ed her deck with
fireworks and with dried palm leaves soaked in tar. They cut her
outworks down, so that the fire might more quickly spread to the enemy's
ship at the moment of explosion. They broke open some new gun-ports, in
which they placed small drums, "of which the negroes make use."
"Finally, the decks were handsomely beset with many pieces of wood
dressed up in the shape of men with hats or monteras, and likewise armed
with swords, muskets, and bandoliers." The plunder was then divided
among the other vessels of the squadron. A guard of musketeers was
placed over the prisoners, and the pirates then set sail towards the
passage. The fireship went in advance, with orders to fall foul of the
_Spanish Admiral_, a ship of forty guns.

[Illustration: THE FIRESHIP DESTROYING THE SPANISH ADMIRAL
CASTLE DE LA BARRA IN BACKGROUND]

When it grew dark they anchored for the night, with sentinels on each
ship keeping vigilant watch. They were close to the entry, almost within
shot of the Spaniards, and they half expected to be boarded in the
darkness. At dawn they got their anchors, and set sail towards the
Spaniards, who at once unmoored, and beat to quarters. In a few minutes
the fireship ran into the man-of-war, "and grappled to her sides" with
kedges thrown into her shrouds. The Spaniards left their guns, and
strove to thrust her away, but the fire spread so rapidly that they
could not do so. The flames caught the warship's sails, and ran along
her sides with such fury that her men had hardly time to get away from
her before she blew her bows out, and went to the bottom. The second
ship made no attempt to engage: her crew ran her ashore, and deserted,
leaving her bilged in shallow water. As the pirates rowed towards the
wreck some of the deserters hurried back to fire her. The third ship
struck her colours without fighting.

Seeing their advantage a number of the pirates landed to attack the
castle, where the shipwrecked Spaniards were rallying. A great skirmish
followed, in which the pirates lost more men than had been lost at Porto
Bello. They were driven off with heavy loss, though they continued to
annoy the fort with musket fire till the evening. As it grew dark they
returned to Maracaibo, leaving one of their ships to watch the fortress
and to recover treasure from the sunken flagship. Morgan now wrote to
the Spanish admiral, demanding a ransom for the town. The citizens were
anxious to get rid of him at any