_=Edward Davis= Commander. Meeting of the Spanish and Buccaneer
Fleets in the =Bay of Panama=. They separate without fighting.
The Buccaneers sail to the Island =Quibo=. The English and
French separate. Expedition against the City of =Leon=. That
City and =Ria Lexa= burnt. Farther dispersion of the
Buccaneers._
[Sidenote: 1685. May. Bay of Panama.] The Viceroy of _Peru_ judged the
Fleet he had collected, to be strong enough to encounter the Buccaneers,
and did not fear to trust the treasure to its protection; but he gave
directions to the Commander of the Fleet to endeavour to avoid a meeting
with them until after the treasure should be safely landed. In pursuance
of this plan, the Spanish Admiral, as he drew near the _Bay of Panama_,
kept more Westward than the usual course, and fell in with the coast of
_Veragua_ to the West of the _Punta Mala_. Afterwards, he entered the
_Bay_ with his fleet keeping close to the West shore; and to place the
treasure out of danger as soon as possible, he landed it at _Lavelia_,
thinking it most probable his fleet would be descried by the enemy before
he could reach _Panama_, which must have happened if the weather had not
been thick, or if the Buccaneers had kept a sharper look-out by stationing
tenders across the entrance of the _Bay_. [Sidenote: The Lima Fleet
arrives at Panama.] In consequence of this being neglected, the Spanish
fleet arrived and anchored before the city of _Panama_ without having been
perceived by them, and immediately on their arrival, the crews of the
ships were reinforced with a number of European seamen who had purposely
been sent over land from _Porto Bello_. Thus strengthened, and the
treasure being placed out of danger, the Spanish Admiral took up his
anchors, and stood from the road before _Panama_ towards the middle of the
Bay, in quest of the Buccaneers.
[Sidenote: 28th.] May the 28th, the morning was rainy: the Buccaneer fleet
was lying at anchor near the Island _Pacheca_, the Northernmost of the
_Pearl Islands_. At eleven o'clock in the forenoon, the weather cleared
up, when the Spanish fleet appeared in sight about three leagues distant
from them to the WNW. The wind was light from the Southward, and they were
standing sharp trimmed towards the Buccaneers.
[Sidenote: Meeting of the two Fleets.] Lussan dates this their meeting
with the Spanish Fleet, to be on June the 7th. Ten days alteration of the
style had taken place in _France_ three years before, and no alteration of
style had yet been adopted in _England_.
[Sidenote: Force of the Buccaneer.] The Buccaneer fleet was composed of
ten sail of vessels, of different sizes, manned with 960 men, almost all
Europeans; but, excepting the Batchelor's Delight and the Cygnet, none of
their vessels had cannon. Edward Davis was regarded as the Admiral. His
ship mounted 36 guns, and had a crew of 156 men, most of them English; but
as he was furnished with a French commission, and _France_ was still at
war with _Spain_, he carried aloft a white flag, in which was painted a
hand and sword. Swan's ship had 16 guns, with a crew of 140 men, all
English, and carried a Saint George's flag at her main-topmast head. The
rest of their fleet was well provided with small-arms, and the crews were
dexterous in the use of them. Grogniet's ship was the most powerful,
except in cannon, her crew consisting of 308 men.
[Sidenote: Force of the Spanish Fleet.] The Spanish fleet numbered
fourteen sail, six of which were provided with cannon; six others with
musketry only, and two were fitted up as fire-ships. The buccaneer
accounts say the Spanish Admiral had 48 guns mounted, and 450 men; the
Vice-Admiral 40 guns, and men in proportion; the Rear-Admiral 36 guns,
one of the other ships 24, one 18, and one 8 guns; and that the number of
men in their fleet was above 2500; but more than one half of them Indians
or slaves.
When the two fleets first had sight of each other, Grogniet's ship lay at
anchor a mile to leeward of his confederates, on which account he weighed
anchor, and stood close upon a wind to the Eastward, intending to turn up
to the other ships; but in endeavouring to tack, he missed stays twice,
which kept him at a distance all the fore part of the day. From the
superiority of the Spaniards in cannon, and of the buccaneer crews in
musketry, it was evident that distant fighting was most to the advantage
of the Spaniards; and that the Buccaneers had to rest their hopes of
success on close fighting and boarding. Davis was fully of this opinion,
and at three o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy's fleet being directly to
leeward and not far distant, he got his vessels under sail and bore right
down upon them, making a signal at the same time to Grogniet to board the
Spanish Vice-Admiral, who was some distance separate from the other ships
of his fleet.
Here may be contemplated the Buccaneers at the highest pitch of elevation
to which they at any time attained. If they obtained the victory, it would
give them the sole dominion of the _South Sea_; and Davis, the buccaneer
Commander, aimed at no less; but he was ill seconded, and was not
possessed of authority to enforce obedience to his commands.
The order given to Grogniet was not put in execution, and when Davis had
arrived with his ship within cannon-shot of the Spaniards, Swan shortened
sail and lowered his ensign, to signify he was of opinion that it would be
best to postpone fighting till the next day. Davis wanting the support of
two of the most able ships of his fleet, was obliged to forego his
intention, and no act of hostility passed during the afternoon and
evening except the exchange of some shot between his own ship and that of
the Spanish Vice-Admiral.
When it was dark, the Spanish fleet anchored, and at the same time, the
Spanish Admiral took in his light, and ordered a light to be shewn from
one of his small vessels, which he sent to leeward. The Buccaneers were
deceived by this artifice, believing the light they saw to be that of the
Spanish Admiral, and they continued under sail, thinking themselves secure
of the weather-gage. [Sidenote: 29th.] At daylight the next morning the
Spaniards were seen well collected, whilst the buccaneer vessels were much
dispersed. Grogniet and Townley were to windward of the Spaniards; but all
the rest, contrary to what they had expected, were to leeward. At sunrise,
the Spanish fleet got under sail and bore down towards the leeward
buccaneer ships. The Buccaneers thought it not prudent to fight under such
disadvantages, and did not wait to receive them. They were near the small
Island _Pacheca_, on the South side of which are some Islands yet smaller.
Among these Islands, Dampier says, is a narrow channel in one part not
forty feet wide. Townley, being pressed by the Spaniards and in danger of
being intercepted, pushed for this passage without any previous
examination of the depth of water, and got safe through. Davis and Swan,
whose ships were the fastest sailing in either fleet, had the credit of
affording protection to their flying companions, by waiting to repulse the
most advanced of the Spaniards. Dampier, who was in Davis's ship, says,
she was pressed upon by the whole Spanish force. 'The Spanish Admiral and
the rest of his squadron began to play at us and we at them as fast as we
could: yet they kept at distant cannonading. They might have laid us
aboard if they would, but they came not within small-arms shot, intending
to maul us in pieces with their great guns.' After a circuitous chace and
running fight, which lasted till the evening, the Buccaneers, Harris's
ship excepted, which had been forced to make off in a different direction,
anchored by the Island _Pacheca_, nearly in the same spot whence they had
set out in the morning.
[Sidenote: 30th.] On the 30th, at daylight, the Spanish fleet was seen at
anchor three leagues to leeward. The breeze was faint, and both fleets lay
quiet till ten o'clock in the forenoon. The wind then freshened a little
from the South, and the Spaniards took up their anchors; but instead of
making towards the Buccaneers, they sailed away in a disgraceful manner
for _Panama_. Whether they sustained any loss in this skirmishing does not
appear. The Buccaneer's had only one man killed outright. In Davis's ship,
six men were wounded, and half of her rudder was shot away.
[Sidenote: The two Fleets separate.] It might seem to those little
acquainted with the management of ships that it could make no material
difference whether the Spaniards bore down to engage the Buccaneers, or
the Buccaneers bore down to engage the Spaniards; for that in either case
when the fleets were closed, the Buccaneers might have tried the event of
boarding. But the difference here was, that if the Buccaneers had the
weather-gage, it enabled them to close with the enemy in the most speedy
manner, which was of much consequence where the disparity in the number of
cannon was so great. When the Spaniards had the weather-gage, they would
press the approach only near enough to give effect to their cannon, and
not near enough for musketry to do them mischief. With this view, they
could choose their distance when to stop and bring their broadsides to
bear, and leave to the Buccaneers the trouble of making nearer approach,
against the wind and a heavy cannonade. Dampier, who has related the
transactions of the 28th and 29th very briefly, speaks of the weather-gage
here as a decisive advantage. He says, "In the morning (of the 29th)
therefore, when we found the enemy had got the weather-gage of us, and
were coming upon us with full sail, we ran for it."
On this occasion there is no room for commendation on the valour of either
party. The Buccaneers, however, knew, by the Spanish fleet coming to them
from _Panama_, that the treasure must have been landed, and therefore they
could have had little motive for enterprise. The meeting was faintly
sought by both sides, and no battle was fought, except a little
cannonading during the retreat of the Buccaneers, which on their side was
almost wholly confined to the ship of their Commander. Both Dampier and
Lussan acknowledge that Edward Davis brought the whole of the buccaneer
fleet off safe from the Spaniards by his courage and good management.
[Sidenote: June.] On June the 1st, the Buccaneers sailed out of the _Bay
of Panama_ for the Island _Quibo_. They had to beat up against SW winds,
and had much wet weather. In the middle of June, they anchored on the East
side of _Quibo_, where they were joined by Harris.
[Sidenote: Keys of Quibo. The Island Quibo.] _Quibo_ and the smaller
Islands near it, Dampier calls collectively, the Keys of _Quibo_. They are
all woody. Good fresh water was found on the great Island, which would
naturally be the case with the wet weather; and here were deer, guanoes,
and large black monkeys, whose flesh was esteemed by the Buccaneers to be
sweet and wholesome food.
[Sidenote: Rock near the Anchorage.] A shoal which runs out from the SE
point of _Quibo_ half a mile into the sea, has been already noticed: a
league to the North of this shoal, and a mile distant from the shore, is a
rock which appears above water only at the last quarter ebb. Except the
shoal, and this rock, there is no other danger; and ships may anchor
within a quarter of a mile of the shore, in from six to twelve fathoms
clear sand and ooze[54].
They stopped at _Quibo_ to make themselves canoes, the trees there being
well suited for the purpose, and some so large that a single trunk
hollowed and wrought into shape, would carry forty or fifty men. Whilst
this work was performing, a strong party was sent to the main-land against
_Pueblo Nuevo_, which town was now entered without opposition; but no
plunder was obtained.
[Sidenote: Serpents. The Serpent Berry.] Lussan relates that two of the
Buccaneers were killed by serpents at _Quibo_. He says, 'here are serpents
whose bite is so venemous that speedy death inevitably ensues, unless the
patient can have immediate recourse to a certain fruit, which must be
chewed and applied to the part bitten. The tree which bears this fruit
grows here, and in other parts of _America_. It resembles the almond-tree
in _France_ in height and in its leaves. The fruit is like the sea
chestnut (_Chataines de Mer_) but is of a grey colour, rather bitter in
taste, and contains in its middle a whitish almond. The whole is to be
chewed together before it is applied. It is called (_Graine a Serpent_)
the Serpent Berry.'
[Sidenote: July. Disagreements among the Buccaneers.] The dissatisfaction
caused by their being foiled in the _Bay of Panama_, broke out in
reproaches, and produced great disagreements among the Buccaneers. Many
blamed Grogniet for not coming into battle the first day. On the other
hand, Lussan blames the behaviour of the English, who, he says, being the
greater number, lorded it over the French; that Townley, liking Grogniet's
ship better than his own, would have insisted on a change, if the French
had not shewn a determination to resist such an imposition. Another cause
of complaint against the English was, the indecent and irreverent manner
in which they shewed their hatred to the Roman Catholic religion. Lussan
says, 'When they entered the Spanish churches, it was their diversion to
hack and mutilate every thing with their cutlasses, and to fire their
muskets and pistols at the images of the Saints.' [Sidenote: The French
separate from the English.] In consequence of these disagreements, 330 of
the French joined together under Grogniet, and separated from the English.
[Sidenote: Knight, a Buccaneer Commander, joins Davis.] Before either of
the parties had left _Quibo_, William Knight, a Buccaneer already
mentioned, arrived there in a ship manned with 40 Englishmen and 11
Frenchmen. This small crew of Buccaneers had crossed the _Isthmus_ about
nine months before; they had been cruising both on the coast of _New
Spain_ and on the coast of _Peru_; and the sum of their successes amounted
to their being provided with a good vessel and a good stock of provisions.
They had latterly been to the Southward, where they learnt that the _Lima_
fleet had sailed against the Buccaneers before _Panama_, which was the
first notice they received of other Buccaneers than themselves being in
the _South Sea_. On the intelligence, they immediately sailed for the _Bay
of Panama_, that they might be present and share in the capture of the
Spaniards, which they believed would inevitably be the result of a
meeting. On arriving in the _Bay of Panama_, they learnt what really had
happened: nevertheless, they proceeded to _Quibo_ in search of their
friends. The Frenchmen in Knight's ship left her to join their countrymen:
Knight and the rest of the crew, put themselves under the command of
Davis.
The ship commanded by Harris, was found to be in a decayed state and
untenantable. Another vessel was given to him and his crew; but the whole
company were so much crowded for want of ship room, that a number remained
constantly in canoes. One of the canoes which they built at _Quibo_
measured 36 feet in length, and between 5 and 6 feet in width.
Davis and the English party, having determined to attack the city of
_Leon_ in the province of _Nicaragua_, sent an invitation to the French
Buccaneers to rejoin them. The French had only one ship, which was far
from sufficient to contain their whole number, and they demanded, as a
condition of their uniting again with the English, that another vessel
should be given to themselves. The English could ill spare a ship, and
would not agree to the proposition; the separation therefore was final.
Jean Rose, a Frenchman, with fourteen of his countrymen, in a new canoe
they had built for themselves, left Grogniet to try their fortunes under
Davis.
In this, and in other separations which subsequently took place among the
Buccaneers, it has been thought the most clear and convenient arrangement
of narrative, to follow the fortunes of the buccaneer Commander Edward
Davis and his adherents, without interruption, to the conclusion of their
adventures in the _South Sea_; and afterwards, to resume the proceedings
of the other adventurers.
[Sidenote: Proceedings of Edward Davis. August. Expedition against the
City of Leon.] On the 20th of July, Davis with eight vessels and 640 men,
departed from the Island _Quibo_ for _Ria Lexa_, sailing through the
channel between _Quibo_ and the main-land, and along the coast of the
latter, which was low and overgrown with thick woods, and appeared thin of
inhabitants. August the 9th, at eight in the morning, the ships being then
so far out in the offing that they could not be descried from the shore,
Davis with 520 men went away in 31 canoes for the harbour of _Ria Lexa_.
They set out with fair weather; but at two in the afternoon, a tornado
came from the land, with thunder, lightning, and rain, and with such
violent gusts of wind that the canoes were all obliged to put right before
it, to avoid being overwhelmed by the billows. Dampier remarks generally
of the hot latitudes, as Lussan does of the _Pacific Ocean_, that the sea
there is soon raised by the wind, and when the wind abates is soon down
again. _Up Wind Up Sea, Down Wind Down Sea_, is proverbial between the
tropics among seamen. The fierceness of the tornado continued about half
an hour, after which the wind gradually abated, and the canoes again made
towards the land. At seven in the evening it was calm, and the sea quite
smooth. During the night, the Buccaneers, having the direction of a
Spanish pilot, entered a narrow creek which led towards _Leon_; but the
pilot could not undertake to proceed up till daylight, lest he should
mistake, there being several creeks communicating with each other.
[Sidenote: Leon.] The city of _Leon_ bordered on the Lake of _Nicaragua_,
and was reckoned twenty miles within the sea coast. They went only a part
of this distance by the river, when Davis, leaving sixty men to guard the
canoes, landed with the rest and marched towards the city, two miles short
of which they passed through an Indian town. _Leon_ had a cathedral and
three other churches. It was not fortified, and the Spaniards, though they
drew up their force in the Great Square or Parade, did not think
themselves strong enough to defend the place. About three in the
afternoon, the Buccaneers entered, and the Spaniards retired.
All the Buccaneers who landed did not arrive at _Leon_ that same day.
According to their ability for the march, Davis had disposed his men into
divisions. The foremost was composed of all the most active, who marched
without delay for the town, the other divisions following as speedily as
they were able. The rear division being of course composed of the worst
travellers, some of them could not keep pace even with their own division.
They all came in afterwards except two, one of whom was killed, and the
other taken prisoner. The man killed was a stout grey-headed old man of
the name of Swan, aged about 84 years, who had served under Cromwell, and
had ever since made privateering or buccaneering his occupation. This
veteran would not be dissuaded from going on the enterprise against
_Leon_; but his strength failed in the march; and after being left in the
road, he was found by the Spaniards, who endeavoured to make him their
prisoner; but he refused to surrender, and fired his musket amongst them,
having in reserve a pistol still charged; on which he was shot dead.
The houses in _Leon_ were large, built of stone, but not high, with
gardens about them. 'Some have recommended _Leon_ as the most pleasant
place in all _America_; and for health and pleasure it does surpass most
places. The country round is of a sandy soil, which soon drinks up the
rains to which these parts are much subject[55].'
[Sidenote: Leon burnt by the Buccaneers.] The Buccaneers being masters of
the city, the Governor sent a flag of truce to treat for its ransom. They
demanded 300,000 dollars, and as much provision as would subsist 1000 men
four months: also that the Buccaneer taken prisoner should be exchanged.
These demands it is probable the Spaniards never intended to comply with;
however they prolonged the negociation, till the Buccaneers suspected it
was for the purpose of collecting force. Therefore, on the 14th, they set
fire to the city, and returned to the coast. The town of _Ria Lexa_
underwent a similar fate, contrary to the intention of the Buccaneer
Commander.
[Sidenote: Ria Lexa. Town of Ria Lexa burnt.] _Ria Lexa_ is unwholesomely
situated in a plain among creeks and swamps, 'and is never free from a
noisome smell.' The soil is a strong yellow clay; in the neighbourhood of
the town were many sugar-works and beef-farms; pitch, tar, and cordage
were made here; with all which commodities the inhabitants carried on a
good trade. The Buccaneers supplied themselves with as much as they wanted
of these articles, besides which, they received at _Ria Lexa_ 150 head of
cattle from a Spanish gentleman, who had been released upon his parole,
and promise of making such payment for his ransom; their own man who had
been made prisoner was redeemed in exchange for a Spanish lady, and they
found in the town 500 packs of flour; which circumstances might have put
the Buccaneers in good temper and have induced them to spare the town;
'but,' says Dampier, 'some of our destructive crew, I know not by whose
order, set fire to the houses, and we marched away and left them burning.'
[Sidenote: Farther Separation of the Buccaneers.] After the _Leon_
expedition, no object of enterprise occurred to them of sufficient
magnitude to induce or to enable them to keep together in such large
force. Dispersed in small bodies, they expected a better chance of
procuring both subsistence and plunder. By general consent therefore, the
confederacy which had been preserved of the English Buccaneers was
relinquished, and they formed into new parties according to their several
inclinations. Swan proposed to cruise along the coast of _New Spain_, and
NW-ward, as far as to the entrance of the _Gulf of California_, and thence
to take his departure for the _East Indies_. Townley and his followers
agreed to try their fortunes with Swan as long as he remained on the coast
of New _Spain_; after which they proposed to return to the _Isthmus_. In
the course of settling these arrangements, William Dampier, being desirous
of going to the _East Indies_, took leave of his commander, Edward Davis,
and embarked with Swan. Of these, an account will be given hereafter.