MORGAN AND HIS ROAD TO FAME
“Ugh!” exclaimed Jack, as his father ceased speaking. “Wasn’t he the
most awful creature! Gosh, I always thought the buccaneers were brave
men and heroes.”
“There is no question of their bravery,” replied Mr. Bickford, “and
L’Ollonois was an exceptionally cruel villain. But as a rule the
buccaneers were no more cruel or bloodthirsty than the Spaniards or
even their more respectable countrymen. You must remember that human
standards have changed a great deal since the days of the buccaneers.
In their time human life was held very cheaply. The theft of a few
cents’ worth of merchandise was punishable by death. Men and women had
their ears cut off, their tongues pierced or their eyes put out for
most trivial crimes, and torture by rack, wheel or fire was considered
a perfectly legitimate means of securing confessions of guilt from
suspected persons. We must not therefore judge the buccaneers too
harshly. To us they appear inhuman monsters, but in their days they
were no worse than the usual run of men. Moreover, you must remember
that their crews were made up of the roughest, toughest element.
Renegades, fugitives from justice, criminals, cut-throats and thieves,
and that they looked upon the Spaniards as natural enemies and worthy
of no more pity or consideration than wild beasts. Finally, consider
the temptation that ever spurred them on and excited their passions and
their worst instincts. Gold and riches were to be had for the taking,
the Dons were legitimate prey, and they were beyond the pale of the
law, if not actually protected by the authorities. Take a crowd of
sailors to-day, give them arms and a ship, and license to kill, rob and
destroy, and you would find them as reckless, as cruel and as devilish
as the old buccaneers, if not more so. And much of their success
depended upon the reputation they had for cruelty. The very mention of
some of the more famous pirates’ names would create a panic among the
Dons and make victory comparatively easy, and for this reason the
buccaneers practiced cruelties that were absolutely uncalled for, but
which they looked upon as a part of their profession.”
“It seems to me the Spaniards were awful cowards,” said Fred, as his
uncle paused. “They were always licked by the buccaneers, although
there were more of them.”
“That’s a great mistake,” Mr. Bickford assured him. “In nearly every
case the Spaniards showed marvelous bravery and courage in resisting
the buccaneers and in several instances their courage was absolutely
heroic. Very often they refused to surrender until every man fell, and
time and time again their commanders committed suicide when they found
that resistance was hopeless. But they were fearfully handicapped. The
buccaneers knew beforehand just what to expect and the strength of the
garrisons, they usually attacked at night and they invariably surprised
the Dons. The Spaniards had no idea how many men were attacking, and
they were packed together in forts, stockades or towns, while the
buccaneers could scatter, could seek the shelter of trees or buildings
and were constantly on the move. Finally, the buccaneers were expert
marksmen, trained woodsmen and were absolutely reckless of life and
limb while, in addition, the Spaniards knew that the more valiantly
they resisted the less quarter they would receive in the end. Perhaps
there are no better examples of the Spaniards’ bravery than that shown
by the garrisons of Porto Bello and of San Lorenzo, which were taken by
Sir Henry Morgan, the most famous of the buccaneers.”
“Oh, do tell us about him!” cried the two boys in unison.
“Very well,” laughed Mr. Bickford. “But I’m afraid your ideals will be
rudely shattered when you learn the truth of Morgan, and before I tell
you of his most famous exploits let me ask you a question. Have you any
idea how long Morgan was a buccaneer or how long his career of fame
lasted?”
“Why, no,” replied Jack. “I never thought about it, but I suppose it
was years and years.”
“I thought he was a buccaneer all his life,” declared Fred.
Mr. Bickford smiled. “Nearly all the famous buccaneers led short lives
and merry ones,” he said. “But of them all I think the famous Morgan’s
career was the shortest. From the time he first came into notice as a
corsair until he dropped out of sight was barely five years, and all
his most famous or rather infamous exploits took place within a space
of three years.”
“Jiminy, he must have been a fast worker!” exclaimed Jack.
“Yes, he was what you might call a ‘hustler,’” laughed his father. “And
it undoubtedly was the speed with which he carried out his nefarious
projects that made him successful to a large extent. But like many
another famous man, Morgan’s deeds have been greatly exaggerated, and
his real character was very different from that we are accustomed to
attribute to him, for romance, imagination and fiction have, through
the passing years, surrounded him with a halo of false gallantry,
bravery and decency. In reality Morgan was an ignorant, unprincipled,
ruthless, despicable character, utterly selfish and heartless,
dishonorable and with scarcely a redeeming trait, aside from personal
courage. But like many of the buccaneers he displayed most remarkable
and contradictory traits at times. It is said that whenever a priest or
minister fell into his clutches he compelled the clergyman to hold
divine services on the ship, and that on more than one occasion, he
shot down his own men for not attending service or for disrespectful
behavior during a religious ceremony. What became of the unfortunate
clerics after Morgan was done with them is not recorded, but the
chances are that he compelled them to walk the plank or put an end to
their careers in some equally summary manner, for that was ‘Harry
Morgan’s way,’ as he was fond of saying.”
“But tell me, Dad,” asked Jack, “did the buccaneers always kill or
torture their prisoners?”
“No,” his father assured him. “As a rule they treated their prisoners
with consideration. Some of the more bloodthirsty tortured and
butchered them out of hand, but in most cases the prisoners were either
held for ransom or were set ashore or turned loose in boats. It was, in
a way, to the buccaneers’ advantage to give quarter, for they knew that
in case any of their number fell into the Spaniards’ hands they would
be treated according to the way they had treated Spanish captives—or
perhaps worse—for the Dons were past masters in the art of devising
most atrocious tortures.
“And before I tell you of Morgan and his deeds let me point out one or
two other matters which will help you to understand much that would
otherwise puzzle you boys and which is little known. In several
places—as in the Isle of Pines off Cuba—the Spaniards were friendly
with the buccaneers and gladly aided them, while the corsairs made it a
point always to pacify and maintain friendly relations with the
Indians. This was a most important matter for them. All along the South
and Central American coasts were Indian tribes, and the buccaneers
depended very largely upon the red men for provisions, canoes and
guides. The Indians hated the Dons and willingly joined the buccaneers
against them, and even the most savage tribesmen usually welcomed the
freebooters and helped them in every way. Moreover, they knew the
country and were most valuable as guides and pilots, and there are
innumerable records of the buccaneers showing the greatest forbearance
towards the savages. Even when they were attacked by Indians with whom
they had not established relations they refrained from retaliating, but
either propitiated the natives or moved bag and baggage from the
locality, and the most severe punishment was meted out to the
buccaneers by their leaders if they molested the Indians or interfered
with them in any way. As a result, many of their greatest triumphs were
made possible by their Indian allies.
“But to return to Morgan. He was, by birth, a Welshman, the son of a
well-to-do farmer, but his imagination being fired by tales of
adventure in the West Indies he ran away from home and reached Bristol
with the intention of shipping on a vessel bound to Barbados. But young
Morgan knew little of what was to befall him. According to a common
custom of those days the master of the ship sold him as a bond servant,
or in other words a slave, as soon as the ship reached Barbados, and
the embryo buccaneer found himself far worse off than as a farmer’s boy
in Wales. Nevertheless, he served his time, secured his liberty and
made his way to Jamaica, which was then the headquarters of the English
buccaneers.
“And now let me digress a bit and explain how a British colony happened
to be a notorious lair of the buccaneers. You remember that I told you
about Tortuga and how the British and French freebooters had disputes
and dissensions and that the English corsairs transferred their
headquarters to Port Royal, Jamaica. At that time, you must remember,
Spain and England were at war, and the British authorities gladly gave
commissions as privateers to the buccaneer leaders. Thus they were
looked upon, not as pirates, but as auxiliaries of the British navy,
and even after peace was declared and they continued to prey upon the
Spaniards, the authorities winked at them. They brought vast sums to
the island ports, spent it recklessly and freely, and disposed of the
merchandise they had taken for a mere song. As a result, the ports
prospered and became rich through their dealings with the buccaneers;
merchants and traders did a lively business, shipyards and outfitting
shops sprang into existence; drinking places, gambling houses and every
form of vice catered to the corsairs and thrived amazingly, and every
one prospered. The buccaneers thus had safe refuges where they could
spend their loot, refit their ships and organize their expeditions, and
they were careful not to molest or injure the inhabitants or their
property. Indeed, Jamaica’s prosperity was largely built upon the trade
with the corsairs, and not until infamous Port Royal was utterly
destroyed by an earthquake on June 7, 1692, and the ‘wickedest city in
the world’ slid bodily into the sea, with all its riches and over three
thousand of its inhabitants, did it cease to be a clearing house, a
gigantic ‘fence’ and a haven for the buccaneers. Then the few
survivors, frightened, feeling that the wrath of God and His vengeance
for their wickedness had been visited upon them, moved across the bay
and founded the present city of Kingston and paved the way for a
respectable and honest development of the island.”
“Gosh, I should think some one would go down there and get back all
that treasure!” exclaimed Fred.
“It’s rather strange that no one has attempted it,” said Mr. Bickford.
“The water is not deep—in calm weather the outlines of the ruins may
still be traced under the sea—and the native colored folk tell weird
tales of ghostly pirate ships tacking back and forth at dead of night,
striving to find the lost port; of the bells of the pirates’ church
tolling through storms from beneath the waves, and of spectral figures
walking the beach and gazing seaward as though awaiting ships that
never come.”
“Did the buccaneers have a church?” cried Jack in surprise.
“I don’t wonder you ask,” replied his father. “Yes, that was one of the
odd things about them. Altogether the buccaneers were most paradoxical
rascals. With all their villainies many of them were deeply religious
at times and there are instances—as I shall tell you later—of crews
actually mutinying because their captains made them work on Sunday and
did not hold services aboard their ships. They seemed to feel that
their notoriously wicked stronghold at Port Royal was not complete
without a church and so they built one. They fitted it with bells taken
from some raided church of the Dons, they provided altar pieces,
vestments, candelabra and holy vessels of gold and silver, chalices set
with priceless jewels, even paintings and tapestries torn and looted
from the desecrated churches and cathedrals of the Spanish towns, and
attended services in a house of God made a mockery and a blasphemy by
its fittings won by blood and fire and the murder of innocent men,
women and children.
“And it was to this den of iniquity, this world-famed lair of the
buccaneers, that young Morgan came after gaining his liberty in
Barbados. Perhaps he had no idea of turning corsair and intended to get
honest employment or even to make his way back to his father’s farm in
Wales. But whatever his purpose may have been he found no ready means
of earning a livelihood and enlisted as a seaman on a buccaneer ship.
He was an apt pupil and was thrifty, and after the first two or three
voyages he had saved enough money from his share of plunder to purchase
a ship, or rather a controlling interest in one. He now was a
full-fledged buccaneer captain and in his own vessel set sail for
Yucatan, where he took several prizes and returned triumphantly to
Jamaica. Here he met an old corsair named Mansvelt, who was busy
organizing an expedition to pillage the towns along the Main, and
Mansvelt, seeing in Morgan a most promising young villain, offered him
the post of Vice Admiral of his fleet. With fifteen ships and five
hundred men, Mansvelt and Morgan sailed away from Port Royal and swept
down on the island of Old Providence—then known as St. Catherine—off
the Costa Rican coast, and which at the time was strongly garrisoned by
the Spaniards. After a short battle the island surrendered, and the
buccaneers, after plundering the place, destroying the forts and
burning the houses, sailed off with their holds crowded with prisoners.
These they put safely ashore near Porto Bello and then cruised along
the coasts of Panama and Costa Rica. The Dons, however, were everywhere
on the lookout and every town swarmed with troops. Realizing that an
attempt to take the places would be well nigh useless the buccaneers
returned to St. Catherine, where they had left one hundred of their
men, to find that the buccaneer in charge—Le Sieur Simon—had repaired
the forts and defenses until the place was well nigh impregnable.
Mansvelt’s idea was to retain the island as a basis for piratical raids
against the mainland, but he realized that he could not expect to hold
it with his handful of men, so he set out for Jamaica to enlist the aid
of the governor. His Excellency, however, frowned on the proposal. Not
that he was unwilling to aid his buccaneer friends, but he realized
that any such overt act must reach the ears of His Majesty the King
and, moreover, he could ill spare the necessary men and guns from the
garrison at Jamaica. Not despairing of carrying out his project,
Mansvelt made for Tortuga with the idea of getting help from the
French, but before he arrived he died. Meanwhile the buccaneers at St.
Catherine realized their reënforcements were not forthcoming and
decided to abandon the place, but before this could be done they were
attacked by a superior force of Spaniards and surrendered. Evidently,
too, the wily Governor of Jamaica had been thinking over the matter and
surreptitiously dispatched a party of men and a number of women in a
British ship to St. Catherine. Never suspecting that the isle had
fallen into the Dons’ hands they sailed boldly in and were made
prisoners and were transported to Porto Bello and Panama, where the men
were forced to labor like slaves at constructing fortifications.
“Morgan now, by Mansvelt’s death, was in command of the fleet, and with
the idea of carrying out his former chief’s intentions he wrote letters
to various prominent merchants in New England and Virginia, asking for
funds and supplies to enable him to retain possession of St. Catherine.
Before replies were received, however, he had word of the recapture of
the island by the Spaniards and, abandoning this project, set out for
Cuba. His original idea was to attack Havana, but deeming his force of
twelve ships and seven hundred men too small for this he decided upon
Puerto Príncipe—now known as Camagüey—as the town to ravage. This town,
which had originally been upon the northern coast of Cuba, had been
moved inland to escape the raids of the buccaneers, but this fact did
not deter Morgan in the least. Landing upon the coast, Morgan and his
men started overland, but unknown to them a Spanish prisoner on one of
the ships had managed to escape and, swimming ashore, had made his way
to the town and had warned the inhabitants. As a result, the people
were up in arms, the roads were barricaded, and the buccaneers were
forced to approach through the jungle.
“After a short but bloody battle the buccaneers gained the town, but
the Dons, barricaded in their houses, kept up a galling fire until
Morgan sent word that unless they surrendered he would burn the city
and cut the women and children to pieces before the Spaniards’ eyes.
This threat had its effect, and the Dons at once surrendered. Thereupon
Morgan immediately imprisoned all the Spaniards in the churches without
food or drink, and proceeded to pillage, drink and carouse. These
diversions they varied by dragging forth the half-starved prisoners and
torturing them to make them divulge the hiding places of their wealth,
but fortunately for the poor people, the majority of women and children
perished for want of food before Morgan and his men could wreak more
terrible deaths upon them. Finally, finding nothing more could be
secured, Morgan informed the survivors of the citizens that unless they
paid a large ransom he would transport them to Jamaica to be sold as
slaves and would burn the town. The Dons promised to do their best, but
finally, feeling convinced that they could not raise the sum and that
to remain longer in the vicinity might result in disaster, Morgan
consented to withdraw upon delivery of five hundred head of cattle.
These being furnished, he compelled the prisoners to drive the beasts
to the coast and to butcher, dress and salt them and load the meat
aboard his ships. While this was going on Morgan exhibited one of his
odd kinks of character which were always creeping out. One of the
French buccaneers was busily cutting up and salting an ox for his own
use when an English corsair came up and calmly took possession of the
marrow bones. Words and insults resulted, a challenge was issued and a
duel arranged, but as they reached the spot selected for the fight the
Englishman drew his cutlass and stabbed the Frenchman in the back,
killing him treacherously. Instantly the other French buccaneers
started an insurrection, but before it had gone far Morgan interposed,
ordered the offending Englishman chained and promised to have him
hanged when they reached Jamaica, which he did.
“The taking of Puerto Príncipe, although a notable exploit, was,
nevertheless, a most unprofitable venture, the entire booty obtained
amounting to barely fifty thousand pieces of eight. As a result, the
men were so dissatisfied that the French buccaneers refused to follow
Morgan farther. Morgan’s next exploit was the most daring that the
buccaneers had ever attempted, for it was nothing more or less than an
attack upon the supposedly impregnable forts of Porto Bello, the
Atlantic terminus of the Gold Road across the Isthmus of Panama.”
“Please, Dad, what was the Gold Road?” asked Jack, as his father
paused.
“The Gold Road,” answered his father, “was the roughly paved highway
leading from the old city of Panama on the Pacific to Nombre de Dios
and Porto Bello on the Caribbean. If you will look at the map here you
will see Porto Bello situated about twenty-five miles east of Colón
with Nombre de Dios just beyond. Nombre de Dios, however, was abandoned
after its capture by Sir Francis Drake, and the terminus of the road
became Porto Bello. To-day the place is of no importance—a small
village of native huts—but the ruins of the old castles and forts are
still standing in a good state of preservation, and the place is
historically very interesting. Moreover, just off the port Sir Francis
Drake’s body was buried at sea. But to resume. The Gold Road was the
only route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and over it all the vast
treasures won by the Spaniards from the west coasts of North, South and
Central America and Mexico were transported on mule-back to be shipped
to Spain. Over it were carried the millions in gold, silver and jewels
of the Incas; over it was carried the output of countless fabulously
rich mines, incalculable wealth in pearls from the islands off Panama,
emeralds from Colombia, bullion and plate, the stupendous wealth
wrested by the ruthless Dons from Indian princes, princesses and kings;
such a treasure as the world had never seen before. In long mule trains
the vast wealth was carried over the Gold Road through the jungle,
escorted by armed men, accompanied by shackled slaves, and in Porto
Bello it was stored in the great stone treasure house to await the
galleons and their armed convoy to carry it to Spain. Naturally, with
such incredible fortunes stored in Porto Bello, the Spaniards used
every effort and spared no expense to make the place so impregnable
that there was no chance of its falling to the buccaneers, and in all
New Spain, aside from Havana, there was no spot more strongly fortified
and garrisoned than Porto Bello. The defenses consisted of two immense
castles or forts, several batteries and outlying bastions and a
garrison of nearly four hundred men, all seasoned veterans and heavily
armed. To attack this formidable spot Morgan had nine vessels, several
of them small boats, and a total force of four hundred and sixty men.
No buccaneer had dreamed of attacking Porto Bello since the completion
of its defenses—although in 1602 it had been taken and sacked by
William Parker—but Morgan counted on a complete surprise, an assault
made under cover of darkness from the land side and conducted by one of
his men who had once been a prisoner in Porto Bello.
“Arriving at the River Naos, they traveled upstream a short distance
and then struck out through the forest. As they neared the city, Morgan
sent the former prisoner of the Spaniards, with several men, to kill or
capture the sentry at the outlying fort, and, creeping upon him, they
made him a prisoner before he could give an alarm and brought him bound
and gagged to Morgan. Under threat of torture and death if he gave an
alarm, the fellow was marched before the buccaneers and, without being
seen, they surrounded the first fort. Their prisoner was then ordered
to call to the garrison, tell them an overwhelming force had surrounded
them and advise them to surrender or otherwise they would be butchered
without mercy. The garrison, however, spurned the advice and instantly
commenced firing into the darkness. Although their shots did little
damage, yet they served to arouse the city and prepare the other forces
for the attack. With wild yells and shouts the battle was on, and
although the Dons fought most valiantly the outlying fort fell to the
buccaneers, and Morgan, as good as his word, put every living occupant
to death, thinking this would terrorize the other garrisons. In order
to do this the more effectually, Morgan shut the survivors, men and
officers together, in a store-room and, rolling in several kegs of
powder, blew the entire company to bits. Then, like fiends, he and his
men rushed towards the city. All was confusion, despite the warning the
Spaniards had received, and the inhabitants, who had not had time to
reach the protection of the forts, rushed screaming hither and thither,
casting their valuables into wells and cisterns, hiding in corners and
filled with terror. Bursting into the cloisters, the buccaneers dragged
out the monks and nuns and urging them with blows and pricks of their
swords, forced them to raise the heavy scaling ladders to the walls of
the forts, Morgan thinking that the Dons would not fire upon the
religious men and women. But in this he was mistaken. The Governor, who
throughout had been stoutly defending the castle, had held his own and
had wrought terrific execution upon the buccaneers. Time after time the
corsairs rushed forward through the storm of bullets and round shot,
striving to reach the castle doors, but each time the Dons hurled
grenades, burning tar, hot oil and molten lead upon them and drove them
back. And when Morgan threatened to force the nuns and priests to place
the ladders the brave old Governor replied that ‘never would he
surrender while he lived,’ and that he ‘would perform his duty at any
costs.’ Despite the piteous appeals of the friars and the nuns as they
were beaten forward to the walls, the Governor gave no heed and ordered
his men to shoot them down as though they were buccaneers. Carrying
fireballs and grenades which they heaved among the garrison, the
buccaneers poured over the parapets. Knowing all was lost, the soldiers
threw down their arms and begged for quarter, but the courageous
Governor, sword in hand, backed against a wall and prepared to resist
until the last. Even the buccaneers were won by his bravery and offered
quarter if he would surrender, but his only answer was to taunt them
and shout back that, ‘I would rather die a valiant soldier than be
hanged as a coward.’
“So struck was Morgan by the man’s heroism that he ordered his men to
take him alive, and over and over again they closed in upon him. But he
was a magnificent swordsman; before his thrusts and blows the
buccaneers fell wounded and dead, and deaf to the entreaties of his
wife and children, the brave man fought on. At last, finding it
impossible to make him prisoner, Morgan ordered him to be shot down,
and the brave old Don fell, with his blood-stained sword, among the
ring of buccaneers he had killed. The castle was now in Morgan’s hands,
and, gathering together the wounded Spaniards, he callously tossed them
into a small room, ‘to the intent their own complaints might be the
cure of their hurts, for no other was afforded them,’ as Esquemeling
puts it.
“Then, devoting themselves to a wild orgy of feasting and drinking, the
buccaneers gave themselves up to debauchery and excesses until, as
Esquemeling points out, they were so maudlin that ‘fifty men might
easily have taken the city and killed all the buccaneers.’ But
unfortunately the fifty men were not available, and on the following
day as usual the buccaneers proceeded to loot the town and torture the
people into confessions of the hiding places of their riches. Many died
on the rack or were torn to pieces, and while the buccaneers were
practicing every devilish cruelty they could invent, word of the taking
of Porto Bello had been carried by fugitives to the governor of Panama.
He immediately prepared to equip an expedition to attack the
buccaneers, but before it arrived Morgan was getting ready to leave,
having been in possession of Porto Bello fifteen days. Before
departing, however, he sent word to the Governor General, demanding a
ransom of one hundred thousand pieces of eight if he did not wish Porto
Bello burned and destroyed. Instead of sending the ransom, the Governor
dispatched a force of armed men to attack the buccaneers. This Morgan
had expected, and, stationing a hundred of his men in ambush in a
narrow pass, he put the Spaniards to rout and repeated his threats to
the people of the unfortunate town. By hook and by crook the
inhabitants managed to raise the huge sum, and Morgan commenced his
evacuation in accordance with his promise.
“As he was doing so a messenger arrived from the Governor General
bearing a letter requesting Morgan to send him ‘some small pattern of
the arms wherewith he had, by such violence, taken a great city.’
Evidently the Governor imagined that the buccaneers possessed some
novel or marvelous arms, for he could not believe that the place had
fallen to the English through ordinary means. Morgan received the
messenger courteously and with a flash of grim humor handed him a
pistol and a few bullets, telling him to carry them to the Governor and
to inform him that ‘he desired him to accept that slender pattern of
arms wherewith he had taken Porto Bello and to keep them for a
twelvemonth, after which time he would come in person to Panama and
fetch them away.’
“Evidently, too, the haughty old Governor had a sense of humor, for ere
Morgan sailed away the messenger returned, bearing a message of thanks
from the Governor, a gold ring which he was requested to accept with
His Excellency’s compliments and a letter stating that Morgan ‘need not
give himself the trouble of visiting Panama, for he could promise that
he should not speed as well there as he had at Porto Bello.’
“With the vast loot he had won, a treasure amounting to a quarter of a
million pieces of eight, thousands of bales of silks, vast stores of
merchandise and fabulous sums in bullion, plate and jewels, Morgan left
the harried shores of Panama and set sail for Port Royal, where he
arrived in safety and was welcomed and lauded as the greatest buccaneer
of them all.”