In the wake of the buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

Demoralized by the death of their leader, the corps de garde surrendered, when, to their amazement, the pirates found that, besides these twenty-five picked men, only five Spaniards remained alive and that of the thirty survivors more than twenty were seriously wounded.

The pirates also had lost heavily; in fact, their losses were the greatest they had ever suffered in an attack, for over one hundred men had been killed, and more than seventy were seriously wounded.

Forcing the captured Spaniards to cast the dead bodies over the walls into the river, the victorious pirates then shut the wounded men and the few women into the stone church above the fort and proceeded to repair the damages, after sending word of the victory to Morgan.

But the leader’s plans had in a way fallen through, for he had thought to take San Lorenzo quickly and to annihilate the Dons, so that no warning of the pirates’ approach would reach Panama. Despite the ferocity of the assault, the desperate fighting, and the fact that the fortress was constantly surrounded by the buccaneers, a party of eight daring Spaniards volunteered to attempt to get through the pirates’ lines, make their way to the capital, and give warning of the enemy’s approach. [[358]]It seemed an all but hopeless undertaking, but the men succeeded. They reached Panama in safety, and ere Morgan started up the river on his way across the isthmus the inhabitants knew of his coming and were preparing to meet him.

Before leaving Old Providence, en route to San Lorenzo and Panama, Morgan sacked the island, put the town and all the houses to the torch, and, leaving only the one fortress of Santa Teresa, which he garrisoned with his own men, he made prisoners of the people, placed them aboard his ships, and set sail for the Chagres. At the mouth of the river four of his ships went on the bar and were lost, among them the flag-ship, but by heroic efforts all lives were saved—with the exception of a few score of Spanish captives, who were of course of no account whatsoever in the pirates’ estimation!

Reaching captured San Lorenzo, Morgan hoisted the British colors over it (the rascal invariably committed his villainies under the British ensign), and, chaining his prisoners in gangs, he forced them to labor from dawn till dark at repairing the fortress, setting up a new palisade, and remounting the guns. He had no intention of leaving the Chagres unguarded so that a Spanish fleet could enter and bottle him up on the isthmus. Having [[359]]reconditioned the fortress and garrisoned it with five hundred men, in addition to one hundred and fifty men on the ships anchored in the stream, he felt quite secure and with twelve hundred desperate pirates he and his fellows embarked in five large boats and thirty-two canoes and started up the Chagres.

At the spot called Cruz de Juan Gallego, which they reached on the second day, the company were compelled to desert their boats, for it was the middle of the dry season (January) and the river was so low that farther navigation was impossible.

Then began a journey of hardship, suffering, and dogged perseverence which is almost unparalleled. The pirates had carried few provisions, expecting to supply themselves from settlements and Indian camps on the way, but word had gone ahead of their coming, every village and camp was deserted, fields had been destroyed, and provisions taken away. Day after day they tramped on, ever rushing madly toward some clearing or group of huts, only to curse and rave when they found them deserted, surrounded by smoking, blackened gardens, and without a morsel of anything that could be eaten.

On the fourth day so ravenous had the men grown that they actually devoured their leathern [[360]]wallets, in order, as Esquemelling informs us, “to afford something to the ferment of their stomachs, which was now grown so sharp that it did gnaw their very bowels, having nothing else to prey upon.” Maddened with hunger, they even fought over the scraps of leather, and their chronicler continues: “Thus they made a huge banquet upon those bags of leather, which doubtless had been more grateful unto them if divers quarrels had not arisen as to who should have the greatest share.” Indeed, they were ready for cannibalism, and Esquemelling, referring to the Spaniards they hoped to meet, says, “Whom they would certainly in that occasion have roasted or boiled to satisfy their famine.”

But neither Dons nor foodstuffs were forthcoming, and with hunger somewhat assuaged by their meal of leather they plodded wearily on, most of them bereft even of the leathern equipment to devour, while a few, who were more fortunate, had reserved a portion of their former rations. “Here again he was happy,” says their historian, “that had reserved since noon any small piece of leather whereof to make his supper.”