TRADE OF PIRACY

Evening Star, Issue 22638, 3 May 1937, Page 12

TRADE OF PIRACY

CAPTAIN HENRY MORGAN THE SACK OF PANAMA . Pre-eminent among buccaneers, and whose name even to this day is a charm to call up his deeds of daring, his dauntless courage, his truculent cruelty, and his insatiate and unappeasable lust for gold, is Captaiu Henry Morgan, the bold Welshman, who brought buccaneering to the height and flower of its glory (says Captain Robert M. Neil, in tho Sydney ‘ Morning Herald’). Having sold himself, after tho manner of the times, for his passage across the seas, he worked out his time of servitude at the Barbadoes. As soon as he had regained his liberty he entered upon the trade of piracy, in which he soon reached a position of considerable prominence. Tho first attempt that he over made against any town in the Spanish Indies was the bold descent upon the city of Peurto del Principe, in Cuba, with a handful of men. It was a deed the boldness of which has never been outdone by any of a like nature —not even the famous attack upon Panama itself. Thence they returned to their boats in the very face of the whole island of Cuba, aroused and determined upon their extermination. Not only did they make good their escape, but they brought away with them plunder, computed at 300,000 pieces of eight, besides 500 head of cattle and many prisoners held for ransom. And now it was determined that the plunder harvest was ripe at Porto Bello, and that city’s doom was sealed The town was defended by two strong castles, thoroughly manned, and officered by as gallant a soldier as ever carried Toledo steel at his side. But strong castles and gallant soldiers weighed not a barleycorn with the buccaneers, when their blood was stirred by the lust of, gold.

Landing at Peurto Naos, a town some ten miles westward of Porto Bello, they marched to the latter town, and, coming before the castle, boldly demanded its surrender. It was refused, whereupon Morgan threatened that no quarter should be given. Still surrender was refused; and then the castle was attacked, and, after a bitter straggle, was captured. Morgan was as good as his word; every man in the castle was shut in the guardroom, the match was set to the powder magazine, and soldiers, castle, and all were blown into the air, whilst through all the dust and the smoko the buccaneers poured into the town. Here was enacted the usual scenes. Everything plundered that could be taken, and then a ransom set upon the town itself. The next towns to suffer were Maracaybo and Gibraltar. Once more both towns were plundered, of every bale of merchandise and of every coin, and once more both - vere ransomed until everything was squeezed from the wretched inhabitants.

And now Captain Morgan determined to undertake another venture, the like of which had never been equalled in all the annals of buccaneering. This was nothing less than the descent upon and the capture of Panama, which was, next to Carthagena, perhaps, the most powerful and the most strongly fortified city in the West Indies. DESPERATE UNDERTAKING. In preparation for this venture, he obtained letters of marque from the Governor of Jamaica, by virtue of which commission he began immediately to gather around him all material necessary for the undertaking. When it became known abroad that the great Captain Morgan was about undertaking an adventure that was to eclipse all that was ever done before, great numbers came flocking to his standard, until he had gathered together 2,000 or more desperadoes and pirates wherewith to prosecute his adventure, albeit the venture itself was kept a total secret from everyone. The first step to be taken was the capture of the castle of Chagres, which guarded the mouth of the river of that name, up which river the buccaneers would be compelled to transport their men -'and provisions for the attack upon the city of Panama. The attack of the castle and the defence of it were equally fierce, bloody, and desperate; but both fell, and nothing now lay between tho bucaneers and the city of Panama but the intervening and trackless forests, tip the river of Chagres went Morgan and 1,200 men, packed in their canoes, until they had come to a place known as Cruz de San Juan Ballego, where they were compelled to leave their boats on account of the shallowness of the water.

Leaving a guard of 160 men to protect their boats as a place of refuge in case they should be worsted before Panama, they turned and plunged into the wilderness before them. Ten days they struggled through this bitter privation, doggedly forcing their way onward, faint witli hunger and haggard with weakness and fever. Then, from the high hill and over the tops of the forest trees, they saw the steeples of Panama, and nothing remained between them and their goal but the fighting' of four Spaniards to every one of them—a simple thing which they had done over and over again. Down they poured upon Panama, and out came the Spaniards to meet them; 400 horse, -2,500 foots, and 2,000 wild bulls, which had been herded together to bo driven over the buccaneers so that their ranks might be disordered and broken. The buccaneers were only 800 strong; ■ the others had fallen in battle or had dropped along the dreary pathway through the wilderness; but in the space 'of two hours the Spaniards were flying madly over the plain, minus 600 who lay dead or dying behind them. Then Morgan and his desperadoes marched towards the city. Three hours’ more fighting and they were in the streets, howling, yelling,- plundering, gorging, dram-drinking, and giving full vent to all the vile and nameless lusts that burned in their hearts like a hell of fire. And now followed the usual sequence_ of events —rapine, cruelty, and extortion; only this time there was no town to ransom, for Morgan had given orders that it should be destroyed. The torch was set to it, and Panama, one of the greatest cities in the New World, was swept from the face of the earth. For three weeks Morgan and his men remained in this dreaded place; then they marched away with 175 beasts of burden loaded with treasures of gold and silver and jewels, besides great quantities of merchandise, and 600 prisoners held for ransom. With this fabulous wealth, wrenched from the Spaniards by means of the rack ami cord, Captain Henry Morgan retired from business, honoured by all, rendered famous by his deeds, knighted by King Charles 11., and finally appointed Governor of the rich island of Jamaica. Other buccaneers followed him. Campeche was taken and sacked, aild

even Carthagena itself fell; but with Henry Morgan culminated the glory of the buccaneers, and from that time they declined in power and wealth' and wickedness until they were finally swept away. s