shoals or up rapids. The +inside of the boat was hollowed out by fire, with the help +of the Indians, who were very expert at the management<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> +of the flame. For oars they had paddles made of ash +or cedar plank, spliced to the tough and straight-growing +lance wood, or to the less tough, but equally straight, white +mangrove. Thwarts they made of cedar plank. Tholes +or grummets for the oars they twisted out of manatee +hide. Having equipped their canoas or periaguas they +secured them to the stern of their ship, and set sail +towards their quarry.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—Captain James Burney: "Voyages and Discoveries in the +South Sea"; "History of the Buccaneers." Père Charlevoix: "Histoire de +l'Isle Espagnole"; "Histoire et description de la N. France." B. Edwards: +"Historical Survey of the Island of San Domingo." Gage: "Histoire de +l'Empire Mexicain"; "The English American." S. Hazard: "Santo +Domingo, Past and Present." Justin: "Histoire Politique de l'Isle de +Haïti." Cal. State Papers: "America and West Indies." Abbé Raynal: +"History of the Settlements and Trades of the Europeans in the East and +West Indies." A. O. Exquemeling: "History of the Buccaneers." A. +de Herrera: "Description des Indes Occidentales (d'Espagnol)." J. de +Acosta: "History of the Indies." +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Cieca'">Cieça</ins> +de Leon: "Travels."</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX</h2> + +<h3>BUCCANEER CUSTOMS</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Mansvelt and Morgan—Morgan's raid on Cuba—Puerto del +Principe</p></div> + + +<p>Throughout the years of buccaneering, the buccaneers +often put to sea in canoas and periaguas,<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> +just as Drake put to sea in his three pinnaces. Life +in an open boat is far from pleasant, but men who +passed their leisure cutting logwood at Campeachy, or +hoeing tobacco in Jamaica, or toiling over gramma grass +under a hot sun after cattle, were not disposed to make +the worst of things. They would sit contentedly upon +the oar bench, rowing with a long, slow stroke for hours +together without showing signs of fatigue. Nearly all +of them were men of more than ordinary strength, and +all of them were well accustomed to the climate. When +they had rowed their canoa to the Main they were able +to take it easy till a ship came by from one of the Spanish +ports. If she seemed a reasonable prey, without too +many guns, and not too high charged, or high built, the +privateers would load their muskets, and row down to +engage her. The best shots were sent into the bows, +and excused from rowing, lest the exercise should cause +their hands to tremble. A clever man was put to the +steering oar, and the musketeers were bidden to sing out +whenever the enemy yawed, so as to fire her guns. It +was in action, and in action only, that the captain had +command over his men. The steersman endeavoured<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span> +to keep the masts of the quarry in a line, and to approach +her from astern. The marksmen from the bows kept up +a continual fire at the vessel's helmsmen, if they could +be seen, and at any gun-ports which happened to be +open. If the helmsmen could not be seen from the sea, +the canoas aimed to row in upon the vessel's quarters, +where they could wedge up the rudder with wooden +chocks or wedges. They then laid her aboard over the +quarter, or by the after chains, and carried her with their +knives and pistols. The first man to get aboard received +some gift of money at the division of the spoil.</p> + +<p>When the prize was taken, the prisoners were questioned, +and despoiled. Often, indeed, they were stripped stark +naked, and granted the privilege of seeing their finery on +a pirate's back. Each buccaneer had the right to take +a shift of clothes out of each prize captured. The cargo +was then rummaged, and the state of the ship looked to, +with an eye to using her as a cruiser. As a rule, the +prisoners were put ashore on the first opportunity, but +some buccaneers had a way of selling their captives +into slavery. If the ship were old, leaky, valueless, in +ballast, or with a cargo useless to the rovers, she was +either robbed of her guns, and turned adrift with her crew, +or run ashore in some snug cove, where she could be burnt +for the sake of the iron-work. If the cargo were of value, +and, as a rule, the ships they took had some rich thing +aboard them, they sailed her to one of the Dutch, French, +or English settlements, where they sold her freight for +what they could get—some tenth or twentieth of its value. +If the ship were a good one, in good condition, well found, +swift, and not of too great draught (for they preferred to +sail in small ships), they took her for their cruiser as soon +as they had emptied out her freight. They sponged and +loaded her guns, brought their stores aboard her, laid their +mats upon her deck, secured the boats astern, and sailed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> +away in search of other plunder. They kept little discipline +aboard their ships. What work had to be done +they did, but works of supererogation they despised and +rejected as a shade unholy. The night watches were +partly orgies. While some slept, the others fired guns +and drank to the health of their fellows. By the light of +the binnacle, or by the light of the slush lamps in the +cabin, the rovers played a hand at cards, or diced each +other at "seven and eleven," using a pannikin as dice-box. +While the gamblers cut and shuffled, and the dice rattled +in the tin, the musical sang songs, the fiddlers set their +music chuckling, and the sea-boots stamped approval. +The cunning dancers showed their science in the moonlight, +avoiding the sleepers if they could. In this jolly +fashion were the nights made short. In the daytime, the +gambling continued with little intermission; nor had the +captain any authority to stop it. One captain, in the +histories, was so bold as to throw the dice and cards +overboard, but, as a rule, the captain of a buccaneer cruiser +was chosen as an artist, or navigator, or as a lucky fighter. +He was not expected to spoil sport. The continual +gambling nearly always led to fights and quarrels. The +lucky dicers often won so much that the unlucky had to +part with all their booty. Sometimes a few men would +win all the plunder of the cruise, much to the disgust of +the majority, who clamoured for a redivision of the spoil. +If two buccaneers got into a quarrel they fought it out +on shore at the first opportunity, using knives, swords, or +pistols, according to taste. The usual way of fighting +was with pistols, the combatants standing back to back, +at a distance of ten or twelve paces, and turning round to +fire at the word of command. If both shots missed, the +question was decided with cutlasses, the man who drew +first blood being declared the winner. If a man were +proved to be a coward he was either tied to the mast, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> +shot, or mutilated, and sent ashore. No cruise came to an +end until the company declared themselves satisfied with +the amount of plunder taken. The question, like all +other important questions, was debated round the mast, +and decided by vote.</p> + +<p>At the conclusion of a successful cruise, they sailed +for Port Royal, with the ship full of treasure, such as +vicuna wool, packets of pearls from the Hatch, jars of +civet or of ambergris, boxes of "marmalett" and spices, +casks of strong drink, bales of silk, sacks of chocolate and +vanilla, and rolls of green cloth and pale blue cotton +which the Indians had woven in Peru, in some sandy village +near the sea, in sight of the pelicans and the penguins. +In addition to all these things, they usually had a number +of the personal possessions of those they had taken on +the seas. Lying in the chests for subsequent division +were swords, silver-mounted pistols, daggers chased and +inlaid, watches from Spain, necklaces of uncut jewels, +rings and bangles, heavy carved furniture, "cases of +bottles" of delicately cut green glass, containing cordials +distilled of precious mints, with packets of emeralds from +Brazil, bezoar stones from Patagonia, paintings from +Spain, and medicinal gums from Nicaragua. All these +things were divided by lot at the main-mast as soon as +the anchor held. As the ship, or ships, neared port, her +men hung colours out—any colours they could find—to +make their vessel gay. A cup of drink was taken as they +sailed slowly home to moorings, and as they drank they +fired off the cannon, "bullets and all," again and yet +again, rejoicing as the bullets struck the water. Up in +the bay, the ships in the harbour answered with salutes +of cannon; flags were dipped and hoisted in salute; +and so the anchor dropped in some safe reach, and the +division of the spoil began.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img167" id="img167"></a> +<a href="images/167.jpg"><img src="images/167_th.jpg" width="400" height="281" +alt="OLD PORT ROYAL" title="OLD PORT ROYAL" /></a> +<span class="caption">OLD PORT ROYAL</span> +</div> + +<p>After the division of the spoil in the beautiful Port<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> +Royal harbour, in sight of the palm-trees and the fort +with the colours flying, the buccaneers packed their gear, +and dropped over the side into a boat. They were pulled +ashore by some grinning black man with a scarlet scarf +about his head and the brand of a hot iron on his shoulders. +At the jetty end, where the Indians lounged at their +tobacco and the fishermen's canoas rocked, the sunburnt +pirates put ashore. Among the noisy company which +always gathers on a pier they met with their companions. +A sort of Roman triumph followed, as the "happily +returned" lounged swaggeringly towards the taverns. +Eager hands helped them to carry in their plunder. In +a few minutes the gang was entering the tavern, the +long, cool room with barrels round the walls, where there +were benches and a table and an old blind fiddler jerking +his elbow at a jig. Noisily the party ranged about the +table, and sat themselves upon the benches, while the +drawers, or potboys, in their shirts, drew near to take the +orders. I wonder if the reader has ever heard a sailor +in the like circumstance, five minutes after he has touched +his pay, address a company of parasites in an inn with +the question: "What's it going to be?"</p> + +<p>After the settlement of Jamaica by the English, the +buccaneers became more enterprising. One buccaneer +captain, the most remarkable of all of them, a man named +Mansvelt, probably a Dutchman from Curaçoa, attempted +to found a pirate settlement upon the island of Santa +Katalina, or Old Providence. Mansvelt was a fortunate +sea-captain, with considerable charm of manner. He was +popular with the buccaneers, and had a name among +them, for he was the first of them to cross the isthmus +and to sail the South Sea. His South-Sea cruise had +come to little, for provisions ran short, and his company +had been too small to attempt a Spanish town. He +had, therefore, retreated to the North Sea to his ships,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span> +and had then gone cruising northward along the Nicaragua +coast as far as the Blewfields River. From this point +he stood away to the island of Santa Katalina, or Old +Providence—an island about six miles long, with an excellent +harbour, which, he thought, might easily be fortified. +A smaller island lies directly to the north of it, +separated from it by a narrow channel of the sea. Twenty +years before his visit it had been the haunt of an old +captain of the name of Blewfields, who had made it +his base while his men went logwood cutting on the +mainland. Blewfields was now dead, either of rum or +war, and the Spaniards had settled there, and had built +themselves a fort or castle to command the harbour. +Having examined the place, Mansvelt sailed away to +Jamaica to equip a fleet to take it. He saw that the +golden times which the buccaneers were then enjoying +could not last for ever, and that their occupation might +be wrecked by a single ill-considered treaty, dated from +St James's or the Court of France. He thought that the +islands should be seized as a general rendezvous for folk +of that way of life. With a little trouble the harbour +could be made impregnable. The land was good, and +suited for the growing of maize or tobacco—the two products +most in demand among them. The islands were +near the Main, being only thirty-five leagues from the +Chagres River, the stream from which the golden harvest +floated from the cities of the south. They were close +to the coast of Nicaragua, where the logwood grew in +clumps, waiting for the axes of the lumbermen. With +the islands in their hands, the buccaneers could drive +the Spaniards off the isthmus—or so Mansvelt thought. +It would at +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">anyrate</ins> +have been an easy matter for them +to have wrecked the trade routes from Panama to Porto +Bello, and from Porto Bello to Vera Cruz.</p> + +<p>While Mansvelt lay at Port Royal, scraping and tallow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>ing +his ships, getting beef salted and boucanned, and +drumming up his men from the taverns, a Welshman, +of the name of Henry Morgan, came sailing up to moorings +with half-a-dozen captured merchantmen. But a +few weeks before, he had come home from a cruise with +a little money in his pockets. He had clubbed together +with some shipmates, and had purchased a small ship +with the common fund. She was but meanly equipped, +yet her first cruise to the westward, on the coast of Campeachy, +was singularly lucky. Mansvelt at once saw +his opportunity to win recruits. A captain so fortunate +as Morgan would be sure to attract followers, for the +buccaneers asked that their captains should be valorous +and lucky. For other qualities, such as prudence and +forethought, they did not particularly care. Mansvelt +at once went aboard Morgan's ship to drink a cup of +sack with him in the cabin. He asked him to act as +vice-admiral to the fleet he was then equipping for +Santa Katalina. To this Henry Morgan very readily +consented, for he judged that a great company would +be able to achieve great things. In a few days, the two +set sail together from Port Royal, with a fleet of fifteen +ships, manned by 500 buccaneers, many of whom were +French and Dutch.</p> + +<p>As soon as they arrived at Santa Katalina, they anchored, +and sent their men ashore with some heavy guns. The +Spanish garrison was strong, and the fortress well situated, +but in a few days they forced it to surrender. They then +crossed by a bridge of boats to the lesser island to the +north, where they ravaged the plantations for fresh +supplies. Having blown up all the fortifications save +the castle, they sent the Spanish prisoners aboard the +ships. They then chose out 100 trusty men to keep +the island for them. They left these on the island, under +the command of a Frenchman of the name of Le<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span> +Sieur Simon. They also left the Spanish slaves behind, +to work the plantations, and to grow maize and sweet +potatoes for the future victualling of the fleet. Mansvelt +then sailed away towards Porto Bello, near which city +he put his prisoners ashore. He cruised to the eastward +for some weeks, snapping up provision ships and little +trading vessels; but he learned that the Governor of +Panama, a determined and very gallant soldier, was fitting +out an army to encounter him, should he attempt to land. +The news may have been false, but it showed the buccaneers +that they were known to be upon the coast, and +that their raid up "the river of Colla" to "rob and pillage" +the little town of Nata, on the Bay of Panama, would be +fruitless. The Spanish residents of little towns like Nata +buried all their gold and silver, and then fled into the +woods when rumours of the pirates came to them. To +attack such a town some weeks after the townsfolk had +received warning of their intentions would have been +worse than useless.</p> + +<p>Mansvelt, therefore, returned to Santa Katalina to see +how the colony had prospered while he had been at sea. He +found that Le Sieur Simon had put the harbour "in a very +good posture of defence," having built a couple of batteries +to command the anchorage. In these he had mounted his +cannon upon platforms of plank, with due munitions of +cannon-balls and powder. On the little island to the +north he had laid out plantations of maize, sweet potatoes, +plantains, and tobacco. The first-fruits of these green +fields were now ripe, and "sufficient to revictual the whole +fleet with provisions and fruits."</p> + +<p>Mansvelt was so well satisfied with the prospects of the +colony that he determined to hurry back to Jamaica to +beg recruits and recognition from the English Governor. +The islands had belonged to English subjects in the past, +and of right belonged to England still. However, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span> +Jamaican Governor disliked the scheme. He feared that +by lending his support he would incur the wrath of the +English Government, while he could not weaken his +position in Jamaica by sending soldiers from his garrison. +Mansvelt, "seeing the unwillingness" of this un-English +Governor, at once made sail for Tortuga, where he hoped +the French might be less squeamish. He dropped anchor, +in the channel between Tortuga and Hispaniola early in +the summer of 1665. He seems to have gone ashore to +see the French authorities. Perhaps he drank too strong +a punch of rum and sugar—a drink very prejudicial in +such a climate to one not used to it. Perhaps he took the +yellow fever, or the coast cramp; the fact cannot now be +known. At any rate he sickened, and died there, "before +he could accomplish his desires"—"all things hereby remaining +in suspense." One account, based on the hearsay +of a sea-captain, says that Mansvelt was taken by the +Spaniards, and brought to Porto Bello, and there put to +death by the troops.</p> + +<p>Le Sieur Simon remained at his post, hoeing his tobacco +plants, and sending detachments to the Main to kill manatee, +or to cut logwood. He looked out anxiously for Mansvelt's +ships, for he had not men enough to stand a siege, and +greatly feared that the Spaniards would attack him. While +he stayed in this perplexity, wondering why he did not +hear from Mansvelt, he received a letter from Don John +Perez de Guzman, the Spanish captain-general, who bade +him "surrender the island to his Catholic Majesty," on +pain of severe punishment. To this Le Sieur Simon made +no answer, for he hoped that Mansvelt's fleet would soon +be in those waters to deliver him from danger. Don John, +who was a very energetic captain-general, determined to +retake the place. He left his residence at Panama, and +crossed the isthmus to Porto Bello, where he found a ship, +called the <i>St Vincent</i>, "that belonged to the Company of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> +the Negroes" (the Isthmian company of slavers), lying at +anchor, waiting for a freight. We are told that she was a +good ship, "well mounted with guns." He provisioned her +for the sea, and manned her with about 400 men, mostly +soldiers from the Porto Bello forts. Among the company +were seven master gunners and "twelve Indians very +dexterous at shooting with bows and arrows." The city +of Cartagena furnished other ships and men, bringing +the squadron to a total of four vessels and 500 men-at-arms. +With this force the Spanish commander arrived +off Santa Katalina, coming to anchor in the port there +on the evening of a windy day, the 10th of August 1665. +As they dropped anchor they displayed their colours. +As soon as the yellow silk blew clear, Le Sieur Simon +discharged "three guns with bullets" at the ships, "the +which were soon answered in the same coin." The +Spaniard then sent a boat ashore to summon the garrison, +threatening death to all if the summons were refused. To +this Le Sieur Simon replied that the island was a possession +of the English Crown, "and that, instead of surrendering +it, they preferred to lose their lives." As more +than a fourth of the little garrison was at that time +hunting on the Main, or at sea, the answer was heroic. +Three days later, some negroes swam off to the ships to +tell the Spaniards of the garrison's weakness. After +two more days of council, the boats were lowered +from the ships, and manned with soldiers. The guns on +the gun-decks were loaded, and trained. The drums beat +to quarters both on the ships and in the batteries. Under +the cover of the warship's guns, the boats shoved off +towards the landing-place, receiving a furious fire from +the buccaneers. The "weather was very calm and clear," +so that the smoke from the guns did not blow away fast +enough to allow the buccaneers to aim at the boats. The +landing force formed into three parties, two of which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> +attacked the flanks, and the third the centre. The battle +was very furious, though the buccaneers were outnumbered +and had no chance of victory. They ran short +of cannon-balls before they surrendered, but they made +shift for a time with small shot and scraps of iron, "also +the organs of the church," of which they fired "threescore +pipes" at a shot. The fighting lasted most of the day, +for it was not to the advantage of the Spaniards to come +to push of pike. Towards sunset the buccaneers were +beaten from their guns. They fought in the open for a +few minutes, round "the gate called Costadura," but the +Spaniards surrounded them, and they were forced to lay +down their arms. The Spanish colours were set up, and +two poor Spaniards who had joined the buccaneers were +shot to death upon the Plaza. The English prisoners +were sent aboard the ships, and carried into Porto Bello, +where they were put to the building of a fortress—the +Iron Castle, a place of great strength, which later on the +English blew to pieces. Some of the men were sent to +Panama "to work in the castle of St Jerome"—a wonderful, +great castle, which was burned at the sack of Panama +almost before the mortar dried.</p> + +<p>While the guns were roaring over Santa Katalina, as Le +Sieur Simon rammed his cannon full of organ pipes, Henry +Morgan was in lodgings at Port Royal, greatly troubled +at the news of Mansvelt's death. He was busily engaged +at the time with letters to the merchants of New England. +He was endeavouring to get their help towards the fortification +of the island he had helped to capture. "His +principal intent," writes one who did not love the man, +"was to consecrate it as a refuge and sanctuary to the +Pirates of those parts," making it "a convenient receptacle +or store house of their preys and robberies." It is pleasant +to speculate as to the reasons he urged to the devout New +England Puritans. He must have chuckled to himself, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> +shared many a laugh with his clerk, to think that perhaps +a Levite, or a Man of God, a deacon, or an elder, would +untie the purse-strings of the sealed if he did but agonise +about the Spanish Inquisition with sufficient earthquake +and eclipse. He heard of the loss of the island before the +answers came to him, and the news, of course, "put him +upon new designs," though he did not abandon the scheme +in its entirety. He had his little fleet at anchor in the +harbour, gradually fitting for the sea, and his own ship +was ready. Having received his commission from the +Governor, he gave his captains orders to meet him on the +Cuban coast, at one of the many inlets affording safe +anchorage. Here, after several weeks of cruising, he was +joined by "a fleet of twelve sail," some of them of several +hundred tons. These were manned by 700 fighting men, +part French, part English.</p> + +<p>At the council of war aboard the admiral's ship, it was +suggested that so large a company should venture on +Havana, which city, they thought, might easily be taken, +"especially if they could but take a few of the ecclesiastics." +Some of the pirates had been prisoners in the +Havana, and knew that a town of 30,000 inhabitants +would hardly yield to 700 men, however desperate. +"Nothing of consequence could be done there," they +pronounced, even with ecclesiastics, "unless with fifteen +hundred men." One of the pirates then suggested +the town of Puerto del Principe, an inland town surrounded +by tobacco fields, at some distance from the +sea. It did a thriving trade with the Havana; and he +who suggested that it should be sacked, affirmed upon his +honour, like Boult over Maria, that it never yet "was +sacked by any Pirates." Towards this virginal rich town +the buccaneers proceeded, keeping close along the coast +until they made the anchorage of Santa Maria. Here they +dropped anchor for the night.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> + +<p>When the men were making merry over the punch, as +they cleaned their arms, and packed their satchels, a +Spanish prisoner "who had overheard their discourse, +while they thought he did not understand the English +tongue," slipped through a port-hole to the sea, and swam +ashore. By some miracle he escaped the ground sharks, +and contrived to get to Puerto del Principe some hours +before the pirates left their ships. The Governor of the +town, to whom he told his story, at once raised all his +forces, "both freemen and slaves," to prejudice the enemy +when he attacked. The forest ways were blocked with +timber baulks, and several ambuscades were laid, with +cannon in them, "to play upon them on their march." +In all, he raised and armed 800 men, whom he disposed +in order, either in the jungle at the ambuscades or +in a wide expanse of grass which surrounded the town.</p> + +<p>In due course Morgan sent his men ashore, and marched +them through the wood towards the town. They found +the woodland trackways blocked by the timber baulks, so +they made a detour, hacking paths for themselves with +their machetes, until they got clear of the wood. When +they got out of the jungle they found themselves on an +immense green field, covered with thick grass, which bowed +and shivered in the wind. A few pale cattle grazed here +and there on the savannah; a few birds piped and twittered +in the sunshine. In front of them, at some little distance, +was the town they had come to pillage. It lay open to +them—a cluster of houses, none of them very large, with +warehouses and tobacco drying-rooms and churches with +bells in them. Outside the town, some of them lying +down, some standing so as to get a view of the enemy, +were the planters and townsfolk, with their pikes and +muskets, waiting for the battle to begin. Right in the +pirates' front was a troop of horsemen armed with lances, +swords, and pistols, drawn up in very good order, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span> +ready to advance. The pirates on their coming from the +wood formed into a semicircle or half-moon shape, the +bow outwards, the horns curving to prevent the cavalry +from taking them in flank. They had drums and colours +in their ranks. The drums beat out a bravery, the colours +were displayed. The men halted for a moment to get +their breath and to reprime their guns. Then they advanced +slowly, to the drubbing of the drums, just as the +Spanish horsemen trotted forward. As the Spaniards +sounded the charge, the buccaneers fired a volley of bullets +at them, which brought a number of cavaliers out of their +saddles. Those horsemen who escaped the bullets dashed +down upon the line, and fired their pistols at close quarters, +afterwards wheeling round, and galloping back to reform. +They charged again and again, "like valiant and courageous +soldiers," but at every charge the pirates stood +firm, and withered them with file-firing. As they retired +after each rush, the marksmen in the ranks picked them +off one by one, killing the Governor, in his plumed hat, +and strewing the grass with corpses. They also manœuvred +during this skirmish so as to cut off the horsemen +from the town. After four hours of battle the cavalry +were broken and defeated, and in no heart to fight +further. They made a last charge on their blown horses, +but their ranks went to pieces at the muzzles of the pirates' +guns. They broke towards the cover of the woods, but +the pirates charged them as they ran, and cut them down +without pity. Then the drums beat out a bravery, and +the pirates rushed the town in the face of a smart fire. The +Spaniards fought in the streets, while some fired from the +roofs and upper windows. So hot was the tussle that the +pirates had to fight from house to house. The townsmen +did not cease their fire, till the pirates were gathering wood +to burn the town, in despair of taking it.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 295px;"> +<a name="img177" id="img177"></a> +<a href="images/177.jpg"><img src="images/177_th.jpg" width="295" height="400" +alt="The Towne of Puerto del Principe taken & sackt; Part 2 Page 80." +title="PUERTO DEL PRINCIPE" /></a> +<span class="caption">PUERTO DEL PRINCIPE</span> +</div> + +<p>As soon as the firing ceased, the townsfolk were driven<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> +to the churches, and there imprisoned under sentinels. +Afterwards the pirates "searched the whole country +round about the town, bringing in day by day many goods +and prisoners, with much provision." The wine and spirits +of the townsfolk were set on tap, and "with this they fell +to banqueting among themselves, and making great cheer +after their customary way." They feasted so merrily that +they forgot their prisoners, "whereby the greatest part +perished." Those who did not perish were examined in +the Plaza, "to make them confess where they had hidden +their goods." Those who would not tell where they had +buried their gold were tortured very barbarously by burning +matches, twisted cords, or lighted palm leaves. Finally, +the starving wretches were ordered to find ransoms, "else +they should be all transported to Jamaica" to be sold as +slaves. The town was also laid under a heavy contribution, +without which, they said, "they would turn every +house into ashes."</p> + +<p>It happened that, at this juncture, some buccaneers, who +were raiding in the woods, made prisoner a negro carrying +letters from the Governor of the Havana. The letters +were written to the citizens, telling them to delay the +payment of their ransoms as long as possible, for that he +was fitting out some soldiers to relieve them. The letters +warned Henry Morgan that he had better be away with +the treasure he had found. He gave order for the plunder +to be sent aboard in the carts of the townsfolk. He then +called up the prisoners, and told them very sharply that +their ransoms must be paid the next day, "forasmuch as +he would not wait one moment longer, but reduce the +whole town to ashes, in case they failed to perform the +sum he demanded." As it was plainly impossible for the +townsfolk to produce their ransoms at this short notice +he graciously relieved their misery by adding that he +would be contented with 500 beeves, "together with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> +sufficient salt wherewith to salt them." He insisted that +the cattle should be ready for him by the next morning, +and that the Spaniards should deliver them upon the +beach, where they could be shifted to the ships without +delay. Having made these terms, he marched his men +away towards the sea, taking with him six of the principal +prisoners "as pledges of what he intended." Early the +next morning the beach of Santa Maria bay was thronged +with cattle in charge of negroes and planters. Some of +the oxen had been yoked to carts to bring the necessary +salt. The Spaniards delivered the ransom, and demanded +the six hostages. Morgan was by this time in some anxiety +for his position. He was eager to set sail before the Havana +ships came round the headland, with their guns run out, +and matches lit, and all things ready for a fight. He +refused to release the prisoners until the vaqueros "had +helped his men to kill and salt the beeves." The work +of killing and salting was performed "in great haste," lest +the Havana ships should come upon them before the beef +was shipped. The hides were left upon the sands, there +being no time to dry them before sailing. A Spanish +cowboy can kill, skin, and cut up a steer in a few minutes. +The buccaneers were probably no whit less skilful. By +noon the work was done. The beach of Santa Maria was +strewn with mangled remnants, over which the seagulls +quarrelled. But before Morgan could proceed to sea, he +had to quell an uproar which was setting the French and +English by the ears. The parties had not come to blows, +but the French were clamouring for vengeance with drawn +weapons. A French sailor, who was working on the +beach, killing and pickling the meat, had been plundered +by an Englishman, who "took away the marrowbones he +had taken out of the ox." Marrow, "toute chaude," was a +favourite dish among these people. The Frenchman could +not brook an insult of a kind as hurtful to his dinner as to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> +his sense of honour. He challenged the thief to single +combat: swords the weapon, the time then. The buccaneers +knocked off their butcher's work to see the fight. +As the poor Frenchman turned his back to make him +ready, his adversary stabbed him from behind, running +him quite through, so that "he suddenly fell dead upon +the place." Instantly the beach was in an uproar. The +Frenchmen pressed upon the English to attack the +murderer and to avenge the death of their fellow. There +had been bad blood between the parties ever since they +mustered at the quays before the raid began. The quarrel +now raging was an excuse to both sides. Morgan walked +between the angry groups, telling them to put up their +swords. At a word from him, the murderer was seized, +set in irons, and sent aboard an English ship. Morgan +then seems to have made a little speech to pacify the +rioters, telling the French that the man should be hanged +("hanged immediately," as they said of Admiral Byng) +as soon as the ships had anchored in Port Royal bay. +To the English, he said that the criminal was worthy of +punishment, "for although it was permitted him to challenge +his adversary, yet it was not lawful to kill him +treacherously, as he did." After a good deal of muttering, +the mutineers returned aboard their ships, carrying with +them the last of the newly salted beef. The hostages were +freed, a gun was fired from the admiral's ship, and the +fleet hove up their anchors, and sailed away from Cuba, +to some small sandy quay with a spring of water in it, +where the division of the plunder could be made. The +plunder was heaped together in a single pile. It was +valued by the captains, who knew by long experience +what such goods would fetch in the Jamaican towns.</p> + +<p>To the "resentment and grief" of all the 700 men +these valuers could not bring the total up to 50,000 +pieces of eight—say £12,000—"in money and goods."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span> +All hands were disgusted at "such a small booty, +which was not sufficient to pay their debts at Jamaica." +Some cursed their fortune; others cursed their captain. +It does not seem to have occurred to them +to blame themselves for talking business before their +Spanish prisoners. Morgan told them to "think upon +some other enterprize," for the ships were fit to keep +the sea, and well provisioned. It would be an easy matter, +he told them, to attack some town upon the Main "before +they returned home," so that they should have a little +money for the taverns, to buy them rum with, at the end +of the cruise. But the French were still sore about the +murder of their man: they raised objections to every +scheme the English buccaneers proposed. Each proposition +was received contemptuously, with angry bickerings +and mutterings. At last the French captains intimated +that they desired to part company. Captain Morgan endeavoured +to dissuade them from this resolution by using +every flattery his adroit nature could suggest. Finding +that they would not listen to him, even though he +swore by his honour that the murderer, then in chains, +should be hanged as soon as they reached home, he +brought out wine and glasses, and drank to their good +fortune. The booty was then shared up among the adventurers. +The Frenchmen got their shares aboard, and +set sail for Tortuga to the sound of a salute of guns. +The English held on for Port Royal, in great "resentment +and grief." When they arrived there they caused the +murderer to be hanged upon a gallows, which, we are +told, "was all the satisfaction the French Pirates could +expect."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Note.</i>—If we may believe Morgan's statement to Sir T. Modyford, then +Governor of Jamaica, he brought with him from Cuba reliable evidence +that the Spaniards were planning an attack upon that colony (see State +Papers: West Indies and Colonial Series). If the statements of his prisoners +were correct, the subsequent piratical raid upon the Main had some justification. +Had the Spaniards matured their plans, and pushed the attack home, it +is probable that we should have lost our West Indian possessions.</p> + +<p><i>Authorities.</i>—A. O. Exquemeling: "Bucaniers of America," eds. 1684-5 +and 1699. Cal. State Papers: "West Indies."</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X</h2> + +<h3>THE SACK OF PORTO BELLO</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The Gulf of Maracaibo—Morgan's escape from the Spaniards</p></div> + + +<p>It was a melancholy home-coming. The men had little +more than ten pounds apiece to spend in jollity. The +merchants who enjoyed their custom were of those kinds +least anxious to give credit. The ten pounds were but +sufficient to stimulate desire. They did not allow the +jolly mariner to enjoy himself with any thoroughness. +In a day or two, the buccaneers were at the end of their +gold, and had to haunt the street corners, within scent +of the rum casks, thinking sadly of the pleasant liquor +they could not afford to drink. Henry Morgan took +this occasion to recruit for a new enterprise. He went +ashore among the drinking-houses, telling all he met of +golden towns he meant to capture. He always "communicated +vigour with his words," for, being a Welshman, +he had a certain fervour of address, not necessarily sincere, +which touched his simplest phrase with passion. In a +day or two, after a little talk and a little treating, every +disconsolate drunkard in the town was "persuaded by +his reasons, that the sole execution of his orders, would +be a certain means of obtaining great riches." This persuasion, +the writer adds, "had such influence upon their +minds, that with inimitable courage they all resolved +to follow him." Even "a certain Pirate of Campeachy," +a shipowner of considerable repute, resolved to follow +Morgan "to seek new fortunes and greater advantages +than he had found before." The French might hold aloof,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> +they all declared, but an Englishman was still the equal +of a Spaniard; while after all a short life and a merry +one was better than work ashore or being a parson. +With this crude philosophy, they went aboard again to +the decks they had so lately left. The Campeachy pirate +brought in a ship or two, and some large canoas. In all +they had a fleet of nine sail, manned by "four hundred +and three score military men." With this force Captain +Morgan sailed for Costa Rica.</p> + +<p>When they came within the sight of land, a council +was called, to which the captains of the vessels went. +Morgan told them that he meant to plunder Porto Bello +by a night attack, "being resolved" to sack the place, +"not the least corner escaping his diligence." He added +that the scheme had been held secret, so that "it would +not fail to succeed well." Besides, he thought it likely +that a city of such strength would be unprepared for +any sudden attack. The captains were staggered by +this resolution, for they thought themselves too weak +"to assault so strong and great a city." To this the +plucky Welshman answered: "If our number is small, our +hearts are great. And the fewer persons we are, the more +union and better shares we shall have in the spoil." This +answer, with the thought of "those vast riches they +promised themselves," convinced the captains that the +town could be attempted. It was a "dangerous voyage +and bold assault" but Morgan had been lucky in the past, +and the luck might still be with him. He knew the Porto +Bello country, having been there with a party (perhaps +Mansvelt's party) some years before. At any rate the +ships would be at hand in the event of a repulse.</p> + +<p>It was something of a hazard, for the Spanish garrison +was formed of all the desperate criminals the colonial +police could catch. These men made excellent soldiers, +for after a battle they were given the plunder of the men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> +they had killed. Then Panama, with its great garrison, was +perilously near at hand, being barely sixty miles away, or +two days' journey. Lastly, the town was strongly fortified, +with castles guarding it at all points. The garrison was +comparatively small, mustering about three companies of +foot. To these, however, the buccaneers had to add 300 +townsfolk capable of bearing arms. Following John Exquemeling's +plan, we add a brief description of this famous +town, to help the reader to form a mental picture of it.</p> + +<p>Porto Bello stands on the south-eastern side of a fine +bay, "in the province of Costa Rica." At the time when +Morgan captured it (in June 1668) it was one of the +strongest cities in the possession of the King of Spain. +It was neglected until 1584, when a royal mandate caused +the traders of Nombre de Dios to migrate thither. It +then became the port of the galleons,<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> where the treasures +of the south were shipped for Spain. The city which +Morgan sacked was built upon a strip of level ground +planted with fruit-trees, at a little distance from the sea, +but within a few yards of the bay. The westward half of +the town was very stately, being graced with fine stone +churches and the residence of the lieutenant-general. +Most of the merchants' dwellings (and of these there +may have been 100) were built of cedar wood. Some +were of stone, a thing unusual in the Indies, and some +were partly stone, with wooden upper storeys. There was +a fine stone convent peopled by Sisters of Mercy, and a +dirty, ruinous old hospital for "the sick men belonging to +the ships of war." On the shore there was a quay, backed +by a long stone custom-house. The main street ran along +the shore behind this custom-house, with cross-streets +leading to the two great squares. The eastward half of +the city, through which the road to Panama ran, was +called Guinea; for there the slaves and negroes used to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> +live, in huts and cottages of sugar-cane and palm leaves. +There, too, was the slave mart, to which the cargoes of +the Guinea ships were brought. A little river of clear +water divided the two halves of the town. Another little +river, bridged in two places, ran between the town and +Castle Gloria. The place was strongly fortified. Ships +entering the bay had to pass close to the "Iron Castle," +built upon the western point. Directly they stood away +towards the town they were exposed to the guns of Castle +Gloria and Fort Jeronimo—the latter a strong castle built +upon a sandbank off the Guinea town. The constant +population was not large, though probably 300 white +men lived there all the year round, in addition to +the Spanish garrison. The native quarter was generally +inhabited by several hundred negroes and mulattoes. +When the galleons arrived there, and for some weeks +before, the town was populous with merchants, who came +across from Panama to buy and sell. Tents were pitched +in the Grand Plaza, in front of the Governor's house, for +the protection of perishable goods, like Jesuits'-bark. +Gold and silver bars became as common to the sight as +pebbles. Droves of mules came daily in from Panama, +and ships arrived daily from all the seaports in the Indies. +As soon as the galleons sailed for Spain, the city emptied +as rapidly as it had filled. It was too unhealthy a +place for white folk, who continued there "no longer +than was needful to acquire a fortune."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="img187" id="img187"></a> +<a href="images/187.jpg"><img src="images/187_th.jpg" width="500" height="271" +alt="PORTO BELLO; CIRCA 1740. SHOWING THE SITUATION AND DEFENCES OF THE CITY" +title="PORTO BELLO" /></a> +<span class="caption">PORTO BELLO<br /> +CIRCA 1740. SHOWING THE SITUATION AND DEFENCES OF THE CITY</span> +</div> + +<p>Indeed, Porto Bello was one of the most pestilential +cities ever built, "by reason of the unhealthiness of the +Air, occasioned by certain Vapours that exhale from the +Mountains." It was excessively hot, for it lay (as it still +lies) in a well, surrounded by hills, "without any intervals +to admit the refreshing gales." It was less marshy than +Nombre de Dios, but "the sea, when it ebbs, leaves a vast +quantity of black, stinking mud, from whence there exhales<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span> +an intolerable noisome vapour." At every fair-time "a +kind of pestilential fever" raged, so that at least 400 +folk were buried there annually during the five or six +weeks of the market. The complaint may have been +yellow fever; (perhaps the cholera), perhaps pernicious +fever, aggravated by the dirty habits of the thousands +then packed within the town. The mortality was especially +heavy among the sailors who worked aboard the +galleons, hoisting in or out the bales of merchandise. +These mariners drank brandy very freely "to recruit +their spirits," and in other ways exposed themselves to +the infection. The drinking water of the place was "too +fine and active for the stomachs of the inhabitants," who +died of dysentery if they presumed to drink of it. The +town smoked in a continual steam of heat, unrelieved +even by the torrents of rain which fall there every day. +The woods are infested with poisonous snakes, and abound +in a sort of large toad or frog which crawls into the city +after rains. The tigers "often make incursions into the +street," as at Nombre de Dios, to carry off children and +domestic animals. There was good fishing in the bay, +and the land was fertile "beyond wonder," so that the +cost of living there, in the <i>tiempo muerto</i>, was very +small. There is a hill behind the town called the Capiro, +about which the streamers of the clouds wreathe whenever +rain is coming. The town was taken by Sir Francis +Drake in 1595, by Captain Parker in 1601, by Morgan in +1668, by Coxon in 1679, and by Admiral Vernon in 1740.</p> + +<p>Having told his plans, the admiral bade his men make +ready. During the afternoon he held towards the west +of Porto Bello, at some distance from the land. The +coast up to the Chagres River, and for some miles beyond, +is low, so that there was not much risk of the ships being +sighted from the shore. As it grew darker, he edged into +the land, arriving "in the dusk of the evening" at a place<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span> +called Puerto de Naos, or Port of Ships, a bay midway +between Porto Bello and the Chagres, and about ten +leagues from either place.</p> + +<p>They sailed westward up the coast for a little distance +to a place called Puerto Pontin, where they anchored. +Here the pirates got their boats out, and took to the oars, +"leaving in the ships only a few men to keep them, and +conduct them the next day to the port." By the light of +lamps and battle lanterns the boats rowed on through the +darkness, till at midnight they had came to a station +called Estera longa Lemos, a river-mouth a few miles +from Porto Bello, "where they all went on shore." After +priming their muskets, they set forth towards the city, +under the guidance of an English buccaneer, who had +been a prisoner at Porto Bello but a little while before. +When they were within a mile or two of the town, they +sent this Englishmen with three or four companions to +take a solitary sentry posted at the city outskirts. If +they could not take him, they were to kill him, but without +giving the alarm to the inhabitants. By creeping quietly +behind him, the party took the sentry, "with such cunning +that he had no time to give warning with his musket, or +make any other noise." A knife point pressing on his +spine, and a gag of wood across his tongue, warned him +to attempt no outcry. Some rope-yarn was passed about +his wrists, and in this condition he was dragged to Captain +Morgan. As soon as he was in the admiral's presence, he +was questioned as to the number of soldiers then in the +forts, "with many other circumstances." It must have +been a most uncomfortable trial, for "after every question, +they made him a thousand menaces to kill him, in case +he declared not the truth." When they had examined +him to their satisfaction, they recommenced their march, +"carrying always the said sentry bound before them." +Another mile brought them to an outlying fortress, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> +was built apparently between Porto Bello and the sea, +to protect the coast road and a few outlying plantations. +It was not yet light, so the pirates crept about the fort +unseen, "so that no person could get either in or out." +When they had taken up +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'their, ground'">their ground,</ins> +Morgan bade the +captured sentry hail the garrison, charging them to +surrender on pain of being cut to pieces. The garrison +at once ran to their weapons, and opened a fierce fire on +the unseen enemy, thus giving warning to the city that +the pirates were attacking. Before they could reload, the +buccaneers, "the noble Sparks of Venus," stormed in +among them, taking them in their confusion, hardly +knowing what was toward. Morgan was furious that +the Spaniards had not surrendered at discretion on his +challenge. The pirates were flushed with the excitement +of the charge. Someone proposed that they "should be +as good as their words, in putting the Spaniards to the +sword, thereby to strike a terror into the rest of the city." +They hustled the Spanish soldiers "into one room," +officers and men together. The cellars of the fort were +filled with powder barrels. Some ruffian took a handful +of the powder, and spilled a train along the ground, +telling his comrades to stand clear. His mates ran from +the building applauding his device. In another moment +the pirate blew upon his musket match to make the end +red, and fired the train he had laid, "and blew up the +whole castle into the air, with all the Spaniards that were +within." "Much the better way of the two," says one of +the chroniclers, who saw the explosion.</p> + +<p>"This being done," says the calm historian, "they +pursued the course of their victory" into the town. By +this time, the streets were thronged with shrieking townsfolk. +Men ran hither and thither with their poor belongings. +Many flung their gold and jewels into wells and +cisterns, or stamped them underground, "to excuse their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> +being totally robbed." The bells were set clanging in the +belfries; while, to increase the confusion, the Governor +rode into the streets, calling on the citizens to rally and +stand firm. As the dreadful panic did not cease, he rode +out of the mob to one of the castles (Castle Gloria), where +the troops were under arms. It was now nearly daybreak, +or light enough for them to see their enemy. As the +pirates came in sight among the fruit-trees, the Governor +trained his heavy guns upon them, and opened a smart +fire. Some lesser castles, or the outlying works of Castle +Gloria, which formed the outer defences of the town, +followed his example; nor could the pirates silence them. +One party of buccaneers crept round the fortifications to +the town, where they attacked the monastery and the +convent, breaking into both with little trouble, and +capturing a number of monks and nuns. With these +they retired to the pirates' lines.</p> + +<p>For several hours, the pirates got no farther, though the +fire did not slacken on either side. The pirates lay among +the scrub, hidden in the bushes, in little knots of two and +three. They watched the castle embrasures after each discharge +of cannon, for the Spaniards could not reload without +exposing themselves as they sponged or rammed. +Directly a Spaniard appeared, he was picked off from the +bushes with such precision that they lost "one or two men +every time they charged each gun anew." The losses +on the English side were fully as severe; for, sheltered +though they were, the buccaneers lost heavily. The lying +still under a hot sun was galling to the pirates' temper. +They made several attempts to storm, but failed in each +attempt owing to the extreme gallantry of the defence. +Towards noon they made a furious attack, carrying fireballs, +or cans filled with powder and resin, in their hands +"designing, if possible, to burn the doors of the castle." +As they came beneath the walls, the Spaniards rolled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span> +down stones upon them, with "earthen pots full of powder" +and iron shells filled full of chain-shot, "which forced them +to desist from that attempt." Morgan's party was driven +back with heavy loss. It seemed to Morgan at this crisis +that the victory was with the Spanish. He wavered for +some minutes, uncertain whether to call off his men. +"Many faint and calm meditations came into his mind" +seeing so many of his best hands dead and the Spanish +fire still so furious. As he debated "he was suddenly +animated to continue the assault, by seeing the English +colours put forth at one of the lesser castles, then entered +by his men." A few minutes later the conquerors came +swaggering up to join him, "proclaiming victory with loud +shouts of joy."</p> + +<p>Leaving his musketeers to fire at the Spanish gunners, +Morgan turned aside to reconnoitre. Making the capture +of the lesser fort his excuse, he sent a trumpet, with a +white flag, to summon the main castle, where the Governor +had flown the Spanish standard. While the herald was +gone upon his errand, Morgan set some buccaneers to +make a dozen scaling ladders, "so broad that three or +four men at once might ascend by them." By the time +they were finished, the trumpeter returned, bearing the +Governor's answer that "he would never surrender himself +alive." When the message had been given, Captain +Morgan formed his soldiers into companies, and bade +the monks and nuns whom he had taken, to place the +ladders against the walls of the chief castle. He thought +that the Spanish Governor would hardly shoot down these +religious persons, even though they bore the ladders for +the scaling parties. In this he was very much mistaken. +The Governor was there to hold the castle for his Catholic +Majesty, and, like "a brave and courageous soldier," he +"refused not to use his utmost endeavours to destroy whoever +came near the walls." As the wretched monks and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> +nuns came tottering forward with the ladders, they begged +of him, "by all the Saints of Heaven," to haul his colours +down, to the saving of their lives. Behind them were +the pirates, pricking them forward with their pikes +and knives. In front of them were the cannon of their +friends, so near that they could see the matches burning +in the hands of the gunners. "They ceased not +to cry to him," says the narrative; but they could +not "prevail with the obstinacy and fierceness that +had possessed the Governor's mind"—"the Governor +valuing his honour before the lives of the Mass-mumblers." +As they drew near to the walls, they +quickened their steps, hoping, no doubt, to get below +the cannon muzzles out of range. When they were but a +few yards from the walls, the cannon fired at them, while +the soldiers pelted them with a fiery hail of hand-grenades. +"Many of the religious men and nuns were killed before +they could fix the ladders"; in fact, the poor folk were +butchered there in heaps, before the ladders caught +against the parapet. Directly the ladders held, the +pirates stormed up with a shout, in great swarms, like +a ship's crew going aloft to make the sails fast. They +had "fireballs in their hands and earthen pots full of +powder," which "they kindled and cast in among the +Spaniards" from the summits of the walls. In the midst +of the smoke and flame which filled the fort the Spanish +Governor stood fighting gallantly. His wife and child +were present in that house of death, among the blood +and smell, trying to urge him to surrender. The men +were running from their guns, and the hand-grenades +were bursting all about him, but this Spanish Governor +refused to leave his post. The buccaneers who came +about him called upon him to surrender, but he answered +that he would rather die like a brave soldier than be +hanged as a coward for deserting his command, "so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> +that they were enforc'd to kill him, +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">nothwithstanding</ins> the +cries of his Wife and Daughter."</p> + +<p>The sun was setting over Iron Castle before the firing +came to an end with the capture of the Castle Gloria. +The pirates used the last of the light for the securing of +their many prisoners. They drove them to some dungeon +in the castle, where they shut them up under a guard. +The wounded "were put into a certain apartment by +itself," without medicaments or doctors, "to the intent +their own complaints might be the cure of their diseases." +In the dungeons of the castle's lower battery they found +eleven English prisoners chained hand and foot. They +were the survivors of the garrison of Providence, which +the Spaniards treacherously took two years before. Their +backs were scarred with many floggings, for they had +been forced to work like slaves at the laying of the quay +piles in the hot sun, under Spanish overseers. They were +released at once, and tenderly treated, nor were they +denied a share of the plunder of the town.</p> + +<p>"Having finish'd this Jobb" the pirates sought out the +"recreations of Heroick toil." "They fell to eating and +drinking" of the provisions stored within the city, "committing +in both these things all manner of debauchery +and excess." They tapped the casks of wine and brandy, +and "drank about" till they were roaring drunk. In this +condition they ran about the town, like cowboys on a +spree, "and never examined whether it were Adultery +or Fornication which they committed." By midnight +they were in such a state of drunken disorder that "if +there had been found only fifty courageous men, they +might easily have retaken the City, and killed the Pirats." +The next day they gathered plunder, partly by routing +through the houses, partly by torturing the townsfolk. +They seem to have been no less brutal here than they +had been in Cuba, though the Porto Bello houses yielded<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span> +a more golden spoil than had been won at Puerto Principe. +They racked one or two poor men until they died. Others +they slowly cut to pieces, or treated to the punishment +called "woolding," by which the eyes were forced from +their sockets under the pressure of a twisted cord. Some +were tortured with burning matches "and such like slight +torments." A woman was roasted to death "upon a +baking stone"—a sin for which one buccaneer ("as he lay +sick") was subsequently sorry.</p> + +<p>While they were indulging these barbarities, they drank +and swaggered and laid waste. They stayed within the +town for fifteen days, sacking it utterly, to the last ryal. +They were too drunk and too greedy to care much about +the fever, which presently attacked them, and killed a +number, as they lay in drunken stupor in the kennels. +News of their riot being brought across the isthmus, +the Governor of Panama resolved to send a troop of +soldiers, to attempt to retake the city, but he had great +difficulty in equipping a sufficient force. Before his +men were fit to march, some messengers came in from +the imprisoned townsfolk, bringing word from Captain +Morgan that he wanted a ransom for the city, "or +else he would by fire consume it to ashes." The +pirate ships were by this time lying off the town, in +Porto Bello bay. They were taking in fresh victuals +for the passage home. The ransom asked was 100,000 +pieces of eight, or £25,000. If it had not been paid +the pirates could have put their threat in force +without the slightest trouble. Morgan made all ready +to ensure his retreat in the event of an attack from +Panama. He placed an outpost of 100 "well-arm'd" +men in a narrow part of the passage over the isthmus. +All the plunder of the town was sent on board the +ships. In this condition he awaited the answer of the +President.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span></p> + +<p>As soon as that soldier had sufficient musketeers in +arms, he marched them across the isthmus to relieve the +city. They attempted the pass which Morgan had secured, +but lost very heavily in the attempt. The buccaneers +charged, and completely routed them, driving back the +entire company along the road to Panama. The President +had "to retire for that time," but he sent a blustering +note to Captain Morgan, threatening him and his with +death "when he should take them, as he hoped soon to +do." To this Morgan replied that he would not deliver +the castles till he had the money, and that if the money +did not come, the castles should be blown to pieces, with +the prisoners inside them. We are told that "the +Governor of Panama perceived by this answer that no +means would serve to mollify the hearts of the Pirates, +nor reduce them to reason." He decided to let the townsfolk +make what terms they could. In a few days more +these wretched folk contrived to scrape together the +required sum of money, which they paid over as their +ransom.</p> + +<p>Before the expedition sailed away, a messenger arrived +from Panama with a letter from the Governor to Captain +Morgan. It made no attempt to mollify his heart nor +to reduce him to reason, but it expressed a wonder at +the pirates' success. He asked, as a special favour, that +Captain Morgan would send him "some small patterns" +of the arms with which the city had been taken. He +thought it passing marvellous that a town so strongly fortified +should have been won by men without great guns. +Morgan treated the messenger to a cup of drink, and gave +him a pistol and some leaden bullets "to carry back to +the President, his Master." "He desired him to accept +that pattern of the arms wherewith he had taken Porto +Bello." He requested him to keep them for a twelvemonth, +"after which time he promised to come to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> +Panama and fetch them away." The Spaniard returned +the gift to Captain Morgan, "giving him thanks for lending +him such weapons as he needed not." He also sent a ring +of gold, with the warning "not to give himself the trouble +of coming to Panama," for "he should not speed so well +there" as he had sped at Porto Bello.</p> + +<p>"After these transactions" Captain Morgan loosed his +top-sail, as a signal to unmoor. His ships were fully +victualled for the voyage, and the loot was safely under +hatches. As a precaution, he took with him the best +brass cannon from the fortress. The iron guns were +securely spiked with soft metal nails, which were snapped +off flush with the touch-holes. The anchors were weighed +to the music of the fiddlers, a salute of guns was fired, +and the fleet stood out of Porto Bello bay along the wet, +green coast, passing not very far from the fort which they +had blown to pieces. In a few days' time they raised the +Keys of Cuba, their favourite haven, where "with all quiet +and repose" they made their dividend. "They found in +ready money two hundred and fifty thousand pieces of +eight, besides all other merchandises, as cloth, linen, silks +and other goods." The spoil was amicably shared about +the mast before a course was shaped for their "common +rendezvous"—Port Royal.</p> + +<p>A godly person in Jamaica, writing at this juncture in +some distress, expressed himself as follows:—"There is +not now resident upon this place ten men to every +[licensed] house that selleth strong liquors ... besides +sugar and rum works that sell without license." When +Captain Morgan's ships came flaunting into harbour, with +their colours fluttering and the guns thundering salutes, +there was a rustle and a stir in the heart of every publican. +"All the Tavern doors stood open, as they do at +London, on Sundays, in the afternoon." Within those +tavern doors, "in all sorts of vices and debauchery," the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> +pirates spent their plunder "with huge prodigality," not +caring what might happen on the morrow.</p> + +<p>Shortly after the return from Porto Bello, Morgan +organised another expedition with which he sailed into +the Gulf of Maracaibo. His ships could not proceed far +on account of the shallowness of the water, but by placing +his men in the canoas he penetrated to the end of the +Gulf. On the way he sacked Maracaibo, a town which +had been sacked on two previous occasions—the last time +by L'Ollonais only a couple of years before. Morgan's +men tortured the inhabitants, according to their custom, +either by "woolding" them or by placing burning matches +between their toes. They then set sail for Gibraltar, a +small town strongly fortified, at the south-east corner of +the Gulf. The town was empty, for the inhabitants had +fled into the hills with "all their goods and riches." But +the pirates sent out search parties, who brought in many +prisoners. These were examined, with the usual cruelties, +being racked, pressed, hung up by the heels, burnt with +palm leaves, tied to stakes, suspended by the thumbs and +toes, flogged with rattans, or roasted at the camp fires. +Some were crucified, and burnt between the fingers as they +hung on the crosses; "others had their feet put into the +fire."</p> + +<p>When they had extracted the last ryal from the sufferers +they shipped themselves aboard some Spanish vessels +lying in the port. They were probably cedar-built ships, +of small tonnage, built at the Gibraltar yards. In these +they sailed towards Maracaibo, where they found "a poor +distressed old man, who was sick." This old man told +them that the Castle de la Barra, which guarded the +entrance to the Gulf, had been mounted with great guns +and manned by a strong garrison. Outside the channel +were three Spanish men-of-war with their guns run out +and decks cleared for battle.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span></p> + +<p>The truth of these assertions was confirmed by a scouting +party the same day. In order to gain a little time +Morgan sent a Spaniard to the admiral of the men-of-war, +demanding a ransom "for not putting Maracaibo +to the flame." The answer reached him in a day or two, +warning him to surrender all his plunder, and telling him +that if he did not, he should be destroyed by the sword. +There was no immediate cause for haste, because the Spanish +admiral could not cross the sandbanks into the Gulf +until he had obtained flat-bottomed boats from Caracas. +Morgan read the letter to his men "in the market-place +of Maracaibo," "both in French and English," and then +asked them would they give up all their spoil, and pass +unharmed, or fight for its possession. They agreed with +one voice to fight, "to the very last drop of blood," rather +than surrender the booty they had risked their skins to +get. One of the men undertook to rig a fireship to +destroy the Spanish admiral's flagship. He proposed to +fill her decks with logs of wood "standing with hats and +Montera caps," like gunners standing at their guns. At +the port-holes they would place other wooden logs to +resemble cannon. The ship should then hang out the +English colours, the Jack or the red St George's cross, so +that the enemy should deem her "one of our best men of +war that goes to fight them." The scheme pleased everyone, +but there was yet much anxiety among the pirates. +Morgan sent another letter to the Spanish admiral, +offering to spare Maracaibo without ransom; to release his +prisoners, with one half of the captured slaves; and to +send home the hostages he brought away from Gibraltar, +if he might be granted leave to pass the entry. The +Spaniard rejected all these terms, with a curt intimation +that, if the pirates did not surrender within two more days, +they should be compelled to do so at the sword's point.</p> + +<p>Morgan received the Spaniard's answer angrily, re<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>solving +to attempt the passage "without surrendering +anything." He ordered his men to tie the slaves and +prisoners, so that there should be no chance of their +attempting to rise. They then rummaged Maracaibo for +brimstone, pitch, and tar, with which to make their fireship. +They strewed her deck with fireworks and with +dried palm leaves soaked in tar. They cut her outworks +down, so that the fire might more quickly spread to the +enemy's ship at the moment of explosion. They broke +open some new gun-ports, in which they placed small drums, +"of which the negroes make use." "Finally, the decks +were handsomely beset with many pieces of wood dressed +up in the shape of men with hats or monteras, and likewise +armed with swords, muskets, and bandoliers." The +plunder was then divided among the other vessels of the +squadron. A guard of musketeers was placed over the +prisoners, and the pirates then set sail towards the passage. +The fireship went in advance, with orders to fall foul of +the <i>Spanish Admiral</i>, a ship of forty guns.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img203" id="img203"></a> +<a href="images/203.jpg"><img src="images/203_th.jpg" width="400" height="255" +alt="THE FIRESHIP DESTROYING THE SPANISH ADMIRAL; CASTLE DE LA BARRA IN BACKGROUND" +title="THE FIRESHIP DESTROYING THE SPANISH ADMIRAL" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE FIRESHIP DESTROYING THE SPANISH ADMIRAL<br /> +CASTLE DE LA BARRA IN BACKGROUND</span> +</div> + +<p>When it grew dark they anchored for the night, with +sentinels on each ship keeping vigilant watch. They were +close to the entry, almost within shot of the Spaniards, +and they half expected to be boarded in the darkness. +At dawn they got their anchors, and set sail towards the +Spaniards, who at once unmoored, and beat to quarters. +In a few minutes the fireship ran into the man-of-war, +"and grappled to her sides" with kedges thrown into her +shrouds. The Spaniards left their guns, and strove to +thrust her away, but the fire spread so rapidly that they +could not do so. The flames caught the warship's sails, +and ran along her sides with such fury that her men had +hardly time to get away from her before she blew her +bows out, and went to the bottom. The second ship made +no attempt to engage: her crew ran her ashore, and +deserted, leaving her bilged in shallow water. As the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> +pirates rowed towards the wreck some of the deserters +hurried back to fire her. The third ship struck her colours +without fighting.</p> + +<p>Seeing their advantage a number of the pirates landed +to attack the castle, where the shipwrecked Spaniards +were rallying. A great skirmish followed, in which the +pirates lost more men than had been lost at Porto Bello. +They were driven off with heavy loss, though they continued +to annoy the fort with musket fire till the evening. +As it grew dark they returned to Maracaibo, leaving one +of their ships to watch the fortress and to recover treasure +from the sunken flagship. Morgan now wrote to the +Spanish admiral, demanding a ransom for the town. +The citizens were anxious to get rid of him at any cost, +so they compounded with him, seeing that the admiral +disdained to treat, for the sum of 20,000 pieces of +eight and 500 cattle. The gold was paid, and the +cattle duly counted over, killed, and salted; but +Morgan did not purpose to release his prisoners until +his ship was safely past the fort. He told the Maracaibo +citizens that they would not be sent ashore until the +danger of the passage was removed. With this word he +again set sail to attempt to pass the narrows. He found +his ship still anchored near the wreck, but in more prosperous +sort than he had left her. Her men had brought +up 15,000 pieces of eight, with a lot of gold and silver +plate, "as hilts of swords and other things," besides +"great quantity of pieces of eight" which had "melted +and run together" in the burning of the vessel.</p> + +<p>Morgan now made a last appeal to the Spanish admiral, +telling him that he would hang his prisoners if the +fortress fired on him as he sailed past. The Spanish +admiral sent an answer to the prisoners, who had begged +him to relent, informing them that he would do his duty, +as he wished they had done theirs. Morgan heard the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> +answer, and realised that he would have to use +some stratagem to escape the threatened danger. He +made a dividend of the plunder before he proceeded +farther, for he feared that some of the fleet might never +win to sea, and that the captains of those which escaped +might be tempted to run away with their ships. +The spoils amounted to 250,000 pieces of eight, +as at Porto Bello, though in addition to this gold +there were numbers of slaves and heaps of costly +merchandise.</p> + +<p>When the booty had been shared he put in use his +stratagem. He embarked his men in the canoas, and +bade them row towards the shore "as if they designed +to land." When they reached the shore they hid under +the overhanging boughs "till they had laid themselves +down along in the boats." Then one or two men rowed +the boats back to the ships, with the crews concealed under +the thwarts. The Spaniards in the fortress watched the +going and returning of the boats. They could not see +the stratagem, for the boats were too far distant, but +they judged that the pirates were landing for a night +attack. The boats plied to and from the shore at intervals +during the day. The anxious Spaniards resolved to prepare +for the assault by placing their great guns on the +landward side of the fortress. They cleared away the +scrub on that side, in order to give their gunners a clear +view of the attacking force when the sun set. They +posted sentries, and stood to their arms, expecting to be +attacked.</p> + +<p>As soon as night had fallen the buccaneers weighed +anchor. A bright moon was shining, and by the moonlight +the ships steered seaward under bare poles. As +they came abreast of the castle on the gentle current of +the ebb, they loosed their sails to a fair wind blowing +seaward. At the same moment, while the top-sails were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> +yet slatting, Captain Morgan fired seven great guns "with +bullets" as a last defiance. The Spaniards dragged their +cannon across the fortress, "and began to fire very +furiously," without much success. The wind freshened, +and as the ships drew clear of the narrows they felt its +force, and began to slip through the water. One or two +shots took effect upon them before they drew out of +range, but "the Pirates lost not many of their men, nor +received any considerable damage in their ships." They +hove to at a distance of a mile from the fort in order +to send a boat in with a number of the prisoners. They +then squared their yards, and stood away towards Jamaica, +where they arrived safely, after very heavy weather, a +few days later. Here they went ashore in their stolen +velvets and silks to spend their silver dollars in the Port +Royal rum shops. Some mates of theirs were ashore at +that time after an unlucky cruise. It was their pleasure +"to mock and jeer" these unsuccessful pirates, "often +telling them: Let us see what money you brought from +Comana, and if it be as good silver as that which we bring +from Maracaibo."</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Note.</i>—On his return from Maracaibo, Morgan gave out that he had met +with further information of an intended Spanish attack on Jamaica. He +may have made the claim to justify his actions on the Main, which were +considerably in excess of the commission Modyford had given him. On the +other hand, a Spanish attack may have been preparing, as he stated; but +the preparations could not have gone far, for had the Spaniards been prepared +for such an expedition Morgan's Panama raid could never have succeeded.</p> + +<p><i>Authorities.</i>—Exquemeling's "History of The Bucaniers of America"; +Exquemeling's "History" (the Malthus edition), 1684. Cal. State Papers: +West Indian and Colonial Series.</p> + +<p>For my account of Porto Bello I am indebted to various brief accounts +in Hakluyt, and to a book entitled "A Description of the Spanish Islands," +by a "Gentleman long resident in those parts." I have also consulted the +brief notices in Dampier's Voyages, Wafer's Voyages, various gazetteers, +and some maps and pamphlets relating to Admiral Vernon's attack in +1739-40. There is a capital description of the place as it was in its decadence, +<i>circa</i> 1820, in Michael Scott's "Tom Cringle's Log."</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI</h2> + +<h3>MORGAN'S GREAT RAID</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Chagres castle—Across the isthmus—Sufferings of the buccaneers—Venta +Cruz—Old Panama</p></div> + + +<p>Some months later Henry Morgan found his pirates +in all the miseries of poverty. They had wasted all +their silver dollars, and longed for something "to expend +anew in wine" before they were sold as slaves to pay +their creditors. He thought that he would save them +from their misery by going a new cruise. There was +no need for him to drum up recruits in the rum shops, +for his name was glorious throughout the Indies. He +had but to mention that "he intended for the Main" to +get more men than he could ship. He "assigned the +south side of the Isle of Tortuga" for his rendezvous, +and he sent out letters to the "ancient and expert +Pirates" and to the planters and hunters in Hispaniola, +asking them, in the American general's phrase, "to come +and dip their spoons in a platter of glory." Long before +the appointed day the rendezvous was crowded, for ships, +canoas, and small boats came thronging to the anchorage +with all the ruffians of the Indies. Many marched to +the rendezvous across the breadth of Hispaniola "with +no small difficulties." The muster brought together a +grand variety of rascaldom, from Campeachy in the west +to Trinidad in the east. Hunters, planters, logwood +cutters, Indians, and half-breeds came flocking from their +huts and inns to go upon the grand account. Lastly, +Henry Morgan came in his fine Spanish ship, with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> +brass and iron guns. At the firing of a gun the assembled +captains came on board to him for a pirates' council, over +the punch-bowl, in the admiral's cabin.</p> + +<p>It was decided at this council to send a large party +to the Main, to the de la Hacha River, "to assault a small +village" of the name of La Rancheria—the chief granary +in all the "Terra Firma." The pirates were to seize as +much maize there as they could find—enough, if possible, +to load the ships of the expedition. While they were +away their fellows at Tortuga were to clean and rig +the assembled ships to fit them for the coming cruise. +Another large party was detailed to hunt in the woods +for hogs and cattle.</p> + +<p>In about five weeks' time the ships returned from Rio +de la Hacha, after much buffeting at sea. They brought +with them a grain ship they had taken in the port, and +several thousand sacks of corn which the Spaniards had +paid them as "a ransom for not burning the town." +They had also won a lot of silver, "with all other things +they could rob"—such as pearls from the local pearl beds. +The hunters had killed and salted an incredible quantity +of beef and pork, the ships were scraped and tallowed, +and nothing more was to be done save to divide the +victuals among all the buccaneers. This division did not +take much time. Within a couple of days the admiral +loosed his top-sail. The pirates fired off their guns and +hove their anchors up. They sailed out of Port Couillon +with a fair wind, in a great bravery of flags, towards the +rendezvous at Cape Tiburon, to the south-west of the +island Hispaniola. When they reached Cape Tiburon, +where there is a good anchorage, they brought aboard +a store of oranges, to save them from the scurvy. While +the men were busy in the orange groves Henry Morgan +"gave letters patent, or commissions," to all his captains, +"to act all manner of hostility against the Spanish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> +nation." For this act he had the sealed authority of +the Council of Jamaica. He was no longer a pirate +or buccaneer, but an admiral leading a national enterprise. +As we have said, he had heard, on the Main, +of an intended Spanish attack upon Jamaica; indeed, +it is probable that his capture of Porto Bello prevented +the ripening of the project. There is no need to whitewash +Morgan, but we may at least regard him at this +juncture as the saviour of our West Indian colonies. +After the serving out of these commissions, and their +due sealing, the captains were required to sign the +customary articles, allotting the shares of the prospective +plunder. The articles allotted very liberal compensation +to the wounded; they also expressly stated the reward +to be given for bravery in battle. Fifty pieces of eight +were allotted to him who should haul a Spanish colour +down and hoist the English flag in its place. Surgeons +received 200 pieces of eight "for their chests of medicaments." +Carpenters received one half of that sum. +Henry Morgan, the admiral of the fleet, was to receive +one-hundredth part of all the plunder taken. His vice-admiral's +share is not stated. As a stimulus to the +pirates, it was published through the fleet that any +captain and crew who ventured on, and took, a Spanish +ship should receive a tenth part of her value as a reward +to themselves for their bravery. When the contracts had +been signed Morgan asked his captains which town they +should attempt. They had thirty-seven ships, carrying at +least 500 cannon. They had 2000 musketeers, "besides +mariners and boys," while they possessed "great quantity +of ammunition, and fire balls, with other inventions of +powder." With such an armament, he said, they could +attack the proudest of the Spanish cities. They could +sack La Vera Cruz, where the gold from Manila was +put aboard the galleons, as they lay alongside the quays<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span> +moored to the iron ring-bolts; or they could go eastward +to the town of Cartagena to pillage our Lady's +golden altar in the church there; or they could row up +the Chagres River, and keep the promise Morgan had +made to the Governor of Panama. The captains pronounced +for Panama, but they added, as a rider, that it +would be well to go to Santa Katalina to obtain guides. +The Santa Katalina fort was still in the possession of +the Spaniards, who now used it as a convict settlement, +sending thither all the outlaws of the "Terra Firma." It +would be well, they said, to visit Santa Katalina to select +a few choice cut-throats to guide them over the isthmus. +With this resolution they set sail for Santa Katalina, +where they anchored on the fourth day, "before sunrise," +in a bay called the Aguada Grande.</p> + +<p>Some of the buccaneers had been there under Mansvelt, +and these now acted as guides to the men who went +ashore in the fighting party. A day of hard fighting +followed, rather to the advantage of the Spaniards, for +the pirates won none of the batteries, and had to sleep +in the open, very wet and hungry. The next day Morgan +threatened the garrison with death if they did not yield +"within few hours." The Governor was not a very gallant +man, like the Governor at Porto Bello. Perhaps he was +afraid of his soldiers, the convicts from the "Terra Firma." +At <ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original">anyrate</ins> +he consented to surrender, but he asked that +the pirates would have the kindness to pretend to attack +him, "for the saving of his honesty." Morgan agreed +very gladly to this proposition, for he saw little chance +of taking the fort by storm. When the night fell, he +followed the Governor's direction, and began a furious +bombardment, "but without bullets, or at least into the +air." The castles answered in the like manner, burning +a large quantity of powder. Then the pirates stormed +into the castles in a dramatic way; while the Spaniards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> +retreated to the church, and hung out the white +flag.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning the pirates sacked the place, +and made great havoc in the poultry-yards and cattle-pens. +They pulled down a number of wooden houses +to supply their camp fires. The guns they nailed or +sent aboard. The powder they saved for their own use, +but some proportion of it went to the destruction of the +forts, which, with one exception, they blew up. For some +days they stayed there, doing nothing but "roast and +eat, and make good cheer," sending the Spaniards to +the fields to rout out fresh provisions. While they lay +there, Morgan asked "if any banditti were there from +Panama," as he had not yet found his guides. Three +scoundrels came before him, saying that they knew the +road across the isthmus, and that they would act as +guides if such action were made profitable. Morgan +promised them "equal shares in all they should pillage +and rob," and told them that they should come with him +to Jamaica at the end of the cruise. These terms suited +the three robbers very well. One of them, "a wicked +fellow," "the greatest rogue, thief and assassin among +them," who had deserved rather "to be broken alive +upon a wheel than punished with serving in a garrison," +was the spokesman of the trio. He was the Dubosc of +that society, "and could domineer and command over +them," "they not daring to refuse obedience." This +truculent ruffian, with his oaths and his knives and his +black moustachios, was elected head guide.</p> + +<p>After several days of ease upon the island Morgan sent +a squadron to the Main, with 400 men, four ships, and +a canoa, "to go and take the Castle of Chagre," at the +entrance to the Chagres River. He would not send a +larger company, though the fort was strong, for he feared +"lest the Spaniards should be jealous of his designs upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span> +Panama"—lest they should be warned, that is, by refugees +from Chagres before he tried to cross the isthmus. +Neither would he go himself, for he was still bent upon +establishing a settlement at Santa Katalina. He chose +out an old buccaneer, of the name of Brodely or Bradly, +who had sailed with Mansvelt, to command the expedition. +He was famous in his way this Captain Brodely, +for he had been in all the raids, and had smelt a quantity +of powder. He was as brave as a lion, resourceful as a +sailor, and, for a buccaneer, most prudent. Ordering his +men aboard, he sailed for the Chagres River, where, three +days later, he arrived. He stood in towards the river's +mouth; but the guns of the castle opened on him, making +that anchorage impossible. But about a league from the +castle there is a small bay, and here Captain Brodely +brought his ships to anchor, and sent his men to their +blankets, warning them to stand by for an early call.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;"> +<a name="img214" id="img214"></a> +<a href="images/214.jpg"><img src="images/214_th.jpg" width="298" height="400" +alt="PLAN of the Town, Road, and Harbour of CHAGRE." +title="CHAGRES" /></a> +<span class="caption">CHAGRES<br /> +CIRCA 1739</span> +</div> + +<p>The castle of San Lorenzo, which guarded the Chagres +River's mouth, was built on the right bank of that river, on +a high hill of great steepness. The hill has two peaks, +with a sort of natural ditch some thirty feet in depth +between them. The castle was built upon the seaward +peak, and a narrow drawbridge crossed the +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'gulley'">gully</ins> to the +other summit, which was barren and open to the sight. +The river swept round the northern side of the hill with +considerable force. To the south the hill was precipitous, +and of such "infinite asperity," that no man could climb +it. To the east was the bridged gully connecting the +garrison with the isthmus. To the west, in a crook of +the land, was the little port of Chagres, where ships +might anchor in seven or eight fathoms, "being very +fit for small vessels." Not far from the foot of the hill, +facing the river's mouth, there was a battery of eight great +guns commanding the approach. A little way beneath +were two more batteries, each with six great guns, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> +supplement the one above. A path led from these lower +batteries to the protected harbour. A steep flight of +stairs, "hewed out of the rock," allowed the soldiers +to pass from the water to the summit of the castle. The +defences at the top of the hill were reinforced with +palisadoes. The keep, or inner castle, was hedged about +with a double fence of plank—the fences being six or +seven feet apart, and the interstices filled in with earth, +like gabions. On one side of the castle were the storesheds +for merchandise and ammunition. On the other, +and within the palisadoes everywhere, were soldiers' huts, +built of mud and wattle, thatched with palm leaves, "after +the manner of the Indians." Lastly, as a sort of outer +defence, a great submerged rock prevented boats from +coming too near the seaward side.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning Captain Bradly turned his hands +up by the boatswain's pipe, and bade them breakfast off +their beef and parched corn. Maize and charqui were +packed into knapsacks for the march, and the pirates +rowed ashore to open the campaign. The ruffians from +Santa Katalina took their stations at the head of the +leading company, with trusty pirates just behind them +ready to pistol them if they played false. In good spirits +they set forth from the beach, marching in the cool of the +morning before the sun had risen. The way led through +mangrove swamps, where the men sank to their knees in +rotting grasses or plunged to their waists in slime. Those +who have seen a tropical swamp will know how fierce the +toil was. They were marching in a dank world belonging +to an earlier age than ours. They were in the age of the +coal strata, among wet, green things, in a silence only +broken by the sound of dropping or by the bellow of an +alligator. They were there in the filth, in the heat haze, +in a mist of miasma and mosquitoes. In all probability +they were swearing at themselves for coming thither.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> + +<p>At two o'clock in the afternoon the buccaneers pushed +through a thicket of liane and green cane, and debouched +quite suddenly upon the barren hilltop facing San +Lorenzo Castle. As they formed up, they were met with +a thundering volley, which threw them into some confusion. +They retreated to the cover of the jungle to debate +a plan of battle, greatly fearing that a fort so strongly +placed would be impregnable without great guns to batter +it. However, they were a reckless company, careless of +their lives, and hot with the tramping through the swamp. +Give it up they could not, for fear of the mockery of their +mates. The desperate course was the one course open +to them. They lit the fireballs, or grenades, they had +carried through the marsh; they drew their swords, and +"Come on!" they cried. "Have at all!" And forward +they stormed, cursing as they ran. A company in reserve +remained behind in cover, firing over the storming party +with their muskets.</p> + +<p>As the pirates threw themselves into the gully, the +walls of San Lorenzo burst into a flame of gun fire. The +Spaniards fought their cannon furiously—as fast as they +could fire and reload—while the musketeers picked off the +leaders from the loopholes. "Come on, ye English dogs!" +they cried. "Come on, ye heretics! ye cuckolds! Let +your skulking mates behind there come on too! You'll +not get to Panama this bout." "Come on" the pirates +did, with great gallantry. They flung themselves down +into the ditch, and stormed up the opposite slope to the +wooden palings. Here they made a desperate attempt to +scale, but the foothold was too precarious and the pales +too high. In a few roaring minutes the attack was at an +end: it had withered away before the Spanish fire. The +buccaneers were retreating in knots of one or two, leaving +some seventy of their number on the sun-bleached rocks of +the gully.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span></p> + +<p>When they got back to the jungle they lay down to +rest, and slept there quietly while the daylight lasted, +though the Spaniards still sent shots in their direction. +As soon as it was dark, they made another furious assault, +flinging their fireballs against the palings in order to +burst the planks apart. While they were struggling in +the ditch, a pirate ran across the gully with his body bent, +as is natural to a running man. As he ran, an arrow took +him in the back, and pierced him through to the side. +He paused a moment, drew the arrow from the wound, +wrapped the shaft of it with cotton as a wad, and fired +it back over the paling with his musket. The cotton he +had used caught fire from the powder, and it chanced +that this blazing shaft drove home into a palm thatch. +In the hurry and confusion the flame was not noticed, +though it spread rapidly across the huts till it reached +some powder casks. There was a violent explosion just +within the palisadoes, and stones and blazing sticks came +rattling down about the Spaniards' ears. The inner castle +roared up in a blaze, calling the Spaniards from their +guns to quench the fire—no easy task so high above the +water. While the guns were deserted, the pirates ran +along the bottom of the ditch, thrusting their fireballs +under the palisadoes, which now began to burn in many +places. As the flames spread, the planking warped, and +fell. The outer planks inclined slightly outward, like +the futtocks of a ship, so that, when they weakened in the +fire, the inner weight of earth broke them through. The +pirates now stood back from the fort, in the long black +shadows, to avoid the showers of earth—"great heaps of +earth"—which were falling down into the ditch. Presently +the slope from the bottom of the gully was piled +with earth, so that the pirates could rush up to the +breaches, and hurl their firepots across the broken woodwork. +The San Lorenzo fort was now a spiring red flame<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> +of fire—a beacon to the ships at sea. Before midnight +the wooden walls were burnt away to charcoal; the inner +fort was on fire in many places; yet the Spaniards still +held the earthen ramparts, casting down "many flaming +pots," and calling on the English dogs to attack them. +The pirates lay close in the shadows, picking off the +Spaniards as they moved in the red firelight, so that +many poor fellows came toppling into the gully from +the mounds.</p> + +<p>When day dawned, the castle lay open to the pirates. +The walls were all burnt, and fallen down, but in the +breaches stood the Spanish soldiers, manning their guns +as though the walls still protected them. The fight +began as furiously as it had raged the day before. By +noon most of the Spanish gunners had been shot down +by the picked musketeers; while a storming party ran +across the ditch, and rushed a breach. As the pirates +gained the inside of the fort, the Spanish Governor charged +home upon them with twenty-five soldiers armed with +pikes, clubbed muskets, swords, or stones from the ruin. +For some minutes these men mixed in a last desperate +struggle; then the Spaniards were driven back by the +increasing numbers of the enemy. Fighting hard, they +retreated to the inner castle, cheered by their Governor, +who still called on them to keep their flag aloft. The +inner castle was a ruin, but the yellow flag still flew there, +guarded by some sorely wounded soldiers and a couple +of guns. Here the last stand was made, and here the +gallant captain was hit by a bullet, "which pierced his +skull into the brain." The little band of brave men now +went to pieces before the rush of pirates. Some of them +fell back, still fighting, to the wall, over which they flung +themselves "into the sea," dying thus honourably rather +than surrender. About thirty of them, "whereof scarce +ten were not wounded," surrendered in the ruins of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> +inner fortress. These thirty hurt and weary men were +the survivors of 314 who had stood to arms the day +before. All the rest were dead, save "eight or nine," who +had crept away by boat up the Chagres to take the news to +Panama. No officer remained alive, nor was any powder +left; the Spaniards were true soldiers. The pirates lost +"above one hundred killed" and over seventy wounded, +or rather more than half of the men engaged. While the +few remaining Spaniards dug trenches in the sand for +the burial of the many dead, the pirates questioned them +as to their knowledge of Morgan's enterprise. They knew +all about it, they said, for a deserter from the pirate ships +which raided the Rio de la Hacha (for grain) had spoken +of the scheme to the Governor at Cartagena. That +captain had reinforced the Chagres garrison, and had +sent a warning over the isthmus to the Governor at +Panama. The Chagres was now well lined with ambuscades. +Panama was full of soldiers, and the whole Spanish +population was ready to take up arms to drive the pirates +to their ships, so they knew what they might look to +get in case they persisted in their plan. This information +was sent to Henry Morgan at the Santa Katalina +fort, with news of the reduction of the Chagres +castle. Before he received it, Captain Joseph Bradly +died in the castle, of a wound he had received in the +fighting.</p> + +<p>When Morgan received the news that San Lorenzo had +been stormed, he began to send aboard the meat, maize, +and cassava he had collected in Santa Katalina. He had +already blown the Spanish forts to pieces, with the one +exception of the fort of St Teresa. He now took all the +captured Spanish guns, and flung them into the sea, where +they lie still, among the scarlet coral sprays. The Spanish +town was then burnt, and the Spanish prisoners placed +aboard the ships. It was Morgan's intention to return to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> +the island after sacking Panama, and to leave there a +strong garrison to hold it in the interests of the buccaneers. +When he had made these preparations he weighed his +anchors, and sailed for the Chagres River under the English +colours.</p> + +<p>Eight days later they came sailing slowly up towards +the river's mouth. Their joy was so great "when they saw +the English colours upon the castle, that they minded not +their way into the river," being gathered at the rum cask +instead of at the lead, and calling healths instead of soundings. +As a consequence, four ships of the fleet, including +the admiral's flagship, ran foul of the ledge of rocks at the +river's entry. Several men were drowned, but the goods +and ships' stores were saved, though with some difficulty. +As they got out warps to bring the ships off, the north +wind freshened. In shallow water, such as that, a sea rises +very quickly. In a few hours a regular "norther" had set +in, and the ships beat to pieces on the ledge before the +end of the day.</p> + +<p>As Morgan came ashore at the port, the guns were fired +in salute, and the pirates lined the quay and the castle +walls to give him a triumphant welcome. He examined +the castle, questioned the lieutenants, and at once took +steps to repair the damage done by the fire. The thirty +survivors of the garrison and all the prisoners from Santa +Katalina, were set to work to drive in new palisadoes in +the place of those burnt in the attack. The huts were +rethatched and the whole place reordered. There were +some Spanish ships in the port whose crews had been +pressed into the Spanish garrison at the time of the storm. +They were comparatively small, of the kind known as +chatas, or chatten, a sort of coast boat of slight draught, +used for river work and for the conveyance of goods from +the Chagres to the cities on the Main. They had iron and +brass guns aboard them, which were hoisted out, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> +mounted in the fort. Captain Morgan then picked a +garrison of 500 buccaneers to hold the fort, under a +buccaneer named Norman. He placed 150 more in the +ships in the anchorage, and embarked the remainder in +flat-bottomed boats for the voyage up the Chagres.</p> + +<p>It was the dry season, so that the river, at times so +turbulent, was dwindled to a tenth of its volume. In order +that the hard work of hauling boats over shallows might +not be made still harder, Morgan gave orders that the +men should take but scanty stock of provisions. A few +maize cobs and a strip or two of charqui was all the +travelling store in the scrips his pilgrims carried. They +hoped that they would find fresh food in the Spanish +strongholds, or ambuscades, which guarded the passage +over the isthmus.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="img223" id="img223"></a> +<a href="images/223.jpg"><img src="images/223_th.jpg" width="500" height="301" +alt="A Map of the Country and Citty of PANAMA. Part. 3. Page. 31." +title="THE ISTHMUS" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE ISTHMUS<br /> +SHOWING MORGAN'S LINE OF ADVANCE</span> +</div> + +<p>The company set sail from San Lorenzo on the morning +of the 12th (one says the 18th) of January 1671. They +numbered in all 1200 men, packed into thirty-two canoas +and the five chatas they had taken in the port. His +guides went on ahead in one of the chatas, with her +guns aboard her and the matches lit, and one Robert +Delander, a buccaneer captain, in command. The first +day's sailing against a gentle current was pleasant enough. +In spite of the heat and the overcrowding of the boats, +they made six leagues between dawn and sunset, and +anchored at a place called De los Bracos. Here a +number of the pirates went ashore to sleep "and stretch +their limbs, they being almost crippled with lying too +much crowded in the boats." They also foraged up and +down for food in the plantations; but the Spaniards had +fled with all their stores. It was the first day of the +journey over the isthmus, yet many of the men had already +come to an end of their provisions. "The greatest part +of them" ate nothing all day, nor enjoyed "any other +refreshment" than a pipe of tobacco. The next day,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> +"very early in the morning," before the sun rose, they +shoved off from the mooring-place. They rowed all +day, suffering much from the mosquitoes, but made little +progress. The river was fallen very low, so that they +were rowing or poling over a series of pools joined by +shallow rapids. To each side of them were stretches of +black, alluvial mud, already springing green with shrubs +and water-plants. Every now and then, as they rowed +on, on the dim, sluggish, silent, steaming river, they butted +a sleeping alligator as he sunned in the shallows, or were +stopped by a fallen tree, brought by the summer floods +and left to rot there. At twilight, when the crying of +the birds became more intense and the monkeys gathered +to their screaming in the treetops, the boats drew up +to the bank at a planter's station, or wayside shrine, known +as Cruz de Juan Gallego. Here they went ashore to +sleep, still gnawed with famine, and faint with the hard +day's rowing. The guides told Henry Morgan that after +another two leagues they might leave the boats, and push +through the woods on foot.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning the admiral decided to leave +the boats, for with his men so faint from hunger he +thought it dangerous to tax them with a labour so +severe as rowing. He left 160 men to protect the fleet, +giving them the strictest orders to remain aboard. "No +man," he commanded, "upon any pretext whatsoever, +should dare to leave the boats and go ashore." The +woods there were so dark and thick that a Spanish +garrison might have lain within 100 yards of the +fleet, and cut off any stragglers who landed. Having +given his orders, he chose out a gang of macheteros, or +men carrying the sharp sword-like machetes, to march +ahead of the main body, to cut a trackway in the pulpy +green stuff. They then set forward through the forest, +over their ankles in swampy mud, up to their knees some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>times +in rotting leaves, clambering over giant tree trunks, +wading through stagnant brooks, staggering and slipping +and swearing, faint with famine; a very desperate gang of +cut-throats. As they marched, the things called garapatadas, +or wood-ticks, of which some six sorts flourish +there, dropped down upon them in scores, to add their +burning bites to the venom of the mosquitoes. In a moist +atmosphere of at least 90°, with heavy arms to carry, that +march must have been terrible. Even the buccaneers, +men hardened to the climate, could not endure it: they +straggled back to the boats, and re-embarked.</p> + +<p>With a great deal of trouble the pirates dragged the +boats "to a place farther up the river, called Cedro Bueno," +where they halted for the stragglers, who drifted in during +the evening. Here they went ashore to a wretched +bivouac, to lie about the camp fires, with their belts drawn +tight, chewing grass or aromatic leaves to allay their +hunger. After Cedro Bueno the river narrowed, so that +there was rather more water to float the canoas. The +land, too, was less densely wooded, and easier for the men +to march upon. On the fourth day "the greatest part +of the Pirates marched by land, being led by one of the +guides." Another guide led the rest of them in the +canoas; two boats going ahead of the main fleet, one on +each side of the river, to discover "the ambuscades of the +Spaniards." The Spaniards had lined the river-banks at +intervals with Indian spies, who were so "very dexterous" +that they brought intelligence of the coming of the +pirates "six hours at least before they came to any place." +About noon on this day, as the boats neared Torna +Cavallos, one of the guides cried out that he saw an +ambuscade. "His voice caused infinite joy to all the +Pirates," who made sure that the fastness would be well +provisioned, and that at last they might "afford something +to the ferment of their stomachs, which now was grown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> +so sharp that it did gnaw their very bowels." The place +was carried with a rush; but the +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'reboubt'">redoubt</ins> +was empty. The +Spaniards had all fled away some hours before, when +their spies had come in from down the river. There had +been 500 Spaniards there standing to arms behind the +barricade of tree trunks. They had marched away with +all their gear, save only a few leather bags, "all empty," +and a few crusts and bread crumbs "upon the ground +where they had eaten." There were a few shelter huts, +thatched with palm leaves, within the barricade. These +the pirates tore to pieces in the fury of their disappointment. +They fell upon the leather bags like hungry dogs +quarrelling for a bone. They fought and wrangled for +the scraps of leather, and ate them greedily, "with frequent +gulps of water." Had they taken any Spaniards there +"they would certainly in that occasion [or want] have +roasted or boiled" them "to satisfy their famine."</p> + +<p>Somewhat relieved by the scraps of leather, they +marched on along the river-bank to "another post called +Torna Munni." Here they found a second wall of tree +trunks, loopholed for musketry, "but as barren and +desert as the former." They sought about in the woods +for fruits or roots, but could find nothing—"the Spaniards +having been so provident as not to leave behind them +anywhere the least crumb of sustenance." There was +nothing for them but "those pieces of leather, so hard +and dry," a few of which had been saved "for supper" +by the more provident. He who had a little scrap of hide, +would slice it into strips, "and beat it between two stones, +and rub it, often dipping it in the water of the river, to +render it by these means supple and tender." Lastly, the +hair was scraped off, and the piece "roasted or broiled" +at the camp fire upon a spit of lance wood. "And being +thus cooked they cut it into small morsels, and eat it," +chewing each bit for several minutes as though loth to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> +lose it, and helping it down "with frequent gulps of water." +There was plenty of fish in the Chagres, but perhaps they +had no lines. It seems strange, however, that they made +no attempt to kill some of the myriads of birds and +monkeys in the trees, or the edible snakes which swarm +in the grass, or, as a last resource, the alligators in the +river.</p> + +<p>Gaunt with hunger, they took the trail again after a +night of misery at Torna Munni. The going was slightly +better, but there was still the wood-ticks, the intense, +damp heat, and the lust for food to fight against. About +noon they staggered in to Barbacoas, now a station on the +Isthmian Railway. There were a few huts at Barbacoas, +for the place was of some small importance. A native +swinging bridge, made of bejuco cane, was slung across +the river there for the benefit of travellers going to +Porto Bello. An ambush had been laid at Barbacoas, +but the Spaniards had left the place, after sweeping it +as bare as Torna Munni. The land was in tillage near +the huts, but the plantations were barren. "They searched +very narrowly, but could not find any person, animal or +other thing that was capable of relieving their extreme +and ravenous hunger." After a long search they chanced +upon a sort of cupboard in the rocks, "in which they +found two sacks of meal, wheat, and like things, with two +great jars of wine, and certain fruits called Platanos," +or large bananas. Morgan very firmly refused to allow +the buccaneers to use this food. He reserved it strictly +for those who were in greatest want, thereby saving a +number of lives. The dying men were given a little +meal and wine, and placed in the canoas, "and those +commanded to land that were in them before." They +then marched on "with greater courage than ever," till +late into the night, when they lay down in a plundered +bean patch.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span></p> + +<p>"On the sixth day" they were nearly at the end of +their tether. They dragged along slowly, some in boats, +some in the woods, halting every now and then in despair +of going farther, and then staggering on again, careless +if they lived or died. Their lips were scummy with a +sort of green froth, caused by their eating grass and the +leaves of trees. In this condition they came at noon +to a plantation, "where they found a barn full of maize." +They beat the door in in a few minutes, "and fell to +eating of it dry," till they were gorged with it. There +was enough for all, and plenty left to take away, so they +distributed a great quantity, "giving to every man a good +allowance." With their knapsacks full of corn cobs they +marched on again, in happier case than they had been in +for several days. They soon came to "an ambuscade of +Indians," but no Indians stayed within it to impeach their +passage. On catching sight of the barricade many +buccaneers flung away their corn cobs, with the merry +improvidence of their kind, "with the sudden hopes they +conceived of finding all things in abundance." But the +larder was as bare as it had been in the other strongholds: +it contained "neither Indians, nor victuals, nor anything +else." On the other side of the river, however, there were +many Indians, "a troop of a hundred," armed with bows, +"who escaped away through the agility of their feet." +Some of the pirates "leapt into the river" to attack these +Indians, and to bring them into camp as prisoners. They +did not speed in their attempt, but two or three of them +were shot through the heart as they waded. Their corpses +drifted downstream, to catch in the oars of the canoas, +a horrible feast for the caymans. The others returned to +their comrades on the right or northern bank of the river +among the howls of the Indians: "Hey, you dogs, you, +go on to the savannah; go on to the savannah, to find +out what's in pickle for you."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span></p> + +<p>They could go no farther towards the savannah for that +time, as they wished to cross the river, and did not care +to do so, in the presence of an enemy, without due rest. +They camped about big fires of wood, according to their +custom, but they slept badly, for the hunger and toil had +made them mutinous. The growling went up and down +the camp till it came to Morgan's ears. Most of the +pirates were disgusted with their admiral's "conduct," or +leadership, and urged a speedy return to Port Royal. +Others, no less disgusted, swore savagely that they would +see the job through. Some, who had eaten more burnt +leather than the others, "did laugh and joke at all their +discourses," and so laid a last straw upon their burden. +"In the meanwhile" the ruffian guide, "the rogue, thief, +and assassin," who had merited to die upon a wheel, was +a great comfort to them. "It would not be long," he kept +saying, "before they met with folk, when they would +come to their own, and forget these hungry times." So +the night passed, round the red wood logs in the clearing, +among the steaming jungle.</p> + +<p>Early in the morning of the seventh day they cleaned +their arms, wiping away the rust and fungus which had +grown upon them. "Every one discharged his pistol or +musket, without bullet, to examine the security of their +firelocks." They then loaded with ball, and crossed the +river in the canoas. At midday they sighted Venta +Cruz, the village, or little town, which Drake had taken. +The smoke was going up to heaven from the Venta Cruz +chimneys—a sight very cheering to these pirates. They +had "great joy and hopes of finding people in the town +... and plenty of good cheer." They went on merrily, +"making several arguments to one another [like the gravediggers +in <i>Hamlet</i>] upon those external signs"—saying +that there could be no smoke without a fire, and no fire in +such a climate save to cook by, and that, therefore, Venta<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> +Cruz would be full of roast and boiled by the time they +marched into its Plaza. Thus did they cheer the march and +the heavy labour at the oars as far as the Venta Cruz jetty.</p> + +<p>As they entered Venta Cruz at the double, "all sweating +and panting" with the hurry of their advance, they found +the town deserted and in a blaze of fire. There was +nothing eatable there, for the place had been swept clean, +and then fired, by the retreating Spaniards. The only +houses not alight were "the store-houses and stables +belonging the King." These, being of stone, and Government +property, had not been kindled. The storehouses +and stables were, however, empty. Not a horse nor a +mule nor an ass was in its stall. "They had not left +behind them any beast whatsoever, either alive or dead." +Venta Cruz was as profitless a booty as all the other +stations. A few pariah dogs and cats were in the street, +as was perhaps natural, even at that date, in a Central-American +town. These were at once killed, and eaten +half raw, "with great appetite." Before they were despatched, +a pirate lighted on a treasure in a recess of the +King's stables. He found there a stock of wine, some +fifteen or sixteen jars, or demijohns, of good Peruvian +wine, "and a leather sack full of bread." "But no +sooner had they begun to drink of the said wine when +they fell sick, almost every man." Several hundreds had +had a cup or two of the drink, and these now judged +themselves poisoned, and "irrecoverably lost." They +were not poisoned, as it happened, but they had gone +hungry for several days, living on "manifold sorts of +trash." The sudden use of wine and bread caused a very +natural sickness, such as comes to all who eat or drink +greedily after a bout of starving. The sickness upset them +for the day, so that the force remained there, at bivouac in +the village, until the next morning. During the halt +Morgan landed all his men ("though never so weak")<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> +from the canoas. He retained only one boat, which he +hid, for use as an advice boat, "to carry intelligence" to +those down the river. The rest of the canoas were sent +downstream to the anchorage at Bueno Cedro, where the +chatas lay moored under a guard. He gave strict orders +to the rest of the pirates that they were not to leave +the village save in companies of 100 together. "One +party of English soldiers stickled not to contravene these +commands, being tempted with the desire of finding victuals." +While they straggled in the tilled ground outside +Venta Cruz they were attacked "with great fury" by a +number of Spaniards and Indians, "who snatched up" one +of them, and carried him off. What was done to this one +so snatched up we are not told. Probably he was tortured +to give information of the pirates' strength, and then +hanged up to a tree.</p> + +<p>On the eighth day, in the early morning, the sick +men being recovered, Morgan thought they might proceed. +He chose out an advance-guard of 200 of the +strongest of his men, and sent them forward, with their +matches lighted, to clear the road. The road was a very +narrow one, but paved with cobble stones, and easy to the +feet after the quagmires of the previous week. The men +went forward at a good pace, beating the thickets on each +side of the road. When they had marched some seven or +eight miles they were shot at from some Indian ambush. +A shower of arrows fell among them, but they could not +see a trace of the enemy, till the Indians, who had shot the +arrows, broke from cover and ran to a second fastness. +A few stood firm, about a chief or cacique, "with full +design to fight and defend themselves." They fought very +gallantly for a few moments; but the pirates stormed their +poor defence, and pistolled the cacique, losing eight men +killed and ten wounded before the Indians broke. Shortly +after this skirmish, the advance-guard left the wood,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> +coming to open, green grass-land "full of variegated +meadows." On a hill at a little distance they saw a +number of Indians gathered, watching their advance. +They sent out a troop to capture some of these, but the +Indians escaped again, "through the agility of their feet," +to reappear a little later with their howls of scorn: "Hey, +you dogs, you English dogs, you. Get on to the savannah, +you dogs, you cuckolds. On to the savannah, and see +what's coming to you." "While these things passed the +ten pirates that were wounded were dressed and plastered +up."</p> + +<p>In a little while the pirates seized a hilltop facing a +ridge of hill which shut them from the sight of Panama. +In the valley between the two hills was a thick little wood, +where Morgan looked to find an ambush. He sent his +advance-guard of 200 men to search the thicket. As they +entered, some Spaniards and Indians entered from the +opposite side, but no powder was burnt, for the Spaniards +stole away by a bypath, "and were seen no more." That +night a drenching shower of rain fell, blotting out the +landscape in a roaring grey film. It sent the pirates running +hither and thither to find some shelter "to preserve +their arms from being wet." Nearly all the huts and +houses in the district had been fired by the Indians, but +the pirates found a few lonely shepherds' shealings, big +enough to hold all the weapons of the army and a few of +the men. Those who could not find a place among the +muskets were constrained to lie shivering in the open, +enduring much hardship, for the rain did not slacken till +dawn.</p> + +<p>At daybreak Morgan ordered them to march "while +the fresh air of the morning lasted"; for they were now in +open country, on the green savannah, where they would +have no treetops to screen them from the terrible sun. +During their morning march they saw a troop of Spanish<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span> +horse, armed with spears, watching the advance at a safe +distance, and retiring as the pirates drew nearer. Shortly +after this they topped a steep rise, and lo! the smoke +of Panama, and the blue Pacific, with her sky-line +trembling gently, and a ship under sail, with five boats, +going towards some emerald specks of islands. The clouds +were being blown across the sky. The sun was glorious +over all that glorious picture, over all the pasture, so green +and fresh from the rain. There were the snowy Andes +in the distance, their peaks sharply notched on the clear +sky. Directly below them, in all her beauty, was the +royal city of Panama, only hidden from sight by a roll of +green savannah.</p> + +<p>Just at the foot of the rise, in a wealth of fat pasture, +were numbers of grazing cattle, horses, and asses—the +droves of the citizens. The pirates crept down, and shot +a number of these, "chiefly asses," which they promptly +flayed, while some of their number gathered firewood. +As soon as the fires were lit the meat was blackened +in the flame, and then greedily swallowed in "convenient +pieces or gobbets." "They more resembled cannibals +than Europeans at this banquet," for the blood ran down +the beards of many, so hungry were they for meat after +the long agony of the march. What they could not eat +they packed in their satchels. After a long midday rest +they fell in again for the march, sending fifty men ahead +to take prisoners "if possibly they could," for in all the +nine days' tramp they had taken no one to give them +information of the Spaniards' strength. Towards sunset +they saw a troop of Spaniards spying on them, who +hallooed at them, but at such a distance that they could +not distinguish what was said. As the sun set "they +came the first time within sight of the highest steeple +of Panama."</p> + +<p>This was a stirring cordial to the way-weary men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span> +limping down the savannah. The sight of the sea was +not more cheering to the Greeks than the sight of the +great gilt weathercock, shifting on the spire, to these +haggard ruffians with the blood not yet dry upon their +beards. They flung their hats into the air, and danced +and shouted. All their trumpets shouted a levity, their +drums beat, and their colours were displayed. They +camped there, with songs and laughter, in sight of that +steeple, "waiting with impatience," like the French +knights in the play, for the slowly coming dawn. Their +drums and trumpets made a merry music to their singing, +and they caroused so noisily that a troop of horsemen +rode out from Panama to see what was the matter. "They +came almost within musket-shot of the army, being preceded +by a trumpet that sounded marvellously well." +They rode up "almost within musket-shot," but made +no attempt to draw the pirates' fire. They "hallooed +aloud to the Pirates, and threatened them," with "Hey, +ye dogs, we shall meet ye," in the manner of the Indians. +Seven or eight of them stayed "hovering thereabouts," +riding along the camp until the day broke, to watch the +pirates' movements. As soon as their main body reached +the town, and reported what they had seen, the Governor +ordered the city guns to open on the pirates' camp. The +biggest guns at once began a heavy fire, from which one +or two spent balls rolled slowly to the outposts without +doing any damage. At the same time, a strong party +took up a position to the rear of the camp, as though +to cut off the retreat.</p> + +<p>Morgan placed his sentries, and sent his men to supper. +They feasted merrily on their "pieces of bulls' and horses' +flesh," and then lay down on the grass to smoke a pipe +of tobacco before turning in. That last night's camp +was peaceful and beautiful: the men were fed and near +their quarry, the sun had dried their wet clothes; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> +night was fine, the stars shone, the Panama guns were +harmless. They slept "with great repose and huge +satisfaction," careless of the chance of battle, and anxious +for the fight to begin.</p> + + +<h3>PANAMA</h3> + +<p>Old Panama, the chief Spanish city in South America, +with the one exception of Cartagena, was built along +the sea-beach, fronting the bay of Panama, between the +rivers Gallinero and Matasnillos. It was founded between +1518 and 1520 by Pedrarias Davila, a poor adventurer, +who came to the Spanish Indies to supersede Balboa, +having at that time "nothing but a sword and buckler." +Davila gave it the name of an Indian village then standing +on the site. The name means "abounding in fish." It +soon became the chief commercial city in those parts, for +all the gold and silver and precious merchandise of Peru +and Chili were collected there for transport to Porto +Bello. At the time of Morgan's attack upon it, it +contained some 7000 houses, with a number of huts +and hovels for the slaves. The population, counting +these latter, may have been as great as 30,000. +Many of the houses were of extreme beauty, being built +of an aromatic rose wood, or "native cedar," ingeniously +carved. Many were built of stone in a Moorish fashion, +with projecting upper storeys. It had several stone monasteries +and convents, and a great cathedral, dedicated to +St Anastasius, which was the most glorious building in +Spanish America. Its tower still stands as a landmark +to sailors, visible many miles to sea. The stones of it +are decorated with defaced carvings. Inside it, within the +ruined walls, are palm and cedar trees, green and beautiful, +over the roots of which swarm the scarlet-spotted coral +snakes. The old town was never properly fortified. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> +isthmus was accounted a sufficient protection to it, and +the defences were consequently weak. It was a town +of merchants, who "thought only of becoming rich, and +cared little for the public good." They lived a very stately +life there, in houses hung with silk, stamped leather, +and Spanish paintings, drinking Peruvian wines out of +cups of gold and silver. The Genoese Company, a company +of slavers trading with Guinea, had a "stately house" +there, with a spacious slave market, where the blacks were +sold over the morning glass. The Spanish King had +some long stone stables in the town, tended by a number +of slaves. Here the horses and mules for the recuas were +stabled in long lines, like the stables of a cavalry barrack. +Near these were the royal storehouses, built of stone, for +the storage of the gold from the King's mines. There were +also 200 merchants' warehouses, built in one storey, round +which the slaves slept, under pent roofs.</p> + +<p>Outside the city was the beautiful green savannah, +a rolling sea of grass, with islands of trees, cedar and +palm, thickly tangled with the many-coloured bindweeds. +To one side of it, an arm of the sea crept inland, to +a small salt lagoon, which rippled at high tide, at the +back of the city. The creek was bridged to allow the +Porto Bello carriers to enter the town, and a small +gatehouse or porter's lodge protected the way. The +bridge is a neat stone arch, still standing. The streets +ran east and west, "so that when the sun rises no one can +walk in any of the streets, because there is no shade +whatever; and this is felt very much as the heat is intense; +and the sun is so prejudicial to health, that if a +man is exposed to its rays for a few hours, he will be +attacked with a fatal illness [pernicious fever], and this has +happened to many." The port was bad for shipping, +because of the great rise and fall of the tides. The bay +is shallow, and ships could only come close in at high<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span> +water. At low water the town looked out upon a strip +of sand and a mile or more of very wet black mud. "At +full moon, the waves frequently reach the houses and enter +those on that side of the town." The roadstead afforded +safe anchorage for the great ships coming up from Lima. +Loading and unloading was performed by launches, at +high water, on days when the surf was moderate. Small +ships sailed close in at high tide, and beached themselves.</p> + +<p>To landward there were many gardens and farms, where +the Spaniards had "planted many trees from Spain"—such +as oranges, lemons, and figs. There were also plantain +walks, and a great plenty of pines, guavas, onions, lettuces, +and "alligator pears." Over the savannah roamed herds +of fat cattle. On the seashore, "close to the houses of +the city," were "quantities of very small mussels." The +presence of these mussel beds determined the site of the +town, "because the Spaniards felt themselves safe from +hunger on account of these mussels."</p> + +<p>The town is all gone now, saving the cathedral tower, +where the sweet Spanish bells once chimed, and the +little stone bridge, worn by so many mules' hoofs. +There is dense tropical forest over the site of it, though +the foundations of several houses may be traced, and +two or three walls still stand, with brilliant creepers +covering up the carved work. It is not an easy place +to reach, for it is some six miles from new Panama, and +the way lies through such a tangle of creepers, over such +swampy ground, poisonous with so many snakes, that +it is little visited. It can be reached by sea on a fine +day at high tide if the surf be not too boisterous. To +landward of the present Panama there is a fine hill, called +Mount Ançon. A little to the east of this there is a roll +of high land, now a fruitful market-garden, or farm of +orchards. This high land, some five or six miles from +the ruins, is known as Buccaneers' Hill. It was from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span> +summit of this high land that the pirates first saw the +city steeple. Local tradition points out a few old Spanish +guns of small size, brass and iron, at the near-by village +of El Moro, as having been left by Morgan's men. At +the island of Taboga, in the bay of Panama, they point +with pride to a cave, the haunt of squid and crabs, as +the hiding-place of Spanish treasure. In the blackness +there, they say, are the golden sacramental vessels and +jewelled vestments of the great church of St Anastasius. +They were hidden there at the time of the raid, +so effectually that they could never be recovered. We +can learn of no other local tradition concerning the sack +and burning.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img240" id="img240"></a> +<a href="images/240.jpg"><img src="images/240_th.jpg" width="400" height="290" +alt="NEW PANAMA" title="NEW PANAMA" /></a> +<span class="caption">NEW PANAMA</span> +</div> + +<p>What old Panama was like we do not know, for we +can trace no picture of it. It was said to be the peer of +Venice, "the painted city," at a time when Venice was +yet the "incomparable Queene." It could hardly have +been a second Venice, though its situation on that beautiful +blue bay, with the Andes snowy in the distance, and +the islands, like great green gems, to seaward, is lovely +beyond words. It was filled with glorious houses, carved +and scented, and beautiful with costly things. The merchants +lived a languorous, luxurious life there, waited +on by slaves, whom they could burn or torture at their +pleasure. It was "the greatest mart for gold and silver +in the whole world." There were pearl fisheries up and +down the bay, yielding the finest of pearls; and "golden +Potosi"—the tangible Eldorado, was not far off. The +merchants of old Panama were, perhaps, as stately fellows +and as sumptuous in their ways of life as any "on the +Rialto." Their city is now a tangle of weeds and a +heap of sun-cracked limestone; their market-place is +a swamp; their haven is a stretch of surf-shaken mud, +over which the pelicans go quarrelling for the bodies +of fish.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span></p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—Exquemeling's "History"; "The Bucaniers of America." +Don Guzman's Account, printed in the "Voyages and Adventures of Captain +Bartholomew Sharp." Cal. State Papers: West Indies and Colonial Series. +"Present State of Jamaica," 1683. "New History of Jamaica," 1740.</p> + +<p>For my account of Chagres I am indebted to friends long resident on +the isthmus, and to Dampier's and Wafer's Voyages.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII</h2> + +<h3>THE SACK OF PANAMA</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The burning of the city—Buccaneer excesses—An abortive mutiny—Home—Morgan's +defection</p></div> + + +<p>"On the tenth day, betimes in the morning," while the +black and white monkeys were at their dawn song, +or early screaming, the pirates fell in for the march, with +their red flags flying and the drums and trumpets making +a battle music. They set out gallantly towards the city +by the road they had followed from Venta Cruz. Before +they came under fire, one of the guides advised Morgan +to attack from another point. The Spaniards, he said, +had placed their heavy guns in position along the probable +line of their advance. Every clump of trees near +the trackway would be filled with Spanish sharpshooters, +while they might expect earth-works or trenches nearer +to the city. He advised Morgan to make a circuit, so +as to approach the city through the forest—over the +ground on which new Panama was built, a year or +two later. Morgan, therefore, turned rather to the west +of the highway, through some tropical woodland, where +the going was very irksome. As they left the woodland, +after a march of several hours, they again entered the +savannah, at a distance of about a mile and a half from +the town. The ground here was in sweeping folds, so +that they had a little hill to climb before the town lay +open to them, at the edge of the sea, to the eastward +of the salt lagoon. When they topped this rise they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> +saw before them "the forces of the people of Panama, +extended in battle array," between them and the quarry.</p> + +<p>The Spanish strength on this occasion, according to +the narrative, was as follows:—400 horse, of the finest +horsemen in the world; twenty-four companies of foot, +each company mustering a full 100 men; and "sixty +Indians and some negroes." These last were "to drive +two thousand wild bulls and cause them to run over the +English camp, and thus, by breaking their files, put them +into a total disorder and confusion." Morgan gives the +numbers as 2100 foot and 600 horse, with "two Droves +of Cattel of 1500 apiece," one for each flank or for the +angles of the rear. The Spanish Governor, who had been +"lately blooded 3 times for an Erysipelas," had not done +as well as he could have wished in the preparation of +an army of defence. He says that he had brought together +1400 coloured men, armed with "Carbins, Harquebusses, +and Fowling Pieces," the muskets having been +lost at Chagres. He gives the number of cavalry as +200, "mounted on the same tired Horses which had +brought them thither." He admits that there were "50 +cow-keepers" and an advance-guard of 300 foot. He had +also five field-guns "covered with leather." To these +forces may be added the townsfolk capable of bearing +arms. These were not very numerous, for most of the +inhabitants, as we have seen, "thought only of getting +rich and cared little for the public good." They were +now, however, in a cold sweat of fear at the sight of +the ragged battalion trooping down from the hilltop. +They had dug trenches for themselves within the city +and had raised batteries to sweep the important streets. +They had also mounted cannon on the little stone fort, +or watchman's lodge, at the town end of the bridge across +the creek.</p> + +<p>The sight of so many troops drawn out in order "sur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>prised" +the pirates "with great fear." The droves of +"wild bulls" pasturing on the savannah grass were new +to their experience; the cavalry they had met before +in Cuba and did not fear, nor did they reckon themselves +much worse than the Spanish foot; but they saw that +the Spaniards outnumbered them by more than two to +one, and they recognised the advantage they had in +having a defensible city to fall back upon. The buccaneers +were worn with the long march, and in poor +case for fighting. They halted at this point, while Morgan +formed them into a tertia, or division of three battalions +or troops, of which he commanded the right wing. The +sight of so many Spaniards halted below them set them +grumbling in the ranks. "Yea few or none there were +but wished themselves at home, or at least free from +the obligation of that Engagement." There was, however, +nothing else for it. A "wavering condition of Mind" could +not help them. They had no alternative but "to fight +resolutely, or die." They might not look to get quarter +"from an Enemy against whom they had committed so +many Cruelties."</p> + +<p>Morgan formed his men in order, and sent out skirmishers +to annoy the Spanish troops, and to draw them +from their position. A few shots were exchanged; but the +Spaniards were not to be tempted, nor was the ground +over which the skirmishers advanced at all suitable for +moving troops. Morgan, therefore, edged his men away +to the left, to a little hill beyond a dry gut or water-course—a +position which the Spaniards could not attack +from more than one side owing to the nature of the +ground, which was boggy. Before they could form upon +the lower slopes of the hill the Spanish horse rode softly +forward, shouting: "Viva el Rey!" ("Long live the King"), +with a great display of courage. "But the field being full +of quaggs, and very soft under foot, they could not ply<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> +to and fro, and wheel about, as they desired." When +they had come to a little beyond musket-shot "one +Francisco Detarro," the colonel of the cavalry, called +out to his troopers to charge home upon the English +van. The horses at once broke into a gallop, and charged +in "so furiously" that Morgan had to strengthen his ranks +to receive them, "we having no Pikes" with which to gall +the horses. As the men galloped forward, the line of +buccaneers made ready to fire. Each musketeer put one +knee to the ground, and touched off his piece, blasting +the Spanish regiment almost out of action at the one +discharge. The charge had been pressed so nearly home +that the powder corns burnt the leading horses. Those +who survived the shock of the volley swung off to the +right to re-form, while the foot came on in their tracks +"to try their Fortunes." They were received with such +a terrible fire that they never came to handystrokes. +They disputed the point for some hours, gradually falling +into disorder as their losses became more and more heavy. +The cavalry re-formed, and charged a second and a third +time, with the result that after two hours' fighting "the +Spanish Horse was ruined, and almost all killed." During +the engagement of the foot, the Indians and negroes tried +their stratagem of the bulls. They drove the herds round +the flanking parties to the rear, and endeavoured to force +them through the English lines. "But the greatest part +of that wild cattle ran away, being frighted with the noise +of the Battle. And some few, that broke through the +English Companies, did no other harm than to tear the +Colours in pieces; whereas the Buccaneers shooting them +dead, left not one to Trouble them thereabouts."</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;"> +<a name="img247" id="img247"></a> +<a href="images/247.jpg"><img src="images/247_th.jpg" width="450" height="263" +alt="The Battel Between the Spaniards and the pyrats or Buccaniers before the Citty of PANAMA. Part. 3 Page 54" +title="THE BATTLE OF PANAMA" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE BATTLE OF PANAMA</span> +</div> + +<p>Seeing the Spanish foot in some disorder, with many +of their officers killed and few of the men firing, Morgan +plied them with shot and sent his left wing forward as +they fell back. The horse made one last gallant attempt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> +to break the English line, but the attempt caused their +complete destruction. At the same moment Morgan +stormed down upon the foot with all his strength. The +Spaniards fired "the Shot they had in their Muskets," +and flung their weapons down, not caring to come to +handystrokes. They ran "everyone which way he could +run"—an utter rout of broken soldiers. The pirates were +too fatigued to follow, but they picked them off as they +ran till they were out of musket-shot.</p> + +<p>The buccaneers apparently then cleared away the +stragglers, by pistolling them wherever they could find +them. In this employment they beat through the shrubs +by the sea, where many poor citizens had hidden themselves +after the final routing of the troops. Some monks +who were brought in to Captain Morgan were treated +in the same manner, "for he, being deaf to their Cries, +commanded them to be instantly pistolled," which order +was obeyed there and then. A captain or colonel of +troops was soon afterwards taken, and held to ransom +after a strict examination. He told Morgan that he +might look to have great trouble in winning the city, +for the streets were all dug about with trenches and +mounted with heavy brass guns. He added that the +main entrance to the place was strongly fortified, and +protected by a half company of fifty men with eight +brass demi-cannon.</p> + +<p>Morgan now bade his men rest themselves and take +food before pushing on to the town. He held a review +of his army before he marched, and found that he had +lost heavily—perhaps 200 men—while the Spaniards +had lost about three times that number. "The Pirates," +we read, "were nothing discouraged, seeing their number +so much diminished but rather filled with greater pride +than before." The comparative heaviness of the Spanish +loss must have been very comforting. After they had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> +rested and eaten they set out towards the town, "plighting +their Oaths to one another in general, they would fight +till never a man were left alive." A few prisoners, who +seemed rich enough to be held to ransom, were marched +with them under a guard of musketeers.</p> + +<p>Long before they trod the streets of Panama, they were +under fire from the batteries, "some of which were charged +with small pieces of iron, and others with musket-bullets."</p> + +<p>They lost men at every step; but their ranks kept +steady, and street by street the town was won. The main +agony of the fight took place between two and three +o'clock, in the heat of the day, when the last Spanish +gunners were cut to pieces at their guns. After the last +gun was taken, a few Spaniards fired from street corners +or from upper windows, but these were promptly pistolled +or knocked on the head. The town was in the hands of +the pirates by the time the bells chimed three that afternoon.</p> + +<p>As Morgan rested with his captains in the Plaza, after +the heat of the battle, word was brought to him that the +city was on fire in several places. Many have supposed +that the town was fired by his orders, or by some careless +and drunken musketeer of his. It was not the buccaneer +custom to fire cities before they had sacked them, nor is it +in the least likely that Morgan would have burnt so +glorious a town before he had offered it to ransom. The +Spaniards have always charged Morgan with the crime, +but it seems more probable that the Spanish Governor was +the guilty one. It is yet more probable that the fire was +accidental. Most of the Spanish houses were of wood, +and at that season of the year the timber would have been +of extreme dryness, so that a lighted wad or match end +might have caused the conflagration. At the time when +the fire was first noticed, the pirates were raging through +the town in search of plunder. They may well have flung<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> +away their lighted matches to gather up the spoils they +found, and thus set fire to the place unwittingly.</p> + +<p>Hearing that the town was burning, Morgan caused his +trumpeters to sound the assembly in the Plaza. When +the pirates mustered, Morgan at once told off men to +quench the fire "by blowing up houses by gunpowder, and +pulling down others to stop its progress." He ordered +strong guards to patrol the streets and to stand sentry +without the city. Lastly, he forbade any member of the +army "to dare to drink or taste any wine," giving out that +it had all been poisoned beforehand by the Spaniards. +He feared that his men would get drunk unless he frightened +them by some such tale. With a drunken army +rolling in the streets he could hardly hope to hold the +town against an enemy so lightly beaten as the Spaniards. +He also sent some sailors down to the beach to seize "a +great boat which had stuck in the mud of the port."</p> + +<p>For all that the pirates could do, the fire spread rapidly, +for the dry cedar beams burned furiously. The warehouses +full of merchandise, such as silks, velvets, and fine +linen, were not burned, but all the grand houses of the +merchants, where the life had been so stately, were utterly +gutted—all the Spanish pictures and coloured tapestries +going up in a blaze. The splendid house of the Genoese, +where so many black men had been bought and sold, was +burned to the ground. The chief streets were ruined +before midnight, and the fire was not wholly extinguished +a month later when the pirates marched away. It continued +to burn and smoulder long after they had gone.</p> + +<p>Having checked the riot among his army, Morgan sent +a company of 150 men back to the garrison at the mouth +of the Chagres with news of his success. Two other companies, +of the same strength, he sent into the woods, "being +all very stout soldiers and well-armed," giving them orders +to bring in prisoners to hold to ransom. A third company<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> +was sent to sea under a Captain Searles to capture a +Spanish galleon which had left the port, laden with gold +and silver and the jewels of the churches, a day or two +before. The rest of his men camped out of doors, in the +green fields without the city, ready for any attack the +Spaniards might make upon them. Search parties rummaged +all day among the burning ruins, "especially in +wells and cisterns," which yielded up many jewels and +fine gold plates. The warehouses were sacked, and many +pirates made themselves coats of silk and velvet to replace +the rags they came in. It is probable that they committed +many excesses in the heat of the first taking of the town, +but one who was there has testified to the comparative +gentleness of their comportment when "the heat of the +blood" had cooled. "As to their women," he writes, "I +know [not] or ever heard of anything offered beyond their +wills; something I know was cruelly executed by Captain +Collier [commander of one of the ships and one of the +chief officers of the army] in killing a Frier in the field +after quarter given; but for the Admiral he was noble +enough to the vanquished enemy." In fact, the</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i18">"Want of rest and victual<br /></span> +<span class="i0">Had made them chaste—they ravished very little"<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>—which matter must be laid to their credit.</p> + +<p>A day or two was passed by the pirates in rummaging +among the ruins, eating and drinking, and watching the +Spaniards as they moved in the savannahs. Troops of +Spaniards prowled there under arms, looking at their +burning houses and the grey smoke ever going upward. +They did not attack the pirates; they did not even fire +at them from a distance. They were broken men without +a leader, only thankful to be allowed to watch their blazing +city. A number of them submitted to the armed men +sent out to bring in prisoners. A number lingered in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> +near-by forests in great misery, living on grass and +alligator eggs, the latter tasting "like half-rotten musk"—a +poor diet after "pheasants" and Peruvian wine.</p> + +<p>Morgan soon received word from Chagres castle that +all was very well with the garrison. Captain Norman, +who had remained in charge, under oath to keep the +"bloody flag," or red pirates' banner, flying, "had sent forth +to sea two boats, to exercise piracy." These had hoisted +Spanish colours, and set to sea, meeting with a fine +Spanish merchantman that very same day. They chased +this ship into the Chagres River, where "the poor +Spaniards" were caught in a snare under the guns of the +fort. Her cargo "consisted in victuals and provisions, +that were all eatable things," unlike the victuals given +usually to sailors. Such a prize came very opportunely, +for the castle stores were running out, while the ship's +crew proved useful in the bitter work of earth carrying +then going on daily on the ramparts for the repairing of +the palisado. Hearing that the Chagres garrison was in +such good case, and so well able to exercise piracy without +further help, Admiral Morgan resolved to make a longer +stay in the ruins of old Panama. He arranged "to send forth +daily parties of two hundred men" to roam the countryside, +beating the thickets for prisoners, and the prisoners for +gold. These parties ranged the country very thoroughly, +gathering "in a short time, a huge quantity of riches, and +no less number of prisoners." These poor creatures were +shut up under a guard, to be brought out one by one for +examination. If they would not confess where they had +hidden their gold, nor where the gold of their neighbours +lay, the pirates used them as they had used their prisoners +at Porto Bello. "Woolding," burning with palm leaves, +and racking out the arm-joints, seem to have been the +most popular tortures. Many who had no gold were +brutally ill treated, and then thrust through with a lance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p> + +<p>Among these diversions Admiral Morgan fell in love +with a beautiful Spanish lady, who appears to have been +something of a paragon. The story is not worth repeating, +nor does it read quite sincerely, but it is very probably +true. John Exquemeling, who had no great love for +Morgan, declares that he was an eye-witness of the love-making, +"and could never have judged such constancy +of mind and virtuous chastity to be found in the world." +The fiery Welshman did not win the lady, but we gather +from the evidence that he could have had the satisfaction +of Matthew Arnold's American, who consoled himself, in +similar circumstances, with saying: "Well, I guess I +lowered her moral tone some."</p> + +<p>During the first week of their stay in Panama, the ship +they had sent to sea returned with a booty of three small +coast boats. Captain Searles had sailed her over Panama +Bay to the beautiful island of Taboga, in order to fill fresh +water and rob the inhabitants. Here they took "the +boatswain and most of the crew"<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> of the <i>Trinity</i>, a Spanish +galleon, "on board which were the Friers and Nuns, with +all the old gentlemen and Matrons of the Town, to the +number of 1500 souls, besides an immense Treasure in +Silver and Gold." This galleon had seven small guns +and ten or twelve muskets for her whole defence. She +was without provisions, and desperately short of water, +and she had "no more sails than the uppermost sails of +the mainmast." Her captain was "an old and stout +Spaniard, a native of Andalusia, in Spain, named Don +Francisco de Peralta." She was "very richly laden with +all the King's Plate and great quantity of riches of gold, +pearl, jewels, and other most precious goods, of all the +best and richest merchants of Panama. On board of this +galleon were also the religious women, belonging to the +nunnery of the said city, who had embarked with them all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> +the ornaments of their church, consisting in great quantity +of gold, plate, and other things of great value." This +most royal prize was even then slowly dipping past +Taboga, with her sea-sick holy folk praying heartily for +the return of the water casks. She could have made no +possible defence against the pirates had they gone at once +in pursuit of her. But this the pirates did not do. In +the village at Taboga there was a wealthy merchant's +summer-house, with a cellar full of "several sorts of rich +wines." A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, or +as a bibulous wit once said to the present writer: "A +bottle now is worth a bath of it to-morrow." Captain +Searles and his men chose to drink a quiet bowl in the +cabin rather than go sail the blue seas after the golden +galleon. They made a rare brew of punch, of which they +drank "logwood-cutters' measure," or a gallon and a half +a man. After this they knocked out their tobacco pipes, +and slept very pleasantly till the morning. They woke +"repenting of their negligence" and "totally wearied of +the vices and debaucheries aforesaid." With eyes red +with drink they blinked at the empty punch-bowls. Then +with savage "morning-tempers" they damned each other +for a lot of lunkheads, and put to sea (in one of the Taboga +prizes) "to pursue the said galleon" with all speed. However, +by this time Don Peralta, a most gallant and resourceful +captain, had brought the golden <i>Trinity</i> to a +place of safety. Had she been taken, she would have +yielded a spoil hardly smaller than that taken by Cavendish +in the <i>Madre de Dios</i> or that which Anson won in the +Manila galleon. Several waggon loads of golden chalices +and candlesticks, with ropes of pearls, bags of emeralds +and bezoars, and bar upon bar of silver in the crude, were +thus bartered away for a sup of punch and a drunken +chorus in the cabin. Poor Captain Searles never prospered +after. He went logwood cutting a year or two later, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> +as a logwood cutter he arrived at the Rio Summasenta, +where he careened his ship at a sandy key, since known +as Searles Key. He was killed a few days afterwards, "in +the western lagune" there, "by one of his Company as +they were cutting Logwood together." That was the end +of Captain Searles.</p> + +<p>Morgan was very angry when he heard of the escape +of the galleon. He at once remanned the four prizes, and +sent them out, with orders to scour the seas till they +found her. They cruised for more than a week, examining +every creek and inlet, beating up many a +sluggish river, under many leafy branches, but finding +no trace of the <i>Trinity</i>. They gave up the chase at +last, and rested at Taboga, where, perhaps, some "rich +wines" were still in bin. They found a Payta ship at +anchor at Taboga, "laden with cloth, soap, sugar and +biscuit, with twenty thousand pieces of eight in ready +money." She was "a reasonable good ship," but the +cargo, saving the money, was not much to their taste. +They took the best of it, and loaded it aboard her longboat, +making the Taboga negroes act as stevedores. +They then set the negroes aboard the prize, and carried +her home to Panama, "some thing better satisfied of their +voyage, yet withal much discontented they could not meet +with the galleon." It was at Taboga, it seems, that the +lady who so inflamed Sir Henry was made prisoner.</p> + +<p>At the end of three weeks of "woolding" and rummaging, +Admiral Morgan began to prepare for the journey home. +He sent his men to look for mules and horses on which +to carry the plunder to the hidden canoas in the river. +He learned at this juncture that a number of the pirates +intended to leave him "by taking a ship that was in +the port," and going to "rob upon the South Sea." They +had made all things ready, it seems, having hidden "great +quantity of provisions," powder, bullets, and water casks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span> +with which to store their ship. They had even packed +the good brass guns of the city, "where with they designed +not only to equip the said vessel but also to fortify themselves +and raise batteries in some island or other, which +might serve them for a place of refuge." The scheme +was fascinating, and a very golden life they would have +had of it, those lucky mutineers, had not some spoil-sport +come sneaking privily to Morgan with a tale of what +was toward. They might have seized Cocos Island or +Juan Fernandez, or "some other island," such as one of +the Enchanted, or Gallapagos, Islands, where the goddesses +were thought to dwell. That would have been a happier +life than cutting logwood, up to the knees in mud, in +some drowned savannah of Campeachy.</p> + +<p>However, just as the wine-bowl spoiled the project of +the galleon, so did the treachery of a lickspittle, surely +one of the meanest of created things, put an end to the +mutiny. Morgan was not there to colonise Pacific Oceans, +but to sack Panama. He had no intention of losing half +his army for an imperial idea. He promptly discouraged +the scheme by burning all the boats in the roads. The +ship or chata, which would have been the flagship of the +mutineers, was dismasted, and the masts and rigging +were added to the general bonfire. All the brass cannon +they had taken were nailed and spiked. Wooden bars +were driven down their muzzles as firmly as possible, and +the wood was then watered to make it swell. There was +then no more talk of going a-cruising to found republics.</p> + +<p>Morgan thought it wise to leave Panama as soon as +possible, before a second heresy arose among his merry +men. He had heard that the Governor of Panama was +busily laying ambuscades "in the way by which he ought +to pass at his return." He, therefore, picked out a strong +company of men, including many of the mutineers, and +sent them out into the woods to find out the truth of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span> +matter. They found that the report was false, for a few +Spanish prisoners, whom they captured, were able to tell +them how the scheme had failed. The Governor, it was +true, had planned to make "some opposition by the way," +but none of the men remaining with him would consent +to "undertake any such enterprize." With this news the +troops marched back to Panama. While they were away, +the poor prisoners made every effort to raise money for +their ransoms, but many were unable to raise enough to +satisfy their captors. Morgan had no wish to wait till +they could gather more, for by this time, no doubt, he +had satisfied himself that he had bled the country of all +the gold it contained. Nor did he care to wait till the +Spaniards had plucked up heart, and planted some +musketeers along the banks of the Chagres. He had +horses and mules enough to carry the enormous heaps of +plunder to the river. It was plainly foolish to stay longer, +for at any time a force might attack him (by sea) from +Lima or (by land) from Porto Bello. He, therefore, gave +the word for the army to prepare to march. He passed +his last evening in Panama (as we suppose) with the +female paragon from Taboga. The army had one last +debauch over the punch-bowls round the camp fires, and +then fell in to muster, thinking rapturously of the inns +and brothels which waited for their custom at Port Royal.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 316px;"> +<a name="img259" id="img259"></a> +<a href="images/259.jpg"><img src="images/259_th.jpg" width="316" height="400" +alt="S^r. Hen: Morgan; Part 2. Chap 4." title="SIR HENRY MORGAN" /></a> +<span class="caption">SIR HENRY MORGAN</span> +</div> + +<p>"On the 24th of February, of the year 1671, Captain +Morgan departed from the city of Panama, or rather from +the place where the said city of Panama did stand; of the +spoils whereof he carried with him one hundred and seventy-five +beasts of carriage, laden with silver, gold and other +precious things, besides six hundred prisoners more or less, +between men, women, children and slaves." Thus they +marched out of the ruined capital, over the green savannah, +towards the river, where a halt was called to order the army +for the march to Venta Cruz. A troop of picked marksmen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span> +was sent ahead to act as a scouting party; the rest of the +company marched in hollow square, with the prisoners in +the hollow. In this array they set forward towards Venta +Cruz to the sound of drums and trumpets, amid "lamentations, +cries, shrieks and doleful sighs" from the wretched +women and children. Most of these poor creatures were +fainting with thirst and hunger, for it had been Morgan's +policy to starve them, in order "to excite them more +earnestly to seek for money wherewith to ransom themselves." +"Many of the women," says the narrative, "begged +of Captain Morgan upon their knees, with infinite sighs +and tears, he would permit them to return to Panama, +there to live in company of their dear husbands and +children, in little huts of straw which they would erect, +seeing they had no houses until the rebuilding of the +city. But his answer was: he came not thither to hear +lamentations and cries, but rather to seek money. Therefore +they ought to seek out for that in the first place, +wherever it were to be had, and bring it to him, otherwise +he would assuredly transport them all to such places +whither they cared not to go." With this answer they had +to remain content, as they lay in camp, under strict guard, +on the banks of the Rio Grande.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning, "when the march began," +"those lamentable cries and shrieks were renewed, in so +much as it would have caused compassion in the hardest +heart to hear them. But Captain Morgan, a man little +given to mercy, was not moved therewith in the least." +They marched in the same order as before, but on this +day, we read, the Spaniards "were punched and thrust +in their backs and sides, with the blunt end of [the pirates'] +arms, to make them march the faster." The "beautiful +and virtuous lady" "was led prisoner by herself, between +two Pirates," both of whom, no doubt, wished the other dear +charmer away. She, poor lady, was crying out that she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span> +had asked two monks to fetch her ransom from a certain +hiding-place. They had taken the money, she cried, +according to her instruction, but they had used it to +ransom certain "of their own and particular friends." +This evil deed "was discovered by a slave, who brought +a letter to the said lady." In time, her words were reported +to Captain Morgan, who held a court of inquiry +there and then, to probe into the truth of the matter. +The monks made no denial of the fact, "though under +some frivolous excuses, of having diverted the money but +for a day or two, within which time they expected more +sums to repay it." The reply angered Morgan into releasing +the poor woman, "detaining the said religious +men as prisoners in her place," and "using them according +to the deserts of their incompassionate intrigues." +Probably they were forced to run the gauntlet between +two rows of pirates armed with withes of bejuco.</p> + +<p>A day's hard marching brought them to the ruins of +Venta Cruz, on the banks of the river, where the canoas +lay waiting for them under a merry boat guard. The +army rested at Venta Cruz for three days, while maize +and rice were collected for the victualling of the boats. +Many prisoners succeeded in raising their ransoms during +this three days' halt. Those who failed, were carried down +the river to San Lorenzo. On the 5th of March the +plunder was safely shipped, the army went aboard the +canoas, the prisoners (including some from Venta Cruz) +were thrust into the bottoms of the boats, and the homeward +voyage began. The two monks who had embezzled +the lady's money escaped translation at this time, being +ransomed by their friends before the sailing of the fleet. +The canoas dropped down the river swiftly, with songs +and cheers from the pirates, till they came to some opening +in the woods, half way across the isthmus, where the +banks were free enough from brush to allow them to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> +camp. Here they mustered in order, as though for a +review, each man in his place with his sword and firelock. +Here Captain Morgan caused each man to raise his right +hand, and to swear solemnly that he had concealed nothing +privately, "even not so much as the value of sixpence." +Captain Morgan, a Welshman by birth, "having had some +experience that those lewd fellows would not much stickle +to swear falsely in points of interest, commanded every +one to be searched very strictly, both in their clothes and +satchels and everywhere it might be presumed they had +reserved anything. Yea, to the intent this order might +not be ill-taken by his companions, he permitted himself +to be searched, even to the very soles of his shoes." One +man out of each company was chosen to act as searcher +to his fellows, and a very strict search was made. "The +French Pirates were not well satisfied with this new +custom of searching," but there were not very many of +them, and "they were forced to submit to it." When +the search was over, they re-embarked, and soon afterwards +the current caught them, and spun them down +swiftly to the lion-like rock at the river's mouth. They +came safely to moorings below San Lorenzo on the +9th of March. They found that most of the wounded +they had left there had died of fever, but the rest of +the garrison was in good case, having "exercised piracy" +with profit all the time the army had been plundering. +There was "joy, and a full punch-bowl," in the castle +rooms that night.</p> + +<p>Morgan now sent his Santa Katalina prisoners to Porto +Bello in "a great boat," demanding a ransom for Chagres +castle, "threatening otherwise" to blast it to pieces. "Those +of Porto Bello," who needed all their money to repair their +own walls, replied that "They would not give one farthing +towards the ransom of the said castle, and that the +English might do with it as they pleased"—a sufficiently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> +bold answer, which sealed the fate of San Lorenzo. When +the answer came, the men were again mustered, and "the +dividend was made of all the spoil they had purchased +in that voyage." Each man received his due share, "or +rather what part thereof Captain Morgan was pleased +to give." There was general dissatisfaction with "his +proceedings in this particular," and many shaggy ruffians +"feared not to tell him openly" that he had "reserved +the best jewels to himself." They "judged it +impossible" that the share per man should be but +a paltry 200 pieces of eight, or £50, after "so many +valuable booties and robberies." Why, they said, it is +less than we won at Porto Bello. Many swore fiercely +that, if they had known how small the booty was +to prove, they would have seen Henry Morgan in gaol +before they 'listed. Why they did not tear him piecemeal, +and heave him into the sea, must remain a mystery. +They contented themselves with damning him to his face +for a rogue and a thief, at the same time praying that a +red-hot hell might be his everlasting portion. "But +Captain Morgan," says the narrative, "was deaf to all +these, and many other complaints of this kind, having +designed in his mind to cheat them of as much as he +could."</p> + +<p>Deaf though he was, and callous, he had a fine regard +for his own skin. The oaths and curses which were shouted +after him as he walked in the castle made him "to fear +the consequence thereof." He "thought it unsafe to +remain any longer time at Chagre," so he planned a +master stroke to defeat his enemies. The castle guns +were dismounted, and hoisted aboard his flagship. The +castle walls were then blasted into pieces, the lower +batteries thrown down, and the houses burnt. When +these things had been done "he went secretly on board +his own ship, without giving any notice of his departure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> +to his companions, nor calling any council, as he used +to do. Thus he set sail, and put out to sea, not bidding +anybody adieu, being only followed by three +or four vessels of the fleet." The captains of these ships, +it was believed, had shared with him in the concealed +plunder.</p> + +<p>There was great fury among the buccaneers when +Morgan's escape was known. The French pirates were +for putting to sea in pursuit, to blow his ships out of +the water, but Morgan had been sufficiently astute to +escape in the provision ships. The pirates left behind +had not food enough to stock their ships, and could not +put to sea till more had been gathered. While they +cursed and raged at Chagres, Morgan sailed slowly to +Port Royal, where he furled his sails, and dropped +anchor, after a highly profitable cruise. The Governor +received his percentage of the profits, and Morgan at +once began to levy recruits for the settling of Santa +Katalina.</p> + +<p>As for his men, they stayed for some days in considerable +misery at San Lorenzo. They then set sail in +companies, some for one place, some for another, hoping +to find food enough to bring them home. Some went +to the eastward, raiding the coast for food, and snapping +up small coasting vessels. Some went to the bay of +Campeachy to cut logwood and to drink rum punch. +Others went along the Costa Rican coast to find turtle +to salt for victuals, and to careen their barnacled and +wormy ships. One strong company went to Cuba, where +they sacked the Town of the Keys, and won a good booty. +Most of them came home, in time, but to those who +returned that home-coming was bitter.</p> + +<p>Shortly after Morgan's return to Jamaica, a new +Governor arrived from England with orders to suppress +the gangs of privateers. He had instructions to proclaim<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span> +a general pardon for all those buccaneers who cared to +take advantage of the proclamation within a given time. +Those who wished to leave "their naughty way of life" +were to be encouraged by grants of land (thirty-five acres +apiece), so that they might not starve when they forsook +piracy. But this generous offer was merely a lure or +bait to bring the buccaneers to port, in order that the +Governor might mulct them "the tenths and fifteenths +of their booty as the dues of the Crown for granting +them commissions." The news of the intended taxation +spread abroad among the pirates. They heard, too, that +in future they would find no rest in Port Royal; for this new +Governor was earnest and diligent in his governorship. +They, therefore, kept away from Port Royal, and made +Tortuga their rendezvous, gradually allying themselves +with the French buccaneers, who had their stronghold +there. Some of them, who returned to Port Royal, were +brought before the magistrate, and hanged as pirates. +Their old captain, Henry Morgan, left his former way +of life, and soon afterwards become Governor of Jamaica. +He was so very zealous in "discouraging" the buccaneers +that the profession gradually lost its standing. The +best of its members took to logwood cutting or to +planting; the worst kept the seas, like water-Ishmaelites, +plundering the ships of all nations save their own. They +haunted Tortuga, the keys of Cuba, the creeks and inlets +of the coast, and the bays at the western end of Jamaica. +They were able to do a great deal of mischief; for there +were many of them, and the English Colonial governors +could not spare many men-of-war to police the seas. +Often the pirates combined and made descents upon +the coast as in the past. Henry Morgan's defection did +but drive them from their own pleasant haunt, Port +Royal. The "free-trade" of buccaneering throve as it +had always thriven. But about the time of Morgan's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> +consulship we read of British men-of-war helping to +discourage the trade, and thenceforward the buccaneers +were without the support of the Colonial Government. +Those who sailed the seas after Morgan's time were +public enemies, sailing under the shadow of the gallows.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—W. Nelson: "Five Years at Panama." P. Mimande: +"Souvenirs d'un Echappé de Panama." A. Reclus: "Panama et Darien." +A. Radford: "Jottings on Panama." J. de Acosta: "Voyages." S. de +Champlain: "Narrative." Cieça de Leon: "Travels." Exquemeling: +"Bucaniers of America." Don Perez de la Guzman: "Account of the +Sack of Panama."</p> + +<p>I am also indebted to friends long resident in the present city of Panama.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII</h2> + +<h3>CAPTAIN DAMPIER</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Campeachy—Logwood cutting—The march to Santa Maria</p></div> + + +<p>William Dampier, a Somersetshire man, who +had a taste for roving, went to the West Indies +for the first time in 1674, about three years after the sack +of Panama. He was "then about twenty-two years old," +with several years of sea-service behind him. He had +been to the north and to the east, and had smelt +powder in a King's ship during the Dutch wars. He +came to the West Indies to manage a plantation, working +his way "as a Seaman" aboard the ship of one Captain +Kent. Planting sugar or cocoa on Sixteen-Mile Walk +in an island so full of jolly sinners proved to be but dull +work. Dampier tried it for some weeks, and then slipped +away to sea with a Port Royal trader, who plied about +the coast, fetching the planters' goods to town, and +carrying European things, such as cloth, iron, powder, +or the like, to the planters' jetties along the coast. That +was a more pleasant life, for it took the young man all +round the island, to quiet plantings where old buccaneers +were at work. These were kindly fellows, always ready +for a yarn with the shipmen who brought their goods +from Port Royal. They treated the young man well, +giving him yams, plantains, and sweet potatoes, with +leave to wander through their houses. "But after six +or seven Months" Dampier "left that Employ," for he +had heard strange tales of the logwood cutters in +Campeachy Bay, and longed to see something of them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span> +He, therefore, slipped aboard a small Jamaica vessel which +was going to the bay "to load logwood," with two other +ships in company. The cargo of his ship "was rum and +sugar; a very good Commodity for the Log-wood Cutters, +who were then about 250 Men, most English." When +they anchored off One Bush Key, by the oyster banks +and "low Mangrovy Land," these lumbermen came aboard +for drink, buying rum by the gallon or firkin, besides +some which had been brewed into punch. They stayed +aboard, drinking, till the casks gave out, firing off their +small-arms with every health, and making a dreadful +racket in that still lagoon, where the silence was seldom +so violently broken. The logwood began to come aboard +a day or two later; and Dampier sometimes went ashore +with the boat for it, on which occasions he visited the +huts of the woodmen, and ate some merry meals with +them, "with Pork and Pease, or Beef and Dough-boys," +not to mention "Drams or Punch."</p> + +<p>On the voyage home he was chased by Spaniards, +who "fired a Gun" at the ketch, but could not fetch +her alongside.</p> + +<p>It was an easy life aboard that little ketch; for every +morning they fished for their suppers, and at no time +was any work done unless the ship was actually in peril +of wreck. While they were lazying slowly eastward, +"tumbling like an Egg-shell in the Sea," her captain +ran her on the Alcranes, a collection of sandy little +islands, where they stayed for some days before they +found a passage out to sea. They spent the days in +fishing, or flinging pebbles at the rats, or killing boobies, +and then set sail again, arriving after some days' sailing, +at the Isles of Pines.</p> + +<p>Here they landed to fill fresh water at the brooks, +among the sprays of red mangrove, which grew thickly +at the water's edge. They also took ashore their "two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span> +bad Fowling-pieces," with intent to kill a wild hog +or cow, being then in want of food, for the ship's +provisions had given out. They did not kill any meat +for all their hunting, nor did they catch much fish. +Their ill success tempted the sailors to make for the +Cuban keys, where they thought they would find great +abundance, "either Fish or Flesh." The Cuban keys +were favourite haunts of the buccaneers, but it was +dangerous for a small ship like the ketch to venture +in among them. On Cape Corientes there was a Spanish +garrison of forty soldiers, chiefly mulattoes and caribs, +who owned a swift periagua, fitted with oars and sails. +They kept sentinels always upon the Cape, and whenever +a ship hove in sight they would "launch out," and +seize her, and cut the throats of all on board, "for fear +of telling Tales." Fear of this garrison, and the prudent +suggestion of Dampier—that "it was as probable that +we might get as little Food in the South Keys, as we +did at Pines, where, though there was plenty of Beefs +and Hogs, yet we could not to tell how to get any—" at +last prevailed upon the seamen to try for Jamaica. They +were without food of any kind, save a little flour from +the bottoms of the casks, and two "Barrels of Beef," +which they had taken west to sell, "but 'twas so bad +that none would buy it." On a porridge of this meat, +chopped up with mouldy flour, they contrived to keep +alive, "jogging on" towards the east till they made +Jamaica. They arrived off Blewfield's Point thirteen +weeks after leaving Campeachy, and, as Dampier says: +"I think never any vessel before nor since made such +Traverses ... as we did.... We got as much Experience +as if we had been sent out on a Design." +However, they dropped their anchor "at Nigrill" "about +three a Clock in the Afternoon," and sent in the boat +for fruit and poultry. One or two sea-captains, whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> +ketches were at anchor there, came out to welcome the +new arrival. In the little "Cabbin," where the lamp +swung in gimbals, the sailors "were very busie, going +to drink a Bowl of Punch, ... after our long Fatigue +and Fasting." The thirsty sea-captains, bronzed by the +sun, came stumping down the ladder to bear a hand. +One captain, "Mr John Hooker," said that he was under +"Oath to drink but three Draughts of Strong Liquor +a Day." The bowl, which had not been touched, lay +with him, with six quarts of good rum punch inside +it. This Mr Hooker, "putting the Bowl to his Head, +turn'd it off at one Draught"—he being under oath, +and, doubtless, thirsty. "And so, making himself drunk, +disappointed us of our Expectations, till we made +another Bowl." Thus with good cheer did they recruit +themselves in that hot climate after long sailing of the +seas.</p> + +<p>Dampier passed the next few weeks in Port Royal, +thinking of the jolly life at One Bush Key, and of the +little huts, so snugly thatched, and of the camp fires, +when the embers glowed so redly at night before the +moon rose. The thought of the logwood cutters passing +to and fro about those camp fires, to the brandy barrel +or the smoking barbecue, was pleasant to him. He felt +inclined "to spend some Time at the Logwood Trade," +much as a young gentleman of that age would have +spent "some Time" on the grand tour with a tutor. +He had a little gold laid by, so that he was able to +lay in a stock of necessaries for the trade—such as +"Hatchets, Axes, Long Knives, Saws, Wedges, etc., a +Pavillion to sleep in, a Gun with Powder and Shot, etc." +When all was ready, he went aboard a New England +ship, and sailed for Campeachy, where he settled "in +the West Creek of the West Lagoon" with some old +logwood cutters who knew the trade.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> + +<p>Logwood cutting was then a very profitable business, +for the wood fetched from £70 to £100 a ton +in the European markets. The wood is very dense, +and so heavy that it sinks in water. The work of +cutting it, and bringing it to the ships, in the rough +Campeachy country, where there were no roads, was +very hard. The logwood cutters were, therefore, men of +muscle, fond of violent work. Nearly all of them in +Dampier's time were buccaneers who had lost their old +trade. They were "sturdy, strong Fellows," able to carry +"Burthens of three or four hundred Weight," and "contented +to labour very hard." Their hands and arms +were always dyed a fine scarlet with the continuous +rubbing of the wood, and their clothes always smelt +of the little yellow logwood flowers, which smell very +sweet and strong, at most seasons of the year. The life +lived by the lumbermen was wild, rough, and merry. +They had each of them a tent, or a strongly thatched +hut, to live in, and most of them had an Indian woman +or a negress to cook their food. Some of them had white +wives, which they bought at Jamaica for about thirty +pounds apiece, or five pounds more than the cost of a +black woman. As a rule, they lived close to the lips of +the creeks, "for the benefit of the Sea-Breezes," in little +villages of twenty or thirty together. They slept in +hammocks, or in Indian cots, raised some three or four +feet from the ground, to allow for any sudden flood which +the heavy rains might raise. They cooked their food +on a sort of barbecue strewn with earth. For chairs they +used logs of wood or stout rails supported on crutches. +On the Saturday in each week they left their saws and +axes and tramped out into the woods to kill beef for +the following week. In the wet seasons, when the +savannahs were flooded, they hunted the cattle in canoas +by rowing near to the higher grass-lands where the beasts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> +were at graze. Sometimes a wounded steer would charge +the canoa, and spill the huntsmen in the water, where the +alligators nipped them. In the dry months, the hunters +went on foot. When they killed a steer they cut the +body into four, flung away the bones, and cut a big hole +in each quarter. Each of the four men of the hunting +party then thrust his head through the hole in one of +the quarters, and put "it on like a Frock," and so trudged +home. If the sun were hot, and the beef heavy, the +wearer cut some off, and flung it away. This weekly +hunting was "a Diversion pleasant enough" after the five +days' hacking at the red wood near the lagoon-banks. +The meat, when brought to camp, was boucanned or +jerked—that is, dried crisp in the sun. A quarter of a +steer a man was the week's meat allowance. If a man +wanted fish or game, in addition, he had to obtain it for +himself. This diet was supplemented by the local fruits, +and by stores purchased from the ships—such as dried +pease, or flour to make doughboys.</p> + +<p>Men who worked hard under a tropical sun, in woods +sometimes flooded to a depth of two feet, could hardly +be expected to take a pride in their personal appearance. +One little vanity they had, and apparently one only—they +were fond of perfumes. They used to kill the +alligator for his musk-sacs, which they thought "as good +civet as any in the world." Each logwood cutter carried +a musk-sac in his hat to diffuse scent about him, "sweet +as Arabian winds when fruits are ripe," wheresoever his +business led him.</p> + +<p>The logwood cutters usually formed into little companies +of from four to twelve men each. The actual +"cutters" had less to do than the other members, for +they merely felled the trees. Others sawed and hacked +the tree trunks into logs. The boss, or chief man in the +gang, then chipped away the white sappy rind surround<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>ing +the scarlet heart with its crystals of brilliant red. +If the tree were very big (and some were six feet round) +they split the bole by gunpowder. The red hearts alone +were exported, as it is the scarlet crystal (which dries to +a dull black after cutting) which gives the wood its value +in dyeing. When the timber had been properly cut and +trimmed it was dragged to the water's edge, and stacked +there ready for the merchants. The chips burnt very +well, "making a clear strong fire, and very lasting," in +which the rovers used to harden "the Steels of their +Fire Arms when they were faulty."</p> + +<p>When a ship arrived at One Bush Key the logwood +cutters went aboard her for rum and sugar. It was the +custom for the ship's captain to give them free drinks on +the day of his arrival, "and every Man will pay honestly +for what he drinks afterwards." If the captain did not +set the rum punch flowing with sufficient liberality they +would "pay him with their worst Wood," and "commonly" +they "had a stock of such" ready for the niggard when he +came. Often, indeed, they would give such a one a load +of hollow logs "filled with dirt in the middle, and both +ends plugg'd up with a piece of the same." But if the +captain commanding were "true steel, an old bold blade, +one of the old buccaneers, a hearty brave toss-pot, a trump, +a true twopenny"—why, then, they would spend thirty or +forty pounds apiece in a drinking bout aboard his ship, +"carousing and firing of Guns three or four days together." +They were a careless company, concerned rather in "the +squandering of life away" than in its preservation. Drink +and song, and the firing of guns, and a week's work chipping +blood-wood, and then another drunkenness, was the +story of their life there. Any "sober men" who came +thither were soon "debauched" by "the old Standards," +and took to "Wickedness" and "careless Rioting." Those +who found the work too hard used to go hunting in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> +woods. Often enough they marched to the woods in +companies, to sack the Indian villages, to bring away +women for their solace, and men slaves to sell at Jamaica. +They also robbed the Indians' huts of honey, cocoa, and +maize, but then the Indians were "very melancholy and +thoughtful" and plainly designed by God as game for +logwood cutters.</p> + +<p>In the end the Spaniards fell upon the logwood men +and carried them away to Mexico and Vera Cruz, sending +some to the silver mines, and selling the others to tradesmen. +As slaves they passed the next few years, till they +escaped to the coast. One of those who escaped told how +he saw a Captain Buckenham, once a famous man at those +old drinking bouts, and owner of a sugar ship, working +as a slave in the city of Mexico. "He saw Captain Buckenham, +with a Log chained to his Leg, and a Basket +at his Back, crying Bread about the Streets for a Baker +his Master."</p> + +<p>In this society of logwood cutters Dampier served a +brief apprenticeship. He must have heard many strange +tales, and jolly songs, around the camp fires of his mates, +but none of them, apparently, were fit to print. He went +hunting cattle, and got himself "bushed," or marooned—that +is, lost—and had a narrow escape from dying in the +woods. He helped at the cutting and trimming of the +red wood, and at the curing of the hides of the slaughtered +steers. When ships arrived he took his sup of rum, and +fired his pistol, with the best of them. Had he stayed +there any length of time he would have become a master +logwood merchant, and so "gotten an Estate"; but luck +was against him.</p> + +<p>In June 1676, when he was recovering from a guinea-worm, +a creature which nests in one's ankle, and causes +great torment, a storm, or "South," reduced the logwood +cutters of those parts to misery. The South was "long<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> +foretold," by the coming in of many sea-birds to the +shore's shelter, but the lumbermen "believed it was a +certain Token of the Arrival of Ships," and took no precautions +against tempest. Two days later the wind broke +upon them furiously, scattering their huts like scraps of +paper. The creek began to rise "faster than I ever saw +it do in the greatest Spring Tide," so that, by noon, the +poor wretches, huddled as they were in a hut, without fire, +were fain to make ready a canoa to save themselves from +drowning. The trees in the woods were torn up by the +roots, "and tumbled down strangely across each other." +The ships in the creek were blown from their anchors. +Two of them were driven off to sea, dipping their bows +clean under, and making shocking weather of it. One of +them was lost in the bay, being whelmed by a green sea.</p> + +<p>The storm destroyed all the tools and provisions of the +lumbermen, and left Dampier destitute. His illness, with +the poisonous worm in his leg, had kept him from work for +some weeks, so that he had no cords of red wood ready cut, +"as the old Standards had," to buy him new tools and +new stores. Many of the men were in the same case, so +they agreed with the captains of two pirate ketches which +called at the creek at that time, to go a cruise to the west +to seek their fortunes. They cruised up and down the +bay "and made many Descents into the country," "where +we got Indian Corn to eat with the Beef, and other Flesh, +that we got by the way." They also attacked Alvarado, a +little, protected city on the river of that name, but they +lost heavily in the attack. Of the sixty pirates engaged, +ten or eleven were killed or desperately wounded. The +fort was not surrendered for four or five hours, by which +time the citizens had put their treasure into boats, and +rowed it upstream to safety. It was dark by the time +the pirates won the fort, so that pursuit was out of the +question. They rested there that night, and spent the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> +next day foraging. They killed and salted a number of +beeves, and routed out much salt fish and Indian corn, "as +much as we could stow away." They also took a number +of poultry, which the Spaniards were fattening in coops; +and nearly a hundred tame parrots, "yellow and red," +which "would prate very prettily." In short they heaped +their decks with hen-coops, parrot-cages, quarters of beef, +casks of salt fish, and baskets full of maize. In this state, +the ships lay at anchor, with their men loafing on deck +with their tobacco, bidding the "yellow and red" parrots +to say "Damn," or "Pretty Polly," or other ribaldry. But +before any parrot could have lost his Spanish accent, the +pirates were called from their lessons by the sight of seven +Spanish warships, under all sail, coming up to the river-bar +from La Vera Cruz. Their ports were up, and their guns +were run out, and they were not a mile away when the +pirates first saw them. As it happened, the River Alvarado +was full of water, so that these great vessels "could scarce +stem the current." This piece of luck saved the pirates, +for it gave them time to make sail, and to clear the bar +before the Spaniards entered the river. As they dropped +down the stream, they hove the clutter from the decks. +Many a Pretty Polly there quenched her blasphemy in +water, and many a lump of beef went to the mud to gorge +the alligators. The litter was all overboard, and the men +stripped to fight the guns, by the time the tide had swept +them over the bar. At this moment they came within +range of the Spanish flagship, the <i>Toro</i>, of ten guns and +100 men. She was to windward of them, and perilously +close aboard, and her guns sent some cannon-balls into +them, without doing any serious harm. Dampier was in +the leading ship, which stood to the eastward, followed by +her consort, as soon as she was over the bar. After her +came the <i>Toro</i>, followed by a ship of four guns, and by five +smaller vessels manned with musketeers, "and the Vessels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> +barricadoed round with Bull-hides Breast high." The <i>Toro</i> +ranged up on the quarter of Dampier's ship, "designing to +board" her. The pirates dragged their cannon aft, and +fired at her repeatedly, "in hopes to have lamed either +Mast or Yard." As they failed to carry away her spars, +they waited till "she was shearing aboard," when they +rammed the helm hard up, "gave her a good Volley," and +wore ship. As soon as she was round on the other tack, +she stood to the westward, passing down the Spanish line +under a heavy fire. The <i>Toro</i> held to her course, after the +second pirate ship, with the six ships of the fleet following +in her wake. The second pirate ship was much galled +by the fleet's fire, and ran great risk of being taken. +Dampier's ship held to the westward, till she was about +a mile to windward of the other ships. She then tacked, +and ran down to assist her consort, "who was hard put to +it." As she ran down, she opened fire on the <i>Toro</i>, "who +fell off, and shook her ears," edging in to the shore, to +escape, with her fleet after her. They made no fight of it, +but tacked and hauled to the wind "and stood away for +Alvarado." The pirates were very glad to see the last of +them; "and we, glad of the Deliverance, went away to the +Eastward." On the way, they visited all the sandy bays +of the coast to look for "munjack," "a sort of Pitch or +Bitumen which we find in Lumps." When corrected with +oil or tallow this natural pitch served very well for the +paying of the seams "both of Ships and Canoas."</p> + +<p>After this adventure, Dampier returned to the lumber +camp, and passed about a year there, cutting wood. Then, +for some reason, he determined to leave the Indies, and to +visit England; and though he had planned to return to +Campeachy, after he had been home, he never did so. It +seems that he was afraid of living in that undefended +place, among those drunken mates of his. They were at +all times at the mercy of a Spanish man-of-war, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span> +Dampier "always feared" that a Spanish prison would be +his lot if he stayed there. It was the lot of his imprudent +mates, "the old Standards," a few months after he had +sailed for the Thames.</p> + +<p>After a short stay in England, Dampier sailed for +Jamaica, with a general cargo. He sold his goods at Port +Royal, but did not follow his original plan of buying rum +and sugar, and going west as a logwood merchant. About +Christmas 1679 he bought a small estate in Dorsetshire, +"of one whose Title to it" he was "well assured of." He +was ready to sail for England, to take charge of this estate, +and to settle down as a farmer, when he met "one Mr +Hobby," at a tavern, who asked him to go "a short +trading voyage to the Country of the Moskito's." Dampier, +who was a little short of gold at the moment, was very +willing to fill his purse before sailing north. He therefore +consented to go with Mr Hobby, whose ship was then +ready for the sea. He "went on board Mr Hobby," and a +fair wind blew them clear of Port Royal. A day or two +of easy sailing brought them to Negril Bay, "at the West +End of Jamaica," where Dampier had anchored before, +when the valorous captain drained the punch-bowl. The +bay was full of shipping, for Captains Coxon, Sawkins, +Sharp, and other buccaneers, were lying there filling their +water casks. They had the red wheft flying, for they +were bound on the account, to raid the Main. The boats +alongside them were full of meat and barrels. Mr +Hobby's men did not wait to learn more than the fact +that the ships were going cruising. They dumped their +chests into the dinghy, and rowed aboard of them, and +'listed themselves among the sunburnt ruffians who were +hoisting out the water breakers. Dampier and Mr Hobby +were left alone on their ship, within hearing of the +buccaneers, who sang, and danced to the fiddle, and clinked +the cannikin, till the moon had set. For three or four<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> +days they stayed there, hearing the merriment of the +rovers, but at the end of the fourth day Dampier wearied +of Mr Hobby, and joined the buccaneers, who were glad to +have him.</p> + +<p>A day or two after Christmas 1679 they got their +anchors and set sail. They shaped their course for Porto +Bello, which had recovered something of its old wealth and +beauty, in the years of peace it had enjoyed since Morgan +sacked it. They landed 200 men to the eastward of +the town, "at such a distance" that the march "occupied +them three nights." During the day they lay in ambush +in the woods. As they "came to the town" a negro saw +them, and ran to set the bells ringing, to call out the +troops. The buccaneers followed him so closely that +the town was theirs before the troops could muster. They +stayed there forty-eight hours gathering plunder, and then +marched back to their ships staggering under a great weight +of gold. They shared thirty or forty pounds a man from +this raid. Afterwards they harried the coast, east and +west, and made many rich captures. Sawkins, it seems, +was particularly lucky, for he made a haul of 1000 chests +of indigo. Warrants were out for all these pirates, and +had they been taken they would most surely have been +hanged.</p> + +<p>After these adventures, the squadron made for "a place +called Boco del Toro," "an opening between two islands +between Chagres and Veragua," where "the general +rendezvous of the fleet" had been arranged. The ships +anchored here, with one or two new-comers, including a +French ship commanded by a Captain Bournano, who +had been raiding on the isthmus, "near the South Sea," +but a few days before. At the council aboard Captain +Sawkins' ship, it was given out, to all the assembled +buccaneers, that the Spaniards had made peace with the +Darien Indians. This was bad news; but Captain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> +Bournano was able to assure the company "that since +the conclusion of the said peace, they had been already +tried, and found very faithful"; for they had been of +service to him in his late foray. He added that they had +offered to guide him "to a great and very rich place +called Tocamora," and that he had promised to come to +them "with more ships and men," in three months' time. +The buccaneers thought that Tocamora, apart from the +beauty of the name, appeared to promise gold, so they +decided to go thither as soon as they had careened and +refitted. Boca del Toro, the anchorage in which they lay, +was full of "green tortoise" for ships short of food. There +were handy creeks, among the islands, for the ships to +careen in, when their hulls were foul. The pirates hauled +their ships into the creeks, and there hove them down, +while their Moskito allies speared the tortoise, and the +manatee, along the coast, and afterwards salted the flesh +for sea-provision.</p> + +<p>As soon as the squadron was ready, they mustered at +Water Key, and set sail for Golden Island, where they +meant to hold a final council. On the way to the eastward +they put in at the Samballoes, or islands of San +Blas, to fill fresh water, and to buy fruit from the Indians. +When the anchors held, the Indians came aboard with +fruit, venison, and native cloth, to exchange for edged iron +tools, and red and green beads. They were tall men, +smeared with black paint (the women used red, much as +in Europe), and each Indian's nose was hung with a plate +of gold or silver. Among the women were a few albinos, +who were said to see better in the dark than in the light. +"These Indians misliked our design for Tocamora," +because the way thither was mountainous and barren and +certain to be uninhabited. A force going thither would +be sure to starve on the road, they said, but it would be an +easy matter to march to Panama, as Drake had marched.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> +New Panama was already a rich city, so that they would +not "fail of making a good voyage by going thither." +This advice of the Indians impressed the buccaneers. +They determined to abandon the Tocamora project as too +dangerous. Most of them were in favour of going to sack +Panama. But Captain Bournano, and Captain Row, who +commanded about a hundred Frenchmen between them, +refused to take their men on "a long march by land." +Perhaps they remembered how Morgan had treated the +French buccaneers after his Panama raid, nine years before. +They therefore remained at anchor when the squadron +parted company. An Indian chief, Captain Andreas, +came aboard the English flagship. The bloody colours +were hoisted, and a gun fired in farewell. The English +ships then loosed their top-sails and stood away for Golden +Island, to an anchorage they knew of, where a final muster +could be held. They dropped anchor there, "being in all +seven sail," on 3rd April 1680.</p> + +<p>Their strength at the Samballoes had been as follows:—</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="ships at the Samballoes"> +<tr><td></td><td></td><td class="center">Tons</td><td class="center">Guns</td><td class="center">Men</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' colspan="2">Captain Coxon in a ship of</td><td class="right">80</td><td class="right">8</td><td class="right">97</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Harris</td><td>"</td><td class="right">150</td><td class="right">25</td><td class="right">107</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Sawkins</td><td>"</td><td class="right">16</td><td class="right">1</td><td class="right">35</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Sharp</td><td>"</td><td class="right">25</td><td class="right">2</td><td class="right">40</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Cook</td><td>"</td><td class="right">35</td><td class="right">0</td><td class="right">43</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Alleston</td><td>"</td><td class="right">18</td><td class="right">0</td><td class="right">24</td></tr> +<tr><td>Captain Macket</td><td>"</td><td class="right">14</td><td class="right">0</td><td class="right">20</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>but of these 366 buccaneers a few had remained behind +with the Frenchmen.</p> + +<p>While they lay at Golden Island, the Indians brought +them word of "a town called Santa Maria," on the Rio +Santa Maria, near the Gulf of San Miguel, on the Pacific +coast. It was a garrison town, with four companies of +musketeers in its fort, for there were gold mines in the hills +behind it. The gold caravans went from it, once a month<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> +in the dry seasons, to Panama. If the place failed to yield +them a booty, the buccaneers were determined to attack +new Panama. Had they done so they would probably +have destroyed the place, for though the new city was +something stronger than the old, the garrison was in the +interior fighting the Indians. The design on Santa Maria +was popular. On the matter being put to the vote it was +carried without protest. The buccaneers passed the 4th of +April in arranging details, and picking a party to protect +the ships during their absence. They arranged that +Captains Alleston and Macket, with about twenty-five or +thirty seamen, should remain in the anchorage as a ship's +guard. The remainder of the buccaneers, numbering 331 +able-bodied men (seven of whom were French), were to +march with the colours the next morning.</p> + +<p>On the 5th of April 1680, these 331 adventurers dropped +across the channel from Golden Island, and landed on the +isthmus, somewhere near Drake's old anchorage. Captain +Bartholomew Sharp, of "the dangerous voyage and bold +assaults," came first, with some Indian guides, one of whom +helped the Captain, who was sick and faint with a fever. +This vanguard "had a red flag, with a bunch of white and +green ribbons." The second company, or main battle, was +led by the admiral, Richard Sawkins, who "had a red +flag striped with yellow." The third and fourth companies, +which were under one captain (Captain Peter +Harris), had two green flags. The fifth and sixth companies, +under Captain John Coxon, "had each of them a +red flag." A few of Alleston's and Macket's men carried +arms under Coxon in these companies. The rear-guard +was led by Captain Edmund Cook, "with red colours +striped with yellow, with a hand and sword for his device." +"All or most" of the men who landed, "were armed with +a French fuzee" (or musket), a pistol and hanger, with two +pounds of powder and "proportionable bullet." Each of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> +them carried a scrip or satchel containing "three or four +cakes of bread," or doughboys, weighing half-a-pound +apiece, with some modicum of turtle flesh. "For drink +the rivers afforded enough."</p> + +<p>Among the men who went ashore in that company were +William Dampier, the author of the best books of voyages +in the language; Lionel Wafer, the chirurgeon of the +party, who wrote a description of the isthmus; Mr Basil +Ringrose, who kept an intimate record of the foray; and +Captain Bartholomew Sharp, who also kept a journal, but +whose writings are less reliable than those of the other +three. It is not often that three historians of such supreme +merit as Dampier, Wafer, and Ringrose, are associated in +a collaboration so charming, as a piratical raid. Wafer +had been a surgeon in Port Royal, but Edmund Cook had +shown him the delights of roving, and the cruise he had +made to Cartagena had confirmed him in that way of life. +Basil Ringrose had but lately arrived at the Indies, and it +is not known what induced him to go buccaneering. He +was a good cartographer, and had as strong a bent towards +the description of natural phenomena, as Dampier had. +He probably followed the pirates in order to see the world, +and to get some money, and to extend his knowledge. +Sharp had been a pirate for some years, and there was a +warrant out for him at Jamaica for his share in the sack +of Porto Bello. With Dampier's history the reader has +been made acquainted.</p> + +<p>The Indians, under Captain Andreas, led the buccaneers +from the landing-place "through a small skirt of wood," +beyond which was a league of sandy beach. "After that, +we went two leagues directly up a woody valley, where we +saw here and there an old plantation, and had a very good +path to march in." By dusk they had arrived at a river-bank, +beneath which the water lay in pools, joined by +trickles and little runlets, which babbled over sun-bleached<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span> +pebbles. They built themselves huts in this place, about +a great Indian hut which stood upon the river-bank. They +slept there that night, "having nothing but the cold Earth +for their Beds," in much discouragement "with the going +back of some of the Men." The buccaneers who had been +some weeks at sea, were not in marching trim, and it +seems that the long day's tramp in the sun had sickened +many of them. While they rested in their lodges, an +Indian king, whom they called "Captain Antonio," came +in to see them. He said that he had sent word to one of +his tributaries, farther to the south, to prepare food and +lodgings for the buccaneers "against their Arrival." As +for himself, he wished very much that he could come with +them to lead their guides, but unfortunately "his child lay +very sick." However, it comforted him to think that the +child would be dead by the next day, at latest, "and then +he would most certainly follow and overtake" them. He +warned the company not to lie in the grass, "for fear of +monstrous adders"; and so bowed himself out of camp, +and returned home. The kingly prayers seem to have +been effectual, for Captain Antonio was in camp again by +sunrise next morning, with no family tie to keep him from +marching.</p> + +<p>As the men sluiced themselves in the river before taking +to the road, they noticed that the pebbles shone "with +sparks of gold" when broken across. They did not stay +to wash the river-mud, for gold dust and golden pellets, +but fell in for the march, and climbed from dawn till +nearly dusk. They went over "a steep Mountain" which +was parched and burnt and waterless. Four of the +buccaneers refused to go farther than the foot of this hill, +so they returned to the ships. The others, under the +guidance of Antonio, contrived to cross the mountain "to +an Hollow of Water," at which they drank very greedily. +Six miles farther on they halted for the night, beside a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> +stream. They slept there, "under the Canopy of Heaven," +suffering much discomfort from some drenching showers. +After some days of climbing, wading, and suffering, the army +reached the house of King Golden Cap, an Indian king. +The King came out to meet them in his robes, with a +little reed crown on his head, lined with red silk, and +covered with a thin plate of gold. He had a golden ring +in his nose, and a white cotton frock over his shoulders. +His queen wore a red blanket, and a blouse "like our old-fashioned +striped hangings." This royal couple bade the +army welcome, and ordered food to be brought for them. +The buccaneers passed a couple of days in King Golden +Cap's city, trading their coloured beads, and scraps of iron, +for fresh fruit and meat. They found the Indians "very +cunning" in bargaining, which means, we suppose, that +they thought a twopenny whittle a poor return for a hog +or a sack of maize.</p> + +<p>When the men had rested themselves, and had dried +their muddy clothes, they set out again, with Captain +Sawkins in the vanguard. As they marched out of the +town "the King ordered us each man to have three +plantains, with sugar-canes to suck, by way of a present." +They breakfasted on these fruits, as they marched. The +road led them "along a very bad Path" continually intersected +by a river, which they had to wade some fifty or +sixty times, to their great misery. They passed a few +Indian huts on the way, and at each hut door stood an +Indian to give "as we passed by, to every one of us, a +ripe plantain, or some sweet cassava-root." Some of the +Indians counted the army "by dropping a grain of corn +for each man that passed before them," for without +counters they could not reckon beyond twenty. The +army had by this time been swelled by an Indian contingent, +of about 150 men, "armed with Bows, Arrows and +Lances." The Indians dropping their corn grains must<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> +have dropped nearly 500 before the last man passed them. +That night, which was clear and fine, they rested in three +large Indian huts, where King Golden Cap's men had +stored up food and drink, and a number of canoas, for the +voyage south. The river went brawling past their bivouac +at a little distance, and some of the men caught fish, and +broiled them in the coals for their suppers.</p> + +<p>At daylight next morning, while they were getting the +canoas to the water, Captain Coxon had "some Words" +with Captain Harris (of the green flags). The words ran +into oaths, for the two men were surly with the discomforts +of turning out. Coxon whipped up a gun and fired +at Peter Harris, "which he was [naturally] ready to +return." Sharp knocked his gun up before he could fire, +"and brought him to be quiet; so that we proceeded on +our Journey." They had no further opportunities for +fighting, for Sawkins gave the word a moment later for +seventy of the buccaneers to embark in the canoas. There +were fourteen of these boats, all of them of small size. +Sharp, Coxon, and Cook were placed in charge of them. +Captain Harris was told off to travel with the land party, +with Sawkins, King Golden Cap, and the other men. +Don Andreas, with twenty-eight other Indians (two to a +canoa) acted as boatmen, or pilots, to the flotilla.</p> + +<p>Basil Ringrose, who was one of the boat party, has told +us of the miseries of the "glide down the stream." The +river was low, and full of rotting tree trunks, so that "at +the distance of almost every stone's cast," they had to +leave the boats "and haul them over either sands or rocks, +and at other times over trees." Sharp, who was of tougher +fibre, merely says that they "paddled all Day down the +Falls and Currents of the River, and at Night took up our +Quarters upon a Green Bank by the Riverside, where we +had Wild Fowl and Plantanes for Supper: But our Beds +were made upon the cold Earth, and our Coverings were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> +the Heavens, and green Trees we found there." The next +day they went downstream again, over many more snags +and shallows, which set them wading in the mud till their +boots rotted off their feet. Ringrose was too tired to +make a note in his journal, save that, that night, "a tiger" +came out and looked at them as they sat round the camp +fires. Sharp says that the labour "was a Pleasure," because +"of that great Unity there was then amongst us," +and because the men were eager "to see the fair South +Sea." They lodged that night "upon a green Bank of +the River," and ate "a good sort of a Wild Beast like +unto our English Hog." The third day, according to +Ringrose, was the worst day of all. The river was as full +of snags as it had been higher up, but the last reach of it +was clear water, so that they gained the rendezvous "about +Four in the Afternoon." To their very great alarm they +found that the land party had not arrived. They at once +suspected that the Indians had set upon them treacherously, +and cut them off in the woods. But Don Andreas +sent out scouts "in Search of them," who returned "about +an Hour before Sun-set," with "some of their Number," +and a message that the rest would join company in the +morning.</p> + +<p>A little after daybreak the land force marched in, and +pitched their huts near the river, "at a beachy point of +land," perhaps the very one where Oxenham's pinnace +had been beached. They passed the whole day there +resting, and cleaning weapons, for they were now but "a +Day and a Night's Journey" from the town they had +planned to attack. Many more Indians joined them at +this last camp of theirs, so that the army had little +difficulty in obtaining enough canoas to carry them to +Santa Maria. They set out early the next morning, in +sixty-eight canoas, being in all "327 of us Englishmen, +and 50 Indians." Until that day the canoas had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> +"poled" as a punt is poled, but now they cut oars and +paddles "to make what speed we could." All that day +they rowed, and late into the night, rowing "with all haste +imaginable," and snapping up one or two passing Indian +boats which were laden with plantains. It was after midnight, +and about "Two Hours before Day Light," when +they ran into a mud bank, about a mile from the town, +and stepped ashore, upon a causeway of oars and paddles. +They had to cut themselves a path through jungle, as soon +as they had crossed the mud, for the town was walled +about with tropical forest. They "lay still in the Woods, +till the Light appeared," when they "heard the Spaniard +discharge his Watch at his Fort by Beat of Drum, and a +Volley of Shot." It was the Spanish way of changing +guard, at daybreak. It was also the signal for the "Forlorn" +of the buccaneers to march to the battle, under +Sawkins. This company consisted of seventy buccaneers. +As they debouched from the forest, upon open ground, the +Spaniards caught sight of them and beat to arms. The +men in the fort at once opened fire "very briskly," but +the advance-guard ran in upon them, tore down some of +the stockade, and "entered the fort incontinently." A +moment or two of wild firing passed inside the palisades, +and then the Spanish colours were dowsed. The buccaneers +in this storm lost two men wounded, of the fifty +who attacked. The Spanish loss was twenty-six killed, +and sixteen wounded, out of 300 under arms. About +fifty more, of the Spanish prisoners, were promptly killed +by the Indians, who took them into the woods and stabbed +them "to death" with their lances. It seems that one +of that garrison, a man named Josef Gabriele, had raped +King Golden Cap's daughter who was then with child +by him. (Gabriele, as it chanced, was not speared, but +saved to pilot the pirates to Panama.) This was the sole +action of the Indians in that engagement. During the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> +battle they lay "in a small hollow," "in great consternation" +at "the noise of the guns."</p> + +<p>Though the buccaneers had taken the place easily, they +had little cause for rejoicing. The town was "a little +pitiful Place," with a few thatched huts, or "wild houses +made of Cane," and "but one Church in it." The fort +"was only Stockadoes," designed merely as a frontier +post "to keep in subjection the Indians" or as a lodging +for men employed in the gold mines. There was no more +provision in store there than would serve their turn for +a week. As for the gold, they had missed it by three +days. Three hundredweight of gold had been sent to +Panama while they were struggling downstream. News +of their coming had been brought to the fort in time, +and "all their treasure of gold," "that huge booty of gold" +they had expected to win, had been shipped westward. +Nor had they any prisoners to hold to ransom. The +Governor, the town priest, and the chief citizens, had slipped +out of the town in boats, and were now some miles away. +Richard Sawkins manned a canoa, and went in chase of +them, but they got clear off, to give advice to Panama +that pirates were come across the isthmus. The only +pillage they could find, after torturing their prisoners +"severely," amounted to "twenty pounds' weight of gold, +and a small quantity of silver." To this may be added a +few personal belongings, such as weapons or trinkets, from +the chests of the garrison.</p> + +<p>When the booty, such as it was, had been gathered, the +captains held a meeting "to discuss what were best to +be done." Some were for going to the South Sea, to +cruise; but John Coxon, who had taken Porto Bello, and +hated to be second to Sawkins, was for going back to the +ships. The general vote was for going to Panama, "that +city being the receptacle of all the plate, jewels, and gold +that is dug out of the mines of all Potosi and Peru."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> +However, they could not venture on Panama without +Coxon, and Coxon's company; so they made Coxon their +admiral, "Coxon seeming to be well satisfied." Before +starting, they sent their booty back to Golden Island, under +a guard of twelve men. Most of the Indians fell off at this +time, for they had "got from us what knives, scissors, axes, +needles and beads they could." Old King Golden Cap, +and his son, were less mercenary, and stayed with the +colours, being "resolved to go to Panama, out of the desire +they had to see that place taken and sacked." They may +have followed the buccaneers in order to kill the Spaniard +who had raped the princess, for that worthy was still alive, +under guard. He had promised to lead the pirates "even +to the very bed-chamber door of the governor of Panama."</p> + +<p>With the vision of this bed-chamber door before them, +the pirates embarked at Santa Maria "in thirty-five +canoes" and a ship they had found at anchor in the +river. As they "sailed, or rather rowed" downstream, +with the ebb, the Spanish prisoners prayed to be taken +aboard, lest the Indians should take them and torture +them all to death. "We had much ado to find a sufficient +number of boats for ourselves," says Ringrose, for the +Indians had carried many of the canoas away. Yet the +terror of their situation so wrought upon the Spaniards +that they climbed on to logs, or crude rafts, or into old +canoas, "and by that means shifted so ... as to come +along with us." The island Chepillo, off the mouth of +the Cheapo River, had been named as the general rendezvous, +but most of the buccaneers were to spend several +miserable days before they anchored there. One canoa +containing ten Frenchmen, was capsized, to the great +peril of the Frenchmen, who lost all their weapons. +Ringrose was separated from the company, drenched to +the skin, half starved, and very nearly lynched by some +Spaniards. His 19th of April was sufficiently stirring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> +to have tired him of going a-roving till his death. He +put out "wet and cold," at dawn; was shipwrecked at +ten; saved the lives of five Spaniards at noon; "took +a survey," or drew a sketch of the coast, an hour later; +set sail again by four, was taken by the Spaniards and +condemned to death at nine; was pardoned at ten; sent +away "in God's name," "vaya ustad con Dios," at eleven; +and was at sea again "wet and cold," by midnight. +Sharp's party was the most fortunate, for as they entered +the bay of Panama they came to an island "a very +pleasant green Place," off which a barque of thirty tons +came to anchor, "not long before it was dark." The +island had a high hummock of land upon it with a +little hut, and a stack for a bonfire, at the top. A watchman, +an old man, lived in this hut, looking out over the +sea for pirates, with orders to fire his beacon, to warn +the men on the Main if a strange sail appeared. The +pirates caught this watchman before the fire was lit. +They learned from him that those at Panama had not +yet heard of their coming. Shortly after they had +captured the watchman, the little barque aforesaid, came +to anchor, and furled her sails. Two of Sharp's canoas +crept out, "under the shore," and laid her aboard "just +as it began to be duskish." She proved to be a Panama +boat, in use as a troop transport. She had just landed +some soldiers on the Main, to quell some Indians, who +had been raiding on the frontier. Her crew were negroes, +Indians, and mulattoes. Most of the buccaneers, especially +those in the small canoas, "endeavoured to get into" +this ship, to stretch their legs, and to have the advantage +of a shelter. More than 130 contrived to stow themselves +in her 'tween decks, under "that sea-artist, and +valiant commander" (the words are probably his own) +"Captain Bartholomew Sharp." They put to sea in her +the next day, followed by the canoas. During the morn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span>ing +they took another small barque, in which Captain Harris +placed thirty men, and hoisted the green flag. The wind +fell calm after the skirmish, but the canoas rowed on to +Chepillo, to the rendezvous, where they found provisions +such as "two fat hogs," and some plantains, and a spring +of water.</p> + +<p>A little after dawn, on the day following, while the ships +were trying to make the anchorage, Captain Coxon, and +Captain Sawkins, rowed out from Chepillo to board a +barque which was going past the island under a press of +sail. The wind was so light that the canoas overhauled +her, but before they could hook to her chains "a young +breeze, freshening at that instant," swept her clear of +danger. Her men fired a volley into Coxon's boat, +which the pirates returned. "They had for their Breakfast +a small fight," says Sharp. One of the pirates—a +Mr Bull—was killed with an iron slug. The Spaniards +got clear away without any loss, "for the Wind blew +both fresh and fair" for them. Three or four pirates +were grazed with shot, and some bullets went through +the canoas. The worst of the matter was that the +Spaniards got safely to Panama, "to give intelligence +of our coming."</p> + +<p>As they could no longer hope to take the city by surprise, +"while the Governor was in his bed-chamber," they +determined to give the citizens as little time for preparation +as was possible. They were still twenty miles from +Panama, but the canoas could pass those twenty miles +in a few hours' easy rowing. They set out at four o'clock +in the evening, after they had delivered their Spanish +prisoners "for certain reasons" (which Ringrose "could +not dive into") into the hands of the Indians. This act +of barbarity was accompanied with the order that the +Indians were "to fight, or rather to murder and slay +the said prisoners upon the shore, and that in view of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> +the whole fleet." However, the Spaniards rushed the +Indians, broke through them, and got away to the woods +with the loss of but one soldier.</p> + +<p>After they had watched the scuffle, the pirates rowed +away merrily towards Panama, "though many showers +of rain ceased not to fall." Sharp's vessel, with her +crew of more than 130 men, made off for the Pearl +Islands, ostensibly to fill fresh water, but really, no +doubt, to rob the pearl fisheries. He found a woman +(who was "very young and handsome"), and "a Case +or two of Wines," at these islands, together with some +poultry. He made a feast there, and stayed at anchor +that night, and did not set sail again till noon of the +day following, by which time the battle of Panama had +been fought and won.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—Dampier's Voyages. Wafer's Voyages. Ringrose's +Journal. "The Dangerous Voyage and Bold Assaults of Captain Bartholomew +Sharp"; "The Voyages and Adventures of Captain Bartholomew +Sharp" (four or five different editions). Ringrose's MSS., Sharp's MSS., +in the Sloane MSS.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV</h2> + +<h3>THE BATTLE OF PERICO</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Arica—The South Sea cruise</p></div> + + +<p>On 23rd April 1680, "that day being dedicated to St +George, our Patron of England," the canoas arrived +off Panama. "We came," says Ringrose, "before sunrise +within view of the city of Panama, which makes a pleasant +show to the vessels that are at sea." They were within +sight of the old cathedral church, "the beautiful building +whereof" made a landmark for them, reminding one of +the buccaneers "of St Paul's in London," a church at that +time little more than a ruin. The new city was not quite +finished, but the walls of it were built, and there were +several splendid churches, with scaffolding about +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: , not visible in original">them,</ins> +rising high, here and there, over the roofs of the +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: . not visible in original">houses.</ins> +The townspeople were in a state of panic at the news +of the pirates' coming. Many of them had fled into the +savannahs; for it chanced that, at that time, many of +the troops in garrison, were up the country, at war with +a tribe of Indians. The best of the citizens, under Don +Jacinto de Baronha, the admiral of those seas, had +manned the ships in the bay. Old Don Peralta, who +had saved the golden galleon ten years before, had 'listed +a number of negroes, and manned one or two barques with +them. With the troops still in barracks, and these +volunteers and pressed men, they had manned, in all +"five great ships, and three pretty big barks." Their +force may have numbered 280 men. One account gives +the number, definitely, as 228. The buccaneer force<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> +has been variously stated, but it appears certain that +the canoas, and periaguas, which took part in the fight, +contained only sixty-eight of their company. Sharp, as +we have seen, had gone with his company to the Pearl Islands. +The remaining 117 men were probably becalmed, +in their barques and canoas, some miles from the vanguard.</p> + +<p>When the buccaneers caught sight of Panama, they +were probably between that city and the islands of +Perico and Tobagilla. They were in great disorder, and +the men were utterly weary with the long night of rowing +in the rain, with the wind ahead. They were strung out +over several miles of sea, with five light canoas, containing +six or seven men apiece, a mile or two in advance. +After these came two lumbering periaguas, with sixteen +men in each. King Golden Cap was in one of these +latter. Dampier and Wafer were probably not engaged +in this action. Ringrose was in the vanguard, in a small +canoa.</p> + +<p>A few minutes after they had sighted the roofs of +Panama, they made out the ships at anchor off the Isle +of Perico. There were "five great ships and three pretty +big barks," manned, as we have said, by soldiers, negroes, +and citizens. The men aboard this fleet were in the rigging +of their ships, keeping a strict lookout. As they +caught sight of the pirates the three barques "instantly +weighed anchor," and bore down to engage, under all +the sail they could crowd. The great ships had not +sufficient men to fight their guns. They remained at +anchor; but their crews went aboard the barques, so that +the decks of the three men-of-war must have been inconveniently +crowded. The Spaniards were dead to +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: so in original; typo for windward?">windwind</ins> +of the pirates, so that they merely squared their +yards, and ran down the wind "designedly to show their +valour." They had intended to run down the canoas, +and to sail over them, for their captains had orders to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span> +give no quarter to the pirates, but to kill them, every +man. "Such bloody commands as these," adds Ringrose +piously, "do seldom or never prosper."</p> + +<p>It was now a little after sunrise. The wind was light +but steady; the sea calm. As the Spaniards drew within +range, the pirates rowed up into the wind's eye, and got +to windward of them. Their pistols and muskets had +not been wetted in the rain, for each buccaneer had provided +himself with an oiled cover for his firearms, the +mouth of which he stopped with wax whenever it rained. +The Spanish ships ran past the three leading canoas, exchanging +volleys at long range. They were formed in line +of battle ahead, with a ship manned by mulattoes, or +"Tawnymores," in the van. This ship ran between the +fourth canoa, in which Ringrose was, and the fifth (to +leeward of her) commanded by Sawkins. As she ran +between the boats she fired two thundering broadsides, +one from each battery, which wounded five buccaneers. +"But he paid dear for his passage"; because the buccaneers +gave her a volley which killed half her sail +trimmers, so that she was long in wearing round to +repeat her fire. At this moment the two periaguas came +into action, and got to windward with the rest of the +pirates' fleet.</p> + +<p>While Ringrose's company were ramming the bullets +down their gun muzzles, the Spanish admiral (in the +second ship) engaged, "scarce giving us time to charge." +She was a fleet ship, and had a good way on her, and her +design was to pass between two canoas, and give to each +a roaring hot broadside. As she ran down, so near that +the buccaneers could look right into her, one of the pirates +fired his musket at her helmsman, and shot him through +the heart as he steered. The ship at once "broached-to," +and lay with her sails flat aback, stopped dead. The five +canoas, and one of the periaguas, got under her stern, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span> +so plied her with shot that her decks were like shambles, +running with blood and brains, five minutes after she came +to the wind. Meanwhile Richard Sawkins ran his canoa—which +was a mere sieve of cedar wood, owing to the broadside—alongside +the second periagua, and took her steering +oar. He ordered his men to give way heartily, for the +third Spanish ship, under old Don Peralta, was now bearing +down to relieve the admiral. Before she got near +enough to blow the canoas out of water, Captain Sawkins +ran her on board, and so swept her decks with shot that +she went no farther. But "between him and Captain +Sawkins, the dispute, or fight, was very hot, lying board +on board together, and both giving and receiving death +unto each other as fast as they could charge." Indeed, +the fight, at this juncture, was extremely fierce. The two +Spanish ships in action were surrounded with smoke and +fire, the men "giving and receiving death" most gallantly. +The third ship, with her sail trimmers dead, was to leeward, +trying to get upon the other tack.</p> + +<p>After a time her sailors got her round, and reached to +windward, to help the admiral, who was now being sorely +battered. Ringrose, and Captain Springer, a famous +pirate, "stood off to meet him," in two canoas, as "he +made up directly towards the Admiral." Don Jacinto, +they noticed, as they shoved off from his flagship, was +standing on his quarter-deck, waving "with a handkerchief," +to the captain of the Tawnymores' ship. He was +signalling him to scatter the canoas astern of the flagship. +It was a dangerous moment, and Ringrose plainly saw +"how hard it would go with us if we should be beaten +from the Admiral's stern." With the two canoas he ran +down to engage, pouring in such fearful volleys of bullets +that they covered the Spaniard's decks with corpses and +dying men. "We killed so many of them, that the vessel +had scarce men enough left alive, or unwounded, to carry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> +her off. Had he not given us the helm, and made away +from us, we had certainly been on board him." Her decks +were littered with corpses, and she was literally running +blood. The wind was now blowing fresh, and she contrived +to put before it, and so ran out of action, a terrible +sight for the Panama women.</p> + +<p>Having thus put the Tawnymores out of action, Ringrose +and Springer hauled to the wind, and "came about +again upon the Admiral, and all together gave a loud +halloo." The cheer was answered by Sawkins' men, from +the periagua, as they fired into the frigate's ports. Ringrose +ran alongside the admiral, and crept "so close" +under the vessel's stern, "that we wedged up the rudder." +The admiral was shot, and killed, a moment later, as he +brought aft a few musketeers to fire out of the stern ports. +The ship's pilot, or sailing master, was killed by the same +volley. As for the crew, the "stout Biscayners," "they +were almost quite disabled and disheartened likewise, +seeing what a bloody massacre we had made among +them with our shot." Two-thirds of the crew were killed, +"and many others wounded." The survivors cried out for +quarter, which had been offered to them several times +before, "and as stoutly denied until then." Captain +Coxon thereupon swarmed up her sides, with a gang of +pirates, helping up after him the valorous Peter Harris +"who had been shot through both his legs, as he boldly +adventured up along the side of the ship." The Biscayners +were driven from their guns, disarmed, and thrust down +on to the ballast, under a guard. All the wounded pirates +were helped up to the deck and made comfortable. Then, +in all haste, the unhurt men manned two canoas, and +rowed off to help Captain Sawkins, "who now had been +three times beaten from on board by Peralta."</p> + +<p>A very obstinate and bloody fight had been raging +round the third man-of-war. Her sides were splintered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> +with musket-balls. She was oozing blood from her +scuppers, yet "the old and stout Spaniard" in command, +was cheerily giving shot for shot. "Indeed, to give our +enemies their due, no men in the world did ever act more +bravely than these Spaniards."</p> + +<p>Ringrose's canoa was the first to second Captain +Sawkins. She ran close in, "under Peralta's side," and +poured in a blasting full volley through her after gun-ports. +A scrap of blazing wad fell among the red-clay +powder jars in the after magazine. Before she could fire +a shot in answer, she blew up abaft. Ringrose from the +canoa "saw his men blown up, that were abaft the mast, +some of them falling on the deck, and others into the sea." +But even this disaster did not daunt old Peralta. Like a +gallant sea-captain, he slung a bowline round his waist, and +went over the side, burnt as he was, to pick up the men +who had been blown overboard. The pirates fired at him +in the water, but the bullets missed him. He regained +his ship, and the fight went on. While the old man was +cheering the wounded to their guns, "another jar of +powder took fire forward," blowing the gun's crews +which were on the fo'c's'le into the sea. The forward +half of the ship caught fire, and poured forth a volume +of black smoke, in the midst of which Richard Sawkins +boarded, and "took the ship." A few minutes later, Basil +Ringrose went on board, to give what aid he could to the +hurt. "And indeed," he says, "such a miserable sight I +never saw in my life, for not one man there was found, +but was either killed, desperately wounded, or horribly +burnt with powder, insomuch that their black skins [the +ship was manned with negroes] were turned white in +several places, the powder having torn it from their flesh +and bones." But if Peralta's ship was a charnel-house, +the admiral's flagship was a reeking slaughter-pen. Of +her eighty-six sailors, sixty-one had been killed. Of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> +remaining twenty-five, "only eight were able to bear +arms, all the rest being desperately wounded, and by their +wounds totally disabled to make any resistance, or defend +themselves. Their blood ran down the decks in whole +streams, and scarce one place in the ship was found that +was free from blood." The loss on the Tawnymores' ship +was never known, but there had been such "bloody +massacre" aboard her, that two other barques, in Panama +Roads, had been too scared to join battle, though they +had got under sail to engage. According to Ringrose, +the pirates lost eighteen men killed, and twenty-two men +wounded, several of them severely. Sharp, who was not +in the fight, gives the numbers as eleven killed, and thirty-four +wounded. The battle began "about half an hour +after sunrise." The last of the Spanish fire ceased a little +before noon.</p> + +<p>Having taken the men-of-war, Captain Sawkins asked +his prisoners how many men were aboard the galleons, in +the Perico anchorage. Don Peralta, who was on deck, +"much burnt in both his hands," and "sadly scalded," at +once replied that "in the biggest alone there were three +hundred and fifty men," while the others were manned in +proportion to their tonnage. But one of his men "who +lay a-dying upon the deck, contradicted him as he was +speaking, and told Captain Sawkins there was not one +man on board any of those ships that were in view." +"This relation" was believed, "as proceeding from a +dying man," and a few moments later it was proved to +be true. The greatest of the galleons, "the Most Blessed +<i>Trinity</i>," perhaps the very ship in which Peralta had saved +the treasures of the cathedral church, was found to be +empty. Her lading of "wine, sugar, and sweetmeats, +skins and soap" (or hides and tallow) was still in the hold, +but the Spaniards had deserted her, after they had set her +on fire, "made a hole in her, and loosened [perhaps cut<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> +adrift] her foresail." The pirates quenched the fire, +stopped the leak, and placed their wounded men aboard +her, "and thus constituted her for the time being our +hospital." They lay at anchor, at Perico, for the rest +of that day. On the 24th of April they seem to have +been joined by a large company of those who had been +to leeward at the time of the battle. Reinforced by these, +to the strength of nearly 200 men, they weighed their +anchors, set two of the prize galleons on fire with their +freights of flour and iron, and removed their fleet to the +roads of Panama. They anchored near the city, just +out of heavy gunshot, in plain view of the citizens. They +could see the famous stone walls, which had cost so much +gold that the Spanish King, in his palace at Madrid, had +asked his minister whether they could be seen from the +palace windows. They marked the stately, great churches +which were building. They saw the tower of St Anastasius +in the distance, white and stately, like a blossom above +the greenwood. They may even have seen the terrified +people in the streets, following the banners of the church, +and the priests in their black robes, to celebrate a solemn +Mass and invocation. Very far away, in the green savannahs, +they saw the herds of cattle straying between the +clumps of trees.</p> + +<p>Late that night, long after it was dark, Captain Bartholomew +Sharp joined company. He had been to +Chepillo to look for them, and had found their fire "not +yet out," and a few dead Spaniards, whom the Indians +had killed, lying about the embers. He had been much +concerned for the safety of the expedition, and was therefore +very pleased to find that "through the Divine Assistance" +the buccaneers had triumphed. At supper that +night he talked with Don Peralta, who told him of some +comets, "two strange Comets," which had perplexed the +Quito merchants the year before. There was "good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> +Store of Wine" aboard the <i>Trinity</i> galleon, with which +all hands "cheered up their Hearts for a While." Then, +having set sentinels, they turned in for the night.</p> + +<p>The next day they buried Captain Peter Harris, "a +brave and stout Soldier, and a valiant Englishman, born +in the county of Kent, whose death [from gunshot wounds] +we very much lamented." With him they buried another +buccaneer who had been hurt in the fight. The other +wounded men recovered. They would probably have +landed to sack the town on this day, had not a quarrel +broken out between some of the company and Captain +Coxon. The question had been brought forward, whether +the buccaneers should go cruising in the South Sea, in +their prizes, or return, overland, to their ships at Golden +Island. It was probably suggested, as another alternative, +that they should land to sack the town. All the captains +with one exception were for staying in the Pacific "to try +their Fortunes." Captain Coxon, however, was for returning +to Golden Island. He had been dissatisfied ever since +the fight at Santa Maria. He had not distinguished himself +particularly in the fight off Perico, and no doubt he +felt jealous that the honours of that battle should have +been won by Sawkins. Sawkins' men taunted him with +"backwardness" in that engagement, and "stickled not to +defame, or brand him with the note of cowardice." To +this he answered that he would be very glad to leave that +association, and that he would take one of the prizes, a +ship of fifty tons, and a periagua, to carry his men up the +Santa Maria River. Those who stayed, he added, might +heal his wounded. That night he drew off his company, +with several other men, in all about seventy hands. With +them he carried "the best of our Doctors and Medicines," +and the hearty ill will of the other buccaneers. Old King +Golden Cap accompanied these deserters, leaving behind +him his son and a nephew, desiring them to be "not less<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span> +vigorous" than he had been in harrying the Spanish. +Just before Coxon set sail, he asked Bartholomew Sharp +to accompany him. But that proven soul "could not hear +of so dirty and inhuman an Action without detestation." +So Coxon sailed without ally, "which will not much +redound to his Honour," leaving all his wounded on the +deck of the captured galleon. The fleet, it may be added, +had by this time returned to the anchorage at Perico.</p> + +<p>They lay there ten days in all, "debating what were +best to be done." In that time they took a frigate laden +with fowls. They took the poultry for their own use, and +dismissed some of "the meanest of the prisoners" in the +empty ship. They then shifted their anchorage to the +island of Taboga, where there were a few houses, which +some drunken pirates set on fire. While they lay at this +island the merchants of Panama came off to them "and +sold us what commodities we needed, buying also of us +much of the goods we had taken in their own vessels." +The pirates also sold them a number of negroes they had +captured, receiving "two hundred pieces of eight for each +negro we could spare." "And here we took likewise +several barks that were laden with fowls." After Coxon's +defection, Richard Sawkins was re-elected admiral, and +continued in that command till his death some days later.</p> + +<p>Before they left Taboga, Captain Sharp went cruising +to an island some miles distant to pick up some straggling +drunkards who belonged to his ship. While he lay at +anchor, in a dead calm, waiting for a breeze to blow, a +great Spanish merchant ship hove in sight, bound from +Lima (or Truxillo) to Panama. Sharp ran his canoas +alongside, and bade her dowse her colours, at the same +time sending a gang of pirates over her rail, to throw the +crew under hatches. "He had no Arms to defend himself +with, save only Rapiers," so her captain made no battle, +but struck incontinently. She proved to be a very splendid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> +prize, for in her hold were nearly 2000 jars of wine and +brandy, 100 jars of good vinegar, and a quantity of powder +and shot, "which came very luckily." In addition to these +goods there were 51,000 pieces of eight, "247 pieces of +eight a man," a pile of silver sent to pay the Panama +soldiery; and a store of sweetmeats, such as Peru is still +famous for. And there were "other Things," says Sharp, +"that were very grateful to our dis-satisfied Minds." +Some of the wine and brandy were sold to the Panama +merchants a few days later, "to the value of three thousand +Pieces of Eight." A day or two after this they snapped up +two flour ships, from Paita. One of these was a pretty +ship of a fine model, of about 100 tons. Sharp fitted her +for himself, "for I liked her very well." The other flour +ship was taken very gallantly, under a furious gunfire +from Panama Castle. The buccaneers rowed in, with +the cannon-balls flying over their heads. They got +close alongside "under her Guns," and then towed her +out of cannon-shot.</p> + +<p>They continued several days at Taboga, waiting for a +Lima treasure ship, aboard which, the Spaniards told +them, were £2500 in silver dollars. While they waited +for this ship the Governor at Panama wrote to ask them +why they had come into those seas. Captain Sawkins +answered that they had come to help King Golden Cap, +the King of Darien, the true lord of those lands, and +that, since they had come so far, "there was no reason +but that they should have some satisfaction." If the +Governor would send them 500 pieces of eight for each +man, and double that sum for each captain, and, further, +undertake "not any farther to annoy the Indians," why, +then, the pirates would leave those seas, "and go away +peaceably. If the Governor would not agree to these +terms, he might look to suffer." A day or two later, +Sawkins heard that the Bishop of Panama had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> +Bishop at Santa Martha (a little city on the Main), some +years before, when he (Sawkins) helped to sack the place. +He remembered the cleric favourably, and sent him "two +loaves of sugar," as a sort of keepsake, or love-offering. +"For a retaliation," the Bishop sent him a gold ring; +which was very Christian in the Bishop, who must have +lost on the exchange. The bearer of the gold ring, brought +also an answer from the Governor, who desired to know +who had signed the pirates' commissions. To this message +Captain Sawkins sent back for answer: "That as yet all +his company were not come together, but that when they +were come up, we would come and visit him at Panama, +and bring our commissions on the muzzles of our guns, +at which time he should read them as plain as the flame +of gunpowder could make them."</p> + +<p>With this thrasonical challenge the pirates set sail for +Otoque, another of the islands in the bay; for Taboga, +though it was "an exceeding pleasant island," was by +this time bare of meat. Before they left the place a +Frenchman deserted from them, and gave a detailed +account of their plans to the Spanish Governor. It blew +very hard while they were at sea, and two barques parted +company in the storm. One of them drove away to the +eastward, and overtook John Coxon's company. The +other was taken by the Spaniards.</p> + +<p>About the 20th or 21st of May, after several days +of coasting, the ships dropped anchor on the north coast +of the island of Quibo. From here some sixty men, +under Captain Sawkins, set sail in Edmund Cook's ship, +to attack Pueblo Nuevo, the New Town, situated on the +banks of a river. At the river's mouth, which was broad, +with sandy beaches, they embarked in canoas, and rowed +upstream, under the pilotage of a negro, from dark till +dawn. The French deserter had told the Spaniards of +the intended attack, so that the canoas found great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> +difficulty in getting upstream. Trees had been felled so +as to fall across the river, and Indian spies had been +placed here and there along the river-bank to warn the +townsmen of the approach of the boats. A mile below +the town the river had been made impassable, so here +the pirates went ashore to wait till daybreak. When it +grew light they marched forward, to attack the strong +wooden breastworks which the Spaniards had built. +Captain Sawkins was in advance, with about a dozen +pirates. Captain Sharp followed at a little distance with +some thirty more. As soon as Sawkins saw the stockades +he fired his gun, and ran forward gallantly, to take +the place by storm, in the face of a fierce fire. "Being a +man that nothing upon Earth could terrifie" he actually +reached the breastwork, and was shot dead there, as he +hacked at the pales. Two other pirates were killed at +his side, and five of the brave forlorn were badly hurt. +"The remainder drew off, still skirmishing," and contrived +to reach the canoas "in pretty good order," though they +were followed by Spanish sharpshooters for some distance. +Sharp took command of the boats and brought them off +safely to the river's mouth, where they took a barque full +of maize, before they arrived at their ship.</p> + +<p>Sawkins was "as valiant and courageous as any could +be," "a valiant and generous-spirited man, and beloved +above any other we ever had among us, which he well +deserved." His death left the company without a captain, +and many of the buccaneers, who had truly loved Richard +Sawkins, were averse to serving under another commander. +They were particularly averse to serving under Sharp, +who took the chief command from the moment of Sawkins' +death. At Quibo, where they lay at anchor, "their +Mutiny" grew very high, nor did they stick at mere +mutiny. They clamoured for a tarpaulin muster, or "full +Councel," at which the question of "who should be chief"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span> +might be put to the vote. At the council, Sharp was +elected "by a few hands," but many of the pirates refused +to follow him on the cruise. He swore, indeed, that he +would take them such a voyage as should bring them +£1000 a man; but the oaths of Sharp were not good +security, and the mutiny was not abated. Many of the +buccaneers would have gone home with Coxon had it +not been for Sawkins. These now clamoured to go so +vehemently that Sharp was constrained to give them a +ship with as much provision "as would serve for treble +the number." The mutineers who left on this occasion +were in number sixty-three. Twelve Indians, the last +who remained among the pirates, went with them, to +guide them over the isthmus. 146 men remained with +Sharp. It is probable that many of these would have +returned at this time, had it not been that "the Rains were +now already up, and it would be hard passing so many +Gullies, which of necessity would then be full of water." +Ringrose, Wafer and Dampier remained among the +faithful, but rather on this account, than for any love +they bore their leader. The mutineers had hardly set +sail, before Captain Cook came "a-Board" Sharp's flagship, +finding "himselfe a-grieved." His company had kicked +him out of his ship, swearing that they would not sail +with such a one, so that he had determined "to rule +over such unruly folk no longer." Sharp gave his command +to a pirate named Cox, a New Englander, "who +forced kindred, as was thought, upon Captain Sharp, out +of old acquaintance, in this conjuncture of time, only to +advance himself." Cox took with him Don Peralta, the +stout old Andalusian, for the pirates were plying the +captain "of the Money-Ship we took," to induce him to +pilot them to Guayaquil "where we might lay down our +Silver, and lade our vessels with Gold." They feared that +an honest man, such as Peralta, "would hinder the en<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span>deavours" +of this Captain Juan, and corrupt his kindly +disposition.</p> + +<p>With these mutinies, quarrels, intrigues, and cabals did +the buccaneers beguile their time. They stayed at Quibo +until 6th June, filling their water casks, quarrelling, cutting +wood, and eating turtle and red deer. They also ate +huge oysters, so large "that we were forced to cut them +into four pieces, each quarter being a large mouthful."</p> + +<p>On the 6th of June they set sail for the isle of Gorgona, +off what is now Columbia, where they careened the <i>Trinity</i>, +and took "down our Round House Coach and all the high +carved work belonging to the stern of the ship; for when +we took her from the Spaniards she was high as any +Third Rate Ship in England." While they were at work +upon her, Sharp changed his design of going for Guayaquil, +as one of their prisoners, an old Moor, "who had long +time sailed among the Spaniards," told him that there +was gold at Arica, in such plenty that they would get +there "£2000 a man." He did not hurry to leave his +careenage, though he must have known that each day +he stayed there lessened his chance of booty. It was +nearly August when he left Gorgona, and "from this +Time forward to the 17th of October there was Nothing +occurr'd but bare Sailing." Now and then they ran short +of water, or of food. One or two of their men died of +fever, or of rum, or of sunstroke. Two or three were +killed in capturing a small Spanish ship. The only other +events recorded, are the falls of rain, the direction of the +wind, the sight of "watersnakes of divers colours," and +the joyful meeting with Captain Cox, whom they had lost +sight of, while close in shore one evening. They called +at "Sir Francis Drake's isle" to strike a few tortoises, +and to shoot some goats. Captain Sharp we read, here +"showed himself very ingenious" in spearing turtle, "he +performing it as well as the tortoise strikers themselves."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was very hot at this little island. Many years before +Drake had gone ashore there to make a dividend, and had +emptied bowls of gold coins into the hats of his men, +after the capture of the <i>Cacafuego</i>. Some of the pirates +sounded the little anchorage with a greasy lead, in the +hopes of bringing up the golden pieces which Drake had +been unable to carry home, and had hove into the sea +there. They got no gold, but the sun shone "so hot that +it burnt the skin off the necks of our men," as they craned +over the rail at their fishery.</p> + +<p>At the end of October they landed at the town of Hilo +to fill fresh water. They took the town, and sacked its +sugar refineries, which they burnt. They pillaged its +pleasant orange groves, and carried away many sacks of +limes and green figs "with many other fruits agreeable to +the palate." Fruit, sugar, and excellent olive oil were +the goods which Hilo yielded. They tried to force the +Spaniards to bring them beef, but as the beef did not +come, they wrecked the oil and sugar works, and set them +blazing, and so marched down to their ships, skirmishing +with the Spanish horse as they fell back. Among the +spoil was the carcass of a mule (which made "a very good +meal"), and a box of chocolate "so that now we had +each morning a dish of that pleasant liquor," such as the +grand English ladies drank.</p> + +<p>The next town attacked was La Serena, a town five +miles from the present Coquimbo. They took the town, +and found a little silver, but the citizens had had time +to hide their gold. The pirates made a great feast of +strawberries "as big as walnuts," in the "orchards of +fruit" at this place, so that one of their company wrote +that "'tis very delightful Living here." They could not +get a ransom for the town, so they set it on fire. The +Spaniards, in revenge, sent out an Indian, on an inflated +horse hide, to the pirates' ship the <i>Trinity</i>. This Indian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> +thrust some oakum and brimstone between the rudder +and the sternpost, and "fired it with a match." The +sternpost caught fire and sent up a prodigious black +smoke, which warned the pirates that their ship was +ablaze. They did not discover the trick for a few minutes, +but by good fortune they found it out in time to save +the vessel. They landed their prisoners shortly after +the fire had been quenched "because we feared lest by +the example of this stratagem they should plot our +destruction in earnest." Old Don Peralta, who had lately +been "very frantic," "through too much hardship and +melancholy," was there set on shore, after his long captivity. +Don Juan, the captain of the "Money-Ship," was +landed with him. Perhaps the two fought together, on +the point of honour, as soon as they had returned to +swords and civilisation.</p> + +<p>From Coquimbo the pirates sailed for Juan Fernandez. +On the way thither they buried William Cammock, one +of their men, who had drunk too hard at La Serena +"which produced in him a calenture or malignant fever, +and a hiccough." "In the evening when the pale Magellan +Clouds were showing we buried him in the sea, according +to the usual custom of mariners, giving him three French +vollies for his funeral."</p> + +<p>On Christmas Day they were beating up to moorings, +with boats ahead, sounding out a channel for the ship. +They did not neglect to keep the day holy, for "we gave +in the morning early three vollies of shot for solemnization +of that great festival." At dusk they anchored "in a +stately bay that we found there," a bay of intensely blue +water, through which the whiskered seals swam. The +pirates filled fresh water, and killed a number of goats, +with which the island swarmed. They also captured +many goats alive, and tethered them about the decks of +the <i>Trinity</i>, to the annoyance of all hands, a day or two<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> +later, when some flurries of wind drove them to sea, to +search out a new anchorage.</p> + +<p>Shortly after New Year's Day 1681, "our unhappy +Divisions, which had been long on Foot, began now to +come to an Head to some Purpose." The men had been +working at the caulking of their ship, with design to take +her through the Straits of Magellan, and so home to the +Indies. Many of the men wished to cruise the South +Seas a little longer, while nearly all were averse to plying +caulking irons, under a burning sun, for several hours a +day. There was also a good deal of bitterness against +Captain Sharp, who had made but a poor successor to +brave Richard Sawkins. He had brought them none of the +gold and silver he had promised them, and few of the +men were "satisfied, either with his Courage or Behaviour." +On the 6th January a gang of pirates "got privately +ashoar together," and held a fo'c's'le council under the +greenwood. They "held a Consult," says Sharp, "about +turning me presently out, and put another in my Room." +John Cox, the "true-hearted dissembling New-England +Man," whom Sharp "meerly for old Acquaintance-sake" +had promoted to be captain, was "the Main Promoter +of their Design." When the consult was over, the +pirates came on board, clapped Mr Sharp in irons, +put him down on the ballast, and voted an old +pirate named John Watling, "a stout seaman," to +be captain in his stead. One buccaneer says that +"the true occasion of the grudge against Sharp was, +that he had got by these adventures almost a thousand +pounds, whereas many of our men were not worth a groat," +having "lost all their money to their fellow Buccaneers +at dice."</p> + +<p>Captain Edmund Cook, who had been turned out of +his ship by his men, was this day put in irons on the +confession of a shameless servant. The curious will find<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> +the details of the case on page 121, of the 1684 edition +of Ringrose's journal.</p> + +<p>John Watling began his captaincy in very godly sort, +by ordering his disciples to keep holy the Sabbath day. +Sunday, "January the ninth, was the first Sunday that +ever we kept by command and common consent, since +the loss and death of our valiant Commander Captain +Sawkins." Sawkins had been strict in religious matters, +and had once thrown the ship's dice overboard "finding +them in use on the said day." Since Sawkins' death +the company had grown notoriously lax, but it is pleasant +to notice how soon they returned to their natural piety, +under a godly leader. With Edmund Cook down on +the ballast in irons, and William Cook talking of salvation +in the galley, and old John Watling expounding the +Gospel in the cabin, the galleon, "the Most Holy <i>Trinity</i>" +must have seemed a foretaste of the New Jerusalem. +The fiddler ceased such "prophane strophes" as "Abel +Brown," "The Red-haired Man's Wife," and "Valentinian." +He tuned his devout strings to songs of Zion. Nay +the very boatswain could not pipe the cutter up but to +a phrase of the Psalms.</p> + +<p>In this blessed state they washed their clothes in the +brooks, hunted goats across the island, and burnt and +tallowed their ship the <i>Trinity</i>. But on the 12th of +January, one of their boats, which had been along the +coast with some hunters, came rowing furiously into the +harbour, "firing of Guns." They had espied three Spanish +men-of-war some three or four miles to leeward, beating +up to the island under a press of sail. The pirates were +in great confusion, for most of them were ashore, "washing +their clothes," or felling timber. Those on board, +hove up one of their anchors, fired guns to call the rest +aboard, hoisted their boats in, and slipped their second +cable. They then stood to sea, hauling as close to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span> +wind as she would lie. One of the Mosquito Indians, "one +William," was left behind on the island, "at this sudden +departure," and remained hidden there, living on fish and +fruit, for many weary days. He was not the first man +to be marooned there; nor was he to be the last.</p> + +<p>The three Spanish men-of-war were ships of good size, +mounting some thirty guns among them. As the pirate +ship beat out of the harbour, sheeting home her topgallant-sails, +they "put out their bloody flags," which the +pirates imitated, "to shew them that we were not as yet +daunted." They kept too close together for the pirates +to run them aboard, but towards sunset their flagship had +drawn ahead of the squadron. The pirates at once tacked +about so as to engage her, intending to sweep her decks +with bullets, and carry her by boarding. John Watling +was not very willing to come to handystrokes, nor were +the Spaniards anxious to give him the opportunity. No +guns were fired, for the Spanish admiral wore ship, and +so sailed away to the island, when he brought his squadron +to anchor. The pirates called a council, and decided to +give them the slip, having "outbraved them," and done +as much as honour called for. They were not very +pleased with John Watling, and many were clamouring +for the cruise to end. It was decided that they should +not attack the Spanish ships, but go off for the Main, +to sack the town of Arica, where there was gold enough, +so they had heard, to buy them each "a coach and +horses." They therefore hauled to the wind again, and +stood to the east, in very angry and mutinous spirit, +until the 26th of January.</p> + +<p>On that day they landed at Yqueque, a mud-flat, or +guano island, off a line of yellow sand-hills. They found +a few Indian huts there, with scaffolds for the drying +of fish, and many split and rotting mackerel waiting to +be carried inland. There was a dirty stone chapel in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> +the place, "stuck full of hides and sealskins." There was +a great surf, green and mighty, bursting about the island +with a continual roaring. There were pelicans fishing +there, and a few Indians curing fish, and an abominable +smell, and a boat, with a cask in her bows, which brought +fresh water thither from thirty miles to the north. The +teeth of the Indians were dyed a bright green by their +chewing of the coca leaf, the drug which made their +"beast-like" lives endurable. There was a silver mine +on the mainland, near this fishing village, but the pirates +did not land to plunder it. They merely took a few +old Indian men, and some Spaniards, and carried them +aboard the <i>Trinity</i>, where the godly John Watling examined +them.</p> + +<p>The next day the examination continued; and the +answers of one of the old men, "a Mestizo Indian," were +judged to be false. "Finding him in many lies, as we +thought, concerning Arica, our commander ordered him +to be shot to death, which was accordingly done." This +cold-blooded murder was committed much against the +will of Captain Sharp, who "opposed it as much as he +could." Indeed, when he found that his protests were +useless, he took a basin of water (of which the ship was +in sore need) and washed his hands, like a modern Pilate. +"Gentlemen," he said, "I am clear of the blood of this +old man; and I will warrant you a hot day for this +piece of cruelty, whenever we come to fight at Arica." +This proved to be "a true and certain prophesy." Sharp +was an astrologer, and a believer in portents; but he +does not tell us whether he had "erected any Figure," +to discover what was to chance in the Arica raid.</p> + +<hr class="small" /> + +<p>Arica, the most northern port in Chile, has still a +considerable importance. It is a pleasant town, fairly +well watered, and therefore more green and cheerful than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> +the nitrate ports. It is built at the foot of a hill (a +famous battlefield) called the Morro. Low, yellow sand-hills +ring it in, shutting it from the vast blue crags of +the Andes, which rise up, splintered and snowy, to the +east. The air there is of an intense clearness, and those +who live there can see the Tacna churches, forty miles +away. It is no longer the port it was, but it does a +fair trade in salt and sulphur, and supplies the nitrate +towns with fruit. When the pirates landed there it was +a rich and prosperous city. It had a strong fort, mounting +twelve brass guns, defended by four companies of +troops from Lima. The city had a town guard of 300 +soldiers. There was also an arsenal full of firearms for +the use of householders in the event of an attack. It +was not exactly a walled town, like new Panama, but +a light wooden palisade ran round it, while other palisades +crossed each street. These defences had been thrown up +when news had arrived of the pirates being in those seas. +All the "plate, gold and jewels" of the townsfolk had +been carefully hidden, and the place was in such a state +of military vigilance and readiness that the pirates had +no possible chance of taking it, or at least of holding +it. When the pirates came upon it there were several +ships in the bay, laden with commodities from the south +of Chile.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="img317" id="img317"></a> +<a href="images/317.jpg"><img src="images/317_th.jpg" width="500" height="187" +alt="A description of Arica" +title="A description of Arica" /></a> +<span class="caption"><i>A description of</i> Arica</span> +</div> + +<p>On the 28th of January, John Watling picked 100 +men, and put off for the shore in boats and canoas, to +attack the town. By the next day they had got close +in shore, under the rocks by the San Vitor River's mouth. +There they lay concealed till the night. At dawn of the +30th January 1681, "the Martyrdom of our glorious +King Charles the First," they were dipping off some rocks +four miles to the south of Arica. Here ninety-two of +the buccaneers landed, leaving a small boat guard, with +strict instructions how to act. They were told that if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> +the main body "made one smoke from the town," as +by firing a heap of powder, one canoa was to put in to +Arica; but that, if two smokes were fired, all the boats +were to put in at once. Basil Ringrose was one of those +who landed to take part in the fight. Dampier, it is +almost certain, remained on board the <i>Trinity</i>, becalmed +some miles from the shore. Wafer was in the canoas, +with the boat guard, preparing salves for those wounded +in the fight. The day seems to have been hot and sunny—it +could scarcely have been otherwise—but those out +at sea, on the galleon, could see the streamers of cloud +wreathing about the Andes.</p> + +<p>At sunrise the buccaneers got ashore, amongst the +rocks, and scrambled up a hill which gave them a sight +of the city. From the summit they could look right +down upon the streets, little more than a mile from them. +It was too early for folk to be stirring, and the streets +were deserted, save for the yellow pariahs, and one or +two carrion birds. It was so still, in that little town, +that the pirates thought they would surprise the place, +as Drake had surprised Nombre de Dios. But while +they were marching downhill, they saw three horsemen +watching them from a lookout place, and presently the +horsemen galloped off to raise the inhabitants. As +they galloped away, John Watling chose out forty of +the ninety-two, to attack the fort or castle which defended +the city. This band of forty, among whom were Sharp +and Ringrose, carried ten hand-grenades, in addition to +their pistols and guns. The fort was on a hill above the +town, and thither the storming party marched, while +Watling's company pressed on into the streets. The +action began a few minutes later with the guns of the +fort firing on the storming party. Down in the town, +almost at the same moment, the musketry opened in a +long roaring roll which never slackened. Ringrose's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> +party waited for no further signal, but at once engaged, +running in under the guns and hurling their firepots +through the embrasures. The grenades were damp, or +badly filled, or had been too long charged. They did +not burst or burn as they should have done, while the +garrison inside the fort kept up so hot a fire, at close +range, that nothing could be done there. The storming +party fell back, without loss, and rallied for a fresh attack. +They noticed then that Watling's men were getting no +farther towards the town. They were halted in line, with +their knees on the ground, firing on the breastworks, and +receiving a terrible fire from the Spaniards. Five of the +fifty-two men were down (three of them killed) and the +case was growing serious. The storming party left +the fort, and doubled downhill into the firing line, where +they poured in volley after blasting volley, killing a +Spaniard at each shot, making "a very desperate battle" +of it, "our rage increasing with our wounds." No troops +could stand such file-firing. The battle became "mere +bloody massacre," and the Spaniards were beaten from +their posts. Volley after volley shook them, for the +pirates "filled every street in the city with dead bodies"; +and at last ran in upon them, and clubbed them and +cut them down, and penned them in as prisoners. But +as the Spaniards under arms were at least twenty times +as many as the pirates, there was no taking the city +from them. They were beaten from post to post fighting +like devils, but the pirates no sooner left a post they +had taken, "than they came another way, and manned +it again, with new forces and fresh men." The streets +were heaped with corpses, yet the Spaniards came on, +and came on again, till the sand of the roads was like +red mud. At last they were fairly beaten from the +chief parts of the town, and numbers of them were +penned up as prisoners; more, in fact, than the pirates<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> +could guard. The battle paused for a while at this stage, +and the pirates took advantage of the lull to get their +wounded (perhaps a dozen men), into one of the churches +to have their wounds dressed. As the doctors of the +party began their work, John Watling sent a message +to the fort, charging the garrison to surrender. The +soldiers returned no answer, but continued to load their +guns, being helped by the armed townsfolk, who now +flocked to them in scores. The fort was full of musketeers +when the pirates made their second attack a little after +noon.</p> + +<p>At the second attack, John Watling took 100 of his +prisoners, placed them in front of his storming party, and +forced them forward, as a screen to his men, when he +made his charge. The garrison shot down friend and +foe indiscriminately, and repulsed the attack, and repulsed +a second attack which followed a few minutes later. +There was no taking the fort by storm, and the pirates +had no great guns with which to batter it. They found, +however, that one of the flat-roofed houses in the town, +near the fort's outworks, commanded the interior. "We +got upon the top of the house," says Ringrose, "and from +there fired down into the fort, killing many of their men +and wounding them at our ease and pleasure." While +they were doing this, a number of the Lima soldiers joined +the citizens, and fell, with great fury, upon the prisoners' +guards in the town. They easily beat back the few +guards, and retook the city. As soon as they had taken +the town, they came swarming out to cut off the pirates +from their retreat, and to hem them in between the fort +and the sea. They were in such numbers that they were +able to surround the pirates, who now began to lose men +at every volley, and to look about them a little anxiously +as they bit their cartridges. From every street in the +town came Spanish musketeers at the double, swarm after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> +swarm of them, perhaps a couple of thousand. The +pirates left the fort, and turned to the main army, at the +same time edging away towards the south, to the hospital, +or church, where their wounded men were being dressed. +As they moved away from the battlefield, firing as they +retreated, old John Watling was shot in the liver with +a bullet, and fell dead there, to go buccaneering no more. +A moment later "both our quartermasters" fell, with +half-a-dozen others, including the boatswain. All this +time the cannon of the fort were pounding over them, +and the round-shot were striking the ground all about, +flinging the sand into their faces. What with the dust +and the heat and the trouble of helping the many hurt, +their condition was desperate. "So that now the enemy +rallying against us, and beating us from place to place, +we were in a very distracted condition, and in more likelihood +to perish every man than escape the bloodiness of +that day. Now we found the words of Captain Sharp +to bear a true prophecy, being all very sensible that we +had had a day too hot for us, after that cruel heat in +killing and murdering in cold blood the old Mestizo +Indian whom we had taken prisoner at Yqueque." In +fact they were beaten and broken, and the fear of death +was on them, and the Spaniards were ringing them round, +and the firing was roaring from every point. They were +a bloody, dusty, choking gang of desperates, "in great +disorder," black with powder, their tongues hanging out +with thirst. As they stood grouped together, cursing and +firing, some of them asked Captain Sharp to take command, +and get them out of that, seeing that Watling +was dead, and no one there could give an order. To +this request Sharp at last consented, and a retreat was +begun, under cover of a fighting rear-guard, "and I hope," +says Sharp, "it will not be esteemed a Vanity in me to +say, that I was mighty Helpful to facilitate this Retreat."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> +In the midst of a fearful racket of musketry, he fought +the pirates through the soldiers to the church where the +wounded lay. There was no time, nor was there any +conveyance, for the wounded, and they were left lying +there, all desperately hurt. The two surgeons could have +been saved "but that they had been drinking while we +assaulted the fort, and thus would not come with us +when they were called." There was no time for a second +call, for the Spaniards were closing in on them, and the +firing was as fierce as ever. The men were so faint with +hunger and thirst, the heat of battle, and the long day's +marching, that Sharp feared he would never get them +to the boats. A fierce rush of Spaniards beat them away +from the hospital, and drove them out of the town "into +the Savannas or open fields." The Spaniards gave a +cheer and charged in to end the battle, but the pirates +were a dogged lot, and not yet at the end of their strength. +They got into a clump or cluster, with a few wounded men +in the centre, to load the muskets, "resolving to die one +by another" rather than to run. They stood firm, cursing +and damning the Spaniards, telling them to come on, and +calling them a lot of cowards. There were not fifty buccaneers +fit to carry a musket, but the forty odd, unhurt +men stood steadily, and poured in such withering volleys +of shot, with such terrible precision, that the Spanish +charge went to pieces. As the charge broke, the pirates +plied them again, and made a "bloody massacre" of +them, so that they ran to shelter like so many frightened +rabbits. The forty-seven had beaten off twenty or thirty +times their number, and had won themselves a passage +home.</p> + +<p>There was no question of trying to retake the town. +The men were in such misery that the march back to +the boats taxed their strength to the breaking point. They +set off over the savannah, in as good order as they could,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> +with a wounded man, or two, in every rank of them. As +they set forward, a company of horsemen rode out, and +got upon their flanks "and fired at us all the way, though +they would not come within reach of our guns; for their +own reached farther than ours, and out-shot us more than +one third." There was great danger of these horsemen +cutting in, and destroying them, on the long open rolls +of savannah, so Sharp gave the word, and the force +shogged westward to the seashore, along which they +trudged to the boats. The beach to the south of Arica +runs along the coast, in a narrow strip, under cliffs and +rocky ground, for several miles. The sand is strewn with +boulders, so that the horsemen, though they followed the +pirates, could make no concerted charge upon them. Some +of them rode ahead of them and got above them on the +cliff tops, from which they rolled down "great stones and +whole rocks to destroy us." None of these stones did any +harm to the pirates, for the cliffs were so rough and broken +that the skipping boulders always flew wide of the mark. +But though the pirates "escaped their malice for that +time," they were yet to run a terrible danger before getting +clear away to sea. The Spaniards had been examining, +or torturing, the wounded pirates, and the two drunken +surgeons, left behind in the town. "These gave them +our signs that we had left to our boats [<i>i.e.</i> revealed the +signals by which the boats were to be called] so that +they immediately blew up two smokes, which were perceived +by the canoas." Had the pirates "not come at +the instant" to the seaside, within hail of the boats, they +would have been gone. Indeed they were already under +sail, and beating slowly up to the northward, in answer +to the signal. Thus, by a lucky chance, the whole company +escaped destruction. They lost no time in putting +from the shore, where they had met with "so very bad +Entertainment." They "got on board about ten a Clock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> +at night; having been involved in a continual and bloody +fight ... all that day long." Of the ninety-two, who had +landed that morning, twenty-eight had been left ashore, +either dead, or as prisoners. Of the sixty-four who got +to the canoas, eighteen were desperately wounded, and +barely able to walk. Most of the others were slightly +hurt, while all were too weary to do anything, save sleep +or drink. Of the men left behind in the hospital the +Spaniards spared the doctors only; "they being able to +do them good service in that country." "But as to the +wounded men," says Ringrose, "they were all knocked +on the head," and so ended their roving, and came to +port where drunken doctors could torture them no longer. +The Ylo men denied this; and said that the seven pirates +who did not die of their wounds were kept as slaves. +The Spanish loss is not known, but it was certainly +terrible. The Hilo, or Ylo people, some weeks later, +said that seventy Spaniards had been killed and about +200 wounded.</p> + +<p>All the next day the pirates "plied to and fro in sight +of the port," hoping that the Spaniards would man the +ships in the bay, and come out to fight. They reinstated +Sharp in his command, for they had now "recollected a +better Temper," though none of them, it seems, wished +for any longer stay in the South Sea. The Arica fight +had sickened them of the South Sea, while several of +them (including Ringrose) became very ill from the exposure +and toil of the battle. They beat to windward, +cruising, when they found that the Spaniards would not +put to sea to fight them. They met with dirty weather +when they had reached the thirtieth parallel, and the foul +weather, and their bad fortune made them resolve to leave +those seas. At a +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads fo'c's'cle">fo'c's'le</ins> +council held on the 3rd of March, +they determined to put the helm up, and to return to +the North Sea. They were short of water and short<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> +of food, "having only one cake of bread a day," or +perhaps half-a-pound of "doughboy," for their "whack" +or allowance. After a few days' running before the wind +they came to "the port of Guasco," now Huasco, between +Coquimbo and Caldera, a little town of sixty or eighty +houses, with copper smeltries, a church, a river, and some +sheep-runs. Sixty of the buccaneers went ashore here, +that same evening, to get provisions, "and anything else +that we could purchase." They passed the night in the +church, or "in a churchyard," and in the morning took +"120 sheep and fourscore goats," about 200 bushels of +corn "ready ground," some fowls, a fat hog, any quantity +of fruit, peas, beans, etc., and a small stock of wine. +These goods they conveyed aboard as being "fit for +our Turn." The inhabitants had removed their gold and +silver while the ship came to her anchor, "so that our +booty here, besides provisions, was inconsiderable." They +found the fat hog "very like our English pork," thereby +illustrating the futility of travel; and so sailed away +again "to seek greater matters." Before they left, they +contrived to fill their water jars in the river, a piece of +work which they found troublesome, owing to the height +of the banks.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="img327" id="img327"></a> +<a href="images/327.jpg"><img src="images/327_th.jpg" width="500" height="274" +alt="A Description of Hilo" +title="A Description of Hilo" /></a> +<span class="caption"><i>A Description of</i> Hilo</span> +</div> + +<p>From Huasco, where the famous white raisins grow, +they sailed to Ylo, where they heard of their mates at +Arica, and secured some wine, figs, sugar, and molasses, +and some "fruits just ripe and fit for eating," including +"extraordinary good Oranges of the China sort" They +then coasted slowly northward, till by Saturday, 16th +April, they arrived off the island of Plate. Here their +old bickerings broke out again, for many of the pirates +were disgusted with Sharp, and eager to go home. Many +of the others had recovered their spirits since the affair +at Arica, and wished to stay in the South Seas, to cruise +a little longer. Those who had fought at Arica would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> +not allow Sharp to be deposed a second time, while those +who had been shipkeepers on that occasion, were angry +that he should have been re-elected. The two parties +refused to be reconciled. They quarrelled angrily whenever +they came on deck together, and the party spirit ran +so high that the company of shipkeepers, the anti-Sharp +faction, "the abler and more experienced men," at last +refused to cruise any longer under Sharp's command. The +fo'c's'le council decided that a poll should be taken, and +"that which party soever, upon polling, should be found +to have the majority, should keep the ship." The other +party was to take the long boat and the canoas. The +division was made, and "Captain Sharp's Party carried +it." The night was spent in preparing the long boat and +the canoas, and the next morning the boats set sail.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV</h2> + +<h3>ACROSS THE ISTHMUS</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The way home—Sufferings and adventures</p></div> + + +<p>At "about Ten a Clock" in the morning of 17th April +1681, the mutineers went over the side into their +"Lanch and Canoas, designing for the River Santa +Maria, in the Gulf of St Michael." "We were in number," +says Dampier, who was of the party, "44 white Men +who bore Arms, a <i>Spanish Indian</i>, who bore Arms also; +and two <i>Moskito Indians</i>," who carried pistols and fish +spears. Lionel Wafer "was of Mr Dampier's Side in +that Matter," and acted as surgeon to the forty-seven, +until he met with his accident. They embarked in the +ship's launch or long boat, one canoa "and another Canoa +which had been sawn asunder in the middle, in order to +have made Bumkins, or Vessels for carrying water, if we +had not separated from our Ship." This old canoa they +contrived to patch together. For provisions they brought +with them "so much Flower as we could well carry"; +which "Flower" "we" had been industriously grinding +for the last three days. In addition to the "Flower" they +had "rubbed up 20 or 30 pound of Chocolate with Sugar +to sweeten it." And so provided, they hoisted their little +sails and stood in for the shore. "The Sea Breeze came +in strong" before they reached the land, so that they had +to cut up an old dry hide to make a close-fight round +the launch "to keep the Water out." They took a small +timber barque the next morning, and went aboard her, +and sailed her over to Gorgona, where they scrubbed her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> +bottom. They learned from their prisoners that the +Spaniards were on the alert, eagerly expecting them, and +cruising the seas with fast advice boats to get a sight of +them. Three warships lay at Panama, ready to hunt them +whenever the cruisers brought news of their whereabouts. +A day or two later, the pirates saw "two great ships," +with many guns in their ports, slowly beating to the +southward in search of their company. The heavy rain +which was falling kept the small timber barque hidden, +while the pirates took the precautions of striking sail, and +rowing close in shore. "If they had seen and chased us," +the pirates would have landed, trusting to the local +Indians to make good their escape over the isthmus.</p> + +<p>After twelve days of sailing they anchored about twenty +miles from the San Miguel Gulf, in order to clean their +arms, and dry their clothes and powder, before proceeding +up the river, by the way they had come. The next morning +they set sail into the Gulf, and anchored off an island, +intending to search the river's mouth for Spaniards before +adventuring farther. As they had feared, a large Spanish +man-of-war lay anchored at the river's mouth, "close by +the shore," with her guns commanding the entrance. +Some of her men could be seen upon the beach, by the +door of a large tent, made of the ship's lower canvas. +"When the Canoas came aboard with this News," says +Dampier, "some of our Men were a little dis-heartned; +but it was no more than I ever expected." An hour or +two later they took one of the Spaniards from the ship +and learned from him that the ship carried twelve great +guns, and that three companies of men, with small arms, +would join her during the next twenty-four hours. They +learned also that the Indians of that district were friendly +to the Spaniards. Plainly the pirates were in a dangerous +position. "It was not convenient to stay longer there," +says Dampier. They got aboard their ship without loss<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span> +of time, and ran out of the river "with the Tide of Ebb," +resolved to get ashore at the first handy creek they +came to.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning they ran into "a small Creek +within two Keys, or little Islands, and rowed up to the +Head of the Creek, being about a Mile up, and there we +landed May 1, 1681." The men flung their food and clothes +ashore, and scuttled their little ship, so that she sank at +her moorings. While they packed their "Snap-sacks" +with flour, chocolate, canisters of powder, beads, and +whittles for the Indians, their slaves "struck a plentiful +Dish of Fish" for them, which they presently broiled, and +ate for their breakfasts. Some of the men scouted on +ahead for a mile or two, and then returned with the +news that there were no immediate dangers in front of +them. Some of the pirates were weak and sick, and +"not well able to march." "We," therefore, "gave out, +that if any Man faultred in the Journey over Land he +must expect to be shot to death; for we knew that the +Spaniards would soon be after us, and one Man falling +into their hands might be the ruin of us all, by giving +an account of our strength and condition: yet this would +not deter 'em from going with us."</p> + +<p>At three that afternoon they set out into the jungle, +steering a N.E. course "by our Pocket Compasses." The +rain beat upon them all the rest of that day, and all the +night long, a drenching and steady downpour, which +swamped the "small Hutts" they contrived to patch +together. In the morning they struck an old Indian +trail, no broader than a horse-girth, running somewhat +to the east. They followed it through the forest till they +came to an Indian town, where the squaws gave them +some corn-drink or miscelaw, and sold them a few fowls +and "a sort of wild Hogs." They hired a guide at this +village, "to guide us a day's march into the Countrey."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> +"He was to have for his pains a Hatchet, and his Bargain +was to bring us to a certain Indians habitation, who could +speak Spanish." They paid faithfully for the food the +Indians gave them, and shared "all sorts of our Provisions +in common, because none should live better than others," +and so stand a better chance of crossing the isthmus. +When they started out, after a night's rest, one of the +pirates, being already sick of the march, slipped away +into the jungle, and was seen no more.</p> + +<p>They found the Spanish-speaking Indian in a bad +mood. He swore that he knew no road to the North +Sea, but that he could take them to Cheapo, or to Santa +Maria, "which we knew to be Spanish Garrisons: either +of them at least 20 miles out of our way." He was plainly +unwilling to have any truck with them, for "his discourse," +was in an angry tone, and he "gave very impertinent +answers" to the questions put to him. "However we +were forced to make a virtue of necessity, and humour +him, for it was neither time nor place to be angry with +the Indians; all our lives lying in their hand." The +pirates were at their wits' end, for they lay but a few +miles from the guard ship, and this surly chief could +very well set the Spaniards on them. They tempted +him with green and blue beads, with gold and silver, +both in the crude and in coin, with beautiful steel axe +heads, with machetes, "or long knives"; "but nothing +would work on him." The pirates were beginning to +despair, when one of them produced "a Sky-coloured +Petticoat," and placed it about the person of the chief's +favourite wife. How he had become possessed of such +a thing, and whether it came from a Hilo beauty, and +whether she gave it as a love token, on the ship's sailing, +cannot now be known. It may have been an article +brought expressly from Jamaica for the fascination of the +Indians. But <i>honi soit qui mal y pense</i>. The truth of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> +matter will never be learned. It is sufficient that the +man produced it in the very nick of time, and laid the +blue tissue over the copper-coloured lady. She was so +much pleased with it "that she immediately began to +chatter to her Husband, and soon brought him into a +better Humour." He relented at once, and said that he +knew the trail to the North Sea, and that he would gladly +guide them thither were a cut upon his foot healed. As +he could not go himself he persuaded another Indian to +guide them "2 Days march further for another Hatchet." +He tried hard to induce the party to stay with him for +the rest of the day as the rain was pouring down in +torrents. "But our business required more haste, our +Enemies lying so near us, for he told us that he could +go from his house aboard the Guard-Ship in a Tides time; +and this was the 4th day since they saw us. So we +marched 3 Miles further and then built Hutts, where we +stayed all Night," with the thatch dripping water on to +them in a steady trickle.</p> + +<p>On taking to the road again, wet and starving as they +were, they found themselves in a network of rivers, some +thirty of which they had to wade, during the day's march. +The heavy rain drenched them as they clambered along +across the jungle. They had but a little handful of fire that +night, so that they could not dry nor warm themselves. +They crouched about the "funk of green-wood," shivering +in the smoke, chewing bullets to alleviate their hunger. +They slept there in great misery, careless of what happened +to them. "The Spaniards were but seldom in our +thoughts," says Dampier, for the pirates thought only of +guides and food, and feared their own Indian servants +more than the enemy. A watch of two pirates kept a +guard all that night, with orders to shoot any Indian +who showed a sign of treachery. They rose before it +was light and pushed on into the woods, biting on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> +bullet, or the quid, to help them to forget their hunger. +By ten o'clock they arrived at the house of a brisk young +Indian, who had been a servant to the Bishop of Panama, +the man who gave the gold ring to Sawkins. Here they +had a feast of yams and sweet potatoes, boiled into a +broth with monkey-meat, a great comfort to those who +were weak and sickly. They built a great fire in one +of the huts, at which they dried their clothes, now falling +to pieces from the continual soakings. They also cleaned +their rusty gun-locks, and dried their powder, talking +cheerily together, about the fire, while the rain roared +upon the thatch. They were close beside the Rio +Congo "and thus far," says Dampier, the most intelligent +man among them, "we might have come in our Canoa, +if I could have persuaded them to it."</p> + +<p>As they sat in the hut, in the warmth of the blaze, that +rainy May day, Lionel Wafer met with an accident. He +was sitting on the ground, beside one of the pirates, +who was drying his powder, little by little, half a pound +at a time, in a great silver dish, part of the plunder of +the cruise. "A careless Fellow passed by with his Pipe +lighted," and dropped some burning crumb of tobacco +on to the powder, which at once blew up. It scorched +Wafer's knee very terribly, tearing off the flesh from +the bone, and burning his leg from the knee to the thigh. +Wafer, who was the surgeon of the party, had a bag full +of salves and medicines. He managed to dress his +wounds, and to pass a fairly comfortable night, "and +being unwilling to be left behind by my Companions, +I made hard shift to jog on, and bear them Company," +when camp was broken at daybreak.</p> + +<p>Lame as he was, he kept up with his mates all that day, +fording rivers "several times," and crossing country which +would tax the strongest man, in good condition. "The +last time we forded the River, it was so deep, that our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> +tallest Men stood in the deepest place, and handed the +sick, weak and short Men"; by which act of comradeship +"we all got over safe." Two of the pirates, "Robert +Spratlin and William Bowman," could get no farther, and +were left behind at the river. Dampier notes that his +"Joint of Bambo, which I stopt at both Ends, closing +it with Wax, so as to keep out any Water," preserved +his "Journal and other Writings from being wet," though +he had often to swim for it.</p> + +<p>Drenched and tired, they pitched their huts by the +river-bank, poor Wafer in torment from his knee, and +the rest of them hungry and cold. They had hardly +finished their huts, when the river came down in a great +wall of water, some sudden flood, due to a cloud-burst +higher up. The flood sucked away their huts, and forced +them to run to higher ground. They passed that night +"straggling in the Woods, some under one Tree, some +under another," with the thunder roaring overhead, and +the lightning making a livid brightness all about them. +The rain fell in torrents, and the pirates were far too +wretched to keep watch. "So our Slaves, taking Opportunity, +went away in the Night; all but one, who was +hid in some hole, and knew nothing of their design, or +else fell asleep." Among these slaves was a black man, +Lionel Wafer's assistant, who +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'carrried'">carried</ins> +the salves and +medicaments. He took these with him when he slunk +away, nor did he forget the "Chirurgeon's Gun and all +his Money." He left poor Wafer destitute there, in the +forest, "depriv'd of wherewithal to dress my sore."</p> + +<p>In the morning, they found that the river had fallen, but +not so much as they had hoped. It was still too deep to +ford, and the current ran very swiftly, but Dampier and +some other swimmers managed to swim across. They +then endeavoured to get a line over, by which to ferry the +men who could not swim, and the arms and powder they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> +had left on the other bank. They decided to send a man +back with a line, with instructions to pass the goods first, +and then the men. "One George Gayny took the end of +a Line and made it fast about his Neck, and left the other +end ashore, and one Man stood by the Line, to clear it +away to him." When Gayny was about half way across, +the line, which was kinky with the wet, got entangled. +The man who was lighting it out checked it a moment +to take out the kink, or to clear it. The check threw +Gayny on his back, "and he that had the Line in his +hand," instead of slacking away, or hauling in, so as to +bring Gayny ashore, "threw it all into the River after him, +thinking he might recover himself." The stream was +running down with great fierceness. Gayny had a bag of +300 dollars on his back, and this bag, with the weight of +the line, dragged him under. He was carried down, and +swept out of sight "and never seen more by us." "This +put a period to that contrivance," adds Dampier grimly.</p> + +<p>As they had no wish to emulate poor Gayny, they +sought about "for a Tree to fell across the River." They +cut it down, as soon as they had found it, "and it reached +clean over." The goods and pirates were then crossed in +safety. All hands soon forgot poor Gayny, for they came +across a plantain walk in a clearing, and made a good +breakfast, and stripped it of every fruit. They dismissed +their guide here, with the gift of an axe head, and hired +an old Indian to guide them farther towards the North +Sea. The next day they reckoned themselves out of +danger, and set forth cheerily.</p> + +<p>For the last two days Wafer had been in anguish from +his burnt knee. As the pirates made ready to leave their +bivouac, on the tenth morning of the march, he declared +that he could not "trudge it further through Rivers and +Woods," with his knee as it was. Two other pirates who +were broken with the going, declared that they, also, were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> +too tired out to march. There was no talk, among the +rest of the band, about shooting the weary ones, according +to the order they had made at starting. Instead of "putting +them out of their misery," they "took a very kind +Leave," giving the broken men such stores as they could +spare, and telling them to keep in good heart, and follow +on when they had rested.</p> + +<p>One of Wafer's comrades on this occasion was "Mr +Richard Jopson, who had served an Apprenticeship to a +Druggist in London. He was an ingenious Man, and a +good Scholar; he had with him a Greek Testament which +he frequently read, and would translate <i>extempore</i> into +<i>English</i>, to such of the Company as were dispos'd to hear +him." The other weary man was John Hingson, a mariner. +They watched their mates march away through the woods, +and then turned back, sick at heart, to the shelter of the +huts, where the Indians looked at them sulkily, and flung +them green plantains, "as you would Bones to a Dog." +One of the Indians made a mess of aromatic herbs and +dressed Wafer's burn, so that, in three weeks' time, he +could walk.</p> + +<p>Dampier's party marched on through jungle, wading +across rivers, which took them up to the chest, staggering +through swamps and bogs, and clambering over rotten +tree trunks, and across thorn brakes. They were wet and +wretched and half starved, for their general food was +macaw berries. Sometimes they killed a monkey, once +Dampier killed a turkey, and once they came to a plantain +patch where "we fed plentifully on plantains, both ripe +and green." Their clothes were rotted into shreds, their +boots were fallen to pieces, their feet were blistered and +raw, their legs were mere skinless ulcers from the constant +soaking. Their faces were swelled and bloody from the +bites of mosquitoes and wood-ticks. "Not a Man of us +but wisht the Journey at an End." Those who have seen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> +"Bad Lands," or what is called "timber," or what is called +"bush," will know what the party looked like, when, on the +twenty-second day, they saw the North Sea. The day +after that they reached the Rio Conception, and drifted +down to the sea in some canoas, to an Indian village, +built on the beach "for the benefit of Trade with the +Privateers." About nine miles away, the Indians told +them, was a French privateer ship, under one Captain +Tristian, lying at La Sounds Key. They stayed a +night at the village, and then went aboard the French +ship, which was careened in a creek, with a brushwood +fire on her side, cleaning away her barnacles for a roving +cruise. Here they parted with their Indian guides, not +without sorrow, for it is not pleasant to say "So Long" to +folk with whom one has struggled, and lived, and suffered. +"We were resolved to reward them to their hearts' Content," +said Dampier, much as a cowboy, at the end of the +trail, will give sugar to his horse, as he bids him good-bye. +The pirates spent their silver royally, buying red, blue and +green beads, and knives, scissors, and looking-glasses, from +the French pirates. They bought up the entire stock of +the French ship, but even then they felt that they had not +rewarded their guides sufficiently. They therefore subscribed +a half-dollar piece each, in coin, as a sort of makeweight. +With the toys, and the bags of silver, the delighted +Indians passed back to the isthmus, where they told golden +stories of the kind whites, so that the Indians of the Main +could not do enough for Wafer, and for the four pirates +left behind on the march.</p> + +<p>Dampier's party had marched in all 110 miles, over the +most damnable and heart-breaking country which the mind +of man can imagine. They had marched "heavy," with +their guns and bags of dollars; and this in the rainy +season. They had starved and suffered, and shivered and +agonised, yet they had lost but two men, poor Gayny, who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> +was drowned, and (apparently) one who had slipped away +on the third day of the march. This man may have been +the Spanish Indian. A note in Ringrose's narrative +alludes to the capture of one of Dampier's party by the +Spanish soldiers, and this may have been the man meant.</p> + +<p>Two days later, when the Indian guides had gone, and +the privateer was fit for the sea, they set sail for "the +rendezvous of the fleet," which had been fixed for Springers' +Key "another of the Samballoes Isles." Perhaps the +English pirates hove up the anchor, the grand privilege +of the guests, aboard ship, to the old anchor tune, with its +mournful and lovely refrain—</p> + +<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> +<span class="i0">"I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid."<br /></span> +</div></div> + +<p>The old band of never-strikes were outward bound on +another foray.</p> + +<p>As for Wafer, and his two companions, they stayed +with the Indians for some days, living on plantains (given +very grudgingly), and wondering whether the Indians +would kill them. The natives were kindly, as a rule, to +the French and English, but it was now the rainy season, +when they liked to stay in their huts, about their fires. +The pirates "had in a Manner awed the Indian guides +they took ... and made them go with them very much +against their Wills." The Indians had resented this act of +the pirates, and as days went by, and the guides did not +return, they judged that the white men had killed them. +They prepared "a great Pile of Wood to burn us," says +Wafer, meaning to avenge their fellows, whom they "had +supposed dead." But a friendly old chief dissuaded them +from this act, a few hours before the intended execution.</p> + +<p>While the three were living thus, in doubt whether they +would be speared, or held as slaves, or sold to the +Spaniards, the two pirates, Spratlin and Bowman, who +had been left behind at the Rio Congo, arrived at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span> +village. They had had a terrible journey together, "among +the wild Woods and Rivers," wandering without guides, +and living on roots and plantains. On their way, they +had come upon George Gayny "lying dead in a Creek +where the Eddy had driven him ashore," "with the Rope +twisted about him, and his Money at his Neck." They +left the body where it lay, with its sack of silver dollars +for which the poor man had come so far, and suffered so +bitterly. They had no use for dollars at that time "being +only in care how to work their way through a wild un-Known +Country."</p> + +<p>After a time, the Indians helped the five men a two +days' march on their journey, and then deserted them, +leaving them to find the path by themselves, with no +better guide than a pocket compass. While crossing a +river by the bole of a fallen tree, the man Bowman "a +weakly Man, a Taylor by Trade," slipped into the current, +and was carried off, with "400 Pieces of Eight" in his +satchel. He was luckier than poor Gayny, for he contrived +to get out. In time they reached the North Sea, +and came to La Sounds Key, according to the prophecy +of an Indian wizard. Here they found Dampier's sloop, +and rejoined their comrades, to the great delight of all +hands. "Mr Wafer wore a clout about him, and was +painted like an Indian," so that "'twas the better Part +of an Hour, before one of the Crew cry'd out Here's our +Doctor." There was a great feast that night at La +Sounds Key, much drinking of rum and firing of small +arms, and a grand ringing of bells in honour of the happy +return.</p> + +<p>In spite of all they could do, poor Mr Jopson, or Cobson, +only lived for three or four days after he reached the ship. +"His Fatigues, and his Drenching in the Water" had been +too much for the poor man. He lay "languishing" in his +cot for a few days, babbling of the drugs of Bucklersbury,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span> +and thumbing his Greek Testament, and at last passed in +his checks, quietly and sadly, and "died there at La +Sounds Key." They buried the poor man in the sands, +with very genuine sorrow, and then bade the Indians +adieu, and gave their dead mate a volley of guns, and +so set sail, with the colours at half-mast, for "the more +Eastern Isles of the Samballoes."</p> + +<p>As for Captain Bartholomew Sharp, in the ship the +<i>Trinity</i>, he continued to sail the South Seas with the +seventy pirates left to him. Some days after Dampier's +party sailed, he took a Guayaquil ship, called the <i>San +Pedro</i>, which he had taken fourteen months before off +Panama. Aboard her he found nearly 40,000 pieces of +eight, besides silver bars, and ingots of gold. He also +took a great ship called the <i>San Rosario</i>, the richest ship +the buccaneers ever captured. She had many chests of +pieces of eight aboard her, and a quantity of wine and +brandy. Down in her hold, bar upon bar, "were 700 pigs +of plate," rough silver from the mines, not yet fitted for the +Lima mint. The pirates thought that this crude silver was +tin, and so left it where it lay, in the hold of the <i>Rosario</i> +"which we turned away loose into the sea," with the +stuff aboard her. One pig of the 700 was brought +aboard the pirates "to make bullets of." About two-thirds +of it was "melted and squandered," but some of it +was left long afterwards, when the <i>Trinity</i> touched at +Antigua. Here they gave what was left to "a Bristol +man," probably in exchange for a dram of rum. The +Bristol man took it home to England "and sold it there +for £75 sterling." "Thus," said Ringrose, "we parted +with the richest booty we got in the whole voyage." +Captain Bartholomew Sharp was responsible for the +turning adrift of all this silver. Some of the pirates +had asked leave to hoist it aboard the <i>Trinity</i>. But it +chanced that, aboard the <i>Rosario</i>, was a Spanish lady,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span> +"the beautifullest Creature" that the "Eyes" of Captain +Sharp ever beheld. The amorous captain was so inflamed +by this beauty that he paid no attention to anything else.</p> + +<p>In a very drunken and quarrelsome condition, the +pirates worked the <i>Trinity</i> round the Horn, and so home +to Barbadoes. They did not dare to land there, for one +of the King's frigates, H.M.S. <i>Richmond</i>, was lying at +Bridgetown, and the pirates "feared lest the said frigate +should seize us." They bore away to Antigua, where +Ringrose, and "thirteen more," shipped themselves for +England. They landed at Dartmouth on the 26th of +March 1682. A few more of the company went ashore +at Antigua, and scattered to different haunts. Sharp and +a number of pirates landed at Nevis, from whence they +shipped for London. The ship the <i>Trinity</i> was left to +seven of the gang who had diced away all their money. +What became of her is not known.</p> + +<p>Sharp and a number of his men were arrested in +London, and tried for piracy, but the Spanish Ambassador, +who brought the charge, was without evidence and +could not obtain convictions. They pleaded that "the +Spaniards fired at us first," and that they had acted only +in self-defence, so they 'scaped hanging, though Sharp +admits that they "were very near it." Three more of the +crew were laid by the heels at Jamaica, and one of these +was "wheedled into an open confession," and condemned, +and hanged. "The other two stood it out, and escaped +for want of witnesses."</p> + +<p>Of the four men so often quoted in this narrative, only +one, so far as we know, died a violent death. This was +Basil Ringrose, who was shot at Santa Pecaque a few years +later. It is not known how Dampier, Wafer, and Sharp +died, but all lived adventurously, and went a-roving, for +many years after the <i>Trinity</i> dropped her anchor off +Antigua.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span></p> + +<p>They were of that old breed of rover whose port lay +always a little farther on; a little beyond the sky-line. +Their concern was not to preserve life, "but rather to +squander it away"; to fling it, like so much oil, into the +fire, for the pleasure of going up in a blaze. If they lived +riotously let it be urged in their favour that at least they +lived. They lived their vision. They were ready to die +for what they believed to be worth doing. We think +them terrible. Life itself is terrible. But life was not +terrible to them; for they were comrades; and comrades and +brothers-in-arms are stronger than life. Those who "live +at home at ease" may condemn them. They are free to +do so. The old buccaneers were happier than they. The +buccaneers had comrades, and the strength to live their +own lives. They may laugh at those who, lacking that +strength, would condemn them with the hate of impotence.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI</h2> + +<h3>SHIPS AND RIGS</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Galleys—Dromonds—Galliasses—Pinnaces—Pavesses—Top-arming—Banners—Boats</p></div> + + +<p>Until the reign of Henry VIII. the shipping of these +islands was of two kinds. There were longships, +propelled, for the most part, by oars, and used generally +as warships; and there were roundships, or dromonds, +propelled by sails, and used as a rule for the carriage of +freight. The dromond, in war-time, was sometimes converted +into a warship, by the addition of fighting-castles +fore and aft. The longship, in peace time, was no doubt +used as a trader, as far as her shallow draught, and small +beam, allowed.</p> + +<p>The longship, or galley, being, essentially, an oar vessel, +had to fulfil certain simple conditions. She had to be +light, or men might not row her. She had to be long, or +she might not carry enough oarsmen to propel her with +sufficient swiftness. Her lightness, and lack of draught, +made it impossible for her to carry much provision; +while the number of her oars made it necessary for her +to carry a large crew of rowers, in addition to her soldiers +and sail trimmers. It was therefore impossible for such +a ship to keep the seas for any length of time, even had +their build fitted them for the buffetings of the stormy +home waters. For short cruises, coast work, rapid forays, +and "shock tactics," she was admirable; but she could not +stray far from a friendly port, nor put out in foul weather. +The roundship, dromond, or cargo boat, was often little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> +more than two beams long, and therefore far too slow to +compete with ships of the galley type. She could stand +heavy weather better than the galley, and she needed +fewer hands, and could carry more provisions, but she was +almost useless as a ship of war.</p> + +<p>In the reign of Henry VIII. the shipwrights of this +country began to build ships which combined something +of the strength, and capacity of the dromond, with the +length and fineness of the galley. The ships they evolved +were mainly dependent upon their sails, but they carried +a bank of oars on each side, for use in light weather. The +galley, or longship, had carried guns on a platform at the +bows, pointing forward. But these new vessels carried +guns in broadside, in addition to the bow-chasers. These +broadside guns were at first mounted <i>en barbette</i>, pointing +over the bulwarks. Early in the sixteenth century the +port-hole, with a hinged lid, was invented, and the guns +were then pointed through the ship's sides. As these +ships carried more guns than the galleys, they were built +more strongly, lest the shock of the explosions should +shake them to pieces. They were strong enough to keep +the seas in bad weather, yet they had enough of the galley +build to enable them to sail fast when the oars were laid +inboard. It is thought that they could have made as +much as four or five knots an hour. These ships were +known as galliasses,<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> and galleons, according to the proportions +between their lengths and beams. The galleons +were shorter in proportion to their breadth than the +galliasses.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> There was another kind of vessel, the pinnace, +which had an even greater proportionate length than the +galliasse. Of the three kinds, the galleon, being the +shortest in proportion to her breadth, was the least fitted +for oar propulsion.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img348" id="img348"></a> +<a href="images/348.jpg"><img src="images/348_th.jpg" width="400" height="276" +alt="AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON" title="AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON" /></a> +<span class="caption">AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON</span> +</div> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> +During the reign of Elizabeth, the galleon, or great ship, +and the galliasse, or cruiser, grew to gradual perfection, +in the hands of our great sailors. If we look upon the +galleon or great ship as the prototype of the ship of the +line, and on the galliasse as the prototype of the frigate, +and on the pinnace as the prototype of the sloop, or +corvette, we shall not be far wrong. They were, of course, +in many ways inferior to the ships which fought in the +great French wars, two centuries later, but their general +appearance was similar. The rig was different, but not +markedly so, while the hulls of the ships presented many +points of general likeness. The Elizabethan ships were, +however, very much smaller than most of the rated ships +in use in the eighteenth century.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img369" id="img369"></a> +<a href="images/369.jpg"><img src="images/369_th.jpg" width="400" height="276" +alt="A GALLIASSE" title="A GALLIASSE" /></a> +<span class="caption">A GALLIASSE</span> +</div> + +<p>The galleon, or great ship, at the end of the sixteenth +century, was sometimes of as much as 900 tons. She was +generally low in the waist, with a high square forecastle +forward, a high quarter-deck, raised above the waist, just +abaft the main-mast, and a poop above the quarter-deck, +sloping upward to the taffrail. These high outerworks +were shut off from the open waist (the space between the +main-mast and the forecastle) by wooden bulkheads, which +were pierced for small, quick-firing guns. Below the +upper, or spar deck, she had a gun-deck, if not more than +one, with guns on each side, and right aft. The galliasse +was sometimes flush-decked, without poop and forecastle, +and sometimes built with both, but she was never so "high +charged" as the galleon. The pinnace was as the galliasse, +though smaller.</p> + +<p>The galleon's waist was often without bulwarks, so that +when she went into action it became necessary to give her +sail trimmers, and spar-deck fighting men, some protection +from the enemy's shot.<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> Sometimes this was done by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> +hauling up of waist-trees, or spars of rough untrimmed +timber, to form a sort of wooden wall. Sometimes they +rigged what was called a top-arming, or top armour, a +strip of cloth like the "war girdle" of the Norse longships, +across the unprotected space. This top-arming was of +canvas some two bolts deep (3 feet 6 inches), gaily painted +in designs of red, yellow, green, and white. It gave no +protection against shot, but it prevented the enemy's +gunners from taking aim at the deck, or from playing upon +the hatchways with their murderers and pateraroes. It +also kept out boarders, and was a fairly good shield to +catch the arrows and crossbow bolts shot from the enemy's +tops. Sometimes the top-arming was of scantling, or thin +plank, in which case it was called a pavesse. Pavesses +were very beautifully painted with armorial bearings, +arranged in shields, a sort of reminiscence of the old +Norse custom of hanging the ship's sides with shields. +Another way was to mask the open space with a ranged +hemp cable, which could be cleared away after the fight.</p> + +<p>The ships were rigged much as they were rigged two +centuries later. The chief differences were in the rigging +of the bowsprit and of the two after masts. Forward the +ships had bowsprits, on which each set a spritsail, from a +spritsail yard. The foremast was stepped well forward, +almost over the spring of the cutwater. Generally, but +not always, it was made of a single tree (pine or fir). If +it was what was known as "a made mast," it was built up +of two, or three, or four, different trees, judiciously sawn, +well seasoned, and then hooped together. Masts were +pole-masts until early in the reign of Elizabeth, when a +fixed topmast was added. By Drake's time they had +learned that a movable topmast was more useful, and less +dangerous for ships sailing in these waters. The caps and +tops were made of elm wood. The sails on the foremast +were foresail and foretop-sail, the latter much the smaller<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> +and less important of the two. They were set on wooden +yards, the foreyard and foretopsail-yard, both of which +could be sent on deck in foul weather. The main-mast +was stepped a little abaft the beam, and carried three sails, +the main-sail, the main topsail, and a third, the main topgallant-sail. +This third sail did not set from a yard until +many years after its introduction. It began life like a +modern "moon-raker," a triangular piece of canvas, +setting from the truck, or summit of the topmast, to the +yardarm of the main topsail-yard. Up above it, on a +bending light pole, fluttered the great colours, a George's +cross of scarlet on a ground of white. Abaft the main-mast +were the mizzen, carrying one sail, on a lateen yard, +one arm of which nearly touched the deck; and the bonaventure +mizzen (which we now call the jigger) rigged in +exactly the same way. Right aft, was a banner pole for +the display of colours. These masts were stepped, stayed, +and supported almost exactly as masts are rigged to-day, +though where we use iron, and wire, they used wood and +hemp. The shrouds of the fore and main masts led outboard, +to "chains" or strong platforms projecting from the +ship's sides. These "chains" were clamped to the ship's +sides with rigid links of iron. The shrouds of the after +masts were generally set up within the bulwarks. On +each mast, just above the lower yard, yet below the masthead, +was a fighting-top built of elm wood and gilded +over. It was a little platform, resting on battens, and in +ancient times it was circular, with a diameter of perhaps +six or seven feet. It had a parapet round it, inclining outboard, +perhaps four feet in height. It was entered by a +lubber's hole in the flooring, through which the shrouds +passed. In each top was an arm chest containing Spanish +darts, crossbows, longbows, arrows, bolts, and perhaps +granadoes. When the ship went into battle a few picked +marksmen were stationed in the tops with orders to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> +search the enemy's decks with their missiles, particularly +the afterparts, where the helmsman stood. In later days +the tops were armed with light guns, of the sorts known as +slings and fowlers; but top-fighting with firearms was +dangerous, as the gunners carried lighted matches, and +there was always a risk of sparks, from the match, or from +the wads, setting fire to the sails. The running rigging +was arranged much as running rigging is arranged to-day, +though its quality, in those times, was probably worse +than nowadays. The rope appears to have been very +fickle stuff which carried away under slight provocation. +The blocks were bad, for the sheaves were made of some +comparatively soft wood, which swelled, when wet, and +jammed. Lignum vitæ was not used for block-sheaves +until after the Dutch War in Cromwell's time. Iron +blocks were in use in the time of Henry VIII. but only as +fair-leads for chain topsail sheets, and as snatches for the +boarding of the "takkes." The shrouds and stays, were +of hawser stuff, extremely thick nine-stranded hemp; and +all those parts exposed to chafing (as from a sail, or a +rope) were either served, or neatly covered up with matting. +The matting was made by the sailors, of rope, or +white line, plaited curiously. When in its place it was +neatly painted, or tarred, much as one may see it in +Norwegian ships at the present day. The yardarms, and +possibly the chains, were at one time fitted with heavy +steel sickles, projecting outboard, which were kept sharp, +so that, when running alongside an enemy, they might cut +her rigging to pieces. These sickles were known as sheer-hooks. +They were probably of little use, for they became +obsolete before the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img354" id="img354"></a> +<a href="images/354.jpg"><img src="images/354_th.jpg" width="400" height="276" +alt="AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON" title="AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON" /></a> +<span class="caption">AN ELIZABETHAN GALLEON</span> +</div> + +<p>Most of the sails used in these old ships were woven in +Portsmouth on hand-looms. The canvas was probably +of good quality, as good perhaps as the modern stout +No. 1, for hand-woven stuff is always tighter, tougher,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> +better put together, than that woven by the big steam-loom. +It was at one time the custom to decorate the +sail, with a design of coloured cloth, cut out, as one cuts +out a paper pattern, and stitched upon its face with sail +twine. In the royal ships this design was of lions +rampant, cut out of scarlet say. The custom of carrying +such coloured canvas appears to have died out by +the end of the sixteenth century. Perhaps flag signalling +had come into vogue making it necessary to abandon +anything that might tend to confuse the colours. About +the same time we abandoned the custom of making our +ships gay with little flags, of red and white linen, in +guidons like those on a trooper's lance. All through the +Tudor reigns our ships carried them, but for some reason +the practice was allowed to die out. A last relic of it +still flutters on blue water in the little ribbons of the wind-vane, +on the weather side the poop, aboard sailing ships.</p> + +<p>The great ship carried three boats, which were stowed +on chocks in the waist, just forward of the main-mast, one +inside the other when not in use. The boats were, the +long boat, a large, roomy boat with a movable mast; +the cock, cog or cok boat, sometimes called the galley-watt; +and the whale, or jolly boat, a sort of small balenger, +with an iron-plated bow, which rowed fourteen oars. It +was the custom to tow one or more of these boats astern, +when at sea, except in foul weather, much as one may +see a brig, or a topsail schooner, to-day, with a dinghy +dragging astern. The boat's coxswain stayed in her as +she towed, making her clean, fending her off, and looking +out for any unfortunate who chanced to fall overboard.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—W. Charnock: "History of Marine Architecture." Julian +Corbett: "Drake and the Tudor Navy." A. Jal: "Archeologie Navale"; +"Glossaire Nautique." Sir W. Monson: "Naval Tracts." Sir H. Nicholas: +"History of the Royal Navy." M. Oppenheim: "History of the Administration +of the Royal Navy"; "Naval Inventories of the Reign of Henry VII."</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII</h2> + +<h3>GUNS AND GUNNERS</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Breech-loaders—Cartridges—Powder—The gunner's art</p></div> + + +<p>Cannon were in use in Europe, it is thought, in the +eleventh century; for the art of making gunpowder +came westward, from China, much earlier than people +have supposed. It is certain that gunpowder was used +"in missiles," before it was used to propel them. The +earliest cannon were generally of forged iron built in +strips secured by iron rings. They were loaded by movable +chambers which fitted into the breech, and they were +known as "crakys of war." We find them on English +ships at the end of the fourteenth century, in two kinds, +the one a cannon proper, the other an early version of +the harquebus-a-croc. The cannon was a mere iron tube, +of immense strength, bound with heavy iron rings. The +rings were shrunken on to the tube in the ordinary way. +The tube, when ready, was bolted down to a heavy +squared beam of timber on the ship's deck. It was loaded +by the insertion of the "gonne-chambre," an iron pan, +containing the charge, which fitted into, and closed the +breech. This gonne-chambre was wedged in firmly by +a chock of elm wood beaten in with a mallet. Another +block of wood, fixed in the deck behind it, kept it from +flying out with any violence when the shot was fired. +Cannon of this sort formed the main armament of ships +until after the reign of Henry the Eighth. They fired +stone cannon-balls, "pellettes of lead, and dyce of iron." +Each gun had some half-dozen chambers, so that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> +firing from them may have been rapid, perhaps three +rounds a minute. The powder was not kept loose in +tubs, near the guns, but neatly folded in conical cartridges, +made of canvas or paper (or flannel) which practice prevailed +for many years. All ships of war carried "pycks +for hewing stone-shott," though after 1490, "the iron shott +callyd bowletts," and their leaden brothers, came into +general use. The guns we have described, were generally +two or four pounders, using from half-a-pound, to a pound +and a quarter, of powder, at each discharge. The carriage, +or bed, on which they lay, was usually fitted with wheels +at the rear end only.</p> + +<p>The other early sea-cannon, which we have mentioned, +were also breech-loading. They were mounted on a sort +of iron wheel, at the summit of a stout wooden staff, fixed +in the deck, or in the rails of the poop and forecastle. +They were of small size, and revolved in strong iron pivot +rings, so that the man firing them might turn them in any +direction he wished. They were of especial service in +sweeping the waist, the open spar-deck, between the +breaks of poop and forecastle, when boarders were on +board. They threw "base and bar-shot to murder near +at hand"; but their usual ball was of stone, and for this +reason they were called petrieroes, and petrieroes-a-braga. +The harquebus-a-croc, a weapon almost exactly +similar, threw small cross-bar shot "to cut Sails and +Rigging." In Elizabethan times it was carried in the +tops of fighting ships, and on the rails and gunwales of +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'merchantmen,'">merchantmen.</ins></p> + +<p>In the reign of Henry VIII., a ship called the <i>Mary +Rose</i>, of 500 tons, took part in the battle with the French, +in St Helens Roads, off Brading. It was a sultry +summer day, almost windless, when the action began, +and the <i>Mary Rose</i> suffered much (being unable to stir) +from the gun-fire of the French galleys. At noon, when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> +a breeze sprang up, and the galleys drew off, the <i>Mary +Rose</i> sent her men to dinner. Her lower ports, which +were cut too low down, were open, and the wind heeled +her over, so that the sea rushed in to them. She sank +in deep water, in a few moments, carrying with her her +captain, and all the gay company on board. In 1836 +some divers recovered a few of her cannon, of the kinds +we have described, some of brass, some of iron. The +iron guns had been painted red and black. Those of +brass, in all probability, had been burnished, like so much +gold. These relics may be seen by the curious, at Woolwich, +in the Museum of Ordnance, to which they were +presented by their salver.</p> + +<p>In the reign of Elizabeth, cannon were much less primitive, +for a great advance took place directly men learned +the art of casting heavy guns. Until 1543, they had +forged them; a painful process, necessarily limited to +small pieces. After that year they cast them round a +core, and by 1588 they had evolved certain general types +of ordnance which remained in use, in the British Navy, +almost unchanged, until after the Crimean War. The +Elizabethan breech-loaders, and their methods, have now +been described, but a few words may be added with +reference to the muzzle-loaders. The charge for these +was contained in cartridges, covered with canvas, or +"paper royall" (<i>i.e.</i> parchment), though the parchment +used to foul the gun at each discharge. Burning scraps +of it remained in the bore, so that, before reloading, the +weapon had to be "wormed," or scraped out, with an +instrument like an edged corkscrew. A tampion, or wad, +of oakum or the like, was rammed down between the +cartridge and the ball, and a second wad kept the ball +in place. When the gun was loaded the gunner filled +the touch-hole with his priming powder, from a horn +he carried in his belt, after thrusting a sharp wire, called<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> +the priming-iron, down the touch-hole, through the cartridge, +so that the priming powder might have direct access +to the powder of the charge. He then sprinkled a little +train of powder along the gun, from the touch-hole to +the base-ring, for if he applied the match directly to the +touch-hole the force of the explosion was liable to blow +his linstock from his hand. In any case the "huff" or +"spit" of fire, from the touch-hole, burned little holes, like +pock-marks, in the beams overhead. The match was +applied smartly, with a sharp drawing back of the hand, +the gunner stepping quickly aside to avoid the recoil. +He stepped back, and stood, on the side of the gun opposite +to that on which the cartridges were stored, so that +there might be no chance of a spark from his match +setting fire to the ammunition. Spare match, newly +soaked in saltpetre water, lay coiled in a little tub beside +the gun. The cartridges, contained in latten buckets, were +placed in a barrel by the gun and covered over with a +skin of leather. The heavy shot were arranged in shot +racks, known as "gardens," and these were ready to the +gunner's hand, with "cheeses" of tampions or wads. The +wads were made of soft wood, oakum, hay, straw, or +"other such like." The sponges and rammers were +hooked to the beams above the gun ready for use. The +rammers were of hard wood, shod with brass, "to save +the Head from cleaving." The sponges were of soft fast +wood, "As Aspe, Birch, Willow, or such like," and had +heads covered with "rough Sheepes skinne wooll," nailed +to the staff with "Copper nayles." "Ladels," or powder +shovels, for the loading of guns, were seldom used at sea.</p> + +<p>The guns were elevated or depressed by means of +handspikes and quoins. Quoins were blocks of wood, +square, and wedge-shaped, with ring-hooks screwed in +them for the greater ease of +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original lacks .">handling.</ins> +Two of the gun's +crew raised the base of the cannon upon their handspikes,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> +using the "steps" of the gun carriage as their fulcra. +A third slid a quoin along the "bed" of the carriage, +under the gun, to support it at the required height. The +recoil of the gun on firing, was often very violent, but +it was limited by the stout rope called the breeching, +which ran round the base of the gun, from each side of +the port-hole, and kept it from running back more than +its own length. When it had recoiled it was in the +position for sponging and loading, being kept from +running out again, with the roll of the ship, by a train, +or preventer tackle, hooked to a ring-bolt in amidships. +In action, particularly in violent action, the guns became +very hot, and "kicked" dangerously. Often they recoiled +with such force as to overturn, or to snap the breeching, +or to leap up to strike the upper beams. Brass guns +were more skittish than iron, but all guns needed a rest +of two or three hours, if possible, after continual firing +for more than eight hours at a time. To cool a gun in +action, to keep it from bursting, or becoming red-hot, +John Roberts advises sponging "with spunges wet in +ley and water, or water and vinegar, or with the coolest +fresh or salt water, bathing and washing her both within +and without." This process "if the Service is hot, as +it was with us at Bargen" should be repeated, "every +eighth or tenth shot." The powder in use for cannon +was called Ordnance or Corne-powder. It was made +in the following proportion. To every five pounds of +refined saltpetre, one pound of good willow, or alder, +charcoal, and one pound of fine yellow sulphur. The +ingredients were braised together in a mortar, moistened +with water distilled of orange rinds, or aqua-vitæ, and +finally dried and sifted. It was a bright, "tawny blewish +colour" when well made. Fine powder, for muskets or +priming seems to have had a greater proportion of +saltpetre.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span></p> + +<p>The Naval Tracts of Sir W. Monson, contain a list of +the sorts of cannon mounted in ships of the time of +Queen Elizabeth. It is not exhaustive, but as Robert +Norton and Sir Jonas Moore give similar lists, the +curious may check the one with the other.</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="cannon types"> +<tr><td></td><td class="center">Bore</td><td class="center">Weight<br />of Cannon</td><td class="center">Weight<br />of Shot</td><td class="center">Weight<br />of Powder</td><td class="center">Point Blank<br />Range</td><td class="center">Random</td><td></td><td class="center">Length<br />in Feet</td></tr> +<tr><td></td><td class="center">ins.</td><td class="center">lb.</td><td class="center">lb.</td><td class="center">lb.</td><td class="center">paces</td><td class="center">paces</td></tr> +<tr><td>Cannon Royal or Double Cannon</td><td>8½</td><td class="right">8000</td><td class="right">66</td><td class="right">30</td><td class="right">800</td><td class="right">1930</td><td class="center">M.L.</td><td class="right">12</td></tr> +<tr><td>Cannon or Whole Cannon</td><td>8</td><td class="right">6000</td><td class="right">60</td><td class="right">27</td><td class="right">770</td><td class="right">2000</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">11</td></tr> +<tr><td>Cannon Serpentine</td><td>7</td><td class="right">5500</td><td class="right">53½</td><td class="right">25</td><td class="right">200</td><td class="right">2000</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">10</td></tr> +<tr><td>Bastard Cannon</td><td>7</td><td class="right">4500</td><td class="right">41½</td><td class="right">20</td><td class="right">180</td><td class="right">1800</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">10</td></tr> +<tr><td>Demi-Cannon</td><td>6½-7</td><td class="right">4000</td><td class="right">33½</td><td class="right">18</td><td class="right">170</td><td class="right">1700</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">10</td></tr> +<tr><td>Cannon Petro or Cannon Perier</td><td>6</td><td class="right">4000</td><td class="right">24½</td><td class="right">14</td><td class="right">160</td><td class="right">1600</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">4</td></tr> +<tr><td>Culverin</td><td>5-5½</td><td class="right">4500</td><td class="right">17½</td><td class="right">12</td><td class="right">200</td><td class="right">2500</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">13</td></tr> +<tr><td>Basilisk</td><td>5</td><td class="right">4000</td><td class="right">15</td><td class="right">10</td><td class="right">230</td><td class="right">3000</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">4</td></tr> +<tr><td>Demi-Culverin</td><td>4</td><td class="right">3400</td><td class="right">9½</td><td class="right">8</td><td class="right">200</td><td class="right">2500</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">11</td></tr> +<tr><td>Bastard Culverin</td><td>4</td><td class="right">3000</td><td class="right">7</td><td class="right">5¾</td><td class="right">170</td><td class="right">1700</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">11</td></tr> +<tr><td>Saker</td><td>3½</td><td class="right">1400</td><td class="right">5½</td><td class="right">5½</td><td class="right">170</td><td class="right">1700</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">9 or 10</td></tr> +<tr><td>Minion</td><td>3½</td><td class="right">1000</td><td class="right">4</td><td class="right">4</td><td class="right">170</td><td class="right">1700</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">8</td></tr> +<tr><td>Falcon</td><td>2½</td><td class="right">660</td><td class="right">3</td><td class="right">3</td><td class="right">150</td><td class="right">1500</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">7</td></tr> +<tr><td>Falconet</td><td>2</td><td class="right">500</td><td class="right">1½</td><td class="right">1¼</td><td class="right">150</td><td class="right">1500</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">6½</td></tr> +<tr><td>Serpentine</td><td>1½</td><td class="right">400</td><td class="right">¾</td><td class="right">¾</td><td class="right">140</td><td class="right">1400</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">4½</td></tr> +<tr><td>Rabinet</td><td>1</td><td class="right">300</td><td class="right">½</td><td class="right">½</td><td class="right">120</td><td class="right">1000</td><td class="center">"</td><td class="right">2½</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>To these may be added bases, port pieces, stock fowlers, +slings, half slings, and three-quarter slings, breech-loading +guns ranging from five and a half to one-inch bore.</p> + +<p>Other firearms in use in our ships at sea were the +matchlock musket, firing a heavy double bullet, and +the harquabuse<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> or arquebus, which fired a single bullet. +The musket was a heavy weapon, and needed a rest, +a forked staff, to support the barrel while the soldier +aimed. This staff the musketeer lashed to his wrist, +with a cord, so that he might drag it after him from +place to place. The musket was fired with a match, +which the soldier lit from a cumbrous pocket fire-carrier.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> +The harquabuse was a lighter gun, which was fired without +a rest, either by a wheel-lock (in which a cog-wheel, +running on pyrites, caused sparks to ignite the powder), +or by the match and touch-hole. Hand firearms were +then common enough, and came to us from Italy, shortly +after 1540. They were called Daggs. They were wheel-locks, +wild in firing, short, heavy, and beautifully wrought. +Sometimes they carried more than one barrel, and in +some cases they were made revolving. They were most +useful in a hand-to-hand encounter, as with footpads, or +boarders; but they were useless at more than ten paces. +A variation from them was the hand-cannon or blunderbuss, +with a bell-muzzle, which threw rough slugs or +nails. In Elizabethan ships the musketeers sometimes +fired short, heavy, long-headed, pointed iron arrows from +their muskets, a missile which flew very straight, and +penetrated good steel armour. They had also an infinity +of subtle fireworks, granadoes and the like, with which +to set their opponents on fire. These they fired from the +bombard pieces, or threw from the tops, or cage-works. +Crossbows and longbows went to sea, with good store +of Spanish bolts and arrows, until the end of Elizabeth's +reign, though they were, perhaps, little used after 1590. +The gunner had charge of them, and as, in a way, the +gunner was a sort of second captain, sometimes taking +command of the ship, we cannot do better than to quote +from certain old books concerning his duties on board. +Mr W. Bourne, the son of an eminent mathematician, has +left a curious little book on "The Arte of Shooting in +Great Ordnance," first published in London, in 1587, +the year before the Armada. Its author, W. Bourne, +was at one time a gunner of the bulwark at Gravesend. +The art of shooting in great guns did not improve very +much during the century following; nor did the guns +change materially. The breech-loading, quick-firing guns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> +fell out of use as the musket became more handy; but +otherwise the province of the gunner changed hardly at +all. It is not too much to say that gunners of Nelson's +time, might have studied some of Bourne's book with profit.</p> + +<p>"As for gunners that do serve by the Sea, [they] must +observe this order following. First that they do foresee +that all their great Ordnannce be fast breeched, and +foresee that all their geare be handsome and in a readinesse. +& Furthermore that they be very circumspect about their +Pouder in the time of service, and especially beware of +their lint stockes & candels for feare of their Pouder, & +their fireworks, & their Ducum [or priming powder], +which is very daungerous, and much to be feared. Then +furthermore, that you do keep your peeces as neer as +you can, dry within, and also that you keep their tutch-holes +cleane, without any kind of drosse falling into them."</p> + +<p>The gunners were also to know the "perfect dispart" +of their pieces: that is they were to make a calculation +which would enable them in sighting, to bring "the +hollow of the peece," not the outer muzzle rim, "right +against the marke." In the case of a breech-loader this +could not be done by art, with any great exactness, +"but any reasonable man (when he doth see the peece +and the Chamber) may easily know what he must doe, +as touching those matters." In fighting at sea, in anything +like a storm, with green seas running, so that +"the Shippes do both heave and set" the gunner was +to choose a gun abaft the main-mast, on the lower orlop, +"if the shippe may keepe the porte open," as in that part +of the vessel the motion would be least apparent.</p> + +<p>"Then if you doe make a shotte at another Shippe, +you must be sure to have a good helme-man, that can +stirre [steer] steady, taking some marke of a Cloude +that is above by the Horizon, or by the shadowe of the +Sunne, or by your standing still, take some marke of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> +the other shippe through some hole, or any such other +like. Then he that giveth levell [takes aim] must observe +this: first consider what disparte his piece must have, +then lay the peece directly with that parte of the Shippe +that he doth meane to shoote at: then if the Shippe bee +under the lee side of your Shippe, shoote your peece in +the comming downe of the Gayle, and the beginning of +the other Ship to rise upon the Sea, as near as you can, +for this cause, for when the other shippe is aloft upon +the Sea, and shee under your Lee, the Gayle maketh +her for to head, and then it is likest to do much good."</p> + +<p>The helmsman also was to have an eye to the enemy, +to luff when she luffed, and "putte roomer," or sail large, +when he saw her helmsman put the helm up. If the +enemy made signs that she was about to lay the ship +aboard, either by loosing more sail, or altering her course, +the gunner had to remember certain things.</p> + +<p>"If the one doe meane to lay the other aboorde, then +they do call up their company either for to enter or +to defend: and first, if that they doe meane for to enter +... then marke where that you doe see anye Scottles +for to come uppe at, as they will stande neere thereaboutes, +to the intente for to be readie, for to come uppe under +the Scottles: there give levell with your Fowlers, or +Slinges, or Bases, for there you shall be sure to do moste +good, then further more, if you doe meane for to enter +him, then give level with your fowlers and Port peeces, +where you doe see his chiefest fight of his Shippe is, +and especially be sure to have them charged, and to +shoote them off at the first boording of the Shippes, for +then you shall be sure to speede. And furthermore, +mark where his men have most recourse, then discharge +your Fowlers and Bases. And furthermore for the annoyance +of your enemie, if that at the boording that the +Shippes lye therefore you may take away their steeradge<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> +with one of your great peeces, that is to shoote at his +Rother, and furthermore at his mayne maste and so +foorth."</p> + +<p>The ordering of cannon on board a ship was a matter +which demanded a nice care. The gunner had to see +that the carriages were so made as to allow the guns +to lie in the middle of the port. The carriage wheels, +or trocks, were not to be too high, for if they were too +high they hindered the mariners, when they ran the +cannon out in action (<i>Norton</i>, <i>Moore</i>, <i>Bourne</i>, <i>Monson</i>). +Moreover, if the wheels were very large, and the ship +were heeled over, the wheel rims would grind the ship's +side continually, unless large skids were fitted to them. +And if the wheels were large they gave a greater fierceness +to the impetus of the recoil, when the piece was +fired. The ports were to be rather "deepe uppe and +downe" than broad in the traverse, and it was very +necessary that the lower port-sill should not be too +far from the deck, "for then the carriage muste bee +made verye hygh, and that is verye evill" (<i>Bourne</i>). The +short cannon were placed low down, at the ship's side, +because short cannon were more easily run in, and secured, +when the ports were closed, owing to the ship's heeling, +or the rising of the sea. A short gun, projecting its +muzzle through the port, was also less likely to catch +the outboard tackling of the sails, such as "Sheetes and +Tackes, or the Bolynes." And for these reasons any very +long guns were placed astern, or far forward, as bow, or +stern chasers. It was very necessary that the guns +placed at the stern should be long guns, for the tall +poops of the galleons overhung the sea considerably. If +the gun, fired below the overhang, did not project beyond +the woodwork, it was liable to "blowe up the Counter +of the Shyppes Sterne," to the great detriment of gilt +and paint. Some ships cut their stern ports down to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span> +the deck, and continued the deck outboard, by a projecting +platform. The guns were run out on to this +platform, so that the muzzles cleared the overhang. +These platforms were the originals of the quarter-galleries, +in which, some centuries later, the gold-laced +admirals took the air (<i>Bourne</i>).</p> + +<p>Sir Jonas Moore, who published a translation of +Moretti's book on artillery, in 1683, added to his chapters +some matter relating to sea-gunners, from the French +of Denis Furnier.</p> + +<p>"The Gunner, whom they call in the <i>Straights Captain</i>, +<i>Master-Canoneer</i>, and in <i>Bretagne</i> and <i>Spain</i>, and in +other places <i>Connestable</i>, is one of the principal Officers +in the Ship; it is he alone with the Captain who can +command the Gunners. He ought to be a man of +courage, experience, and vigilant, who knows the goodness +of a Peece of Ordnance, the force of Powder, and +who also knows how to mount a Peece of Ordnance +upon its carriage, and to furnish it with Bolts, Plates, +Hooks, Capsquares [to fit over the Trunnions on which +the gun rested] Axletrees and Trucks, and that may +not reverse too much; to order well its Cordage as +Breeching [which stopped the recoil] and Tackling [by +which it was run out or in]; to plant the Cannon to +purpose in the middle of its Port; to know how to +unclow<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> it [cast it loose for action], make ready his +Cartridges, and to have them ready to pass from hand +to hand through the Hatches, and to employ his most +careful men in that affair; that he have care of all, that, +he be ready everywhere to assist where necessity shall +be; and take care that all be made to purpose.</p> + +<p>"He and his Companions [the gunner's mates] ought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> +with their dark Lanthornes continually to see if the Guns +play, and if the Rings in Ships do not shake." (That +is, a strict watch was to be kept, at night, when at sea +in stormy weather, to see that the cannon did not work +or break loose, and that the ring-bolts remained firm in +their places.)</p> + +<p>"If there be necessity of more Cordage, and to see +that the Beds and Coins be firm and in good order; +when the Ship comes to Anker, he furnisheth Cordage, +and takes care that all his Companions take their turn +[stand their watch] and quarters, that continually every +evening they renew their priming Powder [a horn of +fine dry powder poured into the touch-holes of loaded +cannon, to communicate the fire to the charge], and all +are obliged to visit their Cannon Powder every eight +dayes, to see if it hath not receiv'd wet, although they +be well stopped a top with Cork and Tallow; to see +that the Powder-Room be kept neat and clean, and the +Cartridges ranged in good order, each nature or Calibre +by itself, and marked above in great Letters the weight +of the Powder and nature of the Peece to which it +belongs, and to put the same mark over the Port-hole +of the Peece; that the Linstocks [<i>or forked staves of wood, +about two and a half feet long, on which the match was +carried</i>] be ready, and furnished with Match [<i>or cotton +thread, boiled in ashes-lye and powder, and kept smouldering, +with a red end, when in use</i>], and to have alwaies one +lighted, and where the Cannoneer makes his Quarter +to have two one above another below [<i>this last passage +is a little obscure, but we take it to mean that at night, +when the gunner slept in his cabin, a lighted match was +to be beside him, but that in the gun-decks below and above +his cabin (which was in the half-deck) lit matches were +to be kept ready for immediate use, by those who kept watch</i>], +that his Granadoes [<i>black clay, or thick glass bottles,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> +filled with priming powder, and fired by a length of tow, +well soaked in saltpetre water</i>] and Firepots [<i>balls of +hard tar, sulphur-meal and rosin, kneaded together and +fired by a priming of bruised powder</i>] be in readiness, and +3 or 400 Cartridges ready fill'd, Extrees [?] and Trucks +[<i>wheels</i>] to turn often over the Powder Barrels that the +Powder do not spoil; to have a care of Rings [<i>ring-bolts</i>] +and of the Ports [he here means port-lids] that they have +their Pins and small Rings."</p> + +<p>Sir William Monson adds that the gunner was to +acquaint himself with the capacities of every known sort +of firearm, likely to be used at sea. He also gives some +professional hints for the guidance of gunners. He tells +us (and Sir Richard Hawkins confirms him) that no sea-cannon +ought to be more than seven or eight feet long; +that they ought not to be taper-bored, nor honey-combed +within the bore, and that English ordnance, the best in +Europe, was sold in his day for twelve pounds a ton.</p> + +<p>In Boteler's time the gunner commanded a gang, or +crew, who ate and slept in the gun-room, which seems +in those days to have been the magazine. He had to +keep a careful account of the expenditure of his munitions, +and had orders "not to make any shot without +the Knowledge and order of the captain."</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><i>Authorities.</i>—N. Boteler: "Six Dialogues." W. Bourne: "The Art +of Shooting in Great Ordnance"; "Regiment for the Sea"; "Mariner's +Guide." Sir W. Monson: "Naval Tracts." Sir Jonas Moore. R. Norton: +"The Gunner." John Roberts: "Complete Cannoneer."</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII</h2> + +<h3>THE SHIP'S COMPANY</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>Captain—Master—Lieutenant—Warrant officers—Duties and +privileges</p></div> + + +<p>By comparing Sir Richard Hawkins' "Observations" +and Sir W. Monson's "Tracts" with Nicolas Boteler's +"Dialogical Discourses," we find that the duties of ship's +officers changed hardly at all from the time of the Armada +to the death of James I. Indeed they changed hardly at +all until the coming of the steamship. In modern sailing +ships the duties of some of the supernumeraries are almost +exactly as they were three centuries ago.</p> + +<p>The captain was the supreme head of the ship, empowered +to displace any inferior officer except the master +(<i>Monson</i>). He was not always competent to navigate +(<i>ibid.</i>), but as a rule he had sufficient science to check +the master's calculations. He was expected to choose his +own lieutenant (<i>ibid.</i>), to keep a muster-book, and a +careful account of the petty officer's stores (<i>Monson</i> and +<i>Sir Richard Hawkins</i>), and to punish any offences committed +by his subordinates.</p> + +<p>A lieutenant seems to have been unknown in ships of +war until the early seventeenth century. He ranked +above the master, and acted as the captain's proxy, or +ambassador, "upon any occasion of Service" (<i>Monson</i>). +In battle he commanded on the forecastle, and in the +forward half of the ship. He was restrained from meddling +with the master's duties, lest "Mischiefs and factions" +should ensue. Boteler adds that a lieutenant ought not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> +to be "too fierce in his Way at first ... but to carry +himself with Moderation and Respect to the Master +Gunner, Boatswain, and the other Officers."</p> + +<p>The master was the ship's navigator, responsible for +the performance of "the ordinary Labours in the ship." +He took the height of the sun or stars "with his Astrolabe, +Backstaff or Jacob's-staff" (<i>Boteler</i>). He saw that the +watches were kept at work, and had authority to punish +misdemeanants (<i>Monson</i>). Before he could hope for +employment he had to go before the authorities at Trinity +House, to show his "sufficiency" in the sea arts (<i>Monson</i>).</p> + +<p>The pilot, or coaster, was junior to the master; but +when he was bringing the vessel into port, or over sands, +or out of danger, the master had no authority to interfere +with him (<i>Monson</i>). He was sometimes a permanent +official, acting as junior navigator when the ship was out +of soundings (<i>Hawkins</i>), but more generally he was employed +temporarily, as at present, to bring a ship into or +out of port (<i>Monson</i> and <i>Boteler</i>).</p> + +<p>The ship's company was drilled by a sort of junior +lieutenant (<i>Boteler</i>), known as the corporal, who was something +between a master-at-arms and a captain of marines. +He had charge of the small arms, and had to see to it that +the bandoliers for the musketmen were always filled with +dry cartridges, and that the muskets and "matches" were +kept neat and ready for use in the armoury (<i>Monson</i>). He +drilled the men in the use of their small arms, and also +acted as muster master at the setting and relieving of the +watch.</p> + +<p>The gunner, whose duties we have described at length, +was privileged to alter the ship's course in action, and may +even have taken command during a chase, or running +fight. He was assisted by his mates, who commanded the +various batteries while in action, and aimed and fired +according to his directions.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span></p> + +<p>The boatswain, the chief seaman of the crew, was +generally an old sailor who had been much at sea, and +knew the whole art of seamanship. He had charge of all +the sea-stores, and "all the Ropes belonging to the Rigging +[more especially the fore-rigging], all her Cables, and +Anchors; all her Sayls, all her Flags, Colours, and +Pendants;<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> and so to stand answerable for them" (<i>Boteler</i>). +He was captain of the long boat, which was stowed on +the booms or spare spars between the fore and main +masts. He had to keep her guns clean, her oars, mast, +sails, stores, and water ready for use, and was at all times +to command and steer her when she left the ship +(<i>Hawkins</i>). He carried a silver whistle, or call, about his +neck, which he piped in various measures before repeating +the master's orders (<i>Monson</i>). The whistle had a ball at +one end, and was made curved, like a letter S laid +sideways. The boatswain, when he had summoned all +hands to their duty, was expected to see that they worked +well. He kept them quiet, and "at peace one with +another," probably by knocking together the heads of +those disposed to quarrel. Lastly, he was the ship's +executioner, his mates acting as assistants, and at his +hands, under the supervision of the marshal, the crew +received their "red-checked shirts," and such bilboed +solitude as the captain might direct.</p> + +<p>The coxswain was the commander of the captain's +row barge which he had to keep clean, freshly painted +and gilded, and fitted with the red and white flag—"and +when either the Captain or any Person of Fashion is to +use the Boat, or be carryed too and again from the Ship, +he is to have the Boat trimmed with her Cushions and +Carpet and himself is to be ready to steer her out of +her Stern [in the narrow space behind the back board +of the stern-sheets] and with his Whistle to chear up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> +and direct his Gang of Rowers, and to keep them together +when they are to wait: and this is the lowest Officer in a +Ship, that is allowed to carry a Whistle" (<i>Boteler</i>). The +coxswain had to stay in his barge when she towed astern +at sea, and his office, therefore, was often very wretched, +from the cold and wet. He had to see that his boat's +crew were at all times clean in their persons, and dressed +alike, in as fine a livery as could be managed (<i>Monson</i>). +He was to choose them from the best men in the ship, +from the "able and handsome men" (<i>Monson</i>). He had +to instruct them to row together, and to accustom the +port oarsmen to pull starboard from time to time. He +also kept his command well caulked, and saw the chocks +and skids secure when his boat was hoisted to the deck.</p> + +<p>The quartermasters and their mates had charge of +the hold (<i>Monson</i>), and kept a sort of check upon the +steward in his "delivery of the Victuals to the Cook, +and in his pumping and drawing of the Beer" (<i>Boteler</i>). +In far later times they seem to have been a rating of +elderly and sober seamen who took the helm, two and +two together, in addition to their other duties. In the +Elizabethan ship they superintended the stowage of the +ballast, and were in charge below, over the ballast shifters, +when the ships were laid on their sides to be scraped +and tallowed. They also had to keep a variety of fish +hooks ready, in order to catch any fish, such as sharks +or bonitos.</p> + +<p>The purser was expected to be "an able Clerk" +(<i>Monson</i>) for he had to keep an account of all provisions +received from the victualler. He kept the ship's muster-book, +with some account of every man borne upon it. +He made out passes, or pay-tickets for discharged men +(<i>ibid.</i>), and, according to <i>Boteler</i>, he was able "to purse +up roundly for himself" by dishonest dealing. The purser +(<i>Boteler</i> says the cook) received 6d. a month from every<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> +seaman, for "Wooden Dishes, Cans, Candles, Lanthorns, +and Candlesticks for the Hold" (<i>Monson</i>). It was also +his office to superintend the steward, in the serving out +of the provisions and other necessaries to the crew.</p> + +<p>The steward was the purser's deputy (<i>Monson</i>). He +had to receive "the full Mass of Victual of all kinds," +and see it well stowed in the hold, the heavy things +below, the light things up above (<i>Boteler</i>). He had +charge of all the candles, of which those old dark ships +used a prodigious number. He kept the ship's biscuits +or bread, in the bread-room, a sort of dark cabin below +the gun-deck. He lived a life of comparative retirement, +for there was a "several part in the Hold, which is called +the Steward's room, where also he Sleeps and Eats" +(<i>Boteler</i>). He weighed out the provisions for the crew, +"to the several Messes in the Ship," and was cursed, no +doubt, by every mariner, for a cheating rogue in league +with the purser. Though Hawkins tells us that it was +his duty "with discretion and good tearmes to give +satisfaction to all."</p> + +<p>The cook did his office in a cook-room, or galley, placed +in the forecastle or "in the Hatchway upon the first +Orlope" (<i>Boteler</i>). The floor of the galley was not at +that time paved with brick or stone, as in later days, and +now. It was therefore very liable to take fire, especially +in foul weather, when the red embers were shaken from +the ash-box of the range. It was the cook's duty to take +the provisions from the steward, both flesh and fish, and +to cook them, by boiling, until they were taken from him +(<i>Monson</i>). It was the cook's duty to steep the salt meat +in water for some days before using, as the meat was +thus rendered tender and fit for human food (<i>Smith</i>). +He had the rich perquisite of the ship's fat, which went +into his slush tubs, to bring him money from the candlemakers. +The firewood he used was generally green, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> +not wet, so that when he lit his fire of a morning, he +fumigated the fo'c's'le with bitter smoke. It was his duty +to pour water on his fire as soon as the guns were cast +loose for battle. Every day, for the saving of firewood, +and for safety, he had to extinguish his fire directly the +dinner had been cooked, nor was he allowed to relight it, +"but in case of necessity, as ... when the Cockswain's +Gang came wet aboard" (<i>Monson</i>). He would allow his +cronies in the forenoons to dry their wet gear at his fire, +and perhaps allow them, in exchange for a bite or sup, +to cook any fish they caught, or heat a can of drink.</p> + +<p>Another supernumerary was the joiner, a rating only +carried in the seventeenth century on great ships with +much fancy work about the poop. He it was who +repaired the gilt carvings in the stern-works, and made +the bulkheads for the admiral's cabin. He was a +decorator and beautifier, not unlike the modern painter, +but he was to be ready at all times to knock up lockers +for the crew, to make boxes and chests for the gunner, and +bulkheads, of thin wood, to replace those broken by the +seas. As a rule the work of the joiner was done by the +carpenter, a much more important person, who commanded +some ten or twelve junior workmen. The +carpenter was trusted with the pumps, both hand and +chain, and with the repairing of the woodwork throughout +the vessel. He had to be super-excellent in his profession, +for a wooden ship was certain to tax his powers. She was +always out of repair, always leaking, always springing her +spars. In the summer months, if she were not being +battered by the sea, she was getting her timber split +by cannon-shot. In the winter months, when laid up +and dismantled in the dockyard, she was certain to need +new planks, beams, inner fittings and spars (<i>Hawkins</i>). +The carpenter had to do everything for her, often with +grossly insufficient means, and it was of paramount<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> +importance that his work-room in the orlop should be +fitted with an excellent tool chest. He had to provide +the "spare Pieces of Timber wherewith to make Fishes, +for to strengthen and succour the Masts." He had to +superintend the purchase of a number of spare yards, +already tapered, and bound with iron, to replace those +that "should chance to be broken." He was to see these +lashed to the ship's sides, within board, or stopped in the +rigging (<i>Monson</i> and <i>Boteler</i>). He had to have all manner +of gudgeons for the rudder, every sort of nuts or washers +for the pumps, and an infinity of oakum, sheet lead, soft +wood, spare canvas, tallow, and the like, with which to +stop leaks, or to caulk the seams. In his stores he took +large quantities of lime, horse hair, alum, and thin felt +with which to wash and sheathe the ship's bottom planking +(<i>Monson</i>). The alum was often dissolved in water, +and splashed over spars and sails, before a battle, as it +was supposed to render them non-inflammable. It was +his duty, moreover, to locate leaks, either by observing the +indraught (which was a tedious way), or by placing his ear +to a little earthen pot inverted against one of the planks +in the hold. This little pot caused him to hear the water +as it gurgled in, and by moving it to and fro he could +locate the hole with considerable certainty (<i>Boteler</i>). He +had to rig the pumps for the sailors, and to report to the +captain the depth of water the ship made daily. The +pumps were of two kinds, one exactly like that in use on +shore, the other, of the same principle, though more +powerful. The second kind was called the chain-pump, +because "these Pumps have a Chain of Burs going in a +Wheel." They were worked with long handles, called +brakes (because they broke sailor's hearts), and some ten +men might pump at one spell. The water was discharged +on to the deck, which was slightly rounded, so that it ran +to the ship's side, into a graved channel called the trough,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span> +or scuppers, from which it fell overboard through the +scupper-holes, bored through the ship's side. These +scupper-holes were bored by the carpenter. They slanted +obliquely downwards and were closed outside by a hinged +flap of leather, which opened to allow water to escape, and +closed to prevent water from entering (<i>Maynwaring</i>). +Each deck had a number of scupper-holes, but they +were all of small size. There was nothing to take the +place of the big swinging-ports fitted to modern iron +sailing ships, to allow the green seas to run overboard.</p> + +<p>The cooper was another important supernumerary. He +had to oversee the stowing of all the casks, and to make, +or repair, or rehoop, such casks as had to be made or +repaired. He had to have a special eye to the great water +casks, that they did not leak; binding them securely with +iron hoops, and stowing them with dunnage, so that they +might not shift. He was put in charge of watering parties, +to see the casks filled at the springs, to fit them, when +full, with their bungs, and to superintend their embarkation +and stowage (<i>Monson</i> and <i>Boteler</i>).</p> + +<p>The trumpeter was an attendant upon the captain, +and had to sound his silver trumpet when that great man +entered or left the ship (<i>Monson</i>). "Also when you hale +a ship, when you charge, board, or enter her; and the +Poop is his place to stand or sit upon." If the ship carried +a "noise," that is a band, "they are to attend him, if there +be not, every one he doth teach to bear a part, the Captain +is to encourage him, by increasing his Shares, or pay, and +give the Master Trumpeter a reward." When a prince, +or an admiral, came on board, the trumpeter put on a +tabard, of brilliant colours, and hung his silver instrument +with a heavy cloth of the same. He was to blow a blast +from the time the visitor was sighted until his barge came +within 100 fathoms of the ship. "At what time the +Trumpets are to cease, and all such as carry Whistles are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> +to Whistle his Welcome three several times." As the gilt +and gorgeous row boat drew alongside, the trumpets +sounded a point of welcome, and had then to stand about +the cabin door, playing their best, while the great man ate +his sweetmeats. As he rowed away again, the trumpeter, +standing on the poop, blew out "A loath to depart," a sort +of ancient "good-bye, fare you well," such as sailors sing +nowadays as they get their anchors for home. In battle +the trumpeter stood upon the poop, dressed in his glory, +blowing brave blasts to hearten up the gunners. In hailing +a friendly ship, in any meeting on the seas, it was +customary to "salute with Whistles and Trumpets, and +the Ship's Company give a general shout on both sides." +When the anchor was weighed, the trumpeter sounded +a merry music, to cheer the workers. At dinner each +night he played in the great cabin, while the captain +drank his wine. At the setting and discharging of the +watch he had to sound a solemn point, for which duty he +received an extra can of beer (<i>Monson</i> and <i>Boteler</i>).</p> + +<p>The crew, or mariners, were divided into able seamen, +ordinary seamen, grummets, or cabin-boys, ship-boys and +swabbers. Swabbers were the weakest men of the crew; +men, who were useless aloft, or at the guns, and therefore +set to menial and dirty duties. They were the ship's +scavengers, and had much uncleanly business to see to. +Linschoten, describing a Portuguese ship's company, +dismisses them with three contemptuous words, "the +swabers pump"; but alas, that was but the first duty of +your true swabber. Boteler, writing in the reign of James +I., gives him more than half-a-page, as follows:—</p> + +<p>"The Office of the Swabber is to see the Ship Kept +neat and clean, and that as well in the great Cabbin as +everywhere else betwixt the Decks; to which end he is, +at the least once or twice a week, if not every day, to +cause the Ship to be well washed within Board and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> +without above Water, and especially about the Gunwalls +[Gunwales or gunnels, over which the guns once +pointed] and the Chains and for prevention of Infection, +to burn sometimes Pitch, or the like wholsom perfumes, +between the Decks: He is also to have a regard to every +private Man's Sleeping-place; (to clean the cabins of the +petty officers in the nether orlop), and to admonish them +all in general [it being dangerous perhaps, in a poor +swabber, to admonish in particular] to be cleanly and +handsom, and to complain to the Captain, of all such +as will be any way nastie and offensive that way. Surely, +if this Swabber doth thoroughly take care to discharge +this his charge I easily believe that he may have his +hands full, and especially if there chance to be any number +of Landmen aboard."</p> + +<p>Under the swabber there was a temporary rate known +as the liar. He had to keep the ship clean "without +board," in the head, chains, and elsewhere. He held his +place but for a week. "He that is first taken with a Lie +upon a <i>Monday</i> morning, is proclaimed at the Main-Mast +with a general Crie, <i>a Liar, a Liar, a Liar</i>, and for that +week he is under the Swabber" (<i>Monson</i>).</p> + +<p>The able seamen, or oldest and most experienced hands, +did duty about the decks and guns, in the setting up and +preservation of the rigging, and in the trimming of the +braces, sheets, and bowlines. The ordinary seamen, +younkers, grummets, and ship-boys, did the work aloft, +furled and loosed the sails, and did the ordinary, never-ceasing +work of sailors. They stood "watch and watch" +unless the weather made it necessary for all to be on +deck, and frequently they passed four hours of each day +in pumping the leakage from the well. They wore no +uniform, but perhaps some captains gave a certain uniformity +to the clothes of their crews by taking slop +chests to sea, and selling clothes of similar patterns to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> +the seamen. In the navy, where the crews were pressed, +the clothes worn must have been of every known cut +and fashion, though no doubt all the pressed men contrived +to get tarred canvas coats before they had been +many days aboard.</p> + +<p>The bodies and souls of the seamen were looked after; +a chaplain being carried for the one, and a chirurgeon, or +doctor, for the other. The chaplain had to read prayers +twice or thrice daily, to the whole ship's company, who +stood or knelt reverently as he read. He had to lead +in the nightly psalms, to reprove all evil-doers, and to +exhort the men to their duty. Especially was he to +repress all blasphemy and swearing. He was to celebrate +the Holy Communion whenever it was most convenient. +He was to preach on Sunday, to visit the sick; and, in +battle, to console the wounded. Admirals, and peers in +command of ships, had the privilege of bringing to sea +their own private chaplains.</p> + +<p>The chirurgeon had to bring on board his own instruments +and medicines, and to keep them ready to hand +in his cabin beneath the gun-deck, out of all possible +reach of shot. He was expected to know his business, +and to know the remedies for those ailments peculiar to +the lands for which the ship intended. He had to produce +a certificate from "able men of his profession," to show +that he was fit to be employed. An assistant, or servant, +was allowed him, and neither he, nor his servant did any +duty outside the chirurgeon's province (<i>Monson</i>).</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX</h2> + +<h3>THE CHOOSING OF WATCHES</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>The petty tally—Food—Work—Punishments</p></div> + + +<p>As soon as an ancient ship of war was fitted for the +sea, with her guns on board, and mounted, her +sails bent, her stores and powder in the hold, her water +filled, her ballast trimmed, and the hands aboard, some +"steep-tubs" were placed in the chains for the steeping +of the salt provisions, "till the salt be out though not the +saltness." The anchor was then weighed to a note of +music. The "weeping Rachells and mournefull Niobes" +were set packing ashore. The colours were run up and +a gun fired. The foresail was loosed. The cable rubbed +down as it came aboard (so that it might not be faked +into the tiers wet or dirty). The boat was hoisted inboard. +The master "took his departure," by observing the bearing +of some particular point of land, as the Mew Stone, the +Start, the Lizard, etc. Every man was bidden to "say +his private prayer for a bonne voyage." The anchor +was catted and fished. Sails were set and trimmed. Ropes +were coiled down clear for running, and the course laid +by the master.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> +<a name="img384" id="img384"></a> +<a href="images/384.jpg"><img src="images/384_th.jpg" width="400" height="270" +alt="THE SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS; CIRCA 1630" +title="THE SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS" /></a> +<span class="caption">THE SOVEREIGN OF THE SEAS<br /> +CIRCA 1630</span> +</div> + +<p>The captain or master then ordered the boatswain +"to call up the company," just as all hands are mustered +on modern sailing ships at the beginning of a voyage. +The master "being Chief of the Starboard Watch" would +then look over the mariners for a likely man. Having +made his choice he bade the man selected go over to +the starboard side, while the commander of the port-watch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> +made his choice. When all the men had been chosen, +and the crew "divided into two parts," then each man +was bidden to choose "his Mate, Consort or Comrade." +The bedding arrangements of these old ships were very +primitive. The officers had their bunks or hammocks +in their cabins, but the men seem to have slept wherever +and however they could. Some, no doubt had hammocks, +but the greater number lay in their cloaks between the +guns, on mattresses if they had them. A man shared +his bed and bedding (if he had any) with his "Mate, +Consort, or Comrade," so that the one bed and bedding +served for the pair. One of the two friends was always +on deck while the other slept. In some ships at the +present time the forecastles are fitted with bunks for +only half the number of seamen carried, so that the +practice is not yet dead. The boatswain, with all "the +Younkers or Common Sailors" then went forward of the +main-mast to take up their quarters between decks. The +captain, master's mates, gunners, carpenters, quartermasters, +etc., lodged abaft the main-mast "in their severall +Cabbins." The next thing to be done was the arrangement +of the ship's company into messes, "four to a mess," +after which the custom was to "give every messe a quarter +Can of beere and a bisket of bread to stay their stomacks +till the kettle be boiled." In the first dog-watch, from +4 to 6 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span>, all hands went to prayers about the main-mast, +and from their devotions to supper. At 6 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> the company +met again to sing a psalm, and say their prayers, +before the setting of the night watch; this psalm singing +being the prototype of the modern sea-concert, or singsong. +At 8 <span class="smcap lowercase">P.M.</span> the first night watch began, lasting until +midnight, during which four hours half the ship's company +were free to sleep. At midnight the sleepers were +called on deck, to relieve the watch. The watches were +changed as soon as the muster had been called and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span> +psalm sung, and a prayer offered. They alternated thus +throughout the twenty-four hours, each watch having +four hours below, after four hours on deck, unless "some +flaw of winde come, some storm or gust, or some accident +that requires the help of all hands." In these cases the +whole ship's company remained on deck until the work +was done, or until the master discharged the watch below.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> +The decks were washed down by the swabbers every +morning, before the company went to breakfast. After +breakfast the men went about their ordinary duties, cleaning +the ship, mending rigging, or working at the thousand +odd jobs the sailing of a ship entails. The tops were +always manned by lookouts, who received some small +reward if they spied a prize. The guns were sometimes +exercised, and all hands trained to general quarters.</p> + +<p>A few captains made an effort to provide for the comfort +of their men by laying in a supply of "bedding, +linnen, arms<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> and apparel." In some cases they also +provided what was called the petty tally, or store of +medical comforts. "The Sea-man's Grammar" of Captain +John Smith, from which we have been quoting, tells us +that the petty tally contained:</p> + +<p>"Fine wheat flower close and well-packed, Rice, Currants, +Sugar, Prunes, Cynamon, Ginger, Pepper, Cloves, Green +Ginger, Oil, Butter, Holland cheese or old Cheese, Wine-Vinegar, +Canarie-Sack, Aqua-vitæ, the best Wines, the +best Waters, the juyce of Limons for the scurvy, white +Bisket, Oatmeal, Gammons of Bacons, dried Neats +tongues, Beef packed up in Vineger, Legs of Mutton +minced and stewed, and close packed up, with tried Sewet +or Butter in earthen Pots. To entertain Strangers +Marmalade, Suckets, Almonds, Comfits and such like."</p> + +<p>"Some," says the author of this savoury list, "will say<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span> +I would have men rather to feast than to fight. But I +say the want of those necessaries occasions the loss of +more men than in any English Fleet hath been slain since +88. For when a man is ill, or at the point of death, I +would know whether a dish of buttered Rice with a little +Cynamon, Ginger and Sugar, a little minced meat, or +rost Beef, a few stew'd Prunes, a race of green Ginger, +a Flap-jack, a Kan of fresh water brewed with a little +Cynamon and Sugar be not better than a little poor +John, or salt fish, with Oil and Mustard, or Bisket, Butter, +Cheese, or Oatmeal-pottage on Fish-dayes, or on Flesh-dayes, +Salt, Beef, Pork and Pease, with six shillings beer, +this is your ordinary ship's allowance, and good for them +are well if well conditioned [not such bad diet for a healthy +man if of good quality] which is not alwayes as Sea-men +can [too well] witnesse. And after a storme, when poor +men are all wet, and some have not so much as a cloth +to shift them, shaking with cold, few of those but will +tell you a little Sack or Aqua-vitæ is much better to +keep them in health, than a little small Beer, or cold +water although it be sweet. Now that every one should +provide for himself, few of them have either that providence +or means, and there is neither Ale-house, Tavern, +nor Inne to burn a faggot in, neither Grocer, Poulterer, +Apothecary nor Butcher's Shop, and therefore the use +of this petty Tally is necessary, and thus to be employed +as there is occasion."</p> + +<p>The entertainment of strangers, with "Almonds, Comfits +and such like," was the duty of a sea-captain, for +"every Commander should shew himself as like himself +as he can," and, "therefore I leave it to their own Discretion," +to supply suckets for the casual guest. In those +days, when sugar was a costly commodity, a sucket was +more esteemed than now. At sea, when the food was +mostly salt, it must certainly have been a great dainty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span></p> + +<p>The "allowance" or ration to the men was as follows<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a>:—</p> + +<p>Each man and boy received one pound of bread or biscuit +daily, with a gallon of beer. The beer was served +out four times daily, a quart at a time, in the morning, +at dinner, in the afternoon, and at supper. On Sundays, +Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, which were flesh +days, the allowance of meat was either one pound of +salt beef, or one pound of salt pork with pease. On +Wednesdays and Saturdays, a side of salt-fish, ling, +haberdine, or cod, was divided between the members of +each mess, while a seven-ounce ration of butter (or olive +oil) and a fourteen-ounce ration of cheese, was served to +each man. On Fridays, or fast days, this allowance was +halved. At one time the sailors were fond of selling +or playing away their rations, but this practice was +stopped in the reign of Elizabeth, and the men forced +to take their food "orderly and in due season" under +penalties. Prisoners taken during the cruise were allowed +two-thirds of the above allowance.</p> + +<p>The allowance quoted above appears liberal, but it must +be remembered that the sailors were messed "six upon +four," and received only two-thirds of the full ration. The +quality of the food was very bad. The beer was the very +cheapest of small beer, and never kept good at sea, owing +to the continual motion of the ship. It became acid, and +induced dysentery in those who drank it, though it was +sometimes possible to rebrew it after it had once gone +sour. The water, which was carried in casks, was also +far from wholesome. After storing, for a day or two, it +generally became offensive, so that none could drink it. +In a little while this offensiveness passed off, and it might +then be used, though the casks bred growths of an unpleasant +sliminess, if the water remained in them for more +than a month. However water was not regarded as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span> +drink for human beings until the beer was spent. The +salt meat was as bad as the beer, or worse. Often +enough the casks were filled with lumps of bone and fat +which were quite uneatable, and often the meat was so +lean, old, dry and shrivelled that it was valueless as food. +The victuallers often killed their animals in the heat of +the summer, when the meat would not take salt, so that +many casks must have been unfit for food after lying for +a week in store. Anti-scorbutics were supplied, or not +supplied, at the discretion of the captains. It appears +that the sailors disliked innovations in their food, and +rejected the substitution of beans, flour "and those white +Meats as they are called" for the heavy, and innutritious +pork and beef. Sailors were always great sticklers for +their "Pound and Pint," and Boteler tells us that in the +early seventeenth century "the common Sea-men with +us, are so besotted on their Beef and Pork, as they had +rather adventure on all the Calentures, and Scarbots +[scurvy] in the World, than to be weaned from their +Customary Diet, or so much as to lose the least Bit +of it."</p> + +<p>The salt-fish ration was probably rather better than the +meat, but the cheese was nearly always very bad, and of +an abominable odour. The butter was no better than +the cheese. It was probably like so much train-oil. The +bread or biscuit which was stowed in bags in the bread-room +in the hold, soon lost its hardness at sea, becoming +soft and wormy, so that the sailors had to eat it in the +dark. The biscuits, or cakes of bread, seem to have been +current coin with many of the West Indian natives. In +those ships where flour was carried, in lieu of biscuit, as +sometimes happened in cases of emergency, the men +received a ration of doughboy, a sort of dumpling of +wetted flour boiled with pork fat. This was esteemed a +rare delicacy either eaten plain or with butter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span></p> + +<p>This diet was too lacking in variety, and too destitute +of anti-scorbutics to support the mariners in health. The +ships in themselves were insanitary, and the crews +suffered very much from what they called calentures, +(or fevers such as typhus and typhoid), and the scurvy. +The scurvy was perhaps the more common ailment, as +indeed it is to-day. It is now little dreaded, for its +nature is understood, and guarded against. In the sixteenth, +seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, it killed +its thousands, owing to the ignorance and indifference +of responsible parties, and to other causes such as the +construction of the ships and the length of the voyages. +A salt diet, without fresh vegetables, and without variety, +is a predisposing cause of scurvy. Exposure to cold and +wet, and living in dirty surroundings are also predisposing +causes. The old wooden ships were seldom very clean, +and never dry, and when once the scurvy took hold it +generally raged until the ship reached port, where fresh +provisions could be purchased. A wooden ship was never +quite dry, in any weather, for the upper-deck planks, and +the timbers of her topsides, could never be so strictly +caulked that no water could leak in. The sea-water +splashed in through the scuppers and through the ports, +or leaked in, a little at a time, through the seams. In +bad weather the lower gun-decks (or all decks below +the spar-deck) were more or less awash, from seas that +had washed down the hatchways. The upper-deck seams +let in the rain, and when once the lower-decks were wet +it was very difficult to dry them. It was impossible to +close the gun-deck ports so as to make them watertight, +for the water would find cracks to come in at, even though +the edges of the lids were caulked with oakum, and the +orifices further barred by deadlights or wooden shutters. +Many of the sailors, as we have seen, were without a +change of clothes, and with no proper sleeping-place, save<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> +the wet deck and the wet jackets that they worked in. It +often happened that the gun-ports would be closed for +several weeks together, during which time the gun-decks +became filthy and musty, while the sailors contracted all +manner of cramps and catarrhs. In addition to the wet, +and the discomfort of such a life, there was also the work, +often extremely laborious, incidental to heavy weather at +sea. What with the ceaseless handling of sails and ropes, +in frost and snow and soaking sea-water; and the continual +pumping out of the leaks the rotten seams admitted, +the sailor had little leisure in which to sleep, or to dry +himself. When he left the deck he had only the dark, +wet berth-deck to retire to, a place of bleakness and +misery, where he might share a sopping blanket, if he +had one, with the corpse of a drowned rat and the flotsam +from the different messes. There was no getting dry nor +warm, though the berth-deck might be extremely close +and stuffy from lack of ventilation. The cook-room, or +galley fire would not be lighted, and there would be no +comforting food or drink, nothing but raw meat and +biscuit, and a sup of sour beer. It was not more unpleasant +perhaps than life at sea is to-day, but it was +certainly more dangerous.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> When at last the storm +abated and the sea went down, the ports were opened +and the decks cleaned. The sailors held a general washing-day, +scrubbing the mouldy clothes that had been +soaked so long, and hanging them to dry about the +rigging. Wind-sails or canvas ventilators were rigged, +to admit air to the lowest recesses of the hold. The +decks were scrubbed down with a mixture of vinegar +and sand, and then sluiced with salt water, scraped with +metal scrapers, and dried with swabs and small portable +firepots. Vinegar was carried about the decks in large +iron pots, and converted into vapour by the insertion of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span> +red-hot metal bars. The swabbers brought pans of burning +pitch or brimstone into every corner, so that the +smoke might penetrate everywhere. But even then the +decks were not wholesome. There were spaces under +the guns which no art could dry, and subtle leaks in +the topsides that none could stop. The hold accumulated +filth, for in many ships the ship's refuse was swept on +to the ballast, where it bred pestilence, typhus fever and +the like. The bilge-water reeked and rotted in the bilges, +filling the whole ship with its indescribable stench. +Beetles, rats and cockroaches bred and multiplied in +the crannies, until (as in Captain Cook's case two centuries +later), they made life miserable for all on board. These +wooden ships were very gloomy abodes, and would have +been so no doubt even had they been dry and warm. +They were dark, and the lower-deck, where most of the +men messed, was worse lit than the decks above it, for +being near to the water-line the ports could seldom be +opened. Only in very fair weather could the sailors have +light and sun below decks. As a rule they ate and slept +in a murky, stuffy atmosphere, badly lighted by candles +in heavy horn lanthorns. The gloom of the ships must +have weighed heavily upon many of the men, and the +depression no doubt predisposed them to scurvy, making +them less attentive to bodily cleanliness, and less ready to +combat the disease when it attacked them. Perhaps some +early sea-captains tried to make the between decks less +gloomy by whitewashing the beams, bulkheads and ship's +sides. In the eighteenth century this seems to have been +practised with success, though perhaps the captains who +tried it were more careful of their hands in other ways, and +the benefit may have been derived from other causes.</p> + +<p>Discipline was maintained by some harsh punishments, +designed to "tame the most rude and savage people in +the world." Punishment was inflicted at the discretion<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span> +of the captain, directly after the hearing of the case, but +the case was generally tried the day after the commission +of the offence, so that no man should be condemned in +hot blood. The most common punishment was that of +flogging, the men being stripped to the waist, tied to +the main-mast or to a capstan bar, and flogged upon +the bare back with a whip or a "cherriliccum." The +boatswain had power to beat the laggards and the ship's +boys with a cane, or with a piece of knotted rope. A +common punishment was to put the offender on half his +allowance, or to stop his meat, or his allowance of wine +or spirits. For more heinous offences there was the very +barbarous punishment of keel-hauling, by which the +victim was dragged from the main yardarm right under +the keel of the ship, across the barnacles, to the yardarm +on the farther side. Those who suffered this +punishment were liable to be cut very shrewdly by the +points of the encrusted shells. Ducking from the main +yardarm was inflicted for stubbornness, laziness, going on +shore without leave, or sleeping while on watch. The +malefactor was brought to the gangway, and a rope +fastened under his arms and about his middle. He was +then hoisted rapidly up to the main yardarm, "from +whence he is violently let fall into the Sea, some times +twice, some times three severall times, one after another" +(<i>Boteler</i>). This punishment, and keel-hauling, were made +more terrible by the discharge of a great gun over the +malefactor's head as he struck the water, "which proveth +much offensive to him" (<i>ibid.</i>). If a man killed another +he was fastened to the corpse and flung overboard (<i>Laws +of Oleron</i>). For drawing a weapon in a quarrel, or in +mutiny, the offender lost his right hand (<i>ibid.</i>). Theft +was generally punished with flogging, but in serious cases +the thief was forced to run the gauntlet, between two +rows of sailors all armed with thin knotted cords. Duck<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span>ing +from the bowsprit end, towing in a rope astern, and +marooning, were also practised as punishments for the +pilferer. For sleeping on watch there was a graduated +scale. First offenders were soused with a bucket of water. +For the second offence they were tied up by the wrists, +and water was poured down their sleeves. For the third +offence they were tied to the mast, with bags of bullets, +or gun-chambers tied about their arms and necks, until +they were exhausted, or "till their back be ready to +break" (<i>Monson</i>). If they still offended in this kind they +were taken and tied to the bowsprit end, with rations +of beer and bread, and left there with leave to starve +or fall into the sea. Destruction or theft of ships' +property was punished by death. Petty insurrections, +such as complaints of the quality or quantity of the food, +etc., were punished by the bilboes. The bilboes were +iron bars fixed to the deck a little abaft the main-mast. +The prisoner sat upon the deck under a sentry, and his +legs and hands were shackled to the bars with irons of +a weight proportioned to the crime. It was a rule that +none should speak to a man in the bilboes. For +blasphemy and swearing there was "an excellent good +way"<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> of forcing the sinner to hold a marline-spike in +his mouth, until his tongue was bloody (<i>Teonge</i>). Dirty +speech was punished in a similar way, and sometimes +the offending tongue was scrubbed with sand and canvas. +We read of two sailors who stole a piece of beef aboard +H.M.S. <i>Assistance</i> in the year 1676.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Their hands were +tied behind them, and the beef was hung about their +necks, "and the rest of the seamen cam one by one, and +rubd them over the mouth with the raw beife; and in +this posture they stood two howers." Other punishments +were "shooting to death," and hanging at the yardarm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span> +"And the Knaveries of the Ship-boys are payd by the +Boat-Swain with the Rod; and commonly this execution +is done upon the Munday Mornings; and is so frequently +in use, that some meer Seamen believe in earnest, that +they shall not have a fair Wind, unless the poor Boys +be duely brought to the Chest, that is, whipped, every +Munday Morning" (<i>Boteler</i>).</p> + +<p>Some of these punishments may appear unduly harsh; +but on the whole they were no more cruel than the +punishments usually inflicted ashore. Indeed, if anything +they were rather more merciful.</p> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX</h2> + +<h3>IN ACTION</h3> + + +<p>In engaging an enemy's ship at sea the custom was +to display the colours from the poop, and to hang +streamers or pennons from the yardarms.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> The spritsail +would then be furled, and the spritsail-yard brought +alongship. The lower yards were slung with chain, +and the important ropes, sheets and braces,<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> etc., were +doubled. The bulkheads and wooden cabin walls were +knocked away, or fortified with hammocks or bedding, +to minimise the risk of splinters. The guns were cast +loose and loaded. The powder or cartridge was brought +up in "budge barrels," covered with leather, from the +magazine, and stowed well away from the guns, either +in amidships, or on that side of the ship not directly +engaged. Tubs of water were placed between the guns +with blankets soaking in them for the smothering of +any fire that might be caused. Other tubs were filled +with "vinegar water or what we have" for the sponging +of the guns. The hatches leading to the hold were taken +up, so that no man should desert his post during the +engagement. The light sails were furled, and in some +cases sent down on deck. The magazines were opened, +and hung about with wet blankets to prevent sparks +from entering. Shot was sent to the shot-lockers on +deck. Sand was sprinkled on the planking to give a +greater firmness to the foothold of the men at the guns. +The gunner and his mates went round the batteries to +make sure that all was ready. The caps, or leaden plates,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> +were taken from the touch-holes, and the priming powder +was poured down upon the cartridge within the gun. +The carpenter made ready sheets of lead, and plugs of +oakum, for the stopping of shot-holes.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> The cook-room +fire was extinguished. The sails were splashed with a +solution of alum. The people went to eat and drink at +their quarters. Extra tiller ropes, of raw hide, were rove +abaft. The trumpeters put on their<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> tabards, "of the +Admiral's colours," and blew points of war as they sailed +into action. A writer of the early seventeenth century<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> +has left the following spirited account of a sea-fight:—</p> + +<p>"A sail, how bears she or stands shee, to winde-ward +or lee-ward? set him by the Compasse; he stands right +ahead, or on the weather-Bowe, or lee-Bowe, let fly your +colours if you have a consort, else not. Out with all your +sails, a steady man to the helme, sit close to keep her +steady, give him chase or fetch him up; he holds his +own, no, we gather on him. Captain, out goes his flag +and pendants, also his waste-clothes and top-armings, +which is a long red cloth about three quarters of a yard +broad, edged on each side with Calico, or white linnen +cloth, that goeth round about the ship on the outsides +of all her upper works fore and aft, and before the +cubbridge-heads, also about the fore and maine tops, as +well for the countenance and grace of the ship, as to +cover the men for being seen, he furies and slinges his +maine yarde, in goes his spret-saile. Thus they use to +strip themselves into their short sailes, or fighting sailes, +which is only the fore sail, the main and fore topsails, +because the rest should +<ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'notb e'">not be</ins> +fired nor spoiled; besides +they would be troublesome to handle, hinder our fights +and the using our armes; he makes ready his close +fights fore and aft.</p> + +<p>"Master, how stands the chase? Right on head I say;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> +Well we shall reatch him by and by; what's all ready? +Yea, yea, every man to his charge, dowse your topsaile to +salute him for the Sea, hale him with a noise of trumpets; +Whence is your ship? Of Spaine; Whence is yours? Of +England. Are you a Merchant, or a Man of War? We +are of the Sea. He waves us to Lee-ward with his drawne +Sword, cals amaine for the King of Spaine and springs +his loufe. Give him a chase piece with your broadside, +and run a good berth ahead of him; Done, done. We +have the winde of him, and he tackes about, tacke you +aboute also and keep your loufe [keep close to the wind] +be yare at the helme, edge in with him, give him a volley +of small shot, also your prow and broadside as before, and +keep your loufe; He payes us shot for shot; Well, we +shall requite him; What, are you ready again? Yea, yea. +Try him once more, as before; Done, Done; Keep your +loufe and charge your ordnance again; Is all ready? +Yea, yea, edge in with him again, begin with your bowe +pieces, proceed with your broadside, and let her fall off +with the winde, to give her also your full chase, your +weather broadside, and bring her round that the stern +may also discharge, and your tackes close aboord again; +Done, done, the wind veeres, the Sea goes too high to +boord her, and we are shot thorow and thorow, and +betwene winde and water. Try the pump, bear up the +helme; Master let us breathe and refresh a little, and +sling a man overboard [<i>i.e.</i> lower a man over the side] to +stop the leakes; that is, to trusse him up aboute the +middle in a piece of canvas, and a rope to keep him from +sinking, and his armes at liberty, with a malet in the one +hand, and a plug lapped in Okum, and well tarred in a +tarpawling clowt in the other, which he will quickly beat +into the hole or holes the bullets made; What cheere +mates? is all well? All well, all well, all well. Then +make ready to bear up with him again, and with all your<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> +great and small shot charge him, and in the smoke boord +him thwart the hawse, on the bowe, midships, or rather +than faile, on the quarter [where the high poop made it +difficult to climb on board] or make fast your graplings +[iron hooks] if you can to his close fights and shear off [so +as to tear them to pieces]. Captain, we are fowl on each +other, and the Ship is on fire, cut anything to get clear +and smother the fire with wet clothes. In such a case +they will presently be such friends, as to helpe one the +other all they can to get clear, lest they should both burn +together and sink; and if they be generous, the fire +quenched, drink kindely one to another; heave their +cans overboord, and then begin again as before.</p> + +<p>"Well, Master, the day is spent, the night drawes on, let +us consult. Chirurgion, look to the wounded, and winde +up the slain, with each a weight or bullet at their heades +and feet to make them sinke, and give them three Gunnes +for their funerals. Swabber, make clean the ship [sprinkle +it with hot vinegar to avoid the smell of blood]; Purser, +record their Names; Watch, be vigilant to keep your +berth to windeward that we lose him not in the night; +Gunners, spunge your Ordnance; Sowldiers, scowre your +pieces; Carpenters about your leakes; Boatswaine and the +rest repair your sails and shrouds; and Cooke, you observe +your directions against the morning watch; Boy, Holla, +Master, Holla, is the Kettle boiled? Yea, yea; Boatswaine, +call up the men to prayer and breakfast [We +may suppose the dawn has broken].</p> + +<p>"Boy, fetch my cellar of bottels [case of spirits], a health +to you all fore and aft, courage my hearts for a fresh +charge; Gunners beat open the ports, and out with your +lower tire [lower tier of guns] and bring me from the +weather side to the lee, so many pieces as we have ports +to bear upon him. Master lay him aboord loufe for loufe; +mid Ships men, see the tops and yards well manned, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> +stones, fire pots and brass bailes, to throw amongst them +before we enter, or if we be put off, charge them with all +your great and small shot, in the smoke let us enter them +in the shrouds, and every squadron at his best advantage; +so sound Drums and Trumpets, and Saint George for +England.</p> + +<p>"They hang out a flag of truce, hale him a main, abase, +or take in his flag [to hale one to amaine, a main or a-mayn, +was to bid him surrender; to abase was to lower the +colours or the topsails], strike their sails, and come aboord +with their Captaine, Purser, and Gunner, with their commission, +cocket, or bills of loading. Out goes the boat, +they are launched from the ship's side, entertaine them +with a generall cry God save the Captain and all the +company with the Trumpets sounding, examine them in +particular, and then conclude your conditions, with feasting, +freedom or punishment as you find occasion; but alwayes +have as much care to their wounded as your own, and if +there be either young women or aged men, use them +nobly, which is ever the nature of a generous disposition. +To conclude, if you surprise him, or enter perforce, you +may stow the men, rifle, pillage, or sack, and cry a +prise."</p> + +<p>Down below in the gun-decks during an action, the +batteries became so full of the smoke of black powder +that the men could hardly see what they were doing. +The darkness prevented them from seeing the very +dangerous recoiling of the guns, and many were killed +by them. It was impossible to judge how a gun carriage +would recoil, for it never recoiled twice in the same manner, +and though the men at the side tackles did their best to +reduce the shock they could not prevent it altogether. +It was the custom to close the gun-ports after each +discharge, as the musketeers aboard the enemy could +otherwise fire through them as the men reloaded. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span> +guns were not fired in a volley, as no ship could have +stood the tremendous shock occasioned by the simultaneous +discharge of all her guns. They were fired in +succession, beginning from the bows. In heavy weather +the lower tiers of guns were not cast loose, for the rolling +made them difficult to control, and the sea came washing +through the ports and into the muzzles of the guns, knocking +down the men and drenching the powder. It sometimes +happened that the shot, and cartridge, were rolled clean +out of the guns. In sponging and ramming the men +were bidden to keep the sponge or rammer on that side +of them opposite to the side exposed to the enemy so +that if a shot should strike it, it would not force it into the +body of the holder. A man was told off to bring cartridges +and shot to each gun or division of guns and he was +strictly forbidden to supply any other gun or guns during +the action. The wounded were to be helped below by +men told off especially for the purpose. Once below, in +the cockpit, they were laid on a sail, and the doctor or his +mates attended to them in turn. In no case was a man +attended out of his turn. This system seems equitable, +and the sailors were insistent that it should be observed; +but many poor fellows bled to death, from shattered +arteries, etc., while waiting till the doctor should be ready. +The chaplain attended in the cockpit to comfort the dying, +and administer the rites of the Church. When a vessel +was taken, her crew were stripped by those in want of +clothes. The prisoners were handcuffed, or chained +together, and placed in the hold, on the ballast. The +ship's company then set to work to repair damages, clean +and secure the guns, return powder, etc., to the armoury, +and magazines, and to give thanks for their preservation +round the main-mast.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> +<a name="map" id="map"></a> +<a href="images/map.png"><img src="images/map_th.png" width="500" height="398" +alt="Map Shewing the EARLY BUCCANEER CRUISING GROUND" +title="Map Shewing the EARLY BUCCANEER CRUISING GROUND" /></a> +<span class="caption">Map Shewing the EARLY BUCCANEER CRUISING GROUND</span> +</div> + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<h2><a name="FOOTNOTES" id="FOOTNOTES"></a>FOOTNOTES</h2> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> This was eleven years after the royal mandate ordering the transference of +the main trade of the place to Porto Bello. Perhaps the town retained much +of the trade, in spite of the mandate, as the transference involved the making +of a new mule track across the bogs and crags between Venta Cruz and Porto +Bello. Such a track would have taken several years to lay.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> <i>Caliver</i>, a light, hand musket. A musket without a crutch, or rest.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> See particularly Burney, Exquemeling, Edwards, and Hazard.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> See Exquemeling, Burney, and the Abbé Raynal.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Burney.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> See Burney, and Exquemeling.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Exquemeling.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Precarious, and not at all permanent.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Similar pacts of comradeship are made among merchant sailors to this day.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Exquemeling gives many curious details of the life of these strange people. +See the French edition of "Histoire des Avanturiers."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Exquemeling gives these details.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Exquemeling.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Dampier.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Exquemeling.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Dampier and Exquemeling.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> With reservations. See p. 13, <a href="#Footnote_1_1"><i>note</i></a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> They had come ashore to get water.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> See Charnock's "Marine Architecture."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> See Corbett's "Drake and the Tudor Navy."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> See Sir W. Monson, "Naval Tracts," and Sir R. Hawkins, "Observations," +etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> or caliver.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> This word unclow may be a misprint for uncloy. To uncloy was to get rid +of the spike, or soft metal nail, thrust into a piece's touch-hole by an enemy. +It was done by oiling the spike all over, so as to make it "glib," and then +blowing it out, from within, by a train of powder.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> He had to hang out the ship's colours on going into action (<i>Monson</i>).</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> See "The Sea-man's Grammar," by Captain John Smith.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The men were expected to bring their own swords and knives.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> See Sir W. Monson's "Naval Tracts."</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> The mortality among the sailors was very great.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> <i>Circa</i> 1670.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> The punishment would have been no less severe a century earlier.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Monson.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Monson.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> <i>Ibid.</i></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Captain John Smith.</p></div> + + + +<hr class="chapter" /> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span></p> +<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2> + + +<ul><li class="section"><span class="smcap">Action</span>, description of ship in, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a></li> + +<li>Allowance of food and drink, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a>, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a></li> + +<li>Alvarado, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>, etc.</li> + +<li>—— battle of, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> + +<li>Anastasius (church), <a href='#Page_252'>252</a></li> + +<li>Andreas, Captain, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a></li> + +<li>Antonio, Captain, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a></li> + +<li>Arica, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_266'>266</a>, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a></li> + +<li>—— battle of, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a></li> + +<li>Arquebus, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Barbecue</span>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></li> + +<li>Barker, Andrew, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a></li> + +<li>Baronha, Admiral, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a></li> + +<li>Bastimentos, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a></li> + +<li><i>Bear</i>, pinnace, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a></li> + +<li>Bishop (of Panama), <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a></li> + +<li>Blewfields, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a></li> + +<li>Boats (ships'), <a href='#Page_297'>297</a></li> + +<li>Boatswains, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a></li> + +<li>Boco del Toro, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a></li> + +<li>Boucan, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a></li> + +<li>Bracos, De los, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a></li> + +<li>Bradley, John, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> + +<li>Buccaneers, rise of, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">customs, etc., <a href='#Page_113'>113</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">dress, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">drunkenness, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">cruel, <a href='#Page_116'>116</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">religious, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">attached to comrades, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">preparations for raids, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">shares of spoil, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at the Samballoes, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at Perico, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a></li> + +<li>Buckenham, Captain, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Cabeças</span>, or Cabezas, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a></li> + +<li>Cabin-boys, <a href='#Page_319'>319</a></li> + +<li>Campeachy, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></li> + +<li>Canoas, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">capturing prizes from, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> + +<li>Captains, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a>, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a>, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a>, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a></li> + +<li>Caribs, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a></li> + +<li>Carpenters, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a></li> + +<li>Cartagena, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a>, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></li> + +<li>Cartridges, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a>, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a></li> + +<li>Castle Gloria, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a></li> + +<li>Cativaas, or Catives, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a></li> + +<li>Cedro Bueno, halt at, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a></li> + +<li>—— canoas sent to, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a></li> + +<li>Chaplains, <a href='#Page_321'>321</a>, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a></li> + +<li>Chagres Castle, expedition to, under Bradley, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> + +<li>—— Morgan's arrival at, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a></li> + +<li>—— party sent to, <a href='#Page_203'>203</a></li> + +<li>—— message from, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a></li> + +<li>Chagres River, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>; also <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>-<a href='#Page_210'>210</a></li> + +<li>Charesha, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a></li> + +<li>Chatas (small Spanish boats), <a href='#Page_179'>179</a></li> + +<li>Cheapo River, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a></li> + +<li>Chapillo, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a></li> + +<li>Chirurgeons, <a href='#Page_321'>321</a></li> + +<li>Colonies in West Indies, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a></li> + +<li>Commissions, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a></li> + +<li>Cook, Captain, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a></li> + +<li>Cooks (ships'), <a href='#Page_315'>315</a></li> + +<li>Coopers, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a></li> + +<li>Compensations, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a></li> + +<li>Comrades, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a></li> + +<li>Corporals, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a></li> + +<li>Costa Rica, Morgan sails for, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a></li> + +<li>Cox, Captain, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a></li> + +<li>Coxon, Captain, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a></li> + +<li>—— sails for home, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a></li> + +<li>Coxswains, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a></li> + +<li>Crews, <a href='#Page_319'>319</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Daggs</span> (pistols), <a href='#Page_304'>304</a></li> + +<li>Dampier, William, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">early life in West Indies, <a href='#Page_218'>218</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">ill at Campeachy, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">ruined by storm, <a href='#Page_226'>226</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes pirating, <i>ibid.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> +to England, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">to Jamaica, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">joins buccaneers, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">lands on isthmus, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">not at Perico, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">not at Arica, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">leaves Sharp, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a>, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">tramps across isthmus, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a></li> + +<li>Darien, Gulf of, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a></li> + +<li>Darien isthmus. <i>See</i> Drake, Morgan, Dampier, etc.</li> + +<li>Delander, R., <a href='#Page_180'>180</a></li> + +<li>De la Barra Castle, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a></li> + +<li>Diego, <a href='#Page_19'>19</a>, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a></li> + +<li>—— Fort, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a></li> + +<li>—— River, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li> + +<li>Discomforts, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a></li> + +<li>Discipline, <a href='#Page_330'>330</a>, <a href='#Page_331'>331</a>, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a></li> + +<li>Drake, Francis (afterwards Sir Francis), born, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at San Juan d'Ulloa, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at West Indies, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails for Nombre de Dios, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">lands, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">joins Rause, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails west, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">attacks Nombre de Dios, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">hurt, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">receives herald, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes to Cartagena, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">establishes fort, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes east, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">in Cartagena, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, etc.;</li> +<li class="sub">returns thither, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">starving, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">holds post mortem, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes for Panama, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">fails to take treasure, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">retreats, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at Venta Cruz, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns to Hixom, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes to Veragua, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">meets Captain Tetû, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">makes his great raid, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">builds raft, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>-<a href='#Page_90'>90</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">his bravado, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">arrives at Plymouth, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">mentioned, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sacks St Domingo, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">his island, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a></li> + +<li>—— John, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a></li> + +<li>—— Joseph, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Entertainments</span>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a></li> + +<li>Estera longa Lemos (near Porto Bello), <a href='#Page_153'>153</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Firing</span> (of cannon), <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">and aiming, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a></li> + +<li>Fort Jeronimo (at Porto Bello), <a href='#Page_151'>151</a></li> + +<li>Francisco River (St Francis River), <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a>, <a href='#Page_92'>92</a></li> + +<li>French in West Indies, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></li> + +<li>—— buccaneer commissions, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a></li> + +<li>Fumigations, <a href='#Page_329'>329</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Gabriele, Josef</span>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a></li> + +<li>Galleons, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> + +<li>Galliasses, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a></li> + +<li>Galleys, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a></li> + +<li>Gambling, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a></li> + +<li>Garret, John, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a></li> + +<li>Gayny, G., <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a></li> + +<li>Gear (sailors'), <a href='#Page_296'>296</a></li> + +<li>Gibraltar (in Maracaibo), <a href='#Page_162'>162</a></li> + +<li>Glub, Charles, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a></li> + +<li>Golden Island, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a></li> + +<li>Gorgona, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a></li> + +<li>Grummets, <a href='#Page_320'>320</a></li> + +<li>Guasco (Huasco), <a href='#Page_274'>274</a></li> + +<li>Gunners, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a>, <a href='#Page_301'>301</a>, <a href='#Page_302'>302</a>, <a href='#Page_304'>304</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a>, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a>, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a>, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a></li> + +<li>Guns, <a href='#Page_298'>298</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">list of, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a></li> + +<li>Guzman, Don John Perez, takes Santa Katalina, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a>. <i>See also</i> Panama battle</li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Harris, Captain</span>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">killed and buried, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a></li> + +<li>Hawkins, Sir R., <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">his story of Oxenham, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a></li> + +<li>Hayti, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a></li> + +<li>Hilo (Ylo or Ilo), <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a></li> + +<li>Hispaniola, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a> <i>et seq.</i>, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a></li> + +<li>Hixom, Ellis, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a>, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_77'>77</a></li> + +<li>Hobby, Mr, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a></li> + +<li>Hunters, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a>, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Indians</span>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a></li> + +<li>Iquique (Yqueque), <a href='#Page_264'>264</a></li> + +<li>Iron Castle (at Porto Bello), <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a>, <a href='#Page_158'>158</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Jamaica</span>, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a>, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a></li> + +<li>Jobson (or Cobson), <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a></li> + +<li>Joiners, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a></li> + +<li>Juan Fernandez, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Katalina, Santa</span>, Mansvelt goes to, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a></li> + +<li>—— Morgan takes, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a></li> + +<li>King Golden Cap, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">La Serena</span>, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a></li> + +<li>Las Serenas, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a></li> + +<li>La Sounds Key, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a></li> + +<li>Liars, <a href='#Page_320'>320</a></li> + +<li>Lieutenants, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a></li> + +<li>Linstocks, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a></li> + +<li><i>Lion</i>, pinnace, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a></li> + +<li>Logwood cutting, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">description of, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a></li> + +<li>Longships, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a></li> + +<li>Lorenzo, San, Castle of, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">taken, <a href='#Page_176'>176</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">Morgan's return to, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">destroyed, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Magdalena</span>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_37'>37</a></li> + +<li>Main, the, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></li> + +<li>Mansvelt, Dutch pirate, cruises in South Seas, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">his plans, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">meets Henry Morgan, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails with him, <i>ibid.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes Santa Katalina, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">seeks recruits and recognition from English Governor, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">is refused help, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails to Tortuga, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">dies, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a></li> + +<li>Maracaibo, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a></li> + +<li>Maroons, <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_38'>38</a>, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_58'>58</a>, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a></li> + +<li>Marygalante, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li> + +<li>Masts, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a></li> + +<li>Masters, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a>, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a></li> + +<li><i>Minion</i>, pinnace, <a href='#Page_49'>49</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a></li> + +<li>Moone, T., <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a></li> + +<li>Morgan, Henry (afterwards Sir Henry), meets Mansvelt, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails with him, <i>ibid.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">tries to get help from New England, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">gathers fleet, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes for Puerto del Principe, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">battle there, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">town taken, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">stay there, <a href='#Page_143'>143</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">mutiny and fight, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">defection of French allies, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns to Port Royal, <a href='#Page_146'>146</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails for Costa Rica, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">lands, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes a fort, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">attacks Porto Bello, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes it, <a href='#Page_157'>157</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">receives summons from Panama, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">defeats Spanish troops, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">receives ransom, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns to Port Royal, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes for Maracaibo, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">summons De la Barra Castle, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">the fireship, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">Spanish rally, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">Morgan's stratagem, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">his return to Port Royal, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">goes for Main, <a href='#Page_168'>168</a>, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes Santa Katalina, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails for Chagres, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">reaches Venta Cruz, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sees Panama, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes it, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, etc.;</li> +<li class="sub">burns his ships, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">leaves ruins, <a href='#Page_210'>210</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns to Venta Cruz, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">destroys San Lorenzo, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">returns to Port Royal, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">becomes Governor of Jamaica, <a href='#Page_216'>216</a></li> + +<li>Mosquito Indians, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a>, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>, <a href='#Page_124'>124</a>, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a></li> + +<li>Mule trains (or recuas), <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a></li> + +<li>Munjack, <a href='#Page_228'>228</a></li> + +<li>Muskets, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a></li> + +<li>Mutiny, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Nombre De Dios</span>, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_10'>10</a>, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">description of, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, etc.;</li> +<li class="sub">attack on, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a></li> + +<li>Norman, Captain, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a>, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">One Bush Key</span>, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_224'>224</a></li> + +<li>Ortega, John de, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a></li> + +<li>Oxenham, John, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a>, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_64'>64</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">sails on his raid, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">builds ship, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">raids South Seas, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">mutiny, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a>, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">Spaniards take him, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">and hang him, <a href='#Page_104'>104</a>, <a href='#Page_108'>108</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Panama</span>, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>, <a href='#Page_55'>55</a>, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a></li> + +<li>—— description of, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a>.</li> + +<li>—— Morgan's sight of, <a href='#Page_190'>190</a></li> + +<li>—— Governor of. <i>See</i> Guzman, <a href='#Page_159'>159</a>, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>.</li> + +<li>Parrots, at Alvarado, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a></li> + +<li><i>Pascha</i>, a ship, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a></li> + +<li>Pavesses, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a></li> + +<li>Pearl Islands, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a>, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a></li> + +<li>Pedro, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a>, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a></li> + +<li>Penn, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></li> + +<li>Peralta, Don, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span></li> + +<li>Periaguas, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></li> + +<li>Perico, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>, <a href='#Page_245'>245</a>, <a href='#Page_246'>246</a>, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>-<a href='#Page_253'>253</a></li> + +<li>Petticoat (a sky-blue), <a href='#Page_279'>279</a></li> + +<li>Petty tally, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a></li> + +<li>Pezoro, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a></li> + +<li>Pike, Robert, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a></li> + +<li>Pine Islands, <a href='#Page_8'>8</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a></li> + +<li>Pinnaces, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, +<a href='#Page_7'><ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads '7,'">7</ins></a></li> + +<li>Plenty, Port, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a></li> + +<li>Plymouth, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a>, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a>, <a href='#Page_98'>98</a></li> + +<li>Porto Bello, <a href='#Page_11'>11</a>, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a>, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">description, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a> <i>et seq.</i>;</li> +<li class="sub">attacked and sacked, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a> <i>et seq.</i>; <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a></li> + +<li>Port Pheasant, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a></li> + +<li>Port Royal, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a></li> + +<li>—— Morgan's return to, <a href='#Page_215'>215</a></li> + +<li>—— Dampier arrives at, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a></li> + +<li>Porto Santo, <a href='#Page_4'>4</a></li> + +<li>Provisions, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a>, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a>, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a></li> + +<li>Puebla Nueva, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a></li> + +<li>Puerto del Principe, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a> <i>et seq.</i></li> + +<li>Pursers, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Quartermasters</span>, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a></li> + +<li>Quibo, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Raft</span> (Drake's), <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a></li> + +<li>Rause, Captain, <a href='#Page_7'>7</a>, <a href='#Page_9'>9</a>, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a></li> + +<li>Rigging, ancient, <a href='#Page_295'>295</a></li> + +<li>Ringrose, Basil, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, +<a href='#Page_249'><ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads '349'">249</ins></a>, +<a href='#Page_250'>250</a></li> + +<li>—— at Arica, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a></li> + +<li>Rio de la Hacha, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a></li> + +<li>Rio Grande, <a href='#Page_32'>32</a>, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a></li> + +<li>Roundships, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Sails</span>, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a>, <a href='#Page_295'>295</a>, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a>, <a href='#Page_297'>297</a></li> + +<li>Sailing from port, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a>, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a></li> + +<li>San Andreas, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a></li> + +<li>—— Antonio, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a></li> + +<li>—— Barnardo, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a>, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a>, <a href='#Page_50'>50</a>, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a></li> + +<li>—— Domingo, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a>,</li> + +<li>—— Juan d'Ulloa, <a href='#Page_1'>1</a>, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>, <a href='#Page_12'>12</a>,</li> + +<li>—— Miguel, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a></li> + +<li>Santa Maria, <a href='#Page_232'>232</a>, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a></li> + +<li>—— Martha, <a href='#Page_5'>5</a>, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a></li> + +<li>—— Pecaque, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a></li> + +<li>Savannahs, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a></li> + +<li>Sawkins, Richard, Captain, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_236'>236</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>, <a href='#Page_256'>256</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">killed, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a></li> + +<li>Scrivanos, <a href='#Page_28'>28</a>, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a></li> + +<li>Sea-fighting, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a>, <a href='#Page_335'>335</a>, <a href='#Page_336'>336</a>, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a></li> + +<li>Searles, Captain, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a></li> + +<li>Sharp, Captain Bartholomew, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>, <a href='#Page_233'>233</a>, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_238'>238</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a>, <a href='#Page_242'>242</a>, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>, <a href='#Page_254'>254</a>, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">takes prizes, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">elected admiral, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a>, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a>, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">at Arica, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a>, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a>, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a>, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a></li> + +<li>Ship-boys, <a href='#Page_319'>319</a></li> + +<li>Simon Le Sieur, <a href='#Page_136'>136</a>, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a>, <a href='#Page_138'>138</a></li> + +<li>Smith, Captain John, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a></li> + +<li>Springer, Captain, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a></li> + +<li>—— his key, <a href='#Page_286'>286</a></li> + +<li>Stewards, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a></li> + +<li>Swabbers, <a href='#Page_319'>319</a>, <a href='#Page_320'>320</a></li> + +<li><i>Swan</i>, a ship, <a href='#Page_2'>2</a>, <a href='#Page_3'>3</a>, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a>, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Tawnymores</span> (a ship of), <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a>, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a></li> + +<li>Tetû, Captain, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a>, <a href='#Page_83'>83</a>, <a href='#Page_84'>84</a>, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">hurt, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a></li> + +<li>Tiburon, Cape, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a></li> + +<li>Tocamora, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a></li> + +<li>Tolu, <a href='#Page_6'>6</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a>, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a></li> + +<li>Top-arming, <a href='#Page_294'>294</a></li> + +<li>Torna Munni, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a></li> + +<li>Tortuga, <a href='#Page_111'>111</a>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></li> + +<li>Tree (a great), <a href='#Page_60'>60</a>, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a></li> + +<li><i>Trinity</i>, the Most Blessed, a Spanish galleon, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>, <a href='#Page_253'>253</a>, +<a href='#Page_259'><ins class="correction" title="Transcriber's Note: original reads '359'">259</ins></a>, +<a href='#Page_260'>260</a>, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a></li> + +<li>Tristian, Captain, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a></li> + +<li>Trumpeters, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a></li> + +<li>Tucker, Francis, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Venables</span>, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a></li> + +<li>Venta Cruz, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_68'>68</a>, <a href='#Page_69'>69</a>, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a>, <a href='#Page_71'>71</a>, <a href='#Page_72'>72</a>, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a>, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>, <a href='#Page_212'>212</a></li> + +<li>Veragua, <a href='#Page_78'>78</a>, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a>, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a>, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a></li> + +<li>Villa del Rey, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Wafer, Lionel</span>, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a>, <a href='#Page_281'>281</a>, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a>, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a>, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a>, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a></li> + +<li>Watling, John, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a>, <a href='#Page_263'>263</a>, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_266'>266</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">attacks Arica, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a>, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a>;</li> +<li class="sub">shot, <a href='#Page_270'>270</a></li> + + +<li class="section"><span class="smcap">Ylo</span>, <a href='#Page_260'>260</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a>, <a href='#Page_274'>274</a></li> + +<li>Yqueque, <a href='#Page_264'>264</a>, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a></li> + +<li>Younkers, <a href='#Page_320'>320</a></li> + +<li>Ysabel Nueva, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a></li></ul> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of On the Spanish Main, by John Masefield + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE SPANISH MAIN *** + +***** This file should be named 19396-h.htm or 19396-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/9/3/9/19396/ + +Produced by Frank van Drogen, Amy Cunningham and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can 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