[Contents]CHAPTER VIIIA PERILOUS UNDERTAKING“Among the buccaneers who ravished the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, but who had not joined Morgan in his endeavors, were Captain Bartholomew Sharp, Peter Harris, Richard Sawkins, Captain Cook, Alleston, Row and Macket. As a whole, they were far superior men to Morgan and his kind, although no less daring, and in March, 1680, these various buccaneer leaders chanced to meet at a favorite lair of the corsairs, Bocas del Toro, on the Atlantic coast of what is now Panama. Deploring the lack of rich cities to sack and the difficulty of taking the Spanish galleons, now guarded by armed convoys, and cursing the fate that had decreed peace between Spain and England, the disgruntled buccaneer captains sought for new fields for their activities.“Morgan’s raid on Panama had proved that there were rich pickings on the Pacific, but the relentless persecution of the buccaneers by the British[134]authorities in the Caribbean made life uncomfortable for them, and after a deal of discussion it was agreed that the Pacific coasts held the best promise of fortunes to be won. But to talk of raiding the Dons’ towns and seizing their ships on the Pacific was one thing and to do it was quite a different matter. To sail around the Horn was a long and tedious voyage beset with greatest dangers and to cross by the Gold Road or the Chagres, while possible, was not only perilous, but would be but repeating Morgan’s raid. Then, into their presence, came one Bournano, a French buccaneer, who reported that while peace had been established between the savage Indians of Darien and the Spaniards, yet the Indians were still friendly to the buccaneers and hated the Dons. Indeed, Bournano stated further that the Indians had promised to lead him and his men to a rich town called Tocamora and that he had agreed to return to raid the place as soon as he could secure more ships and men.“This exactly suited the assembled buccaneers; it was unanimously agreed to join fortunes with the Frenchman, and, supplying their ships with sea turtles and maize, the captains set sail for Darien. The fleet consisted of nine vessels with[135]four hundred and seventy-seven men and without adventure they arrived at the San Blas Islands. Here the Indians welcomed them, for the San Blas tribe had, from time immemorial, been allies of the corsairs, but when they learned of the buccaneers’ purpose they frowned upon it. Tocamora, they said, was in a mountainous country; the way was long and rough, it was in an uninhabited district where food was scarce, and the place was not as rich as had been reported. Instead, the Indians suggested that the buccaneers should cross the Isthmus, take the outlying city of El Real de Santa Maria, which was the depot for all the gold from the incredibly rich mines of Darien, and then proceed to attack the new city of Panama. It was a wild, harebrained, daring and almost hopeless scheme, but it appealed to the buccaneers and, aside from Captain Row and Bournano, all agreed to follow the Indians’ advice.“On April 5, 1680, the buccaneers landed on the mainland three hundred and thirty-one strong, and, leaving a few men and Captains Alleston and Macket to guard the ships, the dauntless buccaneers started on their terrible march, carrying for provisions but three cakes of cassava each and all heavily armed.[136]“Following their Indian guides, the buccaneers divided into six companies and entered the jungle. The very first day their hardships began. So impenetrable was the forest that it was necessary to hew a way every yard, there were rivers to cross, swamps to wade through, and clouds of mosquitoes made life miserable. The first day four men gave up and returned to the coast, but the others, of whom, as I have said, Dampier was a member, kept doggedly on. Through pouring rain, climbing precipitous mountains, swimming rivers, the buccaneers proceeded on their way and at the close of the second day had covered nearly eighteen miles. Often, as Ringrose tells us, they were obliged to cross the same river over and over again, but at noon of the third day they came to a village of the wild Kuna Indians. Ringrose and Dampier describe the Indians very well, speaking particularly of the painted wooden crowns, the red caps and the gold nose rings worn by the chiefs, exactly as they are to-day. The Indians were friendly, they supplied the buccaneers fruit and provisions, and the footsore corsairs spent the day resting in the Indians’ huts. On the tenth of April a river large enough to be navigable by canoes was reached, and Captains Sharp, Coxon, Cook[137]and Ringrose, with seventy men, embarked in fourteen dugouts. But they soon found that gliding down the Chukunaque River was by no means a relief from the overland tramp. Fallen trees and bars filled the stream; at every few yards the buccaneers were compelled to haul their craft bodily over the obstructions, and, being separated from their comrades, they began to fear the Indians intended to cut them off and betray them to the Spaniards. On April 13th they reached the junction of the Tuira and Chukunaque Rivers, and in the afternoon of the same day they were overjoyed to see their missing companions who had come through the jungle in safety. Throughout this awful trip, Dampier had preserved his writings in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ carefully jotting down, despite all difficulties, his observations of bird and animal life, notes on plants and descriptions of the Indians and their lives. But the difficulties of the crossing were practically over. In sixty-eight canoes the three hundred and twenty-seven men embarked with fifty Indians and swept swiftly down stream towards unsuspecting El Real. Camping a scant half mile above the town, the buccaneers prepared to attack at dawn and were awakened by the drums of the[138]garrison. Priming their pistols and muskets, the buccaneers marched on the village, which was surrounded by a twelve-foot palisade, but the corsairs made short work of this and took the town with a loss of but two men wounded. Within were two hundred and sixty men, but the buccaneers soon learned, to their chagrin, why no resistance had been made. The gold, brought from the mines, and, which they had hoped to gain, had been taken the day before to Panama—a treasure of three hundred pounds of bullion—and there was utterly nothing worth taking in the place, which was a mere outpost of straw and palm-thatched huts. Unlike Morgan and his fellows, Sharp and his men treated the Dons humanely and even prevented their Indian allies from butchering the captives, a diversion they had started the moment they had entered the place. Disappointed at their ill luck, the buccaneers were more than ever determined to attack Panama, and, choosing Captain Coxon as commander, the buccaneers, deserted by all but three Indians, prepared for the most hazardous venture ever attempted. Cut off, as they were, from retreat by the long journey through the jungle, in a hostile country, without provisions or ships, yet these fearless, indomitable men were[139]about to hurl themselves upon the most strongly fortified town on the Pacific, and attack a city of thousands with less than three hundred and twenty men, for twelve of their number had left and had gone back with the Indians after taking El Real.“On April 17, 1680, the buccaneers embarked in thirty-six canoes and slipping down river with the ebb tide entered the great Gulf of San Miguel. Soon the party became separated, and Ringrose’s canoe was wrecked. Without food or clothing other than the few rags on their bodies and with no shoes on their feet, the buccaneers set forth afoot. By good fortune they met Indians, secured canoes, and, sending their prisoners back free, they continued on their way. The very next night, seeing fires on shore, the weary fellows thought they had found their missing comrades and hastily landed, only to fall into the hands of a party of Spaniards. But here the humane actions of the buccaneers were rewarded. The Dons, learning who their captives were, and hearing from a prisoner how the British had saved them from massacre by the Indians, fed and clothed the buccaneers and gave them their liberty.Dampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesDampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish shipsPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish ships“The next morning, to every one’s unspeakable[140]delight, the other parties were met. Several small sailboats were also captured, and now, once more well equipped and confident, the entire party gathered at Chepillo Island and prepared for their descent on Panama, about thirty miles distant. And here, too, the buccaneers suddenly, for ‘reasons which I can not dive into,’ as Ringrose puts it, threw aside their former humanity and ordered the Indians to butcher the few remaining Spanish prisoners. Luckily, the captives managed to escape, however, and only one was killed. Rowing stealthily along the shores under cover of the night, and drenched by torrential rains, the buccaneers came at dawn within sight of the city to find two great ships and three smaller men-of-war anchored in the bay and ready to resist the buccaneers. Here were unexpected troubles. They had counted on taking the place by surprise, on being led into the city by a captive whose life they had saved, and, instead, their presence was known and five powerful armed ships swarming with Spaniards were prepared for them. And, to make matters worse, a large part of their men were absent. During the night and the storm they had become separated, the largest of the boats, in command of Captain Sharp, had put[141]into outlying islands for water, and the heavier piraguas were far astern of the lighter canoes. These, five in number and with one piragua, contained but sixty-eight out of the three hundred odd buccaneers, and these were weary with their long row and in no condition to fight. But there was no time for indecision. The three Spanish war vessels were already bearing down upon the buccaneers, and although so near that Ringrose says they feared they would be run down, yet the English fell to their oars and, pulling desperately into the wind, evaded the Dons’ ships and got to windward. Realizing that the sooner they struck the better, the buccaneers turned their boats and, pulling directly towards the huge Spanish ships, picked off the helmsmen and the gunners with their muskets. With their vessels aback, unable to maneuver, the Dons were, for the moment, helpless, and while their broadsides threw round shot and chain shot among the buccaneers and killed a number, the light swift boats were hard targets to hit, and before a second broadside could be fired they were under the vessels’ side where the cannons could not reach them. Then the battle raged thick and fast. Picking off the Dons whenever they showed their heads above the bulwarks, cutting[142]sheets and braces with their shots, the buccaneers forced their tiny craft under the warships’ sterns, jammed the rudders, and, sinking their own craft to make sure the men must do or die, they swarmed up ropes, chains and quarter galleries onto the Spaniards’ decks.“Ringrose and his party attacked the Admiral’s ship, and leaping over the bulwarks cut down the Admiral, swept like demons among the Spanish crew, cutting, slashing, shooting and converting the decks to a bloody shambles. Not until two-thirds of the crew were killed did the Dons surrender, however. With the flagship in their hands, Captain Coxon took charge and at once sent two canoes of buccaneers to aid Sawkins, who had thrice been beat back from the decks of the other warship. Hardly had the reënforcements arrived when two explosions took place on the ship and in the confusion the buccaneers swarmed onto the ship’s deck and took the vessel without resistance, fornot oneSpaniard was left alive and uninjured aboard! But on every ship the slaughter was terrific. Of the original crew of eighty-six on the flagship, only twenty-five men remained alive and only eight of these were able to stand. Indeed, even Ringrose and his fellows, hardened to slaughter[143]and bloodshed as they were, were amazed at the butchery they had wrought, and, in their journals, Ringrose and Dampier state that ‘blood ran down the decks in whole streams and not one place upon the ships was found that was free of blood.’ And yet this victory, this awful carnage, had been carried out by sixty-eight buccaneers in frail canoes and small boats, truly a most marvelous feat of daring and bravery, and, more remarkable yet, the buccaneers’ losses amounted to but eighteen killed and twenty-two wounded!“With the two men-of-war in their possession the buccaneers at once sailed for the big galleons, but, to their surprise, found them absolutely deserted, every member of their crews having been placed aboard the warships in their attack upon the buccaneers. But before deserting their ships the Dons had made every effort to prevent any possibility of their falling into the buccaneers’ hands. The largest galleon, which was called theSantissima Trinidad(Blessed Trinity) had been set afire and scuttled, but the buccaneers’ victory was so rapidly won that they reached her in time, extinguished the fire, stopped the leak and transferred their wounded to her. The battle had begun soon after sunrise and by noon the last[144]shot had been fired, the fleet was in the hands of the buccaneers, and the standards of Sawkins, Sharp, Coxon and the others were floating from the mastheads in place of the gold and scarlet banners of Spain.“Never in the annals of the buccaneers had such a victory been won; never had there been a sharper, bloodier battle, and even the captive Spanish captains were loud in their praise and admiration of the valor of the English. ‘Captain Peralta declared,’ says Ringrose, that ‘surely you Englishmen are the valiantest men in the world, who designed always to fight open whilst other nations invented all ways imaginable to barricade themselves and fight as close as they could, and yet, notwithstanding, you killed more of your enemies than they of you.’“And there, resting upon a gun still hot from recent fighting, Dampier drew his paper and ink-horn from his bamboo joint and on the blood-stained deck proceeded to make one of his ‘particular draughts’ of the harbor and to write an account of the brave and exciting deeds through which he had just passed.“It was, of course, out of the question for the buccaneers to attempt to take Panama, for the[145]defenses were powerful, it was surrounded with an immense, heavily armed wall, it swarmed with soldiers, as well as its thousands of citizens, and the large ships could not approach within cannon shot. But the buccaneers had little cause to complain. They had taken five ships, the largest, theHoly Trinity, a galleon of four hundred tons, and while the cargoes consisted of sugar, skins, soap and flour of little value, still, with good ships under their command, the buccaneers were in a position to take prizes and raid towns. To retain all five ships was not practical and, accordingly, two were promptly fired and sunk. Those saved were theTrinity; a sugar-laden ship of about two hundred tons, which was taken over by Cook; and a fifty-ton piragua in command of Coxon. Coxon was disgruntled, having been accused of backwardness in the fight, and three days after the battle he left the buccaneers with twenty of his sympathizers and sailed away to Darien to march back to the Atlantic and his ship, taking with him the Indian guides.“A day or two later, Captain Sharp arrived, having taken a small Spanish bark while on his search for water, and shortly afterwards Captain Harris turned up, also with a prize. During[146]Sharp’s absence, Sawkins had been elected commandant, and, having turned loose all but their most important prisoners, the buccaneers proceeded to Taboga Island to repair and refit the captured ships.“While there the buccaneers were visited by a number of Spanish merchants from Panama who brought various supplies and goods to sell to the buccaneers, for, incredible as it may seem, the corsairs had a most remarkable habit of dealing fairly with tradesmen, even though they were slaughtering and robbing others. To these Spanish merchants the buccaneers disposed of much of the material they had found on the ships, and Ringrose informs us that they paid excellent prices, offering two hundred pieces of eight for each slave the English could spare. You may wonder why unprincipled robbers and cut-throats like the buccaneers should dispose of their goods when they could have so easily possessed themselves of their visitors’ money without giving anything in return, but it was one of their codes of honor to deal fairly under such conditions and there is no record that they ever used violence or robbed a visitor or one who came to them on a friendly mission.[147]“While at Taboga, several ships were captured by the buccaneers, one of which proved a rich prize, as it contained two thousand jars of wine, fifty kegs of gunpowder and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. Also, from this ship, the English learned of a galleon due from Lima with over one hundred thousand pieces of eight, and, rubbing their hands with satisfaction, the buccaneers proceeded to make ready to receive her.“Meanwhile, the governor of Panama sent a message to Sawkins asking why, in time of peace, British had attacked Spaniards and for what reason the buccaneers had come to Panama. To this Sawkins facetiously replied that they had come ‘to assist the King of Darien, who was true Lord of Panama,’ and that ‘having come so far they should have some satisfaction.’ Adding that ‘should His Excellency be pleased to send five hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander and would promise not further to annoy the Indians, but give them full liberty, then the buccaneers would depart peacefully, otherwise they would remain to get what they might!’ And here also occurred another of the odd incidents which showed the buccaneers’ strange natures and point of view. One of the[148]Spanish merchants brought word to Captain Sawkins that the Bishop of Panama had formerly been the Bishop of Santa Marta and had been a captive of Sawkins when the latter took the place. Thereupon Sawkins sent the Bishop two loaves of sugar with his best wishes. In return, the Bishop sent a gold ring and his compliments and also a second message from the Governor. This time His Excellency wished to know from whom the buccaneers had commissions and to whom he should complain of the damages they had done. Evidently Sawkins was a humorous man, for he replied that, ‘As yet the company are not all together, but when they are they will visit His Excellency in Panama and bring their commissions in the muzzles of their guns, at which time you shall read them as plain as the flame of powder can make them.’ But such interchanges of pleasantries did not serve to satisfy the impatient men, and provisions were getting woefully low. In vain their commanders urged that they await the arrival of the plate ship from Peru. They demanded action and food and at last, finding open mutiny would break out if he refused, Sawkins hoisted sail and, leaving Taboga, cruised westward along the coast in search of towns to sack[149]and vessels to capture. In this they were quite successful. They took Otoque Island, looted the pearl catch from Coiba and attacked Puebla Nueva. But they met with disaster as well. Two of their vessels foundered, with a loss of twenty-two men, and on the attack upon Puebla Nueva brave Captain Sawkins met his death, and the buccaneers were beaten off.[150]
[Contents]CHAPTER VIIIA PERILOUS UNDERTAKING“Among the buccaneers who ravished the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, but who had not joined Morgan in his endeavors, were Captain Bartholomew Sharp, Peter Harris, Richard Sawkins, Captain Cook, Alleston, Row and Macket. As a whole, they were far superior men to Morgan and his kind, although no less daring, and in March, 1680, these various buccaneer leaders chanced to meet at a favorite lair of the corsairs, Bocas del Toro, on the Atlantic coast of what is now Panama. Deploring the lack of rich cities to sack and the difficulty of taking the Spanish galleons, now guarded by armed convoys, and cursing the fate that had decreed peace between Spain and England, the disgruntled buccaneer captains sought for new fields for their activities.“Morgan’s raid on Panama had proved that there were rich pickings on the Pacific, but the relentless persecution of the buccaneers by the British[134]authorities in the Caribbean made life uncomfortable for them, and after a deal of discussion it was agreed that the Pacific coasts held the best promise of fortunes to be won. But to talk of raiding the Dons’ towns and seizing their ships on the Pacific was one thing and to do it was quite a different matter. To sail around the Horn was a long and tedious voyage beset with greatest dangers and to cross by the Gold Road or the Chagres, while possible, was not only perilous, but would be but repeating Morgan’s raid. Then, into their presence, came one Bournano, a French buccaneer, who reported that while peace had been established between the savage Indians of Darien and the Spaniards, yet the Indians were still friendly to the buccaneers and hated the Dons. Indeed, Bournano stated further that the Indians had promised to lead him and his men to a rich town called Tocamora and that he had agreed to return to raid the place as soon as he could secure more ships and men.“This exactly suited the assembled buccaneers; it was unanimously agreed to join fortunes with the Frenchman, and, supplying their ships with sea turtles and maize, the captains set sail for Darien. The fleet consisted of nine vessels with[135]four hundred and seventy-seven men and without adventure they arrived at the San Blas Islands. Here the Indians welcomed them, for the San Blas tribe had, from time immemorial, been allies of the corsairs, but when they learned of the buccaneers’ purpose they frowned upon it. Tocamora, they said, was in a mountainous country; the way was long and rough, it was in an uninhabited district where food was scarce, and the place was not as rich as had been reported. Instead, the Indians suggested that the buccaneers should cross the Isthmus, take the outlying city of El Real de Santa Maria, which was the depot for all the gold from the incredibly rich mines of Darien, and then proceed to attack the new city of Panama. It was a wild, harebrained, daring and almost hopeless scheme, but it appealed to the buccaneers and, aside from Captain Row and Bournano, all agreed to follow the Indians’ advice.“On April 5, 1680, the buccaneers landed on the mainland three hundred and thirty-one strong, and, leaving a few men and Captains Alleston and Macket to guard the ships, the dauntless buccaneers started on their terrible march, carrying for provisions but three cakes of cassava each and all heavily armed.[136]“Following their Indian guides, the buccaneers divided into six companies and entered the jungle. The very first day their hardships began. So impenetrable was the forest that it was necessary to hew a way every yard, there were rivers to cross, swamps to wade through, and clouds of mosquitoes made life miserable. The first day four men gave up and returned to the coast, but the others, of whom, as I have said, Dampier was a member, kept doggedly on. Through pouring rain, climbing precipitous mountains, swimming rivers, the buccaneers proceeded on their way and at the close of the second day had covered nearly eighteen miles. Often, as Ringrose tells us, they were obliged to cross the same river over and over again, but at noon of the third day they came to a village of the wild Kuna Indians. Ringrose and Dampier describe the Indians very well, speaking particularly of the painted wooden crowns, the red caps and the gold nose rings worn by the chiefs, exactly as they are to-day. The Indians were friendly, they supplied the buccaneers fruit and provisions, and the footsore corsairs spent the day resting in the Indians’ huts. On the tenth of April a river large enough to be navigable by canoes was reached, and Captains Sharp, Coxon, Cook[137]and Ringrose, with seventy men, embarked in fourteen dugouts. But they soon found that gliding down the Chukunaque River was by no means a relief from the overland tramp. Fallen trees and bars filled the stream; at every few yards the buccaneers were compelled to haul their craft bodily over the obstructions, and, being separated from their comrades, they began to fear the Indians intended to cut them off and betray them to the Spaniards. On April 13th they reached the junction of the Tuira and Chukunaque Rivers, and in the afternoon of the same day they were overjoyed to see their missing companions who had come through the jungle in safety. Throughout this awful trip, Dampier had preserved his writings in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ carefully jotting down, despite all difficulties, his observations of bird and animal life, notes on plants and descriptions of the Indians and their lives. But the difficulties of the crossing were practically over. In sixty-eight canoes the three hundred and twenty-seven men embarked with fifty Indians and swept swiftly down stream towards unsuspecting El Real. Camping a scant half mile above the town, the buccaneers prepared to attack at dawn and were awakened by the drums of the[138]garrison. Priming their pistols and muskets, the buccaneers marched on the village, which was surrounded by a twelve-foot palisade, but the corsairs made short work of this and took the town with a loss of but two men wounded. Within were two hundred and sixty men, but the buccaneers soon learned, to their chagrin, why no resistance had been made. The gold, brought from the mines, and, which they had hoped to gain, had been taken the day before to Panama—a treasure of three hundred pounds of bullion—and there was utterly nothing worth taking in the place, which was a mere outpost of straw and palm-thatched huts. Unlike Morgan and his fellows, Sharp and his men treated the Dons humanely and even prevented their Indian allies from butchering the captives, a diversion they had started the moment they had entered the place. Disappointed at their ill luck, the buccaneers were more than ever determined to attack Panama, and, choosing Captain Coxon as commander, the buccaneers, deserted by all but three Indians, prepared for the most hazardous venture ever attempted. Cut off, as they were, from retreat by the long journey through the jungle, in a hostile country, without provisions or ships, yet these fearless, indomitable men were[139]about to hurl themselves upon the most strongly fortified town on the Pacific, and attack a city of thousands with less than three hundred and twenty men, for twelve of their number had left and had gone back with the Indians after taking El Real.“On April 17, 1680, the buccaneers embarked in thirty-six canoes and slipping down river with the ebb tide entered the great Gulf of San Miguel. Soon the party became separated, and Ringrose’s canoe was wrecked. Without food or clothing other than the few rags on their bodies and with no shoes on their feet, the buccaneers set forth afoot. By good fortune they met Indians, secured canoes, and, sending their prisoners back free, they continued on their way. The very next night, seeing fires on shore, the weary fellows thought they had found their missing comrades and hastily landed, only to fall into the hands of a party of Spaniards. But here the humane actions of the buccaneers were rewarded. The Dons, learning who their captives were, and hearing from a prisoner how the British had saved them from massacre by the Indians, fed and clothed the buccaneers and gave them their liberty.Dampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesDampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish shipsPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish ships“The next morning, to every one’s unspeakable[140]delight, the other parties were met. Several small sailboats were also captured, and now, once more well equipped and confident, the entire party gathered at Chepillo Island and prepared for their descent on Panama, about thirty miles distant. And here, too, the buccaneers suddenly, for ‘reasons which I can not dive into,’ as Ringrose puts it, threw aside their former humanity and ordered the Indians to butcher the few remaining Spanish prisoners. Luckily, the captives managed to escape, however, and only one was killed. Rowing stealthily along the shores under cover of the night, and drenched by torrential rains, the buccaneers came at dawn within sight of the city to find two great ships and three smaller men-of-war anchored in the bay and ready to resist the buccaneers. Here were unexpected troubles. They had counted on taking the place by surprise, on being led into the city by a captive whose life they had saved, and, instead, their presence was known and five powerful armed ships swarming with Spaniards were prepared for them. And, to make matters worse, a large part of their men were absent. During the night and the storm they had become separated, the largest of the boats, in command of Captain Sharp, had put[141]into outlying islands for water, and the heavier piraguas were far astern of the lighter canoes. These, five in number and with one piragua, contained but sixty-eight out of the three hundred odd buccaneers, and these were weary with their long row and in no condition to fight. But there was no time for indecision. The three Spanish war vessels were already bearing down upon the buccaneers, and although so near that Ringrose says they feared they would be run down, yet the English fell to their oars and, pulling desperately into the wind, evaded the Dons’ ships and got to windward. Realizing that the sooner they struck the better, the buccaneers turned their boats and, pulling directly towards the huge Spanish ships, picked off the helmsmen and the gunners with their muskets. With their vessels aback, unable to maneuver, the Dons were, for the moment, helpless, and while their broadsides threw round shot and chain shot among the buccaneers and killed a number, the light swift boats were hard targets to hit, and before a second broadside could be fired they were under the vessels’ side where the cannons could not reach them. Then the battle raged thick and fast. Picking off the Dons whenever they showed their heads above the bulwarks, cutting[142]sheets and braces with their shots, the buccaneers forced their tiny craft under the warships’ sterns, jammed the rudders, and, sinking their own craft to make sure the men must do or die, they swarmed up ropes, chains and quarter galleries onto the Spaniards’ decks.“Ringrose and his party attacked the Admiral’s ship, and leaping over the bulwarks cut down the Admiral, swept like demons among the Spanish crew, cutting, slashing, shooting and converting the decks to a bloody shambles. Not until two-thirds of the crew were killed did the Dons surrender, however. With the flagship in their hands, Captain Coxon took charge and at once sent two canoes of buccaneers to aid Sawkins, who had thrice been beat back from the decks of the other warship. Hardly had the reënforcements arrived when two explosions took place on the ship and in the confusion the buccaneers swarmed onto the ship’s deck and took the vessel without resistance, fornot oneSpaniard was left alive and uninjured aboard! But on every ship the slaughter was terrific. Of the original crew of eighty-six on the flagship, only twenty-five men remained alive and only eight of these were able to stand. Indeed, even Ringrose and his fellows, hardened to slaughter[143]and bloodshed as they were, were amazed at the butchery they had wrought, and, in their journals, Ringrose and Dampier state that ‘blood ran down the decks in whole streams and not one place upon the ships was found that was free of blood.’ And yet this victory, this awful carnage, had been carried out by sixty-eight buccaneers in frail canoes and small boats, truly a most marvelous feat of daring and bravery, and, more remarkable yet, the buccaneers’ losses amounted to but eighteen killed and twenty-two wounded!“With the two men-of-war in their possession the buccaneers at once sailed for the big galleons, but, to their surprise, found them absolutely deserted, every member of their crews having been placed aboard the warships in their attack upon the buccaneers. But before deserting their ships the Dons had made every effort to prevent any possibility of their falling into the buccaneers’ hands. The largest galleon, which was called theSantissima Trinidad(Blessed Trinity) had been set afire and scuttled, but the buccaneers’ victory was so rapidly won that they reached her in time, extinguished the fire, stopped the leak and transferred their wounded to her. The battle had begun soon after sunrise and by noon the last[144]shot had been fired, the fleet was in the hands of the buccaneers, and the standards of Sawkins, Sharp, Coxon and the others were floating from the mastheads in place of the gold and scarlet banners of Spain.“Never in the annals of the buccaneers had such a victory been won; never had there been a sharper, bloodier battle, and even the captive Spanish captains were loud in their praise and admiration of the valor of the English. ‘Captain Peralta declared,’ says Ringrose, that ‘surely you Englishmen are the valiantest men in the world, who designed always to fight open whilst other nations invented all ways imaginable to barricade themselves and fight as close as they could, and yet, notwithstanding, you killed more of your enemies than they of you.’“And there, resting upon a gun still hot from recent fighting, Dampier drew his paper and ink-horn from his bamboo joint and on the blood-stained deck proceeded to make one of his ‘particular draughts’ of the harbor and to write an account of the brave and exciting deeds through which he had just passed.“It was, of course, out of the question for the buccaneers to attempt to take Panama, for the[145]defenses were powerful, it was surrounded with an immense, heavily armed wall, it swarmed with soldiers, as well as its thousands of citizens, and the large ships could not approach within cannon shot. But the buccaneers had little cause to complain. They had taken five ships, the largest, theHoly Trinity, a galleon of four hundred tons, and while the cargoes consisted of sugar, skins, soap and flour of little value, still, with good ships under their command, the buccaneers were in a position to take prizes and raid towns. To retain all five ships was not practical and, accordingly, two were promptly fired and sunk. Those saved were theTrinity; a sugar-laden ship of about two hundred tons, which was taken over by Cook; and a fifty-ton piragua in command of Coxon. Coxon was disgruntled, having been accused of backwardness in the fight, and three days after the battle he left the buccaneers with twenty of his sympathizers and sailed away to Darien to march back to the Atlantic and his ship, taking with him the Indian guides.“A day or two later, Captain Sharp arrived, having taken a small Spanish bark while on his search for water, and shortly afterwards Captain Harris turned up, also with a prize. During[146]Sharp’s absence, Sawkins had been elected commandant, and, having turned loose all but their most important prisoners, the buccaneers proceeded to Taboga Island to repair and refit the captured ships.“While there the buccaneers were visited by a number of Spanish merchants from Panama who brought various supplies and goods to sell to the buccaneers, for, incredible as it may seem, the corsairs had a most remarkable habit of dealing fairly with tradesmen, even though they were slaughtering and robbing others. To these Spanish merchants the buccaneers disposed of much of the material they had found on the ships, and Ringrose informs us that they paid excellent prices, offering two hundred pieces of eight for each slave the English could spare. You may wonder why unprincipled robbers and cut-throats like the buccaneers should dispose of their goods when they could have so easily possessed themselves of their visitors’ money without giving anything in return, but it was one of their codes of honor to deal fairly under such conditions and there is no record that they ever used violence or robbed a visitor or one who came to them on a friendly mission.[147]“While at Taboga, several ships were captured by the buccaneers, one of which proved a rich prize, as it contained two thousand jars of wine, fifty kegs of gunpowder and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. Also, from this ship, the English learned of a galleon due from Lima with over one hundred thousand pieces of eight, and, rubbing their hands with satisfaction, the buccaneers proceeded to make ready to receive her.“Meanwhile, the governor of Panama sent a message to Sawkins asking why, in time of peace, British had attacked Spaniards and for what reason the buccaneers had come to Panama. To this Sawkins facetiously replied that they had come ‘to assist the King of Darien, who was true Lord of Panama,’ and that ‘having come so far they should have some satisfaction.’ Adding that ‘should His Excellency be pleased to send five hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander and would promise not further to annoy the Indians, but give them full liberty, then the buccaneers would depart peacefully, otherwise they would remain to get what they might!’ And here also occurred another of the odd incidents which showed the buccaneers’ strange natures and point of view. One of the[148]Spanish merchants brought word to Captain Sawkins that the Bishop of Panama had formerly been the Bishop of Santa Marta and had been a captive of Sawkins when the latter took the place. Thereupon Sawkins sent the Bishop two loaves of sugar with his best wishes. In return, the Bishop sent a gold ring and his compliments and also a second message from the Governor. This time His Excellency wished to know from whom the buccaneers had commissions and to whom he should complain of the damages they had done. Evidently Sawkins was a humorous man, for he replied that, ‘As yet the company are not all together, but when they are they will visit His Excellency in Panama and bring their commissions in the muzzles of their guns, at which time you shall read them as plain as the flame of powder can make them.’ But such interchanges of pleasantries did not serve to satisfy the impatient men, and provisions were getting woefully low. In vain their commanders urged that they await the arrival of the plate ship from Peru. They demanded action and food and at last, finding open mutiny would break out if he refused, Sawkins hoisted sail and, leaving Taboga, cruised westward along the coast in search of towns to sack[149]and vessels to capture. In this they were quite successful. They took Otoque Island, looted the pearl catch from Coiba and attacked Puebla Nueva. But they met with disaster as well. Two of their vessels foundered, with a loss of twenty-two men, and on the attack upon Puebla Nueva brave Captain Sawkins met his death, and the buccaneers were beaten off.[150]
CHAPTER VIIIA PERILOUS UNDERTAKING
“Among the buccaneers who ravished the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, but who had not joined Morgan in his endeavors, were Captain Bartholomew Sharp, Peter Harris, Richard Sawkins, Captain Cook, Alleston, Row and Macket. As a whole, they were far superior men to Morgan and his kind, although no less daring, and in March, 1680, these various buccaneer leaders chanced to meet at a favorite lair of the corsairs, Bocas del Toro, on the Atlantic coast of what is now Panama. Deploring the lack of rich cities to sack and the difficulty of taking the Spanish galleons, now guarded by armed convoys, and cursing the fate that had decreed peace between Spain and England, the disgruntled buccaneer captains sought for new fields for their activities.“Morgan’s raid on Panama had proved that there were rich pickings on the Pacific, but the relentless persecution of the buccaneers by the British[134]authorities in the Caribbean made life uncomfortable for them, and after a deal of discussion it was agreed that the Pacific coasts held the best promise of fortunes to be won. But to talk of raiding the Dons’ towns and seizing their ships on the Pacific was one thing and to do it was quite a different matter. To sail around the Horn was a long and tedious voyage beset with greatest dangers and to cross by the Gold Road or the Chagres, while possible, was not only perilous, but would be but repeating Morgan’s raid. Then, into their presence, came one Bournano, a French buccaneer, who reported that while peace had been established between the savage Indians of Darien and the Spaniards, yet the Indians were still friendly to the buccaneers and hated the Dons. Indeed, Bournano stated further that the Indians had promised to lead him and his men to a rich town called Tocamora and that he had agreed to return to raid the place as soon as he could secure more ships and men.“This exactly suited the assembled buccaneers; it was unanimously agreed to join fortunes with the Frenchman, and, supplying their ships with sea turtles and maize, the captains set sail for Darien. The fleet consisted of nine vessels with[135]four hundred and seventy-seven men and without adventure they arrived at the San Blas Islands. Here the Indians welcomed them, for the San Blas tribe had, from time immemorial, been allies of the corsairs, but when they learned of the buccaneers’ purpose they frowned upon it. Tocamora, they said, was in a mountainous country; the way was long and rough, it was in an uninhabited district where food was scarce, and the place was not as rich as had been reported. Instead, the Indians suggested that the buccaneers should cross the Isthmus, take the outlying city of El Real de Santa Maria, which was the depot for all the gold from the incredibly rich mines of Darien, and then proceed to attack the new city of Panama. It was a wild, harebrained, daring and almost hopeless scheme, but it appealed to the buccaneers and, aside from Captain Row and Bournano, all agreed to follow the Indians’ advice.“On April 5, 1680, the buccaneers landed on the mainland three hundred and thirty-one strong, and, leaving a few men and Captains Alleston and Macket to guard the ships, the dauntless buccaneers started on their terrible march, carrying for provisions but three cakes of cassava each and all heavily armed.[136]“Following their Indian guides, the buccaneers divided into six companies and entered the jungle. The very first day their hardships began. So impenetrable was the forest that it was necessary to hew a way every yard, there were rivers to cross, swamps to wade through, and clouds of mosquitoes made life miserable. The first day four men gave up and returned to the coast, but the others, of whom, as I have said, Dampier was a member, kept doggedly on. Through pouring rain, climbing precipitous mountains, swimming rivers, the buccaneers proceeded on their way and at the close of the second day had covered nearly eighteen miles. Often, as Ringrose tells us, they were obliged to cross the same river over and over again, but at noon of the third day they came to a village of the wild Kuna Indians. Ringrose and Dampier describe the Indians very well, speaking particularly of the painted wooden crowns, the red caps and the gold nose rings worn by the chiefs, exactly as they are to-day. The Indians were friendly, they supplied the buccaneers fruit and provisions, and the footsore corsairs spent the day resting in the Indians’ huts. On the tenth of April a river large enough to be navigable by canoes was reached, and Captains Sharp, Coxon, Cook[137]and Ringrose, with seventy men, embarked in fourteen dugouts. But they soon found that gliding down the Chukunaque River was by no means a relief from the overland tramp. Fallen trees and bars filled the stream; at every few yards the buccaneers were compelled to haul their craft bodily over the obstructions, and, being separated from their comrades, they began to fear the Indians intended to cut them off and betray them to the Spaniards. On April 13th they reached the junction of the Tuira and Chukunaque Rivers, and in the afternoon of the same day they were overjoyed to see their missing companions who had come through the jungle in safety. Throughout this awful trip, Dampier had preserved his writings in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ carefully jotting down, despite all difficulties, his observations of bird and animal life, notes on plants and descriptions of the Indians and their lives. But the difficulties of the crossing were practically over. In sixty-eight canoes the three hundred and twenty-seven men embarked with fifty Indians and swept swiftly down stream towards unsuspecting El Real. Camping a scant half mile above the town, the buccaneers prepared to attack at dawn and were awakened by the drums of the[138]garrison. Priming their pistols and muskets, the buccaneers marched on the village, which was surrounded by a twelve-foot palisade, but the corsairs made short work of this and took the town with a loss of but two men wounded. Within were two hundred and sixty men, but the buccaneers soon learned, to their chagrin, why no resistance had been made. The gold, brought from the mines, and, which they had hoped to gain, had been taken the day before to Panama—a treasure of three hundred pounds of bullion—and there was utterly nothing worth taking in the place, which was a mere outpost of straw and palm-thatched huts. Unlike Morgan and his fellows, Sharp and his men treated the Dons humanely and even prevented their Indian allies from butchering the captives, a diversion they had started the moment they had entered the place. Disappointed at their ill luck, the buccaneers were more than ever determined to attack Panama, and, choosing Captain Coxon as commander, the buccaneers, deserted by all but three Indians, prepared for the most hazardous venture ever attempted. Cut off, as they were, from retreat by the long journey through the jungle, in a hostile country, without provisions or ships, yet these fearless, indomitable men were[139]about to hurl themselves upon the most strongly fortified town on the Pacific, and attack a city of thousands with less than three hundred and twenty men, for twelve of their number had left and had gone back with the Indians after taking El Real.“On April 17, 1680, the buccaneers embarked in thirty-six canoes and slipping down river with the ebb tide entered the great Gulf of San Miguel. Soon the party became separated, and Ringrose’s canoe was wrecked. Without food or clothing other than the few rags on their bodies and with no shoes on their feet, the buccaneers set forth afoot. By good fortune they met Indians, secured canoes, and, sending their prisoners back free, they continued on their way. The very next night, seeing fires on shore, the weary fellows thought they had found their missing comrades and hastily landed, only to fall into the hands of a party of Spaniards. But here the humane actions of the buccaneers were rewarded. The Dons, learning who their captives were, and hearing from a prisoner how the British had saved them from massacre by the Indians, fed and clothed the buccaneers and gave them their liberty.Dampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesDampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish shipsPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish ships“The next morning, to every one’s unspeakable[140]delight, the other parties were met. Several small sailboats were also captured, and now, once more well equipped and confident, the entire party gathered at Chepillo Island and prepared for their descent on Panama, about thirty miles distant. And here, too, the buccaneers suddenly, for ‘reasons which I can not dive into,’ as Ringrose puts it, threw aside their former humanity and ordered the Indians to butcher the few remaining Spanish prisoners. Luckily, the captives managed to escape, however, and only one was killed. Rowing stealthily along the shores under cover of the night, and drenched by torrential rains, the buccaneers came at dawn within sight of the city to find two great ships and three smaller men-of-war anchored in the bay and ready to resist the buccaneers. Here were unexpected troubles. They had counted on taking the place by surprise, on being led into the city by a captive whose life they had saved, and, instead, their presence was known and five powerful armed ships swarming with Spaniards were prepared for them. And, to make matters worse, a large part of their men were absent. During the night and the storm they had become separated, the largest of the boats, in command of Captain Sharp, had put[141]into outlying islands for water, and the heavier piraguas were far astern of the lighter canoes. These, five in number and with one piragua, contained but sixty-eight out of the three hundred odd buccaneers, and these were weary with their long row and in no condition to fight. But there was no time for indecision. The three Spanish war vessels were already bearing down upon the buccaneers, and although so near that Ringrose says they feared they would be run down, yet the English fell to their oars and, pulling desperately into the wind, evaded the Dons’ ships and got to windward. Realizing that the sooner they struck the better, the buccaneers turned their boats and, pulling directly towards the huge Spanish ships, picked off the helmsmen and the gunners with their muskets. With their vessels aback, unable to maneuver, the Dons were, for the moment, helpless, and while their broadsides threw round shot and chain shot among the buccaneers and killed a number, the light swift boats were hard targets to hit, and before a second broadside could be fired they were under the vessels’ side where the cannons could not reach them. Then the battle raged thick and fast. Picking off the Dons whenever they showed their heads above the bulwarks, cutting[142]sheets and braces with their shots, the buccaneers forced their tiny craft under the warships’ sterns, jammed the rudders, and, sinking their own craft to make sure the men must do or die, they swarmed up ropes, chains and quarter galleries onto the Spaniards’ decks.“Ringrose and his party attacked the Admiral’s ship, and leaping over the bulwarks cut down the Admiral, swept like demons among the Spanish crew, cutting, slashing, shooting and converting the decks to a bloody shambles. Not until two-thirds of the crew were killed did the Dons surrender, however. With the flagship in their hands, Captain Coxon took charge and at once sent two canoes of buccaneers to aid Sawkins, who had thrice been beat back from the decks of the other warship. Hardly had the reënforcements arrived when two explosions took place on the ship and in the confusion the buccaneers swarmed onto the ship’s deck and took the vessel without resistance, fornot oneSpaniard was left alive and uninjured aboard! But on every ship the slaughter was terrific. Of the original crew of eighty-six on the flagship, only twenty-five men remained alive and only eight of these were able to stand. Indeed, even Ringrose and his fellows, hardened to slaughter[143]and bloodshed as they were, were amazed at the butchery they had wrought, and, in their journals, Ringrose and Dampier state that ‘blood ran down the decks in whole streams and not one place upon the ships was found that was free of blood.’ And yet this victory, this awful carnage, had been carried out by sixty-eight buccaneers in frail canoes and small boats, truly a most marvelous feat of daring and bravery, and, more remarkable yet, the buccaneers’ losses amounted to but eighteen killed and twenty-two wounded!“With the two men-of-war in their possession the buccaneers at once sailed for the big galleons, but, to their surprise, found them absolutely deserted, every member of their crews having been placed aboard the warships in their attack upon the buccaneers. But before deserting their ships the Dons had made every effort to prevent any possibility of their falling into the buccaneers’ hands. The largest galleon, which was called theSantissima Trinidad(Blessed Trinity) had been set afire and scuttled, but the buccaneers’ victory was so rapidly won that they reached her in time, extinguished the fire, stopped the leak and transferred their wounded to her. The battle had begun soon after sunrise and by noon the last[144]shot had been fired, the fleet was in the hands of the buccaneers, and the standards of Sawkins, Sharp, Coxon and the others were floating from the mastheads in place of the gold and scarlet banners of Spain.“Never in the annals of the buccaneers had such a victory been won; never had there been a sharper, bloodier battle, and even the captive Spanish captains were loud in their praise and admiration of the valor of the English. ‘Captain Peralta declared,’ says Ringrose, that ‘surely you Englishmen are the valiantest men in the world, who designed always to fight open whilst other nations invented all ways imaginable to barricade themselves and fight as close as they could, and yet, notwithstanding, you killed more of your enemies than they of you.’“And there, resting upon a gun still hot from recent fighting, Dampier drew his paper and ink-horn from his bamboo joint and on the blood-stained deck proceeded to make one of his ‘particular draughts’ of the harbor and to write an account of the brave and exciting deeds through which he had just passed.“It was, of course, out of the question for the buccaneers to attempt to take Panama, for the[145]defenses were powerful, it was surrounded with an immense, heavily armed wall, it swarmed with soldiers, as well as its thousands of citizens, and the large ships could not approach within cannon shot. But the buccaneers had little cause to complain. They had taken five ships, the largest, theHoly Trinity, a galleon of four hundred tons, and while the cargoes consisted of sugar, skins, soap and flour of little value, still, with good ships under their command, the buccaneers were in a position to take prizes and raid towns. To retain all five ships was not practical and, accordingly, two were promptly fired and sunk. Those saved were theTrinity; a sugar-laden ship of about two hundred tons, which was taken over by Cook; and a fifty-ton piragua in command of Coxon. Coxon was disgruntled, having been accused of backwardness in the fight, and three days after the battle he left the buccaneers with twenty of his sympathizers and sailed away to Darien to march back to the Atlantic and his ship, taking with him the Indian guides.“A day or two later, Captain Sharp arrived, having taken a small Spanish bark while on his search for water, and shortly afterwards Captain Harris turned up, also with a prize. During[146]Sharp’s absence, Sawkins had been elected commandant, and, having turned loose all but their most important prisoners, the buccaneers proceeded to Taboga Island to repair and refit the captured ships.“While there the buccaneers were visited by a number of Spanish merchants from Panama who brought various supplies and goods to sell to the buccaneers, for, incredible as it may seem, the corsairs had a most remarkable habit of dealing fairly with tradesmen, even though they were slaughtering and robbing others. To these Spanish merchants the buccaneers disposed of much of the material they had found on the ships, and Ringrose informs us that they paid excellent prices, offering two hundred pieces of eight for each slave the English could spare. You may wonder why unprincipled robbers and cut-throats like the buccaneers should dispose of their goods when they could have so easily possessed themselves of their visitors’ money without giving anything in return, but it was one of their codes of honor to deal fairly under such conditions and there is no record that they ever used violence or robbed a visitor or one who came to them on a friendly mission.[147]“While at Taboga, several ships were captured by the buccaneers, one of which proved a rich prize, as it contained two thousand jars of wine, fifty kegs of gunpowder and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. Also, from this ship, the English learned of a galleon due from Lima with over one hundred thousand pieces of eight, and, rubbing their hands with satisfaction, the buccaneers proceeded to make ready to receive her.“Meanwhile, the governor of Panama sent a message to Sawkins asking why, in time of peace, British had attacked Spaniards and for what reason the buccaneers had come to Panama. To this Sawkins facetiously replied that they had come ‘to assist the King of Darien, who was true Lord of Panama,’ and that ‘having come so far they should have some satisfaction.’ Adding that ‘should His Excellency be pleased to send five hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander and would promise not further to annoy the Indians, but give them full liberty, then the buccaneers would depart peacefully, otherwise they would remain to get what they might!’ And here also occurred another of the odd incidents which showed the buccaneers’ strange natures and point of view. One of the[148]Spanish merchants brought word to Captain Sawkins that the Bishop of Panama had formerly been the Bishop of Santa Marta and had been a captive of Sawkins when the latter took the place. Thereupon Sawkins sent the Bishop two loaves of sugar with his best wishes. In return, the Bishop sent a gold ring and his compliments and also a second message from the Governor. This time His Excellency wished to know from whom the buccaneers had commissions and to whom he should complain of the damages they had done. Evidently Sawkins was a humorous man, for he replied that, ‘As yet the company are not all together, but when they are they will visit His Excellency in Panama and bring their commissions in the muzzles of their guns, at which time you shall read them as plain as the flame of powder can make them.’ But such interchanges of pleasantries did not serve to satisfy the impatient men, and provisions were getting woefully low. In vain their commanders urged that they await the arrival of the plate ship from Peru. They demanded action and food and at last, finding open mutiny would break out if he refused, Sawkins hoisted sail and, leaving Taboga, cruised westward along the coast in search of towns to sack[149]and vessels to capture. In this they were quite successful. They took Otoque Island, looted the pearl catch from Coiba and attacked Puebla Nueva. But they met with disaster as well. Two of their vessels foundered, with a loss of twenty-two men, and on the attack upon Puebla Nueva brave Captain Sawkins met his death, and the buccaneers were beaten off.[150]
“Among the buccaneers who ravished the Caribbean and the Spanish Main, but who had not joined Morgan in his endeavors, were Captain Bartholomew Sharp, Peter Harris, Richard Sawkins, Captain Cook, Alleston, Row and Macket. As a whole, they were far superior men to Morgan and his kind, although no less daring, and in March, 1680, these various buccaneer leaders chanced to meet at a favorite lair of the corsairs, Bocas del Toro, on the Atlantic coast of what is now Panama. Deploring the lack of rich cities to sack and the difficulty of taking the Spanish galleons, now guarded by armed convoys, and cursing the fate that had decreed peace between Spain and England, the disgruntled buccaneer captains sought for new fields for their activities.
“Morgan’s raid on Panama had proved that there were rich pickings on the Pacific, but the relentless persecution of the buccaneers by the British[134]authorities in the Caribbean made life uncomfortable for them, and after a deal of discussion it was agreed that the Pacific coasts held the best promise of fortunes to be won. But to talk of raiding the Dons’ towns and seizing their ships on the Pacific was one thing and to do it was quite a different matter. To sail around the Horn was a long and tedious voyage beset with greatest dangers and to cross by the Gold Road or the Chagres, while possible, was not only perilous, but would be but repeating Morgan’s raid. Then, into their presence, came one Bournano, a French buccaneer, who reported that while peace had been established between the savage Indians of Darien and the Spaniards, yet the Indians were still friendly to the buccaneers and hated the Dons. Indeed, Bournano stated further that the Indians had promised to lead him and his men to a rich town called Tocamora and that he had agreed to return to raid the place as soon as he could secure more ships and men.
“This exactly suited the assembled buccaneers; it was unanimously agreed to join fortunes with the Frenchman, and, supplying their ships with sea turtles and maize, the captains set sail for Darien. The fleet consisted of nine vessels with[135]four hundred and seventy-seven men and without adventure they arrived at the San Blas Islands. Here the Indians welcomed them, for the San Blas tribe had, from time immemorial, been allies of the corsairs, but when they learned of the buccaneers’ purpose they frowned upon it. Tocamora, they said, was in a mountainous country; the way was long and rough, it was in an uninhabited district where food was scarce, and the place was not as rich as had been reported. Instead, the Indians suggested that the buccaneers should cross the Isthmus, take the outlying city of El Real de Santa Maria, which was the depot for all the gold from the incredibly rich mines of Darien, and then proceed to attack the new city of Panama. It was a wild, harebrained, daring and almost hopeless scheme, but it appealed to the buccaneers and, aside from Captain Row and Bournano, all agreed to follow the Indians’ advice.
“On April 5, 1680, the buccaneers landed on the mainland three hundred and thirty-one strong, and, leaving a few men and Captains Alleston and Macket to guard the ships, the dauntless buccaneers started on their terrible march, carrying for provisions but three cakes of cassava each and all heavily armed.[136]
“Following their Indian guides, the buccaneers divided into six companies and entered the jungle. The very first day their hardships began. So impenetrable was the forest that it was necessary to hew a way every yard, there were rivers to cross, swamps to wade through, and clouds of mosquitoes made life miserable. The first day four men gave up and returned to the coast, but the others, of whom, as I have said, Dampier was a member, kept doggedly on. Through pouring rain, climbing precipitous mountains, swimming rivers, the buccaneers proceeded on their way and at the close of the second day had covered nearly eighteen miles. Often, as Ringrose tells us, they were obliged to cross the same river over and over again, but at noon of the third day they came to a village of the wild Kuna Indians. Ringrose and Dampier describe the Indians very well, speaking particularly of the painted wooden crowns, the red caps and the gold nose rings worn by the chiefs, exactly as they are to-day. The Indians were friendly, they supplied the buccaneers fruit and provisions, and the footsore corsairs spent the day resting in the Indians’ huts. On the tenth of April a river large enough to be navigable by canoes was reached, and Captains Sharp, Coxon, Cook[137]and Ringrose, with seventy men, embarked in fourteen dugouts. But they soon found that gliding down the Chukunaque River was by no means a relief from the overland tramp. Fallen trees and bars filled the stream; at every few yards the buccaneers were compelled to haul their craft bodily over the obstructions, and, being separated from their comrades, they began to fear the Indians intended to cut them off and betray them to the Spaniards. On April 13th they reached the junction of the Tuira and Chukunaque Rivers, and in the afternoon of the same day they were overjoyed to see their missing companions who had come through the jungle in safety. Throughout this awful trip, Dampier had preserved his writings in his ‘joyente of bamboo,’ carefully jotting down, despite all difficulties, his observations of bird and animal life, notes on plants and descriptions of the Indians and their lives. But the difficulties of the crossing were practically over. In sixty-eight canoes the three hundred and twenty-seven men embarked with fifty Indians and swept swiftly down stream towards unsuspecting El Real. Camping a scant half mile above the town, the buccaneers prepared to attack at dawn and were awakened by the drums of the[138]garrison. Priming their pistols and muskets, the buccaneers marched on the village, which was surrounded by a twelve-foot palisade, but the corsairs made short work of this and took the town with a loss of but two men wounded. Within were two hundred and sixty men, but the buccaneers soon learned, to their chagrin, why no resistance had been made. The gold, brought from the mines, and, which they had hoped to gain, had been taken the day before to Panama—a treasure of three hundred pounds of bullion—and there was utterly nothing worth taking in the place, which was a mere outpost of straw and palm-thatched huts. Unlike Morgan and his fellows, Sharp and his men treated the Dons humanely and even prevented their Indian allies from butchering the captives, a diversion they had started the moment they had entered the place. Disappointed at their ill luck, the buccaneers were more than ever determined to attack Panama, and, choosing Captain Coxon as commander, the buccaneers, deserted by all but three Indians, prepared for the most hazardous venture ever attempted. Cut off, as they were, from retreat by the long journey through the jungle, in a hostile country, without provisions or ships, yet these fearless, indomitable men were[139]about to hurl themselves upon the most strongly fortified town on the Pacific, and attack a city of thousands with less than three hundred and twenty men, for twelve of their number had left and had gone back with the Indians after taking El Real.
“On April 17, 1680, the buccaneers embarked in thirty-six canoes and slipping down river with the ebb tide entered the great Gulf of San Miguel. Soon the party became separated, and Ringrose’s canoe was wrecked. Without food or clothing other than the few rags on their bodies and with no shoes on their feet, the buccaneers set forth afoot. By good fortune they met Indians, secured canoes, and, sending their prisoners back free, they continued on their way. The very next night, seeing fires on shore, the weary fellows thought they had found their missing comrades and hastily landed, only to fall into the hands of a party of Spaniards. But here the humane actions of the buccaneers were rewarded. The Dons, learning who their captives were, and hearing from a prisoner how the British had saved them from massacre by the Indians, fed and clothed the buccaneers and gave them their liberty.
Dampier wrote his journal during lulls between battlesDampier wrote his journal during lulls between battles
Dampier wrote his journal during lulls between battles
Piraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish shipsPiraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish ships
Piraguas. It was in boats like these that the earlier buccaneers captured their first Spanish ships
“The next morning, to every one’s unspeakable[140]delight, the other parties were met. Several small sailboats were also captured, and now, once more well equipped and confident, the entire party gathered at Chepillo Island and prepared for their descent on Panama, about thirty miles distant. And here, too, the buccaneers suddenly, for ‘reasons which I can not dive into,’ as Ringrose puts it, threw aside their former humanity and ordered the Indians to butcher the few remaining Spanish prisoners. Luckily, the captives managed to escape, however, and only one was killed. Rowing stealthily along the shores under cover of the night, and drenched by torrential rains, the buccaneers came at dawn within sight of the city to find two great ships and three smaller men-of-war anchored in the bay and ready to resist the buccaneers. Here were unexpected troubles. They had counted on taking the place by surprise, on being led into the city by a captive whose life they had saved, and, instead, their presence was known and five powerful armed ships swarming with Spaniards were prepared for them. And, to make matters worse, a large part of their men were absent. During the night and the storm they had become separated, the largest of the boats, in command of Captain Sharp, had put[141]into outlying islands for water, and the heavier piraguas were far astern of the lighter canoes. These, five in number and with one piragua, contained but sixty-eight out of the three hundred odd buccaneers, and these were weary with their long row and in no condition to fight. But there was no time for indecision. The three Spanish war vessels were already bearing down upon the buccaneers, and although so near that Ringrose says they feared they would be run down, yet the English fell to their oars and, pulling desperately into the wind, evaded the Dons’ ships and got to windward. Realizing that the sooner they struck the better, the buccaneers turned their boats and, pulling directly towards the huge Spanish ships, picked off the helmsmen and the gunners with their muskets. With their vessels aback, unable to maneuver, the Dons were, for the moment, helpless, and while their broadsides threw round shot and chain shot among the buccaneers and killed a number, the light swift boats were hard targets to hit, and before a second broadside could be fired they were under the vessels’ side where the cannons could not reach them. Then the battle raged thick and fast. Picking off the Dons whenever they showed their heads above the bulwarks, cutting[142]sheets and braces with their shots, the buccaneers forced their tiny craft under the warships’ sterns, jammed the rudders, and, sinking their own craft to make sure the men must do or die, they swarmed up ropes, chains and quarter galleries onto the Spaniards’ decks.
“Ringrose and his party attacked the Admiral’s ship, and leaping over the bulwarks cut down the Admiral, swept like demons among the Spanish crew, cutting, slashing, shooting and converting the decks to a bloody shambles. Not until two-thirds of the crew were killed did the Dons surrender, however. With the flagship in their hands, Captain Coxon took charge and at once sent two canoes of buccaneers to aid Sawkins, who had thrice been beat back from the decks of the other warship. Hardly had the reënforcements arrived when two explosions took place on the ship and in the confusion the buccaneers swarmed onto the ship’s deck and took the vessel without resistance, fornot oneSpaniard was left alive and uninjured aboard! But on every ship the slaughter was terrific. Of the original crew of eighty-six on the flagship, only twenty-five men remained alive and only eight of these were able to stand. Indeed, even Ringrose and his fellows, hardened to slaughter[143]and bloodshed as they were, were amazed at the butchery they had wrought, and, in their journals, Ringrose and Dampier state that ‘blood ran down the decks in whole streams and not one place upon the ships was found that was free of blood.’ And yet this victory, this awful carnage, had been carried out by sixty-eight buccaneers in frail canoes and small boats, truly a most marvelous feat of daring and bravery, and, more remarkable yet, the buccaneers’ losses amounted to but eighteen killed and twenty-two wounded!
“With the two men-of-war in their possession the buccaneers at once sailed for the big galleons, but, to their surprise, found them absolutely deserted, every member of their crews having been placed aboard the warships in their attack upon the buccaneers. But before deserting their ships the Dons had made every effort to prevent any possibility of their falling into the buccaneers’ hands. The largest galleon, which was called theSantissima Trinidad(Blessed Trinity) had been set afire and scuttled, but the buccaneers’ victory was so rapidly won that they reached her in time, extinguished the fire, stopped the leak and transferred their wounded to her. The battle had begun soon after sunrise and by noon the last[144]shot had been fired, the fleet was in the hands of the buccaneers, and the standards of Sawkins, Sharp, Coxon and the others were floating from the mastheads in place of the gold and scarlet banners of Spain.
“Never in the annals of the buccaneers had such a victory been won; never had there been a sharper, bloodier battle, and even the captive Spanish captains were loud in their praise and admiration of the valor of the English. ‘Captain Peralta declared,’ says Ringrose, that ‘surely you Englishmen are the valiantest men in the world, who designed always to fight open whilst other nations invented all ways imaginable to barricade themselves and fight as close as they could, and yet, notwithstanding, you killed more of your enemies than they of you.’
“And there, resting upon a gun still hot from recent fighting, Dampier drew his paper and ink-horn from his bamboo joint and on the blood-stained deck proceeded to make one of his ‘particular draughts’ of the harbor and to write an account of the brave and exciting deeds through which he had just passed.
“It was, of course, out of the question for the buccaneers to attempt to take Panama, for the[145]defenses were powerful, it was surrounded with an immense, heavily armed wall, it swarmed with soldiers, as well as its thousands of citizens, and the large ships could not approach within cannon shot. But the buccaneers had little cause to complain. They had taken five ships, the largest, theHoly Trinity, a galleon of four hundred tons, and while the cargoes consisted of sugar, skins, soap and flour of little value, still, with good ships under their command, the buccaneers were in a position to take prizes and raid towns. To retain all five ships was not practical and, accordingly, two were promptly fired and sunk. Those saved were theTrinity; a sugar-laden ship of about two hundred tons, which was taken over by Cook; and a fifty-ton piragua in command of Coxon. Coxon was disgruntled, having been accused of backwardness in the fight, and three days after the battle he left the buccaneers with twenty of his sympathizers and sailed away to Darien to march back to the Atlantic and his ship, taking with him the Indian guides.
“A day or two later, Captain Sharp arrived, having taken a small Spanish bark while on his search for water, and shortly afterwards Captain Harris turned up, also with a prize. During[146]Sharp’s absence, Sawkins had been elected commandant, and, having turned loose all but their most important prisoners, the buccaneers proceeded to Taboga Island to repair and refit the captured ships.
“While there the buccaneers were visited by a number of Spanish merchants from Panama who brought various supplies and goods to sell to the buccaneers, for, incredible as it may seem, the corsairs had a most remarkable habit of dealing fairly with tradesmen, even though they were slaughtering and robbing others. To these Spanish merchants the buccaneers disposed of much of the material they had found on the ships, and Ringrose informs us that they paid excellent prices, offering two hundred pieces of eight for each slave the English could spare. You may wonder why unprincipled robbers and cut-throats like the buccaneers should dispose of their goods when they could have so easily possessed themselves of their visitors’ money without giving anything in return, but it was one of their codes of honor to deal fairly under such conditions and there is no record that they ever used violence or robbed a visitor or one who came to them on a friendly mission.[147]
“While at Taboga, several ships were captured by the buccaneers, one of which proved a rich prize, as it contained two thousand jars of wine, fifty kegs of gunpowder and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. Also, from this ship, the English learned of a galleon due from Lima with over one hundred thousand pieces of eight, and, rubbing their hands with satisfaction, the buccaneers proceeded to make ready to receive her.
“Meanwhile, the governor of Panama sent a message to Sawkins asking why, in time of peace, British had attacked Spaniards and for what reason the buccaneers had come to Panama. To this Sawkins facetiously replied that they had come ‘to assist the King of Darien, who was true Lord of Panama,’ and that ‘having come so far they should have some satisfaction.’ Adding that ‘should His Excellency be pleased to send five hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander and would promise not further to annoy the Indians, but give them full liberty, then the buccaneers would depart peacefully, otherwise they would remain to get what they might!’ And here also occurred another of the odd incidents which showed the buccaneers’ strange natures and point of view. One of the[148]Spanish merchants brought word to Captain Sawkins that the Bishop of Panama had formerly been the Bishop of Santa Marta and had been a captive of Sawkins when the latter took the place. Thereupon Sawkins sent the Bishop two loaves of sugar with his best wishes. In return, the Bishop sent a gold ring and his compliments and also a second message from the Governor. This time His Excellency wished to know from whom the buccaneers had commissions and to whom he should complain of the damages they had done. Evidently Sawkins was a humorous man, for he replied that, ‘As yet the company are not all together, but when they are they will visit His Excellency in Panama and bring their commissions in the muzzles of their guns, at which time you shall read them as plain as the flame of powder can make them.’ But such interchanges of pleasantries did not serve to satisfy the impatient men, and provisions were getting woefully low. In vain their commanders urged that they await the arrival of the plate ship from Peru. They demanded action and food and at last, finding open mutiny would break out if he refused, Sawkins hoisted sail and, leaving Taboga, cruised westward along the coast in search of towns to sack[149]and vessels to capture. In this they were quite successful. They took Otoque Island, looted the pearl catch from Coiba and attacked Puebla Nueva. But they met with disaster as well. Two of their vessels foundered, with a loss of twenty-two men, and on the attack upon Puebla Nueva brave Captain Sawkins met his death, and the buccaneers were beaten off.[150]