masters on the hill; and though some of them were seized
by our men in the attempt, yet the thirst amongst the enemy was so
pressing that they continued this practice till we left the place. And
now, on this second day, we were assured, both by the deserters and by
these prisoners we took, that the Spaniards on the hill, who were by this
time increased to a formidable number, had resolved to storm the town and
fort the succeeding night, and that one Gordon, a Scotch Papist and
captain of a ship in those seas, was to have the command of this
enterprise. But we, notwithstanding, continued sending off our boats, and
prosecuted our work without the least hurry or precipitation till the
evening; and then a reinforcement was again sent on shore by the
Commodore, and Lieutenant Brett doubled his guards at each of the
barricades; and our posts being connected by means of sentinels placed
within call of each other, and the whole being visited by frequent
rounds, attended with a drum, these marks of our vigilance cooled their
resolution and made them forget the vaunts of the preceding day; so that
we passed the second night with as little molestation as we had done the
first.
We had finished sending the treasure on board the Centurion the evening
before, so that the third morning, being the 15th of November, the boats
were employed in carrying off the most valuable part of the effects that
remained in the town. And the Commodore intending to sail this day, he
about ten o'clock, pursuant to his promise, sent all his prisoners,
amounting to eighty-eight, on shore, giving orders to Lieutenant Brett to
secure them in one of the churches under a strict guard till he was ready
to embark his men.
THE BURNING OF PAITA.
Mr. Brett was at the same time ordered to set the whole town on fire,
except the two churches (which by good fortune stood at some distance
from the other houses), and then he was to abandon the place and to come
on board. These orders were punctually complied with, for Mr. Brett
immediately set his men to work to distribute pitch, tar, and other
combustibles (of which great quantities were found here) into houses
situated in different streets of the town, so that, the place being fired
in many quarters at the same time, the destruction might be more violent
and sudden, and the enemy, after our departure, might not be able to
extinguish it. These preparations being made, he in the next place
ordered the cannon which
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