Chapter XXXVII: Guatemala and Chiapas (11)

[XXVIII‑10] It was agreed that one hundredth part of all the
booty should be set aside for the commander's portion; that
each captain should draw, besides his own, the shares of 8,
10, or 12 men, according to the size of his vessel, and that
the surgeon should receive 200 pesos, and each carpenter 100
pesos, in addition to their regular pay. For those who should
be maimed in action compensation was thus provided: for the
loss of both eyes, 2,000 pesos; of one eye, 100; of both arms,
1,800; of both legs, 1,500; of a single arm or leg, 500; and
of a finger, 100 pesos; or an equivalent in slaves—on the
basis of one slave for each one hundred pesos. He who should
be the first to force his way into a Spanish castle, or to
haul down the Spanish colors and plant the English standard
on the walls, was to receive 50 pesos; he who should take a
prisoner from whom serviceable news could be obtained, 100
pesos; he who should throw hand-grenades among the enemy,
5 pesos for each one thrown; and he who in action should
capture an officer of rank, risking his life thereby, was to
be rewarded according to the degree of his valor. All rewards
and extra allowances were to be paid over before a general
division should be made of the booty. I find nothing set aside
for Christ or the church. _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Flib._, ii.
108-110; _Hist. Bucaniers_, 126.

[XXVIII‑11] _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Flibustiers_, ii. 117, and
_Hist. Bucaniers_, 129, 130.

[XXVIII‑12] Three ships and 470 men, according to _Sharp's
Voyages_, 130.

[XXVIII‑13] The account given in _Sharp's Voyages_, 130, is
that the buccaneers, in plying their hand-grenades, set fire
to a guard-house that stood on the wall of the castle. This
seems improbable, for they were separated from the fort by the
crevasse, by the palisades beyond, and by the space between
the palisades and the castle walls, which must have been
beyond reach of such missiles.

[XXVIII‑14] In _Sharp's Voyages_, 133, it is stated that
Morgan left only 300 men to guard the castle, and started for
Panamá with 1,400 buccaneers, 7 small ships, and 36 boats. The
intercepted despatch from the president of Panamá, translated
in the same work, states (page 153) that Morgan reached Panamá
with 2,300 men. In _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Flib._, i. 137, the
number is given at 1,300.

[XXVIII‑15] Authorities differ materially in their accounts
of this skirmish. Exquemelin, _Hist. Bucaniers_, 141, and
Archenholtz, _Hist. Pirates_, 135, speaks of a flight of
3,000 or 4,000 arrows; but there is no evidence that a body
of several thousand Indians was ever assembled at a given
point, and if this were so it does not appear how they managed
to shoot such a flight of arrows down a narrow ravine. The
_Hist. Flibustiers_, i. 153, says the pass was cut through
the rock, in order to shorten and render less difficult the
route between Panamá and Chagre; in that case it could not
have been of any great length. In _Sharp's Voyages_, 134, it
is stated that none of the buccaneers were killed, and only
three slightly wounded.

[XXVIII‑16] See intercepted letter from the president of
Panamá translated in _Sharp's Voyages_, 151-52.

[XXVIII‑17] The old town of Panamá was destroyed by Morgan in
January 1671. _Exquemelin's Hist. Bucaniers_, 148. In _Sharp's
Voyages_, 142, January 1670 is given as the date.

[XXVIII‑18] Translation of the president's letter in _Sharp's
Voyages_, 155. There is considerable discrepancy in the
various accounts of the action before Panamá; but there is
no evidence that Guzman acquitted himself in the least like
a soldier. Exquemelin, _Hist. Flib._, ii. 160, and _Hist.
Buccaniers_, 140, Sharp, _Voyagers_, 138 (in the author's own
account of the battle), and Archenholtz, _Hist. Pirates_, 140,
all agree that the cavalry bore the brunt of the fight, and
not one of these authorities has a word to say in favor of
the pusillanimous captain-general.

[XXVIII‑19] Here again authors differ essentially in their
narrative. _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Bucaniers_, 147, states that
the freebooters suffered severely from the Spanish artillery
as they approached the city. Archenholtz, _Hist. Pirates_,
141, makes the same statement; but the _Hist. Flib._, ii. 164,
says that they encountered no opposition; and this version
is probably correct, for as remarked in _Burney's Buccaneers
of America_, 67, Panamá had no regular fortifications, and
in parts lay open, and was to be won or defended by plain
lighting. Sharp, _Voyages_, 141, indorses the _Hist. Flib._

[XXVIII‑20] It is difficult to decide, amidst a conflict of
authorities, whether the burning of Panamá was due to the
Spaniards or to Morgan's orders. In _Exquemelin_, _Hist.
Bucaniers_, 148, it is implied that Morgan gave such an
order secretly, and for private reasons. In _Hist. Flib._,
ii. 169, it is positively stated that Morgan, fearing the
Spaniards might surprise him by night, caused the city to
be fired. In _Archenholtz' Hist. Pirates_, 143, the blame
is also laid to Morgan's charge. On the other hand, in the
president's despatch, translated in _Sharp's Voyages_, 156, it
is admitted that the city was fired by slaves and by some of
the inhabitants. It is acknowledged by all these writers that
the freebooters attempted to stay the conflagration. There
seems no good reason why Morgan, who had now at his disposal
28 pieces of artillery, should have feared an attack from the
Spaniards, or why he should commit an act which destroyed his
chance of receiving a ransom. In _Robles_, _Documentos para la
Historia de Méjico_, série i. tom. ii. 117, it is mentioned
that a letter from the president of Panamá, dated April 3,
1671, nearly six weeks after Morgan's departure, was received
in Mexico in December of that year. The letter confirms the
intercepted despatch in many particulars, and adds that when
the city was burned the buccaneers 'found themselves without
provisions and supplies, and on that account did not carry out
their main intention, which was to pass to Portobello by land,
besiege it with vessels by sea, and capture it by blockade,
and that they brought with them in anticipation a boy whom
they styled the prince, and intended to crown king of Tierra
Firme.'

[XXVIII‑21] _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Flib._, ii. 171. The ingots
of gold and silver were of course in transit for Spain, and
had been placed on board the galleon for safe keeping.

[XXVIII‑22] In _Hist. Bucaniers_, 152, it is stated that he
was then hung up by the private parts, and flogged in that
position.

[XXVIII‑23] All the leading authorities agree that the
prisoners were subjected to excruciating torture. The author
of _Sharp's Voyages_ makes an attempt to clear Morgan's
character, and to throw ridicule on the story of these
atrocities. The work was published in London in 1684, a few
years after Morgan was knighted by Charles II. The writer
collected his materials in part from inquiry among the
buccaneers themselves, and may therefore be worthy of credence
in some matters of detail; but the fact that 16 out of 20
pages of preface are taken up with a sorry effort 'to rescue
the Honour of that incomparable Souldier and Seaman,' while
the narrative of the raid on Panamá occupies but 20 out of
170 pages, seems to show the purpose for which it was written.

[XXVIII‑24] 'Quatre cent quarante-trois mille deux cens
livres, comptant l'argent rompu à dix piastres la livre.'
_Exquemelin_, in _Hist. Flib._, ii. 191. In pages 197-8 of the
same volume there is an explanation of the manner in which
Morgan contrived to secrete a large quantity of precious
stones. The buccaneers may have believed that such an amount
of plunder had been obtained, though its real value was
probably less than one third of what they supposed it to be.
In _Sharp's Voyages_, 143, the worth of the spoils is stated
at £30,000, a sum almost insufficient to defray the expenses
that Morgan must have incurred in obtaining his title from
Charles II. There are no reliable data on this point.

[XXIX‑1] 'It is beautified with a great many fair Churches and
Religious Houses.' _Dampier's Voy._, i. 178-9. So in _Drake's
Univ. Col. Voy._, 63, and _Coreal_, _Voy._, i. 92.

[XXIX‑2] Under command of captains Harris and Sawkins.
_Ringrose's Voyage_, 2.

[XXIX‑3] The foundation of the friendship between the natives
of Darien and the buccaneers was laid by Captain Wright while
cruising off the Samballas about 1665. In that year Wright
made captive a lad who, in 1679, when the captain was again
in those parts, convinced his people that Englishmen hated
Spaniards, and would therefore prove useful allies. In proof
of their friendly disposition toward the Indians, he instanced
the kind treatment he had received. The natives then boarded
the privateer; and being judiciously treated, an agreement
was made permitting the English to cross this territory to
the South Sea. _Dampier's Voyage_, i. 181-3.

[XXIX‑4] The buccaneers had just captured a packet conveying
letters to Portobello, some of which were addressed to Panamá
merchants from their correspondents in Spain. These letters
alluded to a prophecy at that time current: 'That there would
be English Privateers that Year in the West Indies, who would
make such great Discoveries, as to open a Door into the South
Seas.' This was interpreted by the captors to mean a passage
overland through the territory of the Indians, and this
interpretation coinciding with the invitation of the natives
prompted them to undertake a march on Panamá. _Dampier's
Voyage_, i. 180-1.

[XXIX‑5] Andrés was styled the 'emperor of Darien,' the
magnate to whose service the freebooters now claimed to
belong. These chieftains at one time ruled a large tract
about the gulf of Darien; but had been straitened in their
boundaries by the Spaniards, with whom they waged continual
war. _Sharp's Voyage_, 2.

[XXIX‑6] 'Over a Bay.' _Ringrose's Voy._, 4. 'By the side of a
bay.' _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 91. 'En doen over een
Inham van byna een Mijl in de lengte.' _Exquemelin_, _Hist.
Boecaniers_, 148.

[XXIX‑7] Ringrose speaks of this monarch with intense gravity,
marred by no trace of irony. Probably this was the first
crowned head with whom he had been on intimate terms.

[XXIX‑8] Ringrose calls the beast a 'Tygre,' _Voy._, 8; but it
was more probably a jaguar, or a tiger-cat. It is true there
may have been risk in using fire-arms, but why could not the
Indians have killed it with their arrows?

[XXIX‑9] An anonymous authority states that the smaller
party reached the rendezvous on April 12th, and seeing their
friends had not arrived, held a whispered consultation among
themselves. Andrés, on observing this, despatched a canoe up
the smaller branch of the river, which soon returned with two
canoes of the larger body, who all arrived next day. _Sharp's
Voy._, 7-8.

[XXIX‑10] Sharp speaks of the peccary as the 'Warre,' and
describes it as a wild animal somewhat resembling the hog
in appearance and flavor, but 'the Navels of these kind of
animals grew on their backs.' _Sharp's Voy._, 4, in _Hacke_,
_Coll._ There is, however, no doubt that it was the peccary.
Pascual de Andagoya mentions it, falling into the error common
to old writers as regards the 'navel' on the back. _Andagoya_,
_Narr._, 17. It is also noticed by Acosta, _Hist. Ind._, lib.
iv. cap. xxxviii., and Herrera, dec. ii. lib. ii. cap. iv.
De Rochfort speaks of it under the name of 'Javaris.' _Hist.
Nat. des Isles Antilles_, 138 (ed. 1665). In Costa Rica the
animal is still vulgarly known as the 'warré,' though the name
is not found in print, and I have therefore adopted phonetic
English spelling, which agrees with that of Captain Sharp.

[XXIX‑11] Exquemelin thus relates the incident referred to:
'Hier vonden en verlosten we d'oudste Dogter van de Konink
van Darien (van wien hier boven is gewag gemaakt), die zo't
scheen door een van de Soldaten van't Guarnizoen met geweld
uyt haar Vaders Huys was weg genomen; en zwanger by hem was.'
_Hist. Boecaniers_, 153.

[XXIX‑12] The affair is not noticed by Sharp. It seems
probable that desire for vengeance might induce the father and
grandfather, Antonio and Andrés, to exaggerate the wealth of
Santa María.

[XXIX‑13] This massacre is not mentioned by Sharp, but he
places the Spanish loss at about 70 in killed and wounded,
which would perhaps include those murdered by the Indians.
_Journal_, 6; in _Hacke's Coll._

[XXIX‑14] It is stated that disappointment of their booty
rendered the rovers more blood-thirsty than usual, 'for though
they were faintly opposed, and lost not a man, 26 Spaniards
were killed, and 16 wounded in the assault, and many others
were deliberately butchered in the woods, subsequent to the
surrender by the Indians.' _United Service Journal, 1837_,
pt. ii. 316.

[XXIX‑15] _Ringrose's Voy._, 11; _Sharp_, _Journal_, 7, in
_Hacke's Coll._; _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 96.

[XXIX‑16] The term _piragua_ is here applied to a large canoe
frequently carrying a mast and sails, and quite different from
a common 'dug-out.' The buccaneers frequently called this boat
a bark.

[XXIX‑17] 'It pleased God, that with extream danger even
to those that rescued them, they were all saved. It being a
certain truth that those who are born to be hang'd shall never
be drown'd, it proving so with us, one of our Company being
hang'd at _Jamaica_ on _Port Royal_; And we were very near it
here in _London_.' _Sharp's Voyage_, 11.

[XXIX‑18] Sharp says 14 days. _Journal_, 10, in _Hacke's
Coll._

[XXIX‑19] _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.; _Ringrose's Voy._, 20-1.
The last-named author gives the number of the crew as 137.
Hacke, _Col. Voy._, ii. 10, and Sharp, _Voyage_, 12, say 130
men.

[XXIX‑20] See _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 98.

[XXIX‑21] _Hacke's Col. Voy._ Sharp reached Chepillo Island
April 23d, but one authority states that the fleet and the
bark parted company at this date.

[XXIX‑22] _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.; _Ringrose's Voy._, 21-2.
One man killed and five wounded according to _Hacke's Col.
Voy._, ii. 10.

[XXIX‑23] According to _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.; _Ringrose's
Voy._, 22, all the prisoners escaped except one. But Sharp's
statement that his men reported to him 'that there were dead
People lying on the Ground, which made them conjecture our Men
had had a Fight with the Spaniards,' _Hacke's Col. Voy._, ii.
12; _Sharp's Voy._, 12, disproves Ringrose's version, which
glosses over this atrocity.

[XXIX‑24] The city of Panamá was usually garrisoned by 300
regular troops and 1,100 militia, but when the buccaneers
arrived in the bay most of their soldiers were absent from
the city, and the people were in the utmost consternation,
having only some twelve hours' notice of the impending attack.
The best of the soldiers remaining were placed on board the
squadron, so it seems highly probable that if the pirates
had landed instead of engaging the war-ships they might have
gained possession of the place. _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.;
_Ringrose's Voy._, 28-9.

[XXIX‑25] _Id._, 25-6. Another account of this battle
differs somewhat from the above: 'We boarded one of them, and
carried her; so with her we took the second; and the third
had certainly run the same fate, had not she scoured away in
time.' _Sharp's Voyage_, 13-14.

[XXIX‑26] 'We had eleven Men Killed right out, and thirty-four
more Wounded dangerously.' _Id._, 14. Sharp also gives the
same numbers, _Hacke's Col. Voy._, ii. 12. Ringrose says their
loss was 18 killed and 22 wounded, two of the latter dying
afterward, one of whom was 'Captain Peter Harris, a brave
and stout soldier ... born in the County of Kent.' _Bucaniers
of Amer._, ii. 27. Burney says '18 were killed, and above 30
wounded,' _Hist. Bucc._, 99; as also _United Service Jour.,
1837_, pt. ii. 316.

[XXIX‑27] The ships captured in the action were also burned
later.

[XXIX‑28] The crew of this vessel had captured another bark,
and dismantling the old one and putting their prisoners
on board of her without masts or sails turned them adrift.
_Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.: _Ringrose's Voy._, 30.

[XXIX‑29] According to Sharp in _Id._, 14, and the anonymous
narrator in _Sharp's Voy._, 15. Ringrose says: 'He drew off
with him, to the number of Three-score and Ten of our Men.'
_Bucaniers of Amer._, ii. 30.

[XXIX‑30] Sharp fixes this date at April 29th. _Hacke's Col.
Voy._, 16.

[XXIX‑31] She contained 2,000 jars of wine, 50 jars of
gunpowder, and 51,000 pesos according to Ringrose. _Bucaniers
of Amer._, ii. 31. Sharp, who made the capture, says the ship
was taken on the 26th of April, having 1,400 jars of wine
and brandy, some ammunition, and 50,000 pesos, _Hacke's Col.
Voy._, ii. 15.

[XXIX‑32] For 3,000 pesos. _Id._, 16.

[XXIX‑33] So close was the blockade of the city, and so
great the terror inspired by the buccaneers, that the first
news received at the city of Mexico affirmed that Panamá was
captured, many Spaniards slain, and that the nuns and many
other people had fled to the mountains. This intelligence was
transmitted by the president of Guatemala, and did not reach
Mexico until August 8, 1680. _Robles_, _Diario_, ii. 310.

[XXIX‑34] While there Ringrose completed a chart of the bay
of Panamá and a portion of the coast, which was more correct
than any in the possession of the Spaniards. _Bucaniers of
Amer._, ii. 32-3. The authorities again differ with regard to
the date.

[XXIX‑35] 'The Island _Quibo_ or _Cabaya_, is in lat. 7 d.
14 m. North of the Equator.' _Dampier's Voy._, i. 212. It
is called by Ringrose Cayboa. _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii. 33.
Its modern name is Coquimbo. In crossing thither a storm was
encountered and two barks foundered, one containing 15 men
and the other seven. This storm and wreck are not mentioned by
the anonymous writer of _Sharp's Voy._, though Sharp himself
alludes to it in _Hacke's Col. Voy._, ii. 34.

[XXIX‑36] 'They entered the river with 50 Men ... and on their
way up found two vessels, which they abandoned.' _South Sea
Company: A View of the Coast_, 162.

[XXIX‑37] Before quitting Taboga, where they stayed about 14
days, one of the buccaneers, a Frenchman, fled to the enemy
and betrayed all his comrades' plans. The stockades were
built by the Spaniards on the advice of the runaway Frenchman,
_Hacke's Col. Voy._, ii. 33-4.

[XXIX‑38] Besides Sawkins two other men were killed and three
more wounded, according to Ringrose. The anonymous writer in
_Sharp's Voy._, 16-17, says that the failure of the enterprise
was owing to the 'Rashness and Want of conduct' of Sawkins,
who rushed to the assault before one fourth of the men had
landed, being a man that nothing upon Earth could terrifie.'

[XXIX‑39] As 'a Man who was as Valiant and Couragious as any
could be, and likewise next to Capt. Sharp, the best beloved
of all our Company, or the most Part thereof.' _Bucaniers of
Amer._, ii. 33-4. Sharp was not a general favorite among the
buccaneers. Burney says that 'Ringrose was not in England
when his narrative was published; and advantage was taken of
his absence to interpolate in it some impudent passages in
commendation of Sharp's valor.' He goes on to say that in the
MS. of Ringrose's Journal, preserved in the Sloane Collection,
British Museum, the passage quoted concerning Sawkins'
character runs: 'Captain Sawkins was a valiant and generous
spirited man, and beloved above any other we ever had among
us, which he well deserved.' _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv.
104-5. The inference suggested by Burney, therefore, is that
Sharp, or somebody in his interest, foisted in the passages
characterized as 'impudent.'

[XXIX‑40] According to Ringrose, page 35, who would have
joined them but for the dangers of the journey, 63 men left.
loc. cit. Those who departed numbered about 70, while 146
remained with Capt. Sharp. _Hacke's Col. Voy._, ii. 35. 'In
this mutiny 75 more of our Men left us, and returned over
Land as they came, delivering up their commissions to our
Emperour.' _Sharp's Voy._, 17.

[XXIX‑41] One John Cox took command of Cook's ship, the
_Mayflower_, with a company of 40 men. _Sharp's Voy._, 17-18.
Sharp does not mention Cox at this time.

[XXIX‑42] Ringrose's ship had been burned for her iron.

[XXIX‑43] The reason of the mutiny was that Captain Sharp had
now some 3,000 pesos, and wished to return home immediately.
Two-thirds of the crew, however, had no money left, having
gambled it all away, and they were in no mind to return; so
they supported the claims of Watling against Sharp. _Sharp's
Voy._, 49. 'While we lay at the isle of John Fernando, Captain
Sharp was by general consent, displaced from being Commander;
the Company being not satisfied either with his Courage or
Behavior.' _Dampier's Voyage_, introd., p.v. The story of the
mutiny, without any detail, is found in _Drake's Univ. Col.
Voy._, 56. Sharp says the conspiracy against him was mainly
the doing of John Cox, whom he had appointed to a separate
command under him for old acquaintance's sake. _Hacke's Col.
Voy._, ii. 45-46.

[XXIX‑44] After Watling's death, 'a great number of the meaner
sort' wished Sharp once more elected commander, but the more
experienced and able men were not satisfied and would not
consent. The difference of opinion became so great that it
was determined to put the matter to the vote; the majority
keeping the ship, and the minority taking the long-boat and
canoes, and going where they wished. Captain Sharp's party
being in the majority, Dampier joined the smaller body, and
taking their share of provisions, etc., they sailed for the
Isthmus. _Dampier's Voyage_, introd., pp. v.-vi.

[XXIX‑45] Sharp asserts that he was unanimously restored to
his command after the death of Watling, and does not mention
the mutiny. _Hacke's Col. Voy._, 48.

[XXIX‑46] He carried off also several persons of both sexes,
who were afterward ransomed for 1,000 pesos. _Haya_, _Inform.
al Rey_, MS., 12; _Nueva Esp., Breve Resum._, MS., ii. 385.
Juarros, _Guat._, i. 58, mentions that Esparza had been
previously sacked by a French corsair in 1670. It was again
attacked by pirates in 1686 or 1688, when it was abandoned
by its inhabitants, who retired to the valleys of Bagaces and
Landecho. _Haya_ and _Nueva Esp._, ut supra.

[XXIX‑47] Their name inspired such dread that the new viceroy
of Peru dared not sail from Panamá to his government in a ship
of 25 guns, but waited for the arrival of the armada from the
south. _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii. 136.

[XXIX‑48] Las Casas, in his _Relation of the Spanish Voyages
and Cruelties in the West Indies_, 217, distinctly lays
down the principle that 'the Spaniards had no Title to the
Americans, as their Subjects, by right of Inheritance,
Purchase, or Conquest.' _Darien_, _Defence of the Scots
Settlement_, 5.

[XXIX‑49] Ringrose expressly stated that they acted throughout
without any commission. _Bucaniers of Amer._, ii.; _Ringrose's
Voy._, 178, and _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 123. Burney
says: 'From the defectiveness of the evidence produced, they
escaped conviction.' _Id._, iv. 123. Three of Sharp's men were
tried at Jamaica, and one was hanged. The narrator said this
man was 'wheedled into an open confession: the other two stood
it out, and escaped for want of witnesses to prove the fact
against them.' _Id._, iv. 124. See also, for the execution of
this man, _Sharp's Voy._, ii. One of the principal charges
was the capture of the _Rosario_, and killing her captain
and another man: 'but it was proved,' says the author of the
anonymous narrative, who was one of the men brought to trial,
'that the Spaniards fired at us first, and it was judged that
we ought to defend ourselves.' _Id._, iv. 123-124.

[XXX‑1] They numbered 44 Europeans, one Spanish Indian, and
two Mosquito Indians.

[XXX‑2] There were, moreover, two ships, one carrying 20 guns
and 200 men, and the other ten guns and 150 men, cruising in
the bay between the gulf and Gorgona. _Dampier's Voy._, i. 6.

[XXX‑3] Dampier strongly urged his comrades to run for the
river Congo, three leagues distant, and ascend it to the limit
of tide-water, but could not persuade them of the existence
of a large river so near, 'but they would land somewhere, they
did not know how, where, nor when.' _Id._, 7.

[XXX‑4] This landing was effected May 1, 1681. _Id._

[XXX‑5] They here learned that they were not more than three
miles from the Congo. _Id._, 12.

[XXX‑6] 'One of our men being tired gave us the slip.' _Id._

[XXX‑7] It was only by bringing female influence to bear that
they gained the Indian's assistance. His wife was presented
with a 'Sky-coloured Petticoat,' and soon overcame his
obduracy. _Id._, 13.

[XXX‑8] When they forded it the last time the tallest men
stood in the deepest part and helped over the sick and those
of smaller stature, so that all got over with the exception
of two who had lagged behind. Dampier carried his journal
and other writings in a large joint of bamboo, the ends being
closed with wax. _Id._, 15-16.

[XXX‑9] The two men left behind, afterward, when they rejoined
their comrades, stated that they found him lying dead in a
creek with the money still on his back, but they did not take
it, being intent on finding their way out of the country.
_Id._, 17.

[XXX‑10] Here Doctor Wafer and four others, including the
two stragglers, stayed behind. They rejoined their comrades,
however, some months later. _Id._, 19, 24; _Wafer's Voy._,
4-43.

[XXX‑11] One day they crossed the same stream 22 times in a
march of nine miles. _Dampier's Voy._, i. 19.

[XXX‑12] For two days they were entirely without food. On
the third 'we got Macaw-berries ... wherewith we satisfied
ourselves this day though coursly.' _Id._, 20. These berries
were probably the fruit of the great Macaw-tree, acrocomia
sclerocarpa.

[XXX‑13] One of the Samballas group which extends about 20
leagues from Point Samballas to Golden Island. These islands
had, since 1679, been a favorite place for careening, and so
had become a rendezvous for privateers, many of them being
named after captains of vessels, as in the case of La Sound
Key. _Id._, 22-3.

[XXX‑14] Davis, according to Exquemelin, was born in Jamaica.
_Bucaniers of Amer._, 49. Lussan, in _Id._, 26, states that
he was a Fleming. The first author gives a brief narrative,
without date, of a bold raid made by this buccaneer into
Nicaragua from the Atlantic side. In this enterprise he must
have passed up the San Juan River, on the banks of which the
pirates, 80 in number, concealed themselves by day, and rowed
during the night. What city it was they attacked is not clear,
but the booty obtained was more than 50,000 pesos.

[XXX‑15] Davis left to the cacique a bark half full of flour
as a reward for his services. Eaton departed on the 2d of
September, having taken on board 400 sacks of flour. _Id._,
129; _Drake's Col. Voy._, 59.

[XXX‑16] So named according to report by the Spaniards, from
the fact that Drake there divided among his men the silver
with which one of his prizes was laden. _Dampier's Voy._, 132.
It was also called Drake Island.

[XXX‑17] Lussan gives an account different from that of
Dampier. He states that an engineer on board Swan's ship told
him that she belonged to the duke of York and had been sent
out to take a plan of those parts, and that Swan falling in
with Davis was compelled to join him because 'il aima mieux
ceder au Forban que d'en être pris.' _Journal du Voy._, 64-5.

[XXX‑18] One was captured while hunting, and the other was one
of Captain Harris' men who had been left on the Santa María
River the year before. _Dampier's Voy._, 177-8, 186-7.

[XXX‑19] Dampier states that a Captain Bond planned this
stratagem. Bond had been abandoned by Eaton and his own pilot,
Morton, and persuaded his men to go over to the Spaniards.
_Id._, 189-90.

[XXX‑20] For an account of their journey see _Lussan_,
_Journal du Voy._, 37 et seq.

[XXX‑21] The French captain, called by Dampier Gronet, offered
Davis and Swan each a new commission, extended by the governor
of Petit Guavres, who was accustomed to supply his captains
with blank forms. Captain Harris accepted one. Dampier says:
'I never read any of these French Commissions while I was in
these Seas, nor did I then know the import of them; but I have
learnt since, that the Tenour of them is, to give a Liberty
to Fish, Fowl, and Hunt.' _Dampier's Voy._, 192.

[XXX‑22] These men did not appear, though Harris was sent
to the Santa María in search of them. On the 15th of March
they fell in with a bark with five or six Englishmen on board
commanded by Henry More. This vessel belonged to Captain
Knight, who was cruising off the coast of Mexico, and, as the
men said, had parted company with his ship one night. Swan,
in order to promote Harris, professed to believe that the men
had deserted, and deposing More, gave the command to Harris.
_Id._, 197.

[XXX‑23] Divided as follows: Captain Davis' ship, 36 guns and
156 men; Captain Swan with 16 guns and 140 men; these were
the only vessels that had artillery. Townley with 110 men;
Harris with 100 men. These were nearly all English. Captain
Grogniet with 308 men; Captain Branly with 36 men; Townley's
bark with 80 men; and two tenders with a crew of eight men
each. They had also a 30-ton bark converted into a fire-ship.
_Id._, 208. Lussan, _Journal du Voy._, 60-1, gives the same
number of vessels; with regard to the men he says: 'Ils se
trouverent monter à environ onze cens hommes.'

[XXX‑24] 'First the Admiral, 48 Guns, 450 Men; the
Vice-Admiral, 40 Guns, 400 Men; the Rear-Admiral, 36 Guns, 360
Men; a Ship of 24 Guns, 300 Men; one of 18 Guns, 250 Men; and
one of 8 Guns, 200 Men; 2 great Fire-ships, 6 Ships only with
small Arms, having 800 Men on board them all; besides 2 or 3
hundred Men in Periagoes.' This account was obtained afterward
from Captain Knight, who, when off the coast of Peru, gathered
the information from some captives. _Dampier's Voy._, 207-8.

[XXX‑25] Grogniet sailed away when the Spaniards came in
sight. He afterward urged as an excuse that his men would
not let him join in the fight. He was cashiered, but was
eventually allowed to depart with his ship and men. _Id._,
208-9. Such is the English account. Lussan, however, states
that because Grogniet's ship had no guns and was intercepted
by a vessel carrying 28 cannon he was unable to join in the
engagement. _Journal du Voy._, 85-6.

[XXX‑26] The loss of Spaniards in this engagement is not
known, but Dampier makes the doubtful statement that the
pirates lost only one man. _Voy._, 209. The account given by
Lussan, who was on Harris' ship, differs materially from that
of Dampier. He asserts that the treasure-fleet succeeded in
getting to Panamá unnoticed by the buccaneers, and that seven
vessels then sailed out and engaged with them, with nearly
the same results as those described by Dampier. Harris' ship
received above 120 common shot, and those of Davis and Swan
suffered severely. _Journal du Voy._, 79-88. The difference
in dates between Dampier and Lussan is explained by the fact
that the French had three years before made a change of ten
days in their calendar which the English government had not
done. _Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 177.

[XXX‑27] 'We were glad to escape them; and owed that too,
in a great measure, to their want of Courage to pursue their
Advantage.' _Dampier's Voy._, 209.

[XXX‑28] While thus occupied they sent a detachment against
Pueblo Nuevo where Sawkins was killed in 1580. The town was
easily taken, but little booty was obtained. On the 5th of
July they were joined by Captain Knight, whose cruise had not
been profitable. _Id._, 213-4. The descent upon Pueblo Nuevo
was the cause of the defection of the Frenchmen, who still
remained to the number of 130. The French thought the English
took advantage of their small numbers and refused to put up
with their domineering, 'quand nous vîmes qu'ils continuoient
à prendre sur nous les mêmes hauteurs, nous debarquâmes cent
trente François.' _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._, 93-4.

[XXX‑29] Their force now consisted of 640 men and eight ships,
under captains Davis, Swan, Townley, and Knight. Captain
Harris had lost his vessel, which 'being old and rotten fell
in pieces' while he was careening her. _Dampier's Voy._, 215.

[XXX‑30] According to one authority only two men were on the
lookout. One of these perceived the buccaneers and hastened
to the city to give warning. His story was not believed; he
was arrested and it was the intention to have him publicly
flogged. This occurred August 21, 1685. _Morel_, _Visita_,
MS., 47-8.

[XXX‑31] 'Townley, with 80 of the briskest Men, marched
before, Captain Swan with 100 Men marched next, and Captain
Davis with 170 Men marched next, and Captain Knight brought
up the Rear.' _Dampier's Voy._, 219.

[XXX‑32] There is a discrepancy in the account of Dampier, who
states that 59 men were left with him, which would raise the
number of those who left the fleet to 530, without counting
the four captains.

[XXX‑33] Townley took the town at 3 P. M., Swan arrived at
4 P. M., and Davis at 5 P. M. Knight did not come up till
an hour later, leaving many tired out, who afterward came
straggling in. The Spaniards killed 'a stout old Grey-headed
Man aged about 84, who had served under Oliver in the time
of the Irish Rebellion.' He had refused to remain with the
canoes, and when surrounded by the Spaniards would not accept
quarter, but discharged his gun at them, 'so they shot him
dead at a distance. His name was Swan; he was a very merry
hearty old Man, and always used to declare he would never
take Quarter.' _Id._, 219-20. According to Morel de Sta Cruz,
_Visita_, MS., 48, the buccaneers entered the town at 11 A.
M., opposed by only 50 men, 49 of whom fled, the remaining
one fighting until disabled by many wounds.

[XXX‑34] One Smith who had dropped behind and was captured so
exaggerated the numbers of the freebooters that the governor
was afraid to attack them, though Smith estimated his forces
at over 1,000 men. Smith was afterward exchanged for a
lady of high position. _Dampier's Voy._, 220. Lussan states
that the French, having arrived at the port of Realejo some
months later, learned that succor had been sent from towns
in Nicaragua and Salvador, and that the English freebooters
'avoient envoyé plusieurs fois offrir à ces gens de secours,
le combat en raze savana, ce qu'ils avoient toujours refusé,
disant qu'ils n'étoient pas encore tous ramassez.' _Journal
du Voy._, 112-3.

[XXX‑35] 'Our Captains demanded 300,000 Pieces of Eight for
its Ransom, and as much Provision as would victual 1,000 Men
4 months.' _Dampier's Voy._ According to _Voy._, _A New Col._,
iii. 78, 30,000 pieces of eight.

[XXX‑36] Swan was accompanied by Townley with his two barks.
Knight and Harris followed Davis. Dampier cast his lot with
Swan 'to get some knowledge of the Northern Parts of this
Continent of Mexico.' _Dampier's Voy._, 223-4. Swan after
an eventful cruise on the Mexican coast steered across the
Pacific homeward bound, having parted company with Townley.
After enduring great privation he reached the Ladrone Islands,
and thence proceeded to the Philippines, where his men
mutinied, and left him with more than 40 others on the island
of Mindanao. He was afterward murdered by the natives. _Id._,
375, 445-6.

[XXX‑37] 'À cause de l'excommunication qu'ils avoient
eux-mêmes fulminée contre elle.' _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._,
119.

[XXX‑38] 'Après quatre jour d'une abstinence fort étroite.'
_Id._, 126.

[XXX‑39] About 20 leagues distant from Chiriquita, and about
24 leagues west of Panamá. _Id._, 88, 131.

[XXX‑40] Lussan nearly lost his life by falling with four
others into an ambuscade. But he escaped unwounded, though two
of the party were killed and a third lay hors de combat. The
faith of this freebooter in the protection of providence is
refreshing: 'je ne fus garanti du massacre,' he says, 'sans
être seulement blessé, que par une protection du Ciel toute
manifeste.' _Id._, 135.

[XXX‑41] During the month of February 14 died. _Id._, 143.

[XXX‑42] The pirates lost in this encounter 4 killed and 33
wounded. _Id._, 146.

[XXX‑43] 'Nous fîmes en suite des Ordonnances par lesquelles
nous condamnions à perdre leur part de ce qui se prendroit en
ce lieu, ceux d'entre nous qui seroient convaincus de lâcheté,
de viol, d'yvroynerie, de desobeïssance, de larcin & d'être
sortis du gros sans être commandez.' _Id._, 151.

[XXX‑44] According to _Morel_, _Visita_, MS., 32, and
_Robles_, _Doc. Hist. Mex._, ii. 435, the sacking of Granada
occurred in 1685. But Lussan's date is supported by his
mention of the fact that Leon and Realejo had been sacked by
the English pirates before the arrival of the French on the
coast, _Journal du Voy._, 112; and Dampier states that those
cities were captured in August 1685. _Voy._, 216-21.

[XXX‑45] _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._, 154. Robles says 900
men entered Leon and Granada. _Diario_, ii. 435.

[XXX‑46] Lussan states that the people of Granada had been
warned three weeks previously by the authorities of Esparza.
_Journal du Voy._, 154-5.

[XXX‑47] Burney states that Granada was not regularly
fortified, but had a place of arms surrounded by a wall.
_Discov. South Sea_, iv. 267. Lussan says this was capable of
holding 6,000 men. _Journal du Voy._, 160.

[XXX‑48] 'Ils foncerent dans la ville les yeux fermez,
chantans dançans comme des gens qui vont à un festin.' _Lettre
du Gouv._, in _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._, 256.

[XXX‑49] Morel, _Visita_, etc., MS., 33, says without more
loss than 13 men.

[XXX‑50] The absurdity of practical religion is reached when
we find it stated on good authority that one of the principal
causes of the rupture between the French and English pirates
was the impiety of the latter, 'ne faisant point de scrupule,
lorsqu'ils entroient dans les Eglises de couper à coups de
sabre les bras des Crucifixs, & de leur tirer de coups de
fusil & de pistolet, brisant & mutillant avec les mêmes armes,
les image des Saints en derision du culte que nous autres
François leur rendions.' _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._, 94.

[XXX‑51] All the wealth of the city had been placed on board
two ships and conveyed to an island in the lake, but the
pirates having no canoes could not seize it. _Id._, 163-4.

[XXX‑52] _Id._, 162. The Spaniards believed the pirates'
message a mere threat, and did not try to redeem the city.
_Morel_, _Visita_, MS., 33.

[XXX‑53] Vetancurt states that this year, 1686, the English
entered Granada and rifled the tomb of Bishop Alonso Bravo
de Laguna, and that having stripped the ornaments from the
body, which they found perfectly preserved, set fire to the
cathedral, with which the prelate's remains were burned.
_Menolog._, 136.

[XXX‑54] They had carried off from Granada a cannon, but were
obliged to abandon it the first day owing to the oxen dying
of thirst. _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._

[XXX‑55] 'They came upon Ria Lexa unexpectedly, and made 100
of the inhabitants prisoners.' _Burney's Discov. South Sea_,
iv. 269.

[XXX‑56] In all only 7,600 pesos, and this sum was divided
among the crippled and wounded. _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._,
177.

[XXX‑57] 'Qui est à trente lieües sous le vent de Panama.'
_Id._, 179-80.

[XXX‑58] At San Lorenzo, near Pueblo Nuevo, 'le Commandant
du lieu vint nous offrir une somme d'argent pour la rançon
des prisonniers; ce que nous refusâmes, parce que nous avions
beaucoup plus besoin de vivres: Nous luy dîmes que s'il ne
nous en apportoit, ... qu'il n'avoit qu'à envoyer sur l'Isle
y chercher leurs têtes.' _Id._, 244-5.

[XXX‑59] On one occasion a mounted Spaniard displayed his
hatred for the pirates by reviling them and making grimaces
at them from a safe distance. The intruders placed five men
in ambush and continued their march. The unfortunate Spaniard
fell into the hands of the concealed party. Lussan, with his
usual flippancy when treating of barbarities, thus describes
what followed: '& luy fimes faire la grimace tout de bon.
On l'interrogea avec les ceremonies ordinaires, c'est à dire
en luy donnant la gêne, pour sçavoir où nous étions.' _Id._,
264-5.

[XXX‑60] Grogniet died on the 2d of May following from the
effect of a wound which he received at Guayaquil, where the
pirates captured a large quantity of booty in merchandise,
pearls, precious stones, and silver-plate. _Id._, 302, 308.

[XXX‑61] The padres persuaded them that the freebooters were
not even of human form, and that they would eat them and their
children. On one occasion a Spanish lady fell into the hands
of Lussan, and with tears in her eyes exclaimed: 'Segnor, por
l'amor de Dios no mi como' (sic). _Id._, 304-5.

[XXX‑62] They carried with them plunder in gold, silver, and
jewelry, valued at £200,000. The silver was held in little
esteem on account of its weight, and for an ounce of gold
80 and 100 piastres in silver were given. Many of the men
had lost their share of the booty by gambling and a plot was
formed by these to murder their rich companions. Lussan,
however, who had accumulated in gold and precious stones
about £7,000, divided his wealth among the most needy, on
the condition of their returning a certain proportion to him
when they arrived at their destination. _Archenholtz_, _Hist.
Pir._, 218-21; _Lussan_, _Journal du Voy._, 385-6.

[XXX‑63] The sick and wounded with the baggage and horses were
left with a guard in camp, with orders to fire their muskets
frequently during the night that the enemy might think them
all there. Lussan says there were 80 thus left in camp, but
as there were only 280 in the first place, and some had died,
there must have been a mistake. _Exquemelin_, _Hist. Flib._,
iii. 312-4.

[XXX‑64] _Lussan_, _Journal du Voyage_, 411. Nevertheless
this author rather inconsistently adds: 'Cependant touchez
de compassion par la quantité de sang que nous voyons couler
avec l'eau de la ravine, nous épargnâmes le reste.' This same
authority, who was one of the assailants, states that the
pirates had only one killed and two wounded, which statement
Archenholtz, _Hist. Pir._, 226, seriously questions.

[XXX‑65] This stream is or was known by a variety of names.
On different maps I find it called Rio Grande del Coco, Rio
de Oro, Rio Herbias, Rio Segovia, Wank River, Yare River,
and Cape River. Archenholtz remarks: 'This river, whose name
does not occur in any of the historical materials we have
consulted, but which appears to be the river Magdalen, derives
its source from the mountains of New Segovia.' _Hist. Pir._,
230. Burney, _Discov. South Sea_, iv. 292, says: 'according
to D'Anville's map ... it is called Rio de Yare. Dampier ...
names it Cape River.'

[XXX‑66] Lussan calls them piperies. They were constructed
of four or five pieces of light timber lashed together with
lines of the bejuco plant. _Journal du Voy._, 422.

[XXX‑67] Lussan says there were at least a hundred waterfalls,
the larger ones with tremendous whirlpools. These cataracts
could be passed only by portage. 'In short, the whole is
so formidable, that there are none but those who have some
Experience, can have right conceptions of it. But for me ...
who, as long as I live, shall have my Mind filled with those
Risques I have run, it's impossible I should give such an
Idea hereof but what will come far short of what I have really
known of them.' _Bucaniers of America_, i. 171.

[XXX‑68] Six Frenchmen concealed themselves behind the rocks
and fell upon five Englishmen who were known to be well
supplied with booty and massacred them. 'Nous trouvâmes mon
compagnon & moy, leurs corps étendus sur le rivage.' _Lussan_,
_Journal du Voy._, 430-1. The murderers escaped and their
companions never saw them again.

[XXX‑69] Lussan states that they left 140 behind finishing
their canoes.

[XXX‑70] Twelve leagues distant, to the east of Cape Gracias
á Dios.

[XXX‑71] The English buccaneers remained for a time with the
Mosquito Indians near Cape Gracias á Dios. The greater part
of the Frenchmen reached the settlements, but 75 of them who
went to Jamaica were imprisoned by the duke of Albemarle, the
governor. On his death the following year they were released;
but neither their arms nor plunder were returned to them.
_Burney's Discov. South Sea_, iv. 293-4.

[XXX‑72] _Lussan_, in _Bucaniers of Amer._, iii. 180; and
_Journal du Voy._, 448.

[XXXI‑1] Paterson, the son of a Dumfriesshire farmer, was
born in 1658. There are no authentic records as to his
early career. In _Francis' Hist. Bank of England_, and
_Strain's Inter. Com._, 15, it is stated that he went out
as a missionary to the West Indies and afterward joined the
buccaneers. The statement is not so improbable as it may seem,
for the freebooters while robbing and murdering the Catholic
Spaniard imagined they were serving God, as did the Spaniard
when he plundered and slaughtered the natives. Wilkes, _Hist.
Oregon_, 48, says he was supposed to have been originally a
South American buccaneer.

[XXXI‑2] See _Orig. Papers and Letters relating to the Scots
Company_, 50.

[XXXI‑3] _Id._, 53. It will be observed that his Majesty's
ministers then as to-day were not always very proficient in
English grammar.

[XXXI‑4] The anonymous author of '_A Defence of the Scots
Settlement at Darien_,' Edinburgh, 1699, 3. His nom de plume
is Philo Caledon.

[XXXI‑5] The writer of '_A Just and Modest Vindication of the
Scots Design, For the having Established a Colony at Darien_,'
1699, anon.

[XXXI‑6] In December 1698 the company granted to a council
constituted from its members certain rights conferred on
them by the Scotch parliament and confirmed by William IV.
In _An Enquiry into the Causes of the Miscarriage of the
Scots Colony_, Glasgow, 1700, anon., 67, the full text of the
declaration of the council is given. This work was published
in answer to a charge that the failure of the company was
wholly due to the Scots themselves, and especially to the
officers of the company. The English commons declared it
'false, traitorous, and scandalous,' and ordered it to be
burned by the common hangman, and the author imprisoned. The
Scots were no less incensed and equally clamorous for the
punishment of the offender.

[XXXI‑7] English opposition and high prices compelled them to
go to Amsterdam and Hamburg, where they ordered six ships with
50 guns each. _Darien_, _Enquiry_, 82. Four ships only, one of
which was sold before the first expedition started. _Burney's
Discov. South Sea_, iv. 362. The 17th of July 1698 the first
expedition, consisting of the three ships, the _Caledonia_,
the _St Andrew_, and the _Unicorn_, and two tenders, carrying
about 1,200 men, left the frith of Edinburgh. Id., 363. July
26, 1698, and same number of vessels. The expedition sailed
from Leith. _Winterbotham's Hist. U. S._, iv. 124; _Strain's
Inter-Com._, 16. In beginning of Sept. 1699, _Seemann's Hist.
Isth._ 46. The last named is evidently wrong and contradicts
himself in later quotations. Winterbotham is probably correct
as to date and point of departure.

[XXXI‑8] Sir William Beeston, governor of Jamaica, issued a
proclamation in keeping with these instructions on the 8th of
April 1699, and similar orders were issued by the governors
of Barbadoes and New York. _Darien_, _Orig. Papers_, 42-6.

[XXXI‑9] Up to this time the king had partly concealed his
policy. June 28, 1697, the council of the company complain
to the king of the action of his resident in Hamburg. Aug.
2d, the secretary of state replies that the resident has
been directed not to obstruct the company's negotiations. On
the 28th of September 1697 the company's directors complain
that the resident has received no such order. July 22, 1698,
parliament was besought to assist in procuring from the king
such action as would deter his resident at Hamburg. An inquiry
by the council, Jan. 13, 1699, is answered by the secretary
of state Feb. 7, 1699, requesting information about the
settlement. _Darien_, _Orig. Papers_, 10, 20, 34; confirmed
in _Darien_, _Enquiry_, 26-33; and in part in _Macpherson's
Annals_, ii. 666.

[XXXI‑10] For full description of these people see _Native
Races_, vol. i., this series.

[XXXI‑11] His reason was restored after he returned home,
and he lived until 1719. Four years before his death he was
awarded the sum of £18,241 as indemnity for his losses in the
Darien expedition.

[XXXI‑12] Winterbotham, _Hist. U. S._, 125, gives 1698 as
the date of this memorial. There is a copy of the original in
_Defence, Scots Settlement_, 2, where the date is given as in
the text.

[XXXI‑13] In August 1699.

[XXXI‑14] The capitulation was signed March 31, 1700.

[XXXI‑15] When news arrived in Mexico of the capitulation
of the Scotch, the church bells were rung and a solemn
thanksgiving observed. _Robles_, _Diario_, iii. 254.

[XXXI‑16] _Ariza_, _Darien_, MS., 18-21. In this work the
career and fate of García are told.

[XXXI‑17] This information was furnished by the dean of the
cathedral of Panamá.

[XXXI‑18] He died in prison at Madrid. _Alcedo_, _Dic._, iv.
45; and _Haya_, in _Datas para la Historia del Istmoa_.

[XXXI‑19] _Giro del Mondo_, 240. Captain Seeman mentions that
the largest and most beautiful pearl ever found on the coast
of Panamá measured three quarters of an inch in diameter, and
was perfectly round. It was obtained at the Puerdes Islands.
_Voy._, i. 268.

[XXXI‑20] The asiento was to last 30 years, to May 1, 1743.
The contractors were to export 4,800 negroes annually and to
pay to the crown of Spain 33⅓ escudos for each one; and also
to advance his Catholic Majesty 200,000 escudos payable in 20
years. Should more negroes be required, 4,800 extra might be
exported, for each of whom 16⅓ pesos were to be paid. Negroes
carried to the windward coast were not to be sold for more
than 300 pesos each, but there was no limit to price in Tierra
Firme or New Spain. No other company was to be allowed to
engage in this traffic, and no merchandise could be carried
under penalty of confiscation. The ships of the contractors
could sail from either British or Spanish Ports. _Salmon's
Mod. Hist._, iii. 219-22.

[XXXI‑21] _Reales Cédulas_, MS., i. 192; _Haya_, _Informe al
Rey_, 4; _Robertson's Hist. Amer._, ii. 394-9.

[XXXI‑22] Letters of marque were issued on July 21st, and
Vernon's squadron sailed on the 20th, touching, perhaps, at
Portsmouth for orders.

[XXXI‑23] The governor of the city, Francisco Martinez de
Retzez, underwent bitter humiliation if we may believe Sir
Edward Seaward, who was at the time a prisoner in Portobello.
Seaward and his friend Captain Knight had been arrested on
account of an altercation with the governor and for refusing
to apologize to the king of Spain for having in the previous
year released certain captives imprisoned in Portobello. Both
were ill treated, and when they reported the matter to Vernon
the admiral ordered the governor and themselves to appear
before him. 'I have no quarrel with Don Francisco Martinez
de Retzez on my own account,' said Seaward, 'but I have, and
ever shall have, a quarrel with him on account of the king my
master, whom he most grossly insulted by disrespectful words,
in the presence of Captain Knight and myself.' 'What did he
say?' asked Vernon. 'He first insulted Sir Edward Seaward,
by the most insolent and contemptuous behavior,' replied
the captain, 'and when I remonstrated, telling him, that he
should recollect that Sir Edward Seaward was equal in rank
to himself, holding honourable commissions under the king of
England, he replied, "I do not consider the king of England
himself equal in rank to me; for he is little better than a
Dutchman." 'You damned poltroon!' roared the admiral, 'with
all your long yarn of hard names, what shall I call you? Down
on your marrow-bones, you scoundrel, and beg pardon of the
king our master, or I'll kick you from hell to Hackney!' The
don asked pardon of his late captives, but would do no more.
This would not satisfy Vernon, and throwing down a guinea
he grasped him by the neck and forced him into a stooping
position, shouting, 'There is the king's picture! down on your
knees, you blackguard, and ask forgiveness.' The governor took
up the coin and exclaiming in a low tone, 'Yo he ofendido,'
laid it down again. This was considered a sufficient apology.
_Seaward's Narr._, edited by Jane Porter, 3d ed., London,
1841, ii. 280-1, 290-2. The work, no doubt largely fiction,
purports to have been compiled from the MSS. of Seaward's
diary.

[XXXI‑24] The crews of the guardas costas and other Spanish
vessels in the harbor fell to plundering Portobello on the
night of its capture and the inhabitants begged the admiral's
protection. _Geog. and Hist. Descrip. W. Ind._, 109, London,
1741. This work gives a brief sketch of the history of
Cartagena, Portobello, Vera Cruz, Habana, and San Agustin
up to the beginning of 1740, with a description of each of
these cities. It is claimed that the book was compiled from
authentic memoirs, and as it was published less than two years
after the capture of Portobello it is probably worthy of some
credence, especially in matters of detail, although biassed
in the main.