was good for travelling on foot, and the buccaneer, leaving 160 men
to guard the boats, set out next morning to cut a way through the
thick jungle. The travelling was so hard that the men could not cope
with it, and, fearing lest, if they got through, they would be worse
than useless to withstand an attack, Morgan went back to the river,
determined to make a portage. He sent the strongest of his men by land,
and embarked the remainder on the canoes, which forced a way up river
and met the other party--hungry, weary, disappointed at not having come
across either Indians or Spaniards. They wanted food so badly, and
could find none.
From this point Morgan divided his army into two parties, one going
by land, the other by river, with a guide scouting before them on
the look-out for ambuscades. Incidentally, the Spaniards also had
their spies, who were so efficient that they could warn the Spaniards
six hours before the coming of the buccaneers. It was in this way
that Morgan came to an ambuscade too late to meet the Spaniards, 500
of whom, he judged, had been there. Not a scrap of food was left
behind; the only things about were a few leathern bags, upon which the
buccaneers fell ravishingly, and quarrelled amongst themselves as to
the biggest shares! After they had feasted themselves upon the tough
rations, they moved forward again, to come to another place where an
ambuscade had been made, only to find it as deserted and as barren as
the other. They searched here, there, and everywhere for food, finding
none. Not a horse, not a cow was to be seen; they could not find even
rats, and on the fifth day they were so famished that it seemed as
though the expedition would be a failure. Then they lighted upon a
grotto, and in it found two sacks of meal, wheat, etc., and a couple
of jars of wine and some fruits. Such heaven-sent gifts! Morgan caused
them to be distributed amongst the weakest of his men, whom he put in
the canoes, making the others go by land.
Next day they came to a plantation with a barn in it filled with maize.
They broke that barn open, and fell to eating the corn raw, and then
distributed the rest. Unfortunately for them, they presently saw what
they thought was an ambuscade of Indians. They felt that now they
would be sure to find food, and, throwing their maize away, rushed at
the ambuscade; but the Indians slipped away, carrying everything with
them, and standing on the other side of the river, taunted them, and,
shooting arrows, succeeded in killing several of the buccaneers.
The way now lay across the river, and it was necessary to wait until
next day to cross. That night the men began to grumble, cursing
Morgan for a fool, and vowing that they would go back. However, better
counsels prevailed, and in the morning, having seen to their arms,
they crossed the river, and travelled on to the village of Cruz. Smoke
issuing from the houses cheered them up, for they said, “Where there’s
smoke, there’s food!”
Again they were disappointed, for the Spaniards had fled with
everything eatable and of value, setting fire to the houses ere they
left. A few cats and dogs were found; they made a feast for the
buccaneers that day. Then some nosing scoundrel discovered a few jars
of wine and a sack of bread. They fell upon those goodies with a will;
and then almost died after drinking the wine, which was too strong
for their weakened stomachs. This little matter delayed them till
next morning, for the men were too ill to move, and it was a case of
everyone walking now, because the river was too shallow to take them
farther. Morgan, therefore, next morning sent his canoes back, lest
they should be captured, and with the remainder of his men marched
forward, meeting that day with the first opposition. A flight of some
four thousand arrows darkened the air, and caused a panic amongst
the buccaneers, who could not see whence they had come. Presently,
however, they espied a band of Indians in a position which, if defended
stanchly, would have prevented the buccaneers passing. But, contenting
themselves with shooting a few more arrows, the Indians took to their
heels. Then, a little later, the raiders met another company, and had a
stiff little fight with them. Yet again, in a wood, Indians appeared,
backed by a number of Spaniards. These, however, soon fled, and the
pirates held on their way, experiencing in the evening and during the
night a terrific rainstorm, which caused them much hardship, as the
majority had to sleep out in the downpour, a few being told off to
occupy some small huts in which the arms and powder were stored.
The ninth day came, and the buccaneers ascended a hill, from the summit
of which they caught the gleam of the great South Sea. And, better
still, fertile plains rolled beneath them, with herds of cattle quietly
browsing.
Down the hill-side raced the buccaneers, hurling themselves amongst the
cattle, which they killed and cut up for eating, many not waiting to
cook the meat.
Having thus satisfied their animal cravings, they moved forward,
sending out a band of fifty to scout, in the hope of being able to
capture some prisoners, from whom they might learn the disposition
and strength of the Spaniards. Morgan was growing anxious at the
elusiveness of the Dons, fearing, no doubt, that they were simply
leading him on into a well prepared trap. But he never swerved from
his intention; he had come to take Panama and sack it, and he would
do so despite all the Spaniards in the New World. Towards evening a
couple of hundred Dons appeared and shouted at the buccaneers, who,
however, could not catch what they said; and soon after the Spaniards
had gone away the picturesque horde of pirates came in sight of Panama.
Mighty cheers rent the air, trumpets blared, ragged caps were flung
up; the men who had found the utmost difficulty in dragging themselves
along the tortuous paths now leaped for very joy. They already had by
anticipation the wealth of Panama in their hands!
They pitched their camp that night with Panama before them, barely
contenting themselves with the idea of having to wait until the morning
before the work really began. They need not have worried; the Spaniards
saw to it that they had little rest. Fifty horsemen trooped out of the
city, headed by a trumpeter, who blared away at them, while the Dons
cried in derision: “Come on, ye dogs! We shall meet ye!” and then rode
back, leaving an outpost to keep an eye upon the buccaneers. Almost
immediately afterwards the great guns of Panama began to speak _their_
taunts, and the pirates found themselves bombarded by heavy fire,
which, however, did little damage.
Morning came, and the raiders prepared for the assault of the city.
There was little need for silence as they moved forward, and the
buccaneers made a terrible row, what with shouting, singing, and
trumpeting. They were an army by no means to be despised; about a
thousand strong, with loot as their aim, and what they lacked in the
way of uniform--for they were as ragamuffin an army as ever took
the field--they made up in courage and equipment. On they went, and
then suddenly came to a standstill at the word of command from their
chief. One of the guides had remembered that there was a better way to
enter the city than risking an encounter by going in full view of the
Spaniards. It was a difficult road, passing through a thick wood, but
Morgan decided to take it. So the army turned off, and the Spaniards,
seeing them do so, were filled with dismay, for they had not dreamt the
foe would take that road, and had fixed all their batteries to oppose
them on the other.
It ended by the buccaneers coming on the town at a side totally
unprepared for attack, and the Spaniards had hastily to leave their
barricades and batteries. From the summit of a hill the pirates looked
down upon Panama--and what seemed to them a whole host of Spaniards.
The governor had turned out all his forces, consisting of two squadrons
of cavalry, four regiments of foot, and a fair amount of artillery.
The sight of so many foes for a while struck fear into the hearts of
the ragged horde, who had known but little fear till then. Some of
them spoke of going back. But, taking counsel amongst themselves, they
decided that, after all, it was desirable to do what they had come out
for, and to go into the fight with fierce courage, giving and taking no
quarter.
Morgan divided his army into three battalions, sending in advance a
company of 200 real buccaneers--that is, the hunters of wild cattle.
And the fight began.
The Spaniards sent forward their cavalry at the gallop, shouting “Viva
el Rey”; but the rain had soddened the ground, and the horses became
unmanageable, especially when the pirates’ advance guard dropped to
their knees and sent in a withering fire of well-aimed shots. But the
Dons put up a bold defence, foot aiding horse, artillery supporting
both, till presently Morgan manœuvred so that the infantry were obliged
to separate from the cavalry. And then the buccaneers knew they were on
the way to victory.
The Spaniards, however, had a card up their sleeve. When they debouched
from the city, they brought with them a herd of wild bulls, in charge
of a band of Indians. It was one part of the army with which they
meant to oppose the buccaneers. Finding that the battle was going all
against them, the Dons gave the word, and the herd of bulls, maddened
by the cries and lashes of the Indians, went full pelt across the
plain, straight for Morgan’s gallant little army. It looked as though
there were going to be a bull-fight instead of a battle between men.
Instead of that, the noise of the conflict, which still went on between
buccaneers and Spaniards, so scared the bulls that they turned and
ran away. A few, however, broke through the English battalion, but
did no more damage than to tear the colours. The result was that the
buccaneers found themselves with enough meat to last them many days.
The Spaniards, disappointed at the failure of their ruse, held on
with the courage of despair, fighting for two more hours, having the
greater part of their cavalry killed, the rest fleeing for their lives.
The infantry and artillery, however, kept up the fight till, with a
rush, the buccaneers swept down upon them; and then, firing only the
shots that were in their muskets, away the Dons went, flinging their
arms aside as they ran. The buccaneers, battle-worn, were too weary to
follow them, and hundreds managed to reach the safety of the woods,
those few that remained on the field being killed out of hand.
Six hundred Spaniards died that day, while Morgan “found both killed
and wounded of his own men a considerable number.” However, he was
victorious, and making his men rest before going up to the city,
examined a few prisoners who were brought in. One captain told him that
the troops in Panama consisted of 400 horse, twenty-four companies of
infantry of 100 men each, and 2,000 bulls, while in the city trenches
had been made and batteries dotted about to enfilade the streets up
which the buccaneers must go.
Morgan and his men, however, vowed to go on, and after resting marched
forward against the city, which, when they approached, opened up a
terrific fire from the batteries, the guns being loaded with pieces of
iron and musket-balls. The cannonade wrought havoc with Morgan’s men,
who, however, pressed forward, nothing daunted, and after a stern fight
lasting three hours, they entered the city, rushing up the streets,
which, guarded by the great guns, swept lanes through their ranks. It
was a case of fighting from barricade to barricade, taking battery
after battery; fighting a way up one street, and then down another. For
three hours the fierce fight went on, and still the buccaneers were
winning.
Then came the end. Gathering his forces, the governor opposed the
pirates gallantly, and a fierce hand-to-hand conflict waged, out of
which the buccaneers came victorious, and the city fell. Morgan had
achieved what he had set out to do. Through the streets the raiders
rushed, killing every soul who opposed them, giving no quarter; and
when the work of blood was done, Morgan called his men together.
He commended them on their gallant fight, and then scared them into
sobriety. He knew what kind of men he had to deal with, and knew that,
if they once fell to the lure of wine, they would be at the mercy of
any small band of Spaniards who might return. Morgan lied to his men.
“All the wine in the city has been poisoned!” he cried. “Drink but one
cup, and you will die!”
Sadly disappointed--for they loved nothing so much as debauchery,
except it were a fight--the buccaneers promised to keep off the drink.
Though some of them in their hearts told themselves that he lied,
they were too scared to try to prove it. So Morgan became leader of a
_sober_ army of buccaneers!
Then there began the looting of the city. The inhabitants had taken the
precaution of removing a great deal of their valuables; but there was
still sufficient left to provide much spoil for the buccaneers, who
ransacked every building in Panama. When all had been taken, Morgan
commanded many of the largest houses to be fired. The people who still
remained in the city had been tortured indescribably to make them
reveal the secret hiding-places of their wealth, and a veritable reign
of terror lasted while the buccaneers remained in Panama.
It was not until February 24, 1671, that Morgan and the remains of his
army evacuated the city; and when they did so they had 175 beasts of
burden laden with gold, silver, and other precious things. They took
600 wretched prisoners with them to sell into slavery.
Truly, they had wrought well from their point of view. Morgan made
every man allow himself to be searched to show that he had nothing
concealed about him when they arrived at Chagre. Then, having sent to
the island of St. Catherine to ask the prisoners he had left there to
ransom the castle, and receiving the reply that the buccaneers could
do just what they pleased with it, Morgan got down to the distribution
of the spoils. In this matter there was some dispute; the buccaneers
accused Morgan of having stolen part of the treasure. They were utterly
discontented with the share of 200 pieces of eight each, knowing full
well that the haul had been large enough to provide more. Morgan
listened to their complaints, kept a still tongue in his head, kept,
too, the treasure, and one night, going aboard his ship secretly,
slipped out to sea, followed only by three or four vessels whose men
were in the plot, and made for Jamaica.
There the buccaneering days of Captain Morgan ended. He changed his
spots, became a law-abiding citizen, received pardon for his misdeeds,
and ended up by receiving a knighthood! Before that great day, however,
he had been Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica. Finally he was made
Governor, with power to put down piracy. And of all the governors of
Jamaica Sir Henry Morgan was the most severe on buccaneers and pirates!
UNDER THE JOLLY ROGER
Thrilling Stories of Pirates
Pirates!
The word conjures up visions of ferocious men with pistol in hand,
knife in mouth, clothes stained with blood, planks run out of a ship’s
side, and unfortunate, blindfolded men being driven to their death;
treasure in galore; high jinks ashore till the call for action came
again.
A pretty picture--perhaps; and only too well founded on fact.
When, in 1689, France and England joined hands in the determination to
sweep the buccaneer from the seas, and to effect this closed all used
harbours to him, the ruffian adopted new methods. As we have seen, the
buccaneers were something of a community, recognised up to a point by
different nations, and the French and English buccaneers waged private
war against the Spaniard. The assumption of so much power, as shown
by Morgan, made the nations anxious, and the result was that when
they decided to put an end to the buccaneer, whether he only attacked
Spaniards or not, that worthy, finding himself a general outcast,
declared against everybody; he became a pirate to whom no ship was
immune.
Previously the scourges of the sea had been able to use frequented
harbours to dispose of their prisoners and treasure; now they found
themselves compelled to find new ports, and these were generally
desert islands. Here they marooned their prisoners, or hid their
treasure against the time when they could come and dig it up.
To take Blackbeard first.
Blackbeard was his nickname, given him because of the long whiskers
that he wore, tied up with ribbons on occasions, if you please!
Altogether Captain Edward Teach, to give him his right name, was a
somewhat picturesque ruffian, with a sling over his shoulders to carry
three brace of pistols, lighted matches under his hat, his beribboned
beard and his flamboyant costume made up of things he had purloined
during his cruises. He began life as a seaman on a privateer, rising
to the command of a sloop in 1716. The sloop, by the way, was a prize
captured by his friend Captain Hornygold, with whom in 1717 Teach
sailed on a voyage down the American mains. After a fairly prosperous
cruise the pirates parted company, Teach having command of a new prize,
a large French Guineaman, and Hornygold going to Providence, where he
surrendered to the King’s mercy, probably having had enough of the
life adventurous and realising that a recent proclamation gave him an
opportunity to leave his profession without sacrificing his life.
Blackbeard, however, was but just beginning, as it were, and he turned
his Guineaman into a formidable fighting ship, mounting forty guns in
her, and giving her the new name of the _Queen Anne’s Revenge_. All
being ready, he sailed, and almost immediately fell in with a large
ship called the _Great Allen_, off the Isle of St. Vincent. He soon
overcame any resistance made, took out of her all that he wanted,
marooned the crew, set fire to the ship, and sent her drifting out to
sea, a flaming testimony to the methods he was going to adopt in his
profession.
A day or so afterwards he came up against a different kind of ship; she
was an English man-o’-war, the _Scarborough_, thirty guns. There was
a fine set-to for some hours, for Teach was nothing loath to accept
a really good scrap when the opportunity arose, especially when, as
in this case, he was stronger than his foe. The guns blared out their
thunderous music, there were some near shaves for boarding; but in the
end the _Scarborough_ found that she had undertaken too big a task,
and sheered off. Mighty pleased, Teach now got swelled head, and felt
himself strong enough for anything, and felt stronger still when,
sailing for the Spanish Main, he joined forces with another pirate,
Major Bonnet, who, finding a planter’s life too monotonous, had taken
to the sea as a gentleman adventurer. Teach soon found out that Bonnet
was no sailorman, and likely to be more bother than he was worth in
command of a ship; so he put one of his comrades named Richards in
command of the sloop and took Bonnet on his own ship. It was no good
Bonnet protesting; Teach spoke, and it _was_! He was an autocrat, this
merry pirate!
The two vessels now put in at Turneffe, near the Gulf of Honduras,
to take in water, and while doing this an unfortunate sloop, the
_Adventure_, came along; whereupon Richards slipped out after her. All
unsuspecting, the _Adventure_ held on. Then came consternation--the
pirate had hoisted the Jolly Roger!
And the _Adventure_ struck and surrendered, which gave Teach another
ship for his little Armada. Then away to Honduras, where they
discovered a large ship, the _Protestant Cæsar_ (Captain Wyar) and four
sloops. Sailing boldly in, the pirates hoisted the black flag, banged
away at the ships, and called upon them to surrender. Immediately Wyar
and his crew took to a boat and raced ashore, leaving the _Protestant
Cæsar_ at the mercy of the pirates, who took possession, and after
rifling her, burnt her, as they did one of the sloops. The other three
they let go.
Leaving Honduras, the pirates sailed about the neighbouring seas,
taking prizes at their will and reaping a rich harvest. Finally,
they came to anchor off the bar at Charlestown, Carolina, where they
continued their depredations, capturing many ships, one of them a
brigantine full of negro slaves. Blackbeard’s sojourn off Charlestown
was nothing more or less than a blockade, and a very effective one;
no ship dared try to enter or leave the port, and the whole trade of
the town was at a standstill, while day by day Teach was adding to the
number of his prizes.
Finding that he stood in need of a medicine-chest, Teach decided that
the best way to get it was to apply to the Governor of Charlestown.
Confident that he held the trump cards in the game, the pirate sent
Richards and two or three other men into Charlestown, sending with them
one named Marks, whom they had taken prisoner on one of the ships.
The pirates landed, swaggered into the town, bearded the authorities
brazenly, and in none too courteous manner told them that they wanted
medicines, and that the council of Carolina must provide them. If they
were not forthcoming, and if the envoys were not allowed to return
unmolested, then Teach threatened that he would burn every one of the
large number of ships he had captured, would kill every man found on
them, and send their heads to the governor.
Mr. Marks interviewed the council, and Richards and his companions
sauntered about the town flaunting the people, who dared not lay a
finger upon them! The council, in a quandary, argued about the matter
amongst themselves; but as the lives of so many people were at stake
(by the way, one of their own number, Mr. Samuel Wragg, was a prisoner
to Teach), they soon came to the conclusion that, however disgraceful
it might be, there was nothing to be done but meet the pirates’
demands. So when the sloop went back it carried a medicine-chest worth
nearly four hundred pounds!
Teach, true to his word, set the prisoners free, rifled the ships of a
small fortune, and then sailed away to North Carolina. Here Blackbeard
put into execution a little plot. He had succeeded in gathering a fine
harvest of riches, and felt that it was a shame to have to share it
with so many folk. He therefore decided to get rid of some of them.
Running his own vessel ashore, while Israel Hands (in the plot with
him) ran one of the sloops ashore as well, the precious pair rowed out
to the third sloop with forty men, took possession of her, and marooned
seventeen of her crew on a small deserted island well away from the
coast. Fortunately for them, Major Bonnet, at this time in command of
another sloop, came up two days later and took them off; otherwise they
would have perished.
Having got rid of some of the crew, Teach now landed and, accompanied
by twenty of his men, called on the governor of North Carolina,
not with the intention of plundering him, but for the purpose of
surrendering under the clement proclamation. Governor Charles Eden gave
him his pardon, and the pirate, now fairly wealthy, soon became friends
with him; so much so that when Blackbeard cast covetous eyes upon one
of the ships he had captured some time before, the governor called the
Court of the Vice-Admiralty, which condemned the vessel as a prize
taken from the Spaniards by Captain Teach. This was straining things
rather, seeing that Teach had never held a commission in the King’s
navy! No doubt Governor Eden made something out of the deal.
Teach’s idea in getting the ship was that he felt the time ripe for
resuming the old life; and he felt that, with a friend at court, he
would have a much easier time of it. So in June, 1718, after having
married a young girl of sixteen (his fourteenth wife, a dozen still
being alive!), Blackbeard put to sea, shaping his course for the
Bermudas. He had a rollicking time for several months, taking rich
prizes, terrorising the captains who traded thereabouts, and going back
to North Carolina occasionally to square things up with the governor,
who was now so far in the ditch that Teach felt strong enough to be
saucy to him--just to teach him his place!