The boys' book of buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

“After a short but bloody battle the buccaneers gained the town, but the Dons, barricaded in their houses, kept up a galling fire until Morgan sent word that unless they surrendered he would burn the city and cut the women and children to pieces before the Spaniards’ eyes. This threat had its effect, and the Dons at once surrendered. Thereupon Morgan immediately imprisoned all the Spaniards in the churches without food or drink, and proceeded to pillage, drink and carouse. These diversions they varied by dragging forth the half-starved prisoners and torturing them to make them divulge the hiding places of their wealth, but fortunately for the poor people, the majority of women and children perished for want of food before Morgan and his men could wreak more terrible deaths upon them. Finally, finding nothing more could be secured, Morgan informed the survivors of the citizens that unless they paid a large ransom he would transport them to Jamaica to be sold as slaves and would burn the town. The Dons promised to do their best, but [[54]]finally, feeling convinced that they could not raise the sum and that to remain longer in the vicinity might result in disaster, Morgan consented to withdraw upon delivery of five hundred head of cattle. These being furnished, he compelled the prisoners to drive the beasts to the coast and to butcher, dress and salt them and load the meat aboard his ships. While this was going on Morgan exhibited one of his odd kinks of character which were always creeping out. One of the French buccaneers was busily cutting up and salting an ox for his own use when an English corsair came up and calmly took possession of the marrow bones. Words and insults resulted, a challenge was issued and a duel arranged, but as they reached the spot selected for the fight the Englishman drew his cutlass and stabbed the Frenchman in the back, killing him treacherously. Instantly the other French buccaneers started an insurrection, but before it had gone far Morgan interposed, ordered the offending Englishman chained and promised to have him hanged when they reached Jamaica, which he did.

“The taking of Puerto Príncipe, although a notable exploit, was, nevertheless, a most unprofitable venture, the entire booty obtained amounting [[55]]to barely fifty thousand pieces of eight. As a result, the men were so dissatisfied that the French buccaneers refused to follow Morgan farther. Morgan’s next exploit was the most daring that the buccaneers had ever attempted, for it was nothing more or less than an attack upon the supposedly impregnable forts of Porto Bello, the Atlantic terminus of the Gold Road across the Isthmus of Panama.”

“Please, Dad, what was the Gold Road?” asked Jack, as his father paused.

“The Gold Road,” answered his father, “was the roughly paved highway leading from the old city of Panama on the Pacific to Nombre de Dios and Porto Bello on the Caribbean. If you will look at the map here you will see Porto Bello situated about twenty-five miles east of Colón with Nombre de Dios just beyond. Nombre de Dios, however, was abandoned after its capture by Sir Francis Drake, and the terminus of the road became Porto Bello. To-day the place is of no importance—a small village of native huts—but the ruins of the old castles and forts are still standing in a good state of preservation, and the place is historically very interesting. Moreover, just off the port Sir Francis Drake’s body was buried at sea. But to [[56]]resume. The Gold Road was the only route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and over it all the vast treasures won by the Spaniards from the west coasts of North, South and Central America and Mexico were transported on mule-back to be shipped to Spain. Over it were carried the millions in gold, silver and jewels of the Incas; over it was carried the output of countless fabulously rich mines, incalculable wealth in pearls from the islands off Panama, emeralds from Colombia, bullion and plate, the stupendous wealth wrested by the ruthless Dons from Indian princes, princesses and kings; such a treasure as the world had never seen before. In long mule trains the vast wealth was carried over the Gold Road through the jungle, escorted by armed men, accompanied by shackled slaves, and in Porto Bello it was stored in the great stone treasure house to await the galleons and their armed convoy to carry it to Spain. Naturally, with such incredible fortunes stored in Porto Bello, the Spaniards used every effort and spared no expense to make the place so impregnable that there was no chance of its falling to the buccaneers, and in all New Spain, aside from Havana, there was no spot more strongly fortified and garrisoned than Porto Bello. The defenses [[57]]consisted of two immense castles or forts, several batteries and outlying bastions and a garrison of nearly four hundred men, all seasoned veterans and heavily armed. To attack this formidable spot Morgan had nine vessels, several of them small boats, and a total force of four hundred and sixty men. No buccaneer had dreamed of attacking Porto Bello since the completion of its defenses—although in 1602 it had been taken and sacked by William Parker—but Morgan counted on a complete surprise, an assault made under cover of darkness from the land side and conducted by one of his men who had once been a prisoner in Porto Bello.

“Arriving at the River Naos, they traveled upstream a short distance and then struck out through the forest. As they neared the city, Morgan sent the former prisoner of the Spaniards, with several men, to kill or capture the sentry at the outlying fort, and, creeping upon him, they made him a prisoner before he could give an alarm and brought him bound and gagged to Morgan. Under threat of torture and death if he gave an alarm, the fellow was marched before the buccaneers and, without being seen, they surrounded the first fort. Their prisoner was then [[58]]ordered to call to the garrison, tell them an overwhelming force had surrounded them and advise them to surrender or otherwise they would be butchered without mercy. The garrison, however, spurned the advice and instantly commenced firing into the darkness. Although their shots did little damage, yet they served to arouse the city and prepare the other forces for the attack. With wild yells and shouts the battle was on, and although the Dons fought most valiantly the outlying fort fell to the buccaneers, and Morgan, as good as his word, put every living occupant to death, thinking this would terrorize the other garrisons. In order to do this the more effectually, Morgan shut the survivors, men and officers together, in a store-room and, rolling in several kegs of powder, blew the entire company to bits. Then, like fiends, he and his men rushed towards the city. All was confusion, despite the warning the Spaniards had received, and the inhabitants, who had not had time to reach the protection of the forts, rushed screaming hither and thither, casting their valuables into wells and cisterns, hiding in corners and filled with terror. Bursting into the cloisters, the buccaneers dragged out the monks and nuns and urging them with blows and pricks of their swords, [[59]]forced them to raise the heavy scaling ladders to the walls of the forts, Morgan thinking that the Dons would not fire upon the religious men and women. But in this he was mistaken. The Governor, who throughout had been stoutly defending the castle, had held his own and had wrought terrific execution upon the buccaneers. Time after time the corsairs rushed forward through the storm of bullets and round shot, striving to reach the castle doors, but each time the Dons hurled grenades, burning tar, hot oil and molten lead upon them and drove them back. And when Morgan threatened to force the nuns and priests to place the ladders the brave old Governor replied that ‘never would he surrender while he lived,’ and that he ‘would perform his duty at any costs.’ Despite the piteous appeals of the friars and the nuns as they were beaten forward to the walls, the Governor gave no heed and ordered his men to shoot them down as though they were buccaneers. Carrying fireballs and grenades which they heaved among the garrison, the buccaneers poured over the parapets. Knowing all was lost, the soldiers threw down their arms and begged for quarter, but the courageous Governor, sword in hand, backed against a wall and prepared to resist until the last. [[60]]Even the buccaneers were won by his bravery and offered quarter if he would surrender, but his only answer was to taunt them and shout back that, ‘I would rather die a valiant soldier than be hanged as a coward.’

“So struck was Morgan by the man’s heroism that he ordered his men to take him alive, and over and over again they closed in upon him. But he was a magnificent swordsman; before his thrusts and blows the buccaneers fell wounded and dead, and deaf to the entreaties of his wife and children, the brave man fought on. At last, finding it impossible to make him prisoner, Morgan ordered him to be shot down, and the brave old Don fell, with his blood-stained sword, among the ring of buccaneers he had killed. The castle was now in Morgan’s hands, and, gathering together the wounded Spaniards, he callously tossed them into a small room, ‘to the intent their own complaints might be the cure of their hurts, for no other was afforded them,’ as Esquemeling puts it.

“Then, devoting themselves to a wild orgy of feasting and drinking, the buccaneers gave themselves up to debauchery and excesses until, as Esquemeling points out, they were so maudlin [[61]]that ‘fifty men might easily have taken the city and killed all the buccaneers.’ But unfortunately the fifty men were not available, and on the following day as usual the buccaneers proceeded to loot the town and torture the people into confessions of the hiding places of their riches. Many died on the rack or were torn to pieces, and while the buccaneers were practicing every devilish cruelty they could invent, word of the taking of Porto Bello had been carried by fugitives to the governor of Panama. He immediately prepared to equip an expedition to attack the buccaneers, but before it arrived Morgan was getting ready to leave, having been in possession of Porto Bello fifteen days. Before departing, however, he sent word to the Governor General, demanding a ransom of one hundred thousand pieces of eight if he did not wish Porto Bello burned and destroyed. Instead of sending the ransom, the Governor dispatched a force of armed men to attack the buccaneers. This Morgan had expected, and, stationing a hundred of his men in ambush in a narrow pass, he put the Spaniards to rout and repeated his threats to the people of the unfortunate town. By hook and by crook the inhabitants managed [[62]]to raise the huge sum, and Morgan commenced his evacuation in accordance with his promise.

“As he was doing so a messenger arrived from the Governor General bearing a letter requesting Morgan to send him ‘some small pattern of the arms wherewith he had, by such violence, taken a great city.’ Evidently the Governor imagined that the buccaneers possessed some novel or marvelous arms, for he could not believe that the place had fallen to the English through ordinary means. Morgan received the messenger courteously and with a flash of grim humor handed him a pistol and a few bullets, telling him to carry them to the Governor and to inform him that ‘he desired him to accept that slender pattern of arms wherewith he had taken Porto Bello and to keep them for a twelvemonth, after which time he would come in person to Panama and fetch them away.’

“Evidently, too, the haughty old Governor had a sense of humor, for ere Morgan sailed away the messenger returned, bearing a message of thanks from the Governor, a gold ring which he was requested to accept with His Excellency’s compliments and a letter stating that Morgan ‘need not give himself the trouble of visiting Panama, for [[63]]he could promise that he should not speed as well there as he had at Porto Bello.’

“With the vast loot he had won, a treasure amounting to a quarter of a million pieces of eight, thousands of bales of silks, vast stores of merchandise and fabulous sums in bullion, plate and jewels, Morgan left the harried shores of Panama and set sail for Port Royal, where he arrived in safety and was welcomed and lauded as the greatest buccaneer of them all.” [[64]]