[Contents]CHAPTER IVTHE SACKING OF MARACAIBO“But I thought Morgan was Governor of Jamaica and a ‘Sir,’ ” said Jack.“He was. I’m coming to that presently,” replied his father. “Of course, Morgan, having taken Porto Bello and thus won the greatest fame, buccaneers flocked to him, begging for a chance to join him on his next expedition. Indeed, he could have easily raised a force of several thousand men, but Morgan, despite his faults, was a wise man, a born leader and an experienced buccaneer and he knew that too large a force would be a disadvantage. But realizing that he could command any number of ships and men, he foresaw the possibility of accomplishing such feats as no buccaneer had ever before undertaken. Naming the Island of La Vaca, or Cow Island, south of Santo Domingo, as a rendezvous, Morgan and his old captains set sail and there awaited the coming of the buccaneers. And from every lair they flocked to his standard. French and English,[65]Dutch and Danes, from Tortuga Samaná, the Virgins and the Caymans, they sped to join their fortunes with Morgan. Even the Governor of Jamaica sent forth a ship, a brand-new vessel from New England mounting thirty-six guns, the largest buccaneer ship that had ever borne down upon the hapless Dons. Next in size to her was a French ship, a vessel of twenty-four iron guns and twelve brass carronades which happened to be lying at anchor at the island. Upon her Morgan cast envious eyes and used every argument to induce her captain to join with him. The French, however, were distrustful of the English and flatly refused. And then the redoubtable Morgan showed his teeth and proved himself the cowardly, underhand, treacherous rascal that he was in reality. It seemed that some time previously this big French vessel had been short of provision at sea and, meeting a British buccaneer, had secured supplies, giving in payment not ready cash but bills of exchange on Jamaica and Tortuga. Knowing of this, Morgan, finding he could not induce the French captain to join him, seized upon the incident as a means to carry out his nefarious ends. Inviting the French commander and his officers to dine aboard his ship, Morgan received them hospitably,[66]but no sooner were they seated than he and his men whipped out pistols, seized the Frenchmen and bound them as prisoners. Stating that he had seized them as pirates for having taken provisions from a British ship without pay, he informed the unhappy Frenchmen that he intended to hang them and to confiscate their ship as warning to others. But fate intervened and brought a just and speedy retribution upon Morgan and his men for their treacherous act. Having thus possessed himself of the French flagship, Morgan called a council at which it was agreed to go to Saona Island and wait for the plate fleet from Spain. Then, as usual, the buccaneers boarded their ships and held a farewell feast in celebration of their coming voyage, drinking, carousing and, as was customary, discharging their guns in salute to one another. Half drunk, hilarious and careless, the men did not notice that a gun discharged upon the big flagship of the fleet dropped a bit of smoldering wadding onto the deck. There was a terrific explosion and the vessel was blown to bits, destroying three hundred and fifty English buccaneers and the unfortunate French prisoners who were confined in the hold. Only thirty members of the crew, including Morgan, escaped, they[67]having been within the cabin at the high poop of the vessel and away from the main force of the explosion.“But instead of being a wholesome lesson to Morgan and his fellows, this accident only enraged them, and, claiming that their ship had been blown up by the French prisoners—despite the fact that they were manacled and far from the magazine—they at once seized all the French ships in the harbor and sent them with their crews as prisoners to Jamaica, with word that they had been found with papers authorizing them to commit piracy against the British. In reality the papers were merely permits from the Governor of Barracoa permitting the French to trade in Spanish ports and to ‘cruise against English pirates,’ the clause being inserted as a cloak to cover the reason for the permits. But despite their protests and the fact that they had repeatedly aided the English buccaneers against the Dons, Morgan’s influence was such that the Frenchmen were imprisoned and several were hanged when they reached Jamaica.“Morgan’s brutality was still further shown when, eight days after the explosion, he sent out boats to gather up the bodies of the buccaneers[68]which were now floating about, not, as Esquemeling assures us, ‘with the design of affording them Christian burial, but only to obtain the spoil of their clothes and attire.’ Rings were cut from their dead fingers, earrings torn from their ears, their weapons and garments stripped from the corpses and the naked bodies cast back for the sharks. Then, the loot from their dead comrades having been auctioned off, the buccaneers set sail with fifteen ships—the largest carrying fourteen guns—and nine hundred and sixty men.“Sending some of his ships and men to plunder the farms and villages of Santo Domingo for provisions and cattle, Morgan continued to Saona. But his men met with reverses on the island, many of the buccaneers were killed, and though they escaped they were empty-handed and dared not return to Morgan with their tale of reverses. Impatient at the delay, Morgan at last decided to go on without them, and, with his fleet reduced to eight ships and a force of five hundred men, he started for the Gulf of Maracaibo.“Since it had been looted by L’Ollonois, Maracaibo and its neighboring city of Gibraltar had prospered and grown immensely rich, the fortifications had been greatly strengthened and a Spanish[69]fleet was constantly cruising near to prevent raids by the buccaneers. Arriving off the port at night, Morgan drew close to the harbor bar unseen and opened fire at daybreak. From morn until night the battle raged until, feeling that they could not hold out another day, the garrison evacuated the fort at nightfall and left a slow match leading to the magazine in the hopes of blowing up the buccaneers if they entered. In this they were very nearly successful, but Morgan himself discovered the burning fuse and stamped it out when within six inches of the explosives.“Finding his ships could not enter the shallow harbor, Morgan embarked in boats and canoes and after terrific fighting silenced one fort after another and took the town. Then began an awful scene of butchery and torture. All that L’Ollonois had done in the stricken town before was repeated a hundredfold. The people, rounded up and shackled, were broken on the wheel, torn to pieces on the rack, spread-eagled and flogged to a pulp. Burning fuses were placed between their fingers and toes. Wet rawhide thongs were twisted about their heads and allowed to dry until, as they shrunk, the wretches’ eyes burst from their skulls and many were cut to pieces a bit at a time or[70]flayed alive. Those who had no treasures whose hiding place they could divulge died under their torments, and those who confessed were too far gone to recover. For three terrible weeks this awful work went on, the buccaneers sparing neither young nor old, men, women or children, and daily scouring the countryside to bring new victims to the torture chambers. Then, satisfied he had every cent that it was possible to secure, Morgan loaded his remaining prisoners on his ships and sailed for Gibraltar as L’Ollonois had done. He had sent prisoners ahead, demanding the surrender of the town and threatening to torture and butcher every living soul if resistance were made, but notwithstanding this the inhabitants and the garrison put up a stiff fight. Finding he could not take the place by assault, Morgan started his men overland through the woods, and the people, realizing the buccaneers would take the place, fled with what valuables they could gather into the country, first having spiked the guns and destroyed the powder in the forts. As a result the buccaneers entered the city without a shot fired and found no living soul save one half-witted man. Despite the fact that he was a demented, helpless creature the buccaneers ruthlessly[71]placed him on the rack until he begged for mercy and promised to guide his tormentors to his riches. Following him, they were led to a tumble-down house containing nothing of any value with the exception of three pieces of eight—all the poor man’s earthly possessions. The buccaneers, however, had gotten a crazy idea that the fellow was a rich man masquerading as a dunce, and when in reply to their question he announced that his name was ‘Don Sebastian Sanchez’ and ‘I am brother to the Governor,’ instead of being convinced that he was crazy, the buccaneers believed his ridiculous words and tortured him anew. Despite his shrieks and heart-rending appeals he was racked, his limbs were stretched by cords passed over pulleys and with immense weights attached to them, he was scorched to a crisp by burning palm leaves passed over his face and body, and not till the miserable wretch had died after half an hour of this fiendish torment did the buccaneers cease their efforts to wring from him the secret of his supposed wealth.“The next day the buccaneers captured a poor farmer and his two daughters and threatened them with torture, but the cowering wretches agreed to lead the buccaneers to the hiding places[72]of the inhabitants. Seeing their enemies coming, the Spaniards fled still farther, and the disgruntled Englishmen hanged the peasant and his daughters to trees by the wayside. The buccaneers then set diligently at work, scouring the countryside for prisoners. In one spot they captured a slave, and, promising him freedom and vast amounts of gold if he would show them the hiding places of the Dons, he readily agreed and led them to a secluded house where the buccaneers made prisoners of a number of Spaniards. Then, to make sure that their slave guide would not dare desert them, the buccaneers forced him to murder a number of the helpless Dons before the eyes of the others. This party of Spaniards totaled nearly two hundred and fifty and these the buccaneers examined one at a time, torturing those who denied knowledge of treasure. One man, over seventy years old, a Portuguese by birth, was reported by the treacherous slave to be rich. This the old fellow stoutly denied, claiming that his total wealth was but one hundred pieces of eight and that this had been stolen from him two days previously. In spite of this and his age, the buccaneers, under Morgan’s personal orders, broke both his arms and then stretched him between stakes by cords from his[73]thumbs and great toes. Then, while suspended in this way, the inhuman monsters beat upon the cords with sticks. Not content with this, they placed a two hundred pound stone upon his body, passed blazing palm leaves over his face and head, and then, finding no confession could be wrung from him they carried him to the church and lashed him fast to a pillar where he was left for several days with only a few drops of water to keep him alive. How any mortal could have survived—much less an aged man—is miraculous, but live he did and finally consented to raise five hundred pieces of eight to buy his liberty. The buccaneers, however, scoffed at this, beat him with cudgels and told him it would take five thousand pieces of eight to save his life. Finally he bargained for freedom for one thousand pieces, and a few days later, the money having been paid, he was set at liberty, though, as Esquemeling tells us, ‘so horribly maimed in body that ’tis scarce to be believed he survived many weeks after.’“But even these fearful and disgusting torments were mild as compared to some that Morgan inflicted on the men and women in his mad lust to wring their riches from them. Dozens were crucified, others were staked out by pointed sticks[74]driven through them into the earth; others were bound with their feet in fires, others roasted alive. For five long, awful weeks they continued their unspeakable atrocities until, finding further efforts useless, and fearing that his retreat to sea would be cut off, Morgan left the stricken town, carrying a number of prisoners for hostages.“At Maracaibo they learned that Spanish warships had arrived and that three armed vessels were blockading the harbor mouth. The largest of these carried forty guns, the second thirty and the smallest twenty-four. That the buccaneers, with no heavy guns and with only small vessels, could escape seemed impossible, but Morgan once more showed himself the resourceful commander and sent a Spanish prisoner to the Admiral in command of the ships demanding a free passage to sea as well as a ransom if Maracaibo was not to be burned. To this the Admiral replied contemptuously, telling Morgan that, provided he would surrender all the plunder and prisoners he had taken, he would allow him and his men to depart, but otherwise would totally destroy them and give no quarter. This letter Morgan read aloud to his men, asking them whether they preferred to fight or lose their plunder. The[75]reply was unanimously that they had rather fight till their last drop of blood rather than abandon what they had won. Then one of the men suggested that they fit up a fire ship, disguise her by logs of wood dressed as men on deck and with dummy cannon at the ports, and let her drift down on the Spanish vessels. Although all approved the idea, still Morgan decided to try guile and diplomacy—with a deal of bluff—before resorting to strenuous measures. Consequently he dispatched another messenger to the Admiral, offering to quit Maracaibo without firing it or exacting ransom, and agreeing to liberate all the prisoners if he and his men were allowed to pass. But the doughty old Spanish commander would have none of this and replied that unless Morgan surrendered according to the original terms within two days he would come and take him.“Finding cajolery useless, Morgan at once hustled about to make the most of his time and to try to escape by force. A ship taken at Gibraltar was loaded with brimstone, powder, palm leaves soaked in pitch and other combustibles. Kegs of powder were placed under the dummy guns and dressed and armed logs were posed upon the decks to resemble buccaneers. Then all the male prisoners[76]were loaded into one boat; all the women, the plate and the jewels into another; the merchandise and things of lesser value in a third. Then, all being ready, the little fleet set forth with the fireship in the lead. It was on the 30th of April, 1669, that the buccaneers started from Maracaibo on this desperate, dare-devil effort to escape, and night was falling as they sighted the three Spanish warships riding at anchor in the middle of the entry to the lake. Unwilling to proceed farther, Morgan anchored his boats, maintained a sharp watch and at daybreak hoisted anchors and headed directly for the Spanish ships. Realizing that Morgan was actually about to attempt to battle with them, the Dons hoisted anchors and prepared to attack. Manned by its courageous if villainous crew, the fireship crashed straight into the Spanish flagship and instantly its men threw grappling irons, binding their combustible vessel to the warship and then, touching match to fuses, took to the small boats. Before the Dons realized what had happened the fireship was a blazing mass; the powder exploding threw flaming tar and brimstone far and near; and in an incredibly short space of time the Spanish flagship was a seething, roaring furnace and, blowing in[77]two, sank to the bottom of the lake. Meanwhile the second warship, fearing a like fate, was run ashore by its crew and was set afire by the Spaniards to prevent her falling into the buccaneer’s hands, while the third ship was captured by Morgan’s men.Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewSir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewBurning the galleonBurning the galleon“But Morgan and his men were not out of the trap yet. The forts controlled the harbor entrance and, flushed with their easy victory over the ships, the buccaneers landed and attacked the castle. But they failed miserably in this and after heavy losses withdrew to their boats.“The following day Morgan, having made a prisoner of a Spanish pilot and learning from him that the sunken ships carried vast riches, left a portion of his men to recover what they could and sailed back to Maracaibo with the captured warship. Here, being once more in a position to dictate terms, he sent a demand to the Admiral, who had escaped and was in the castle, demanding thirty thousand pieces of eight and five hundred head of cattle as his price for sparing the town and his prisoners. He finally consented to accept twenty thousand pieces of eight with the cattle, however, and the following day this was paid.[78]But Morgan was shrewd and refused to deliver the prisoners until he was out of danger and had cleared the harbor, and with his captives set sail. To his delight he found that his men had recovered nearly twenty thousand pieces of eight in coins and bullion from the sunken ships, but he was still doubtful of being able to pass the forts. He thereupon notified his prisoners that unless they persuaded the Governor to guarantee him safe passage he would hang all the captives on his ships. In view of this dire threat a committee of the prisoners went to His Excellency, beseeching him to grant Morgan’s demands. But Don Alonso was no weakling. His reply was to the effect that, had they been as loyal to their King in hindering the buccaneer’s entry as he intended to be in preventing their going out that they would not have found themselves in such troubles. Very crestfallen the poor fellows returned with the ill news. But for once Morgan was not as ruthless as was his wont and forgot all about his threat to execute the blameless captives. He, however, sent word to Don Alonso that if he was not permitted to pass he would get by without a permit and, feeling that he might fail, he at once proceeded to divide the[79]booty. This totaled over a quarter of a million pieces of eight in money, vast quantities of plate and jewels, silks, merchandise of various kinds and many slaves.“All being properly divided, the question arose as to how the little flotilla would pass to sea under the heavy guns of the castle, but this Morgan accomplished by a most brilliant ruse. On the day before he planned to make his dash he loaded his canoes with men and had them paddled towards the shore as if intending to land them. Here, among the low-hanging foliage, the boats waited for a while and then, with all but two or three men lying flat in the bottoms of the canoes, they paddled back to the ships. This was repeated over and over again, and the Spaniards, seeing canoes full of men coming ashore and apparently empty craft returning, were convinced that Morgan intended to make an attack on the land side of the fort. In order to defend themselves the Dons moved practically all their guns and the greater part of their men to the landward side of the castle, exactly as Morgan had foreseen. Then, as night fell, Morgan weighed anchor and without setting sail let his ships drift down with the ebb[80]tide. Not until they were under the walls of the fort were sails hoisted and all speed made towards the harbor mouth.“With shouts and cries the Dons gave the alarm and madly they ran and scurried to get their guns back in position, but the wind was fresh and fair and before the first shot was fired the buccaneers were almost out of range. A few balls tore through the sails, a few round shot splintered the bulwarks and the high poops, and a few men fell, but the damage was of little moment. Out of reach of the guns, Morgan brought his ships to, and, loading his prisoners into small boats, sent them ashore. Then, with a parting shot of seven guns in a broadside, Morgan spread sails once more and headed for Jamaica.”[81]
[Contents]CHAPTER IVTHE SACKING OF MARACAIBO“But I thought Morgan was Governor of Jamaica and a ‘Sir,’ ” said Jack.“He was. I’m coming to that presently,” replied his father. “Of course, Morgan, having taken Porto Bello and thus won the greatest fame, buccaneers flocked to him, begging for a chance to join him on his next expedition. Indeed, he could have easily raised a force of several thousand men, but Morgan, despite his faults, was a wise man, a born leader and an experienced buccaneer and he knew that too large a force would be a disadvantage. But realizing that he could command any number of ships and men, he foresaw the possibility of accomplishing such feats as no buccaneer had ever before undertaken. Naming the Island of La Vaca, or Cow Island, south of Santo Domingo, as a rendezvous, Morgan and his old captains set sail and there awaited the coming of the buccaneers. And from every lair they flocked to his standard. French and English,[65]Dutch and Danes, from Tortuga Samaná, the Virgins and the Caymans, they sped to join their fortunes with Morgan. Even the Governor of Jamaica sent forth a ship, a brand-new vessel from New England mounting thirty-six guns, the largest buccaneer ship that had ever borne down upon the hapless Dons. Next in size to her was a French ship, a vessel of twenty-four iron guns and twelve brass carronades which happened to be lying at anchor at the island. Upon her Morgan cast envious eyes and used every argument to induce her captain to join with him. The French, however, were distrustful of the English and flatly refused. And then the redoubtable Morgan showed his teeth and proved himself the cowardly, underhand, treacherous rascal that he was in reality. It seemed that some time previously this big French vessel had been short of provision at sea and, meeting a British buccaneer, had secured supplies, giving in payment not ready cash but bills of exchange on Jamaica and Tortuga. Knowing of this, Morgan, finding he could not induce the French captain to join him, seized upon the incident as a means to carry out his nefarious ends. Inviting the French commander and his officers to dine aboard his ship, Morgan received them hospitably,[66]but no sooner were they seated than he and his men whipped out pistols, seized the Frenchmen and bound them as prisoners. Stating that he had seized them as pirates for having taken provisions from a British ship without pay, he informed the unhappy Frenchmen that he intended to hang them and to confiscate their ship as warning to others. But fate intervened and brought a just and speedy retribution upon Morgan and his men for their treacherous act. Having thus possessed himself of the French flagship, Morgan called a council at which it was agreed to go to Saona Island and wait for the plate fleet from Spain. Then, as usual, the buccaneers boarded their ships and held a farewell feast in celebration of their coming voyage, drinking, carousing and, as was customary, discharging their guns in salute to one another. Half drunk, hilarious and careless, the men did not notice that a gun discharged upon the big flagship of the fleet dropped a bit of smoldering wadding onto the deck. There was a terrific explosion and the vessel was blown to bits, destroying three hundred and fifty English buccaneers and the unfortunate French prisoners who were confined in the hold. Only thirty members of the crew, including Morgan, escaped, they[67]having been within the cabin at the high poop of the vessel and away from the main force of the explosion.“But instead of being a wholesome lesson to Morgan and his fellows, this accident only enraged them, and, claiming that their ship had been blown up by the French prisoners—despite the fact that they were manacled and far from the magazine—they at once seized all the French ships in the harbor and sent them with their crews as prisoners to Jamaica, with word that they had been found with papers authorizing them to commit piracy against the British. In reality the papers were merely permits from the Governor of Barracoa permitting the French to trade in Spanish ports and to ‘cruise against English pirates,’ the clause being inserted as a cloak to cover the reason for the permits. But despite their protests and the fact that they had repeatedly aided the English buccaneers against the Dons, Morgan’s influence was such that the Frenchmen were imprisoned and several were hanged when they reached Jamaica.“Morgan’s brutality was still further shown when, eight days after the explosion, he sent out boats to gather up the bodies of the buccaneers[68]which were now floating about, not, as Esquemeling assures us, ‘with the design of affording them Christian burial, but only to obtain the spoil of their clothes and attire.’ Rings were cut from their dead fingers, earrings torn from their ears, their weapons and garments stripped from the corpses and the naked bodies cast back for the sharks. Then, the loot from their dead comrades having been auctioned off, the buccaneers set sail with fifteen ships—the largest carrying fourteen guns—and nine hundred and sixty men.“Sending some of his ships and men to plunder the farms and villages of Santo Domingo for provisions and cattle, Morgan continued to Saona. But his men met with reverses on the island, many of the buccaneers were killed, and though they escaped they were empty-handed and dared not return to Morgan with their tale of reverses. Impatient at the delay, Morgan at last decided to go on without them, and, with his fleet reduced to eight ships and a force of five hundred men, he started for the Gulf of Maracaibo.“Since it had been looted by L’Ollonois, Maracaibo and its neighboring city of Gibraltar had prospered and grown immensely rich, the fortifications had been greatly strengthened and a Spanish[69]fleet was constantly cruising near to prevent raids by the buccaneers. Arriving off the port at night, Morgan drew close to the harbor bar unseen and opened fire at daybreak. From morn until night the battle raged until, feeling that they could not hold out another day, the garrison evacuated the fort at nightfall and left a slow match leading to the magazine in the hopes of blowing up the buccaneers if they entered. In this they were very nearly successful, but Morgan himself discovered the burning fuse and stamped it out when within six inches of the explosives.“Finding his ships could not enter the shallow harbor, Morgan embarked in boats and canoes and after terrific fighting silenced one fort after another and took the town. Then began an awful scene of butchery and torture. All that L’Ollonois had done in the stricken town before was repeated a hundredfold. The people, rounded up and shackled, were broken on the wheel, torn to pieces on the rack, spread-eagled and flogged to a pulp. Burning fuses were placed between their fingers and toes. Wet rawhide thongs were twisted about their heads and allowed to dry until, as they shrunk, the wretches’ eyes burst from their skulls and many were cut to pieces a bit at a time or[70]flayed alive. Those who had no treasures whose hiding place they could divulge died under their torments, and those who confessed were too far gone to recover. For three terrible weeks this awful work went on, the buccaneers sparing neither young nor old, men, women or children, and daily scouring the countryside to bring new victims to the torture chambers. Then, satisfied he had every cent that it was possible to secure, Morgan loaded his remaining prisoners on his ships and sailed for Gibraltar as L’Ollonois had done. He had sent prisoners ahead, demanding the surrender of the town and threatening to torture and butcher every living soul if resistance were made, but notwithstanding this the inhabitants and the garrison put up a stiff fight. Finding he could not take the place by assault, Morgan started his men overland through the woods, and the people, realizing the buccaneers would take the place, fled with what valuables they could gather into the country, first having spiked the guns and destroyed the powder in the forts. As a result the buccaneers entered the city without a shot fired and found no living soul save one half-witted man. Despite the fact that he was a demented, helpless creature the buccaneers ruthlessly[71]placed him on the rack until he begged for mercy and promised to guide his tormentors to his riches. Following him, they were led to a tumble-down house containing nothing of any value with the exception of three pieces of eight—all the poor man’s earthly possessions. The buccaneers, however, had gotten a crazy idea that the fellow was a rich man masquerading as a dunce, and when in reply to their question he announced that his name was ‘Don Sebastian Sanchez’ and ‘I am brother to the Governor,’ instead of being convinced that he was crazy, the buccaneers believed his ridiculous words and tortured him anew. Despite his shrieks and heart-rending appeals he was racked, his limbs were stretched by cords passed over pulleys and with immense weights attached to them, he was scorched to a crisp by burning palm leaves passed over his face and body, and not till the miserable wretch had died after half an hour of this fiendish torment did the buccaneers cease their efforts to wring from him the secret of his supposed wealth.“The next day the buccaneers captured a poor farmer and his two daughters and threatened them with torture, but the cowering wretches agreed to lead the buccaneers to the hiding places[72]of the inhabitants. Seeing their enemies coming, the Spaniards fled still farther, and the disgruntled Englishmen hanged the peasant and his daughters to trees by the wayside. The buccaneers then set diligently at work, scouring the countryside for prisoners. In one spot they captured a slave, and, promising him freedom and vast amounts of gold if he would show them the hiding places of the Dons, he readily agreed and led them to a secluded house where the buccaneers made prisoners of a number of Spaniards. Then, to make sure that their slave guide would not dare desert them, the buccaneers forced him to murder a number of the helpless Dons before the eyes of the others. This party of Spaniards totaled nearly two hundred and fifty and these the buccaneers examined one at a time, torturing those who denied knowledge of treasure. One man, over seventy years old, a Portuguese by birth, was reported by the treacherous slave to be rich. This the old fellow stoutly denied, claiming that his total wealth was but one hundred pieces of eight and that this had been stolen from him two days previously. In spite of this and his age, the buccaneers, under Morgan’s personal orders, broke both his arms and then stretched him between stakes by cords from his[73]thumbs and great toes. Then, while suspended in this way, the inhuman monsters beat upon the cords with sticks. Not content with this, they placed a two hundred pound stone upon his body, passed blazing palm leaves over his face and head, and then, finding no confession could be wrung from him they carried him to the church and lashed him fast to a pillar where he was left for several days with only a few drops of water to keep him alive. How any mortal could have survived—much less an aged man—is miraculous, but live he did and finally consented to raise five hundred pieces of eight to buy his liberty. The buccaneers, however, scoffed at this, beat him with cudgels and told him it would take five thousand pieces of eight to save his life. Finally he bargained for freedom for one thousand pieces, and a few days later, the money having been paid, he was set at liberty, though, as Esquemeling tells us, ‘so horribly maimed in body that ’tis scarce to be believed he survived many weeks after.’“But even these fearful and disgusting torments were mild as compared to some that Morgan inflicted on the men and women in his mad lust to wring their riches from them. Dozens were crucified, others were staked out by pointed sticks[74]driven through them into the earth; others were bound with their feet in fires, others roasted alive. For five long, awful weeks they continued their unspeakable atrocities until, finding further efforts useless, and fearing that his retreat to sea would be cut off, Morgan left the stricken town, carrying a number of prisoners for hostages.“At Maracaibo they learned that Spanish warships had arrived and that three armed vessels were blockading the harbor mouth. The largest of these carried forty guns, the second thirty and the smallest twenty-four. That the buccaneers, with no heavy guns and with only small vessels, could escape seemed impossible, but Morgan once more showed himself the resourceful commander and sent a Spanish prisoner to the Admiral in command of the ships demanding a free passage to sea as well as a ransom if Maracaibo was not to be burned. To this the Admiral replied contemptuously, telling Morgan that, provided he would surrender all the plunder and prisoners he had taken, he would allow him and his men to depart, but otherwise would totally destroy them and give no quarter. This letter Morgan read aloud to his men, asking them whether they preferred to fight or lose their plunder. The[75]reply was unanimously that they had rather fight till their last drop of blood rather than abandon what they had won. Then one of the men suggested that they fit up a fire ship, disguise her by logs of wood dressed as men on deck and with dummy cannon at the ports, and let her drift down on the Spanish vessels. Although all approved the idea, still Morgan decided to try guile and diplomacy—with a deal of bluff—before resorting to strenuous measures. Consequently he dispatched another messenger to the Admiral, offering to quit Maracaibo without firing it or exacting ransom, and agreeing to liberate all the prisoners if he and his men were allowed to pass. But the doughty old Spanish commander would have none of this and replied that unless Morgan surrendered according to the original terms within two days he would come and take him.“Finding cajolery useless, Morgan at once hustled about to make the most of his time and to try to escape by force. A ship taken at Gibraltar was loaded with brimstone, powder, palm leaves soaked in pitch and other combustibles. Kegs of powder were placed under the dummy guns and dressed and armed logs were posed upon the decks to resemble buccaneers. Then all the male prisoners[76]were loaded into one boat; all the women, the plate and the jewels into another; the merchandise and things of lesser value in a third. Then, all being ready, the little fleet set forth with the fireship in the lead. It was on the 30th of April, 1669, that the buccaneers started from Maracaibo on this desperate, dare-devil effort to escape, and night was falling as they sighted the three Spanish warships riding at anchor in the middle of the entry to the lake. Unwilling to proceed farther, Morgan anchored his boats, maintained a sharp watch and at daybreak hoisted anchors and headed directly for the Spanish ships. Realizing that Morgan was actually about to attempt to battle with them, the Dons hoisted anchors and prepared to attack. Manned by its courageous if villainous crew, the fireship crashed straight into the Spanish flagship and instantly its men threw grappling irons, binding their combustible vessel to the warship and then, touching match to fuses, took to the small boats. Before the Dons realized what had happened the fireship was a blazing mass; the powder exploding threw flaming tar and brimstone far and near; and in an incredibly short space of time the Spanish flagship was a seething, roaring furnace and, blowing in[77]two, sank to the bottom of the lake. Meanwhile the second warship, fearing a like fate, was run ashore by its crew and was set afire by the Spaniards to prevent her falling into the buccaneer’s hands, while the third ship was captured by Morgan’s men.Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewSir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewBurning the galleonBurning the galleon“But Morgan and his men were not out of the trap yet. The forts controlled the harbor entrance and, flushed with their easy victory over the ships, the buccaneers landed and attacked the castle. But they failed miserably in this and after heavy losses withdrew to their boats.“The following day Morgan, having made a prisoner of a Spanish pilot and learning from him that the sunken ships carried vast riches, left a portion of his men to recover what they could and sailed back to Maracaibo with the captured warship. Here, being once more in a position to dictate terms, he sent a demand to the Admiral, who had escaped and was in the castle, demanding thirty thousand pieces of eight and five hundred head of cattle as his price for sparing the town and his prisoners. He finally consented to accept twenty thousand pieces of eight with the cattle, however, and the following day this was paid.[78]But Morgan was shrewd and refused to deliver the prisoners until he was out of danger and had cleared the harbor, and with his captives set sail. To his delight he found that his men had recovered nearly twenty thousand pieces of eight in coins and bullion from the sunken ships, but he was still doubtful of being able to pass the forts. He thereupon notified his prisoners that unless they persuaded the Governor to guarantee him safe passage he would hang all the captives on his ships. In view of this dire threat a committee of the prisoners went to His Excellency, beseeching him to grant Morgan’s demands. But Don Alonso was no weakling. His reply was to the effect that, had they been as loyal to their King in hindering the buccaneer’s entry as he intended to be in preventing their going out that they would not have found themselves in such troubles. Very crestfallen the poor fellows returned with the ill news. But for once Morgan was not as ruthless as was his wont and forgot all about his threat to execute the blameless captives. He, however, sent word to Don Alonso that if he was not permitted to pass he would get by without a permit and, feeling that he might fail, he at once proceeded to divide the[79]booty. This totaled over a quarter of a million pieces of eight in money, vast quantities of plate and jewels, silks, merchandise of various kinds and many slaves.“All being properly divided, the question arose as to how the little flotilla would pass to sea under the heavy guns of the castle, but this Morgan accomplished by a most brilliant ruse. On the day before he planned to make his dash he loaded his canoes with men and had them paddled towards the shore as if intending to land them. Here, among the low-hanging foliage, the boats waited for a while and then, with all but two or three men lying flat in the bottoms of the canoes, they paddled back to the ships. This was repeated over and over again, and the Spaniards, seeing canoes full of men coming ashore and apparently empty craft returning, were convinced that Morgan intended to make an attack on the land side of the fort. In order to defend themselves the Dons moved practically all their guns and the greater part of their men to the landward side of the castle, exactly as Morgan had foreseen. Then, as night fell, Morgan weighed anchor and without setting sail let his ships drift down with the ebb[80]tide. Not until they were under the walls of the fort were sails hoisted and all speed made towards the harbor mouth.“With shouts and cries the Dons gave the alarm and madly they ran and scurried to get their guns back in position, but the wind was fresh and fair and before the first shot was fired the buccaneers were almost out of range. A few balls tore through the sails, a few round shot splintered the bulwarks and the high poops, and a few men fell, but the damage was of little moment. Out of reach of the guns, Morgan brought his ships to, and, loading his prisoners into small boats, sent them ashore. Then, with a parting shot of seven guns in a broadside, Morgan spread sails once more and headed for Jamaica.”[81]
CHAPTER IVTHE SACKING OF MARACAIBO
“But I thought Morgan was Governor of Jamaica and a ‘Sir,’ ” said Jack.“He was. I’m coming to that presently,” replied his father. “Of course, Morgan, having taken Porto Bello and thus won the greatest fame, buccaneers flocked to him, begging for a chance to join him on his next expedition. Indeed, he could have easily raised a force of several thousand men, but Morgan, despite his faults, was a wise man, a born leader and an experienced buccaneer and he knew that too large a force would be a disadvantage. But realizing that he could command any number of ships and men, he foresaw the possibility of accomplishing such feats as no buccaneer had ever before undertaken. Naming the Island of La Vaca, or Cow Island, south of Santo Domingo, as a rendezvous, Morgan and his old captains set sail and there awaited the coming of the buccaneers. And from every lair they flocked to his standard. French and English,[65]Dutch and Danes, from Tortuga Samaná, the Virgins and the Caymans, they sped to join their fortunes with Morgan. Even the Governor of Jamaica sent forth a ship, a brand-new vessel from New England mounting thirty-six guns, the largest buccaneer ship that had ever borne down upon the hapless Dons. Next in size to her was a French ship, a vessel of twenty-four iron guns and twelve brass carronades which happened to be lying at anchor at the island. Upon her Morgan cast envious eyes and used every argument to induce her captain to join with him. The French, however, were distrustful of the English and flatly refused. And then the redoubtable Morgan showed his teeth and proved himself the cowardly, underhand, treacherous rascal that he was in reality. It seemed that some time previously this big French vessel had been short of provision at sea and, meeting a British buccaneer, had secured supplies, giving in payment not ready cash but bills of exchange on Jamaica and Tortuga. Knowing of this, Morgan, finding he could not induce the French captain to join him, seized upon the incident as a means to carry out his nefarious ends. Inviting the French commander and his officers to dine aboard his ship, Morgan received them hospitably,[66]but no sooner were they seated than he and his men whipped out pistols, seized the Frenchmen and bound them as prisoners. Stating that he had seized them as pirates for having taken provisions from a British ship without pay, he informed the unhappy Frenchmen that he intended to hang them and to confiscate their ship as warning to others. But fate intervened and brought a just and speedy retribution upon Morgan and his men for their treacherous act. Having thus possessed himself of the French flagship, Morgan called a council at which it was agreed to go to Saona Island and wait for the plate fleet from Spain. Then, as usual, the buccaneers boarded their ships and held a farewell feast in celebration of their coming voyage, drinking, carousing and, as was customary, discharging their guns in salute to one another. Half drunk, hilarious and careless, the men did not notice that a gun discharged upon the big flagship of the fleet dropped a bit of smoldering wadding onto the deck. There was a terrific explosion and the vessel was blown to bits, destroying three hundred and fifty English buccaneers and the unfortunate French prisoners who were confined in the hold. Only thirty members of the crew, including Morgan, escaped, they[67]having been within the cabin at the high poop of the vessel and away from the main force of the explosion.“But instead of being a wholesome lesson to Morgan and his fellows, this accident only enraged them, and, claiming that their ship had been blown up by the French prisoners—despite the fact that they were manacled and far from the magazine—they at once seized all the French ships in the harbor and sent them with their crews as prisoners to Jamaica, with word that they had been found with papers authorizing them to commit piracy against the British. In reality the papers were merely permits from the Governor of Barracoa permitting the French to trade in Spanish ports and to ‘cruise against English pirates,’ the clause being inserted as a cloak to cover the reason for the permits. But despite their protests and the fact that they had repeatedly aided the English buccaneers against the Dons, Morgan’s influence was such that the Frenchmen were imprisoned and several were hanged when they reached Jamaica.“Morgan’s brutality was still further shown when, eight days after the explosion, he sent out boats to gather up the bodies of the buccaneers[68]which were now floating about, not, as Esquemeling assures us, ‘with the design of affording them Christian burial, but only to obtain the spoil of their clothes and attire.’ Rings were cut from their dead fingers, earrings torn from their ears, their weapons and garments stripped from the corpses and the naked bodies cast back for the sharks. Then, the loot from their dead comrades having been auctioned off, the buccaneers set sail with fifteen ships—the largest carrying fourteen guns—and nine hundred and sixty men.“Sending some of his ships and men to plunder the farms and villages of Santo Domingo for provisions and cattle, Morgan continued to Saona. But his men met with reverses on the island, many of the buccaneers were killed, and though they escaped they were empty-handed and dared not return to Morgan with their tale of reverses. Impatient at the delay, Morgan at last decided to go on without them, and, with his fleet reduced to eight ships and a force of five hundred men, he started for the Gulf of Maracaibo.“Since it had been looted by L’Ollonois, Maracaibo and its neighboring city of Gibraltar had prospered and grown immensely rich, the fortifications had been greatly strengthened and a Spanish[69]fleet was constantly cruising near to prevent raids by the buccaneers. Arriving off the port at night, Morgan drew close to the harbor bar unseen and opened fire at daybreak. From morn until night the battle raged until, feeling that they could not hold out another day, the garrison evacuated the fort at nightfall and left a slow match leading to the magazine in the hopes of blowing up the buccaneers if they entered. In this they were very nearly successful, but Morgan himself discovered the burning fuse and stamped it out when within six inches of the explosives.“Finding his ships could not enter the shallow harbor, Morgan embarked in boats and canoes and after terrific fighting silenced one fort after another and took the town. Then began an awful scene of butchery and torture. All that L’Ollonois had done in the stricken town before was repeated a hundredfold. The people, rounded up and shackled, were broken on the wheel, torn to pieces on the rack, spread-eagled and flogged to a pulp. Burning fuses were placed between their fingers and toes. Wet rawhide thongs were twisted about their heads and allowed to dry until, as they shrunk, the wretches’ eyes burst from their skulls and many were cut to pieces a bit at a time or[70]flayed alive. Those who had no treasures whose hiding place they could divulge died under their torments, and those who confessed were too far gone to recover. For three terrible weeks this awful work went on, the buccaneers sparing neither young nor old, men, women or children, and daily scouring the countryside to bring new victims to the torture chambers. Then, satisfied he had every cent that it was possible to secure, Morgan loaded his remaining prisoners on his ships and sailed for Gibraltar as L’Ollonois had done. He had sent prisoners ahead, demanding the surrender of the town and threatening to torture and butcher every living soul if resistance were made, but notwithstanding this the inhabitants and the garrison put up a stiff fight. Finding he could not take the place by assault, Morgan started his men overland through the woods, and the people, realizing the buccaneers would take the place, fled with what valuables they could gather into the country, first having spiked the guns and destroyed the powder in the forts. As a result the buccaneers entered the city without a shot fired and found no living soul save one half-witted man. Despite the fact that he was a demented, helpless creature the buccaneers ruthlessly[71]placed him on the rack until he begged for mercy and promised to guide his tormentors to his riches. Following him, they were led to a tumble-down house containing nothing of any value with the exception of three pieces of eight—all the poor man’s earthly possessions. The buccaneers, however, had gotten a crazy idea that the fellow was a rich man masquerading as a dunce, and when in reply to their question he announced that his name was ‘Don Sebastian Sanchez’ and ‘I am brother to the Governor,’ instead of being convinced that he was crazy, the buccaneers believed his ridiculous words and tortured him anew. Despite his shrieks and heart-rending appeals he was racked, his limbs were stretched by cords passed over pulleys and with immense weights attached to them, he was scorched to a crisp by burning palm leaves passed over his face and body, and not till the miserable wretch had died after half an hour of this fiendish torment did the buccaneers cease their efforts to wring from him the secret of his supposed wealth.“The next day the buccaneers captured a poor farmer and his two daughters and threatened them with torture, but the cowering wretches agreed to lead the buccaneers to the hiding places[72]of the inhabitants. Seeing their enemies coming, the Spaniards fled still farther, and the disgruntled Englishmen hanged the peasant and his daughters to trees by the wayside. The buccaneers then set diligently at work, scouring the countryside for prisoners. In one spot they captured a slave, and, promising him freedom and vast amounts of gold if he would show them the hiding places of the Dons, he readily agreed and led them to a secluded house where the buccaneers made prisoners of a number of Spaniards. Then, to make sure that their slave guide would not dare desert them, the buccaneers forced him to murder a number of the helpless Dons before the eyes of the others. This party of Spaniards totaled nearly two hundred and fifty and these the buccaneers examined one at a time, torturing those who denied knowledge of treasure. One man, over seventy years old, a Portuguese by birth, was reported by the treacherous slave to be rich. This the old fellow stoutly denied, claiming that his total wealth was but one hundred pieces of eight and that this had been stolen from him two days previously. In spite of this and his age, the buccaneers, under Morgan’s personal orders, broke both his arms and then stretched him between stakes by cords from his[73]thumbs and great toes. Then, while suspended in this way, the inhuman monsters beat upon the cords with sticks. Not content with this, they placed a two hundred pound stone upon his body, passed blazing palm leaves over his face and head, and then, finding no confession could be wrung from him they carried him to the church and lashed him fast to a pillar where he was left for several days with only a few drops of water to keep him alive. How any mortal could have survived—much less an aged man—is miraculous, but live he did and finally consented to raise five hundred pieces of eight to buy his liberty. The buccaneers, however, scoffed at this, beat him with cudgels and told him it would take five thousand pieces of eight to save his life. Finally he bargained for freedom for one thousand pieces, and a few days later, the money having been paid, he was set at liberty, though, as Esquemeling tells us, ‘so horribly maimed in body that ’tis scarce to be believed he survived many weeks after.’“But even these fearful and disgusting torments were mild as compared to some that Morgan inflicted on the men and women in his mad lust to wring their riches from them. Dozens were crucified, others were staked out by pointed sticks[74]driven through them into the earth; others were bound with their feet in fires, others roasted alive. For five long, awful weeks they continued their unspeakable atrocities until, finding further efforts useless, and fearing that his retreat to sea would be cut off, Morgan left the stricken town, carrying a number of prisoners for hostages.“At Maracaibo they learned that Spanish warships had arrived and that three armed vessels were blockading the harbor mouth. The largest of these carried forty guns, the second thirty and the smallest twenty-four. That the buccaneers, with no heavy guns and with only small vessels, could escape seemed impossible, but Morgan once more showed himself the resourceful commander and sent a Spanish prisoner to the Admiral in command of the ships demanding a free passage to sea as well as a ransom if Maracaibo was not to be burned. To this the Admiral replied contemptuously, telling Morgan that, provided he would surrender all the plunder and prisoners he had taken, he would allow him and his men to depart, but otherwise would totally destroy them and give no quarter. This letter Morgan read aloud to his men, asking them whether they preferred to fight or lose their plunder. The[75]reply was unanimously that they had rather fight till their last drop of blood rather than abandon what they had won. Then one of the men suggested that they fit up a fire ship, disguise her by logs of wood dressed as men on deck and with dummy cannon at the ports, and let her drift down on the Spanish vessels. Although all approved the idea, still Morgan decided to try guile and diplomacy—with a deal of bluff—before resorting to strenuous measures. Consequently he dispatched another messenger to the Admiral, offering to quit Maracaibo without firing it or exacting ransom, and agreeing to liberate all the prisoners if he and his men were allowed to pass. But the doughty old Spanish commander would have none of this and replied that unless Morgan surrendered according to the original terms within two days he would come and take him.“Finding cajolery useless, Morgan at once hustled about to make the most of his time and to try to escape by force. A ship taken at Gibraltar was loaded with brimstone, powder, palm leaves soaked in pitch and other combustibles. Kegs of powder were placed under the dummy guns and dressed and armed logs were posed upon the decks to resemble buccaneers. Then all the male prisoners[76]were loaded into one boat; all the women, the plate and the jewels into another; the merchandise and things of lesser value in a third. Then, all being ready, the little fleet set forth with the fireship in the lead. It was on the 30th of April, 1669, that the buccaneers started from Maracaibo on this desperate, dare-devil effort to escape, and night was falling as they sighted the three Spanish warships riding at anchor in the middle of the entry to the lake. Unwilling to proceed farther, Morgan anchored his boats, maintained a sharp watch and at daybreak hoisted anchors and headed directly for the Spanish ships. Realizing that Morgan was actually about to attempt to battle with them, the Dons hoisted anchors and prepared to attack. Manned by its courageous if villainous crew, the fireship crashed straight into the Spanish flagship and instantly its men threw grappling irons, binding their combustible vessel to the warship and then, touching match to fuses, took to the small boats. Before the Dons realized what had happened the fireship was a blazing mass; the powder exploding threw flaming tar and brimstone far and near; and in an incredibly short space of time the Spanish flagship was a seething, roaring furnace and, blowing in[77]two, sank to the bottom of the lake. Meanwhile the second warship, fearing a like fate, was run ashore by its crew and was set afire by the Spaniards to prevent her falling into the buccaneer’s hands, while the third ship was captured by Morgan’s men.Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewSir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewBurning the galleonBurning the galleon“But Morgan and his men were not out of the trap yet. The forts controlled the harbor entrance and, flushed with their easy victory over the ships, the buccaneers landed and attacked the castle. But they failed miserably in this and after heavy losses withdrew to their boats.“The following day Morgan, having made a prisoner of a Spanish pilot and learning from him that the sunken ships carried vast riches, left a portion of his men to recover what they could and sailed back to Maracaibo with the captured warship. Here, being once more in a position to dictate terms, he sent a demand to the Admiral, who had escaped and was in the castle, demanding thirty thousand pieces of eight and five hundred head of cattle as his price for sparing the town and his prisoners. He finally consented to accept twenty thousand pieces of eight with the cattle, however, and the following day this was paid.[78]But Morgan was shrewd and refused to deliver the prisoners until he was out of danger and had cleared the harbor, and with his captives set sail. To his delight he found that his men had recovered nearly twenty thousand pieces of eight in coins and bullion from the sunken ships, but he was still doubtful of being able to pass the forts. He thereupon notified his prisoners that unless they persuaded the Governor to guarantee him safe passage he would hang all the captives on his ships. In view of this dire threat a committee of the prisoners went to His Excellency, beseeching him to grant Morgan’s demands. But Don Alonso was no weakling. His reply was to the effect that, had they been as loyal to their King in hindering the buccaneer’s entry as he intended to be in preventing their going out that they would not have found themselves in such troubles. Very crestfallen the poor fellows returned with the ill news. But for once Morgan was not as ruthless as was his wont and forgot all about his threat to execute the blameless captives. He, however, sent word to Don Alonso that if he was not permitted to pass he would get by without a permit and, feeling that he might fail, he at once proceeded to divide the[79]booty. This totaled over a quarter of a million pieces of eight in money, vast quantities of plate and jewels, silks, merchandise of various kinds and many slaves.“All being properly divided, the question arose as to how the little flotilla would pass to sea under the heavy guns of the castle, but this Morgan accomplished by a most brilliant ruse. On the day before he planned to make his dash he loaded his canoes with men and had them paddled towards the shore as if intending to land them. Here, among the low-hanging foliage, the boats waited for a while and then, with all but two or three men lying flat in the bottoms of the canoes, they paddled back to the ships. This was repeated over and over again, and the Spaniards, seeing canoes full of men coming ashore and apparently empty craft returning, were convinced that Morgan intended to make an attack on the land side of the fort. In order to defend themselves the Dons moved practically all their guns and the greater part of their men to the landward side of the castle, exactly as Morgan had foreseen. Then, as night fell, Morgan weighed anchor and without setting sail let his ships drift down with the ebb[80]tide. Not until they were under the walls of the fort were sails hoisted and all speed made towards the harbor mouth.“With shouts and cries the Dons gave the alarm and madly they ran and scurried to get their guns back in position, but the wind was fresh and fair and before the first shot was fired the buccaneers were almost out of range. A few balls tore through the sails, a few round shot splintered the bulwarks and the high poops, and a few men fell, but the damage was of little moment. Out of reach of the guns, Morgan brought his ships to, and, loading his prisoners into small boats, sent them ashore. Then, with a parting shot of seven guns in a broadside, Morgan spread sails once more and headed for Jamaica.”[81]
“But I thought Morgan was Governor of Jamaica and a ‘Sir,’ ” said Jack.
“He was. I’m coming to that presently,” replied his father. “Of course, Morgan, having taken Porto Bello and thus won the greatest fame, buccaneers flocked to him, begging for a chance to join him on his next expedition. Indeed, he could have easily raised a force of several thousand men, but Morgan, despite his faults, was a wise man, a born leader and an experienced buccaneer and he knew that too large a force would be a disadvantage. But realizing that he could command any number of ships and men, he foresaw the possibility of accomplishing such feats as no buccaneer had ever before undertaken. Naming the Island of La Vaca, or Cow Island, south of Santo Domingo, as a rendezvous, Morgan and his old captains set sail and there awaited the coming of the buccaneers. And from every lair they flocked to his standard. French and English,[65]Dutch and Danes, from Tortuga Samaná, the Virgins and the Caymans, they sped to join their fortunes with Morgan. Even the Governor of Jamaica sent forth a ship, a brand-new vessel from New England mounting thirty-six guns, the largest buccaneer ship that had ever borne down upon the hapless Dons. Next in size to her was a French ship, a vessel of twenty-four iron guns and twelve brass carronades which happened to be lying at anchor at the island. Upon her Morgan cast envious eyes and used every argument to induce her captain to join with him. The French, however, were distrustful of the English and flatly refused. And then the redoubtable Morgan showed his teeth and proved himself the cowardly, underhand, treacherous rascal that he was in reality. It seemed that some time previously this big French vessel had been short of provision at sea and, meeting a British buccaneer, had secured supplies, giving in payment not ready cash but bills of exchange on Jamaica and Tortuga. Knowing of this, Morgan, finding he could not induce the French captain to join him, seized upon the incident as a means to carry out his nefarious ends. Inviting the French commander and his officers to dine aboard his ship, Morgan received them hospitably,[66]but no sooner were they seated than he and his men whipped out pistols, seized the Frenchmen and bound them as prisoners. Stating that he had seized them as pirates for having taken provisions from a British ship without pay, he informed the unhappy Frenchmen that he intended to hang them and to confiscate their ship as warning to others. But fate intervened and brought a just and speedy retribution upon Morgan and his men for their treacherous act. Having thus possessed himself of the French flagship, Morgan called a council at which it was agreed to go to Saona Island and wait for the plate fleet from Spain. Then, as usual, the buccaneers boarded their ships and held a farewell feast in celebration of their coming voyage, drinking, carousing and, as was customary, discharging their guns in salute to one another. Half drunk, hilarious and careless, the men did not notice that a gun discharged upon the big flagship of the fleet dropped a bit of smoldering wadding onto the deck. There was a terrific explosion and the vessel was blown to bits, destroying three hundred and fifty English buccaneers and the unfortunate French prisoners who were confined in the hold. Only thirty members of the crew, including Morgan, escaped, they[67]having been within the cabin at the high poop of the vessel and away from the main force of the explosion.
“But instead of being a wholesome lesson to Morgan and his fellows, this accident only enraged them, and, claiming that their ship had been blown up by the French prisoners—despite the fact that they were manacled and far from the magazine—they at once seized all the French ships in the harbor and sent them with their crews as prisoners to Jamaica, with word that they had been found with papers authorizing them to commit piracy against the British. In reality the papers were merely permits from the Governor of Barracoa permitting the French to trade in Spanish ports and to ‘cruise against English pirates,’ the clause being inserted as a cloak to cover the reason for the permits. But despite their protests and the fact that they had repeatedly aided the English buccaneers against the Dons, Morgan’s influence was such that the Frenchmen were imprisoned and several were hanged when they reached Jamaica.
“Morgan’s brutality was still further shown when, eight days after the explosion, he sent out boats to gather up the bodies of the buccaneers[68]which were now floating about, not, as Esquemeling assures us, ‘with the design of affording them Christian burial, but only to obtain the spoil of their clothes and attire.’ Rings were cut from their dead fingers, earrings torn from their ears, their weapons and garments stripped from the corpses and the naked bodies cast back for the sharks. Then, the loot from their dead comrades having been auctioned off, the buccaneers set sail with fifteen ships—the largest carrying fourteen guns—and nine hundred and sixty men.
“Sending some of his ships and men to plunder the farms and villages of Santo Domingo for provisions and cattle, Morgan continued to Saona. But his men met with reverses on the island, many of the buccaneers were killed, and though they escaped they were empty-handed and dared not return to Morgan with their tale of reverses. Impatient at the delay, Morgan at last decided to go on without them, and, with his fleet reduced to eight ships and a force of five hundred men, he started for the Gulf of Maracaibo.
“Since it had been looted by L’Ollonois, Maracaibo and its neighboring city of Gibraltar had prospered and grown immensely rich, the fortifications had been greatly strengthened and a Spanish[69]fleet was constantly cruising near to prevent raids by the buccaneers. Arriving off the port at night, Morgan drew close to the harbor bar unseen and opened fire at daybreak. From morn until night the battle raged until, feeling that they could not hold out another day, the garrison evacuated the fort at nightfall and left a slow match leading to the magazine in the hopes of blowing up the buccaneers if they entered. In this they were very nearly successful, but Morgan himself discovered the burning fuse and stamped it out when within six inches of the explosives.
“Finding his ships could not enter the shallow harbor, Morgan embarked in boats and canoes and after terrific fighting silenced one fort after another and took the town. Then began an awful scene of butchery and torture. All that L’Ollonois had done in the stricken town before was repeated a hundredfold. The people, rounded up and shackled, were broken on the wheel, torn to pieces on the rack, spread-eagled and flogged to a pulp. Burning fuses were placed between their fingers and toes. Wet rawhide thongs were twisted about their heads and allowed to dry until, as they shrunk, the wretches’ eyes burst from their skulls and many were cut to pieces a bit at a time or[70]flayed alive. Those who had no treasures whose hiding place they could divulge died under their torments, and those who confessed were too far gone to recover. For three terrible weeks this awful work went on, the buccaneers sparing neither young nor old, men, women or children, and daily scouring the countryside to bring new victims to the torture chambers. Then, satisfied he had every cent that it was possible to secure, Morgan loaded his remaining prisoners on his ships and sailed for Gibraltar as L’Ollonois had done. He had sent prisoners ahead, demanding the surrender of the town and threatening to torture and butcher every living soul if resistance were made, but notwithstanding this the inhabitants and the garrison put up a stiff fight. Finding he could not take the place by assault, Morgan started his men overland through the woods, and the people, realizing the buccaneers would take the place, fled with what valuables they could gather into the country, first having spiked the guns and destroyed the powder in the forts. As a result the buccaneers entered the city without a shot fired and found no living soul save one half-witted man. Despite the fact that he was a demented, helpless creature the buccaneers ruthlessly[71]placed him on the rack until he begged for mercy and promised to guide his tormentors to his riches. Following him, they were led to a tumble-down house containing nothing of any value with the exception of three pieces of eight—all the poor man’s earthly possessions. The buccaneers, however, had gotten a crazy idea that the fellow was a rich man masquerading as a dunce, and when in reply to their question he announced that his name was ‘Don Sebastian Sanchez’ and ‘I am brother to the Governor,’ instead of being convinced that he was crazy, the buccaneers believed his ridiculous words and tortured him anew. Despite his shrieks and heart-rending appeals he was racked, his limbs were stretched by cords passed over pulleys and with immense weights attached to them, he was scorched to a crisp by burning palm leaves passed over his face and body, and not till the miserable wretch had died after half an hour of this fiendish torment did the buccaneers cease their efforts to wring from him the secret of his supposed wealth.
“The next day the buccaneers captured a poor farmer and his two daughters and threatened them with torture, but the cowering wretches agreed to lead the buccaneers to the hiding places[72]of the inhabitants. Seeing their enemies coming, the Spaniards fled still farther, and the disgruntled Englishmen hanged the peasant and his daughters to trees by the wayside. The buccaneers then set diligently at work, scouring the countryside for prisoners. In one spot they captured a slave, and, promising him freedom and vast amounts of gold if he would show them the hiding places of the Dons, he readily agreed and led them to a secluded house where the buccaneers made prisoners of a number of Spaniards. Then, to make sure that their slave guide would not dare desert them, the buccaneers forced him to murder a number of the helpless Dons before the eyes of the others. This party of Spaniards totaled nearly two hundred and fifty and these the buccaneers examined one at a time, torturing those who denied knowledge of treasure. One man, over seventy years old, a Portuguese by birth, was reported by the treacherous slave to be rich. This the old fellow stoutly denied, claiming that his total wealth was but one hundred pieces of eight and that this had been stolen from him two days previously. In spite of this and his age, the buccaneers, under Morgan’s personal orders, broke both his arms and then stretched him between stakes by cords from his[73]thumbs and great toes. Then, while suspended in this way, the inhuman monsters beat upon the cords with sticks. Not content with this, they placed a two hundred pound stone upon his body, passed blazing palm leaves over his face and head, and then, finding no confession could be wrung from him they carried him to the church and lashed him fast to a pillar where he was left for several days with only a few drops of water to keep him alive. How any mortal could have survived—much less an aged man—is miraculous, but live he did and finally consented to raise five hundred pieces of eight to buy his liberty. The buccaneers, however, scoffed at this, beat him with cudgels and told him it would take five thousand pieces of eight to save his life. Finally he bargained for freedom for one thousand pieces, and a few days later, the money having been paid, he was set at liberty, though, as Esquemeling tells us, ‘so horribly maimed in body that ’tis scarce to be believed he survived many weeks after.’
“But even these fearful and disgusting torments were mild as compared to some that Morgan inflicted on the men and women in his mad lust to wring their riches from them. Dozens were crucified, others were staked out by pointed sticks[74]driven through them into the earth; others were bound with their feet in fires, others roasted alive. For five long, awful weeks they continued their unspeakable atrocities until, finding further efforts useless, and fearing that his retreat to sea would be cut off, Morgan left the stricken town, carrying a number of prisoners for hostages.
“At Maracaibo they learned that Spanish warships had arrived and that three armed vessels were blockading the harbor mouth. The largest of these carried forty guns, the second thirty and the smallest twenty-four. That the buccaneers, with no heavy guns and with only small vessels, could escape seemed impossible, but Morgan once more showed himself the resourceful commander and sent a Spanish prisoner to the Admiral in command of the ships demanding a free passage to sea as well as a ransom if Maracaibo was not to be burned. To this the Admiral replied contemptuously, telling Morgan that, provided he would surrender all the plunder and prisoners he had taken, he would allow him and his men to depart, but otherwise would totally destroy them and give no quarter. This letter Morgan read aloud to his men, asking them whether they preferred to fight or lose their plunder. The[75]reply was unanimously that they had rather fight till their last drop of blood rather than abandon what they had won. Then one of the men suggested that they fit up a fire ship, disguise her by logs of wood dressed as men on deck and with dummy cannon at the ports, and let her drift down on the Spanish vessels. Although all approved the idea, still Morgan decided to try guile and diplomacy—with a deal of bluff—before resorting to strenuous measures. Consequently he dispatched another messenger to the Admiral, offering to quit Maracaibo without firing it or exacting ransom, and agreeing to liberate all the prisoners if he and his men were allowed to pass. But the doughty old Spanish commander would have none of this and replied that unless Morgan surrendered according to the original terms within two days he would come and take him.
“Finding cajolery useless, Morgan at once hustled about to make the most of his time and to try to escape by force. A ship taken at Gibraltar was loaded with brimstone, powder, palm leaves soaked in pitch and other combustibles. Kegs of powder were placed under the dummy guns and dressed and armed logs were posed upon the decks to resemble buccaneers. Then all the male prisoners[76]were loaded into one boat; all the women, the plate and the jewels into another; the merchandise and things of lesser value in a third. Then, all being ready, the little fleet set forth with the fireship in the lead. It was on the 30th of April, 1669, that the buccaneers started from Maracaibo on this desperate, dare-devil effort to escape, and night was falling as they sighted the three Spanish warships riding at anchor in the middle of the entry to the lake. Unwilling to proceed farther, Morgan anchored his boats, maintained a sharp watch and at daybreak hoisted anchors and headed directly for the Spanish ships. Realizing that Morgan was actually about to attempt to battle with them, the Dons hoisted anchors and prepared to attack. Manned by its courageous if villainous crew, the fireship crashed straight into the Spanish flagship and instantly its men threw grappling irons, binding their combustible vessel to the warship and then, touching match to fuses, took to the small boats. Before the Dons realized what had happened the fireship was a blazing mass; the powder exploding threw flaming tar and brimstone far and near; and in an incredibly short space of time the Spanish flagship was a seething, roaring furnace and, blowing in[77]two, sank to the bottom of the lake. Meanwhile the second warship, fearing a like fate, was run ashore by its crew and was set afire by the Spaniards to prevent her falling into the buccaneer’s hands, while the third ship was captured by Morgan’s men.
Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crewSir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crew
Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers, with one of his crew
Burning the galleonBurning the galleon
Burning the galleon
“But Morgan and his men were not out of the trap yet. The forts controlled the harbor entrance and, flushed with their easy victory over the ships, the buccaneers landed and attacked the castle. But they failed miserably in this and after heavy losses withdrew to their boats.
“The following day Morgan, having made a prisoner of a Spanish pilot and learning from him that the sunken ships carried vast riches, left a portion of his men to recover what they could and sailed back to Maracaibo with the captured warship. Here, being once more in a position to dictate terms, he sent a demand to the Admiral, who had escaped and was in the castle, demanding thirty thousand pieces of eight and five hundred head of cattle as his price for sparing the town and his prisoners. He finally consented to accept twenty thousand pieces of eight with the cattle, however, and the following day this was paid.[78]But Morgan was shrewd and refused to deliver the prisoners until he was out of danger and had cleared the harbor, and with his captives set sail. To his delight he found that his men had recovered nearly twenty thousand pieces of eight in coins and bullion from the sunken ships, but he was still doubtful of being able to pass the forts. He thereupon notified his prisoners that unless they persuaded the Governor to guarantee him safe passage he would hang all the captives on his ships. In view of this dire threat a committee of the prisoners went to His Excellency, beseeching him to grant Morgan’s demands. But Don Alonso was no weakling. His reply was to the effect that, had they been as loyal to their King in hindering the buccaneer’s entry as he intended to be in preventing their going out that they would not have found themselves in such troubles. Very crestfallen the poor fellows returned with the ill news. But for once Morgan was not as ruthless as was his wont and forgot all about his threat to execute the blameless captives. He, however, sent word to Don Alonso that if he was not permitted to pass he would get by without a permit and, feeling that he might fail, he at once proceeded to divide the[79]booty. This totaled over a quarter of a million pieces of eight in money, vast quantities of plate and jewels, silks, merchandise of various kinds and many slaves.
“All being properly divided, the question arose as to how the little flotilla would pass to sea under the heavy guns of the castle, but this Morgan accomplished by a most brilliant ruse. On the day before he planned to make his dash he loaded his canoes with men and had them paddled towards the shore as if intending to land them. Here, among the low-hanging foliage, the boats waited for a while and then, with all but two or three men lying flat in the bottoms of the canoes, they paddled back to the ships. This was repeated over and over again, and the Spaniards, seeing canoes full of men coming ashore and apparently empty craft returning, were convinced that Morgan intended to make an attack on the land side of the fort. In order to defend themselves the Dons moved practically all their guns and the greater part of their men to the landward side of the castle, exactly as Morgan had foreseen. Then, as night fell, Morgan weighed anchor and without setting sail let his ships drift down with the ebb[80]tide. Not until they were under the walls of the fort were sails hoisted and all speed made towards the harbor mouth.
“With shouts and cries the Dons gave the alarm and madly they ran and scurried to get their guns back in position, but the wind was fresh and fair and before the first shot was fired the buccaneers were almost out of range. A few balls tore through the sails, a few round shot splintered the bulwarks and the high poops, and a few men fell, but the damage was of little moment. Out of reach of the guns, Morgan brought his ships to, and, loading his prisoners into small boats, sent them ashore. Then, with a parting shot of seven guns in a broadside, Morgan spread sails once more and headed for Jamaica.”[81]