“And there, resting upon a gun still hot from recent fighting, Dampier drew his paper and ink-horn from his bamboo joint and on the blood-stained deck proceeded to make one of his ‘particular draughts’ of the harbor and to write an account of the brave and exciting deeds through which he had just passed.
“It was, of course, out of the question for the buccaneers to attempt to take Panama, for the [[145]]defenses were powerful, it was surrounded with an immense, heavily armed wall, it swarmed with soldiers, as well as its thousands of citizens, and the large ships could not approach within cannon shot. But the buccaneers had little cause to complain. They had taken five ships, the largest, the Holy Trinity, a galleon of four hundred tons, and while the cargoes consisted of sugar, skins, soap and flour of little value, still, with good ships under their command, the buccaneers were in a position to take prizes and raid towns. To retain all five ships was not practical and, accordingly, two were promptly fired and sunk. Those saved were the Trinity; a sugar-laden ship of about two hundred tons, which was taken over by Cook; and a fifty-ton piragua in command of Coxon. Coxon was disgruntled, having been accused of backwardness in the fight, and three days after the battle he left the buccaneers with twenty of his sympathizers and sailed away to Darien to march back to the Atlantic and his ship, taking with him the Indian guides.
“A day or two later, Captain Sharp arrived, having taken a small Spanish bark while on his search for water, and shortly afterwards Captain Harris turned up, also with a prize. During [[146]]Sharp’s absence, Sawkins had been elected commandant, and, having turned loose all but their most important prisoners, the buccaneers proceeded to Taboga Island to repair and refit the captured ships.
“While there the buccaneers were visited by a number of Spanish merchants from Panama who brought various supplies and goods to sell to the buccaneers, for, incredible as it may seem, the corsairs had a most remarkable habit of dealing fairly with tradesmen, even though they were slaughtering and robbing others. To these Spanish merchants the buccaneers disposed of much of the material they had found on the ships, and Ringrose informs us that they paid excellent prices, offering two hundred pieces of eight for each slave the English could spare. You may wonder why unprincipled robbers and cut-throats like the buccaneers should dispose of their goods when they could have so easily possessed themselves of their visitors’ money without giving anything in return, but it was one of their codes of honor to deal fairly under such conditions and there is no record that they ever used violence or robbed a visitor or one who came to them on a friendly mission. [[147]]
“While at Taboga, several ships were captured by the buccaneers, one of which proved a rich prize, as it contained two thousand jars of wine, fifty kegs of gunpowder and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. Also, from this ship, the English learned of a galleon due from Lima with over one hundred thousand pieces of eight, and, rubbing their hands with satisfaction, the buccaneers proceeded to make ready to receive her.
“Meanwhile, the governor of Panama sent a message to Sawkins asking why, in time of peace, British had attacked Spaniards and for what reason the buccaneers had come to Panama. To this Sawkins facetiously replied that they had come ‘to assist the King of Darien, who was true Lord of Panama,’ and that ‘having come so far they should have some satisfaction.’ Adding that ‘should His Excellency be pleased to send five hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander and would promise not further to annoy the Indians, but give them full liberty, then the buccaneers would depart peacefully, otherwise they would remain to get what they might!’ And here also occurred another of the odd incidents which showed the buccaneers’ strange natures and point of view. One of the [[148]]Spanish merchants brought word to Captain Sawkins that the Bishop of Panama had formerly been the Bishop of Santa Marta and had been a captive of Sawkins when the latter took the place. Thereupon Sawkins sent the Bishop two loaves of sugar with his best wishes. In return, the Bishop sent a gold ring and his compliments and also a second message from the Governor. This time His Excellency wished to know from whom the buccaneers had commissions and to whom he should complain of the damages they had done. Evidently Sawkins was a humorous man, for he replied that, ‘As yet the company are not all together, but when they are they will visit His Excellency in Panama and bring their commissions in the muzzles of their guns, at which time you shall read them as plain as the flame of powder can make them.’ But such interchanges of pleasantries did not serve to satisfy the impatient men, and provisions were getting woefully low. In vain their commanders urged that they await the arrival of the plate ship from Peru. They demanded action and food and at last, finding open mutiny would break out if he refused, Sawkins hoisted sail and, leaving Taboga, cruised westward along the coast in search of towns to sack [[149]]and vessels to capture. In this they were quite successful. They took Otoque Island, looted the pearl catch from Coiba and attacked Puebla Nueva. But they met with disaster as well. Two of their vessels foundered, with a loss of twenty-two men, and on the attack upon Puebla Nueva brave Captain Sawkins met his death, and the buccaneers were beaten off. [[150]]
CHAPTER IX
THE “MOST DANGEROUS VOYAGE” OF CAPTAIN SHARP
“Say, that beat anything that Morgan did!” exclaimed Jack. “And yet, I never even heard of Sharp or Sawkins and the rest.”