Hitherto the canoes had either drifted with the stream, or been propelled with poles; but new oars and paddles were constructed, and every nerve strained to reach the goal as soon as possible. It was after midnight when a landing was effected on a piece of swampy ground in the neighborhood of Santa María, and the weary adventurers stealthily sought shelter in the woods, where they proposed to lie until daybreak.

FIGHT AT SANTA MARIA.

At dawn on April 15th the corsairs were aroused by a discharge of small arms in the town and the sounding of the reveille. Quickly seizing their weapons they formed in line and began their advance. On emerging from the shelter of the woods they were in full view of the enemy, who had been apprized of their landing and were fully prepared to receive them, having already removed the whole treasure to Panamá. Instantly betaking themselves to the shelter of the fort, a kind of tambour-work composed of stockades twelve feet high, the Spaniards opened a random and ill-judged fire upon their assailants before the latter had approached near enough for the fusillade to be effective.

Undismayed at the warmth of their reception, the advance guard, led by Sawkins and Sharp, charged with a force impossible to withstand, and tearing down a few stockades carried the work by storm, with no further casualty than two men wounded. The rapidity of the operation may be convinced from the fact that the freebooters were masters of the situation before fifty of their men were brought into action. The Spanish loss was twenty-six killed and sixteen wounded, out of two hundred and sixty engaged. The garrison was ordinarily much stronger, numerically, but at this time two hundred were absent serving as escort of the treasure on the way to Panamá. The governor, the priest, and most of the principal inhabitants had also sought safety in flight.

The causes of this cheaply bought success are not far to seek. The fort was doubtless an excellent defence in an Indian fight, but was in no way adapted for protection against the corsairs, the stockades being neither strengthened by brickwork or masonry nor protected by a ditch. In all probability there was no banquette, so that when once the stakes were forced the defenders would have no advantage over their assailants, both being on level ground.

The Spaniards emptied their pieces at random, instead of reserving their fire till the enemy came to close quarters, when it could have been employed with deadly precision. Their foemen, on the other hand, wasted no time on a useless fusillade. Relying implicitly upon their acknowledged superiority in a hand-to-hand fight, added to the well founded terror of their name, they may be said, practically speaking, to have burnt no powder at all, their brilliant coup-de-main being effected with the cutlass alone. Panic-stricken at the ease with which their defences were forced, the Spaniards opposed but a feeble resistance to the ruthless assailants of Portobello. Hemmed within their own stronghold, from which there was no retreat, they flung down their arms and sued for quarter, and the town of Santa María was in the hands of the dreaded buccaneers.

As regards booty, it was a barren victory. The gold which came in from the mines was shipped to Panamá two or three times a year, the river at Santa María being nearly six hundred yards wide, and at high tide fifteen feet deep. The last shipment—three hundred pounds' weight—was despatched just three days before the attack. This was a cruel disappointment to the pirates. Worse almost than that, they found provisions enough to feed them for only three or four days, instead of the abundance they anticipated.

In the town was recovered the eldest daughter of Antonio Golden-cap, who had been abducted by one of the garrison, by whom she was at that time pregnant.[XXIX‑11] This had greatly embittered the chief's hatred of the Spaniards,[XXIX‑12] and now the Indians, who during the action had avoided stray bullets by taking advantage of a depression in the ground, seized many of the prisoners, led them into the neighboring woods, and butchered in cold blood as many as had previously fallen in fight.[XXIX‑13] Such deeds by Indians the Europeans deemed brutal, though falling far short of some of their own in this quarter; at all events the pirates put a stop to it as soon as it was discovered, and confined the Spaniards in the fort, guarding them closely.[XXIX‑14]

AFTER THE GOVERNOR.

As soon as possible after the capture of the town Captain Sawkins with a party of ten embarked in a canoe and started down the river to overtake and capture the governor and others who had escaped, in order to prevent their carrying news of the capture to Panamá. Failing to secure their prey, the pirates determined not to retrace their steps empty-handed, but to push on to Panamá, where they felt certain of a prize worth the risk. It is true that some at least of the company murmured at this project, and wished to return to the ships, more especially Captain Coxon. In order therefore to secure unanimity in the adventure Coxon was elected commander-in-chief.[XXIX‑15] As a matter of precaution, a few of the prisoners, together with the small amount of plunder taken, were sent back to the ships under a guard of twelve men.