ceded by a trumpet that sounded
marvellously well." They rode up "almost within musket-shot," but made
no attempt to draw the pirates' fire. They "hallooed aloud to the
Pirates, and threatened them," with "Hey, ye dogs, we shall meet ye," in
the manner of the Indians. Seven or eight of them stayed "hovering
thereabouts," riding along the camp until the day broke, to watch the
pirates' movements. As soon as their main body reached the town, and
reported what they had seen, the Governor ordered the city guns to open
on the pirates' camp. The biggest guns at once began a heavy fire, from
which one or two spent balls rolled slowly to the outposts without doing
any damage. At the same time, a strong party took up a position to the
rear of the camp, as though to cut off the retreat.

Morgan placed his sentries, and sent his men to supper. They feasted
merrily on their "pieces of bulls' and horses' flesh," and then lay down
on the grass to smoke a pipe of tobacco before turning in. That last
night's camp was peaceful and beautiful: the men were fed and near their
quarry, the sun had dried their wet clothes; the night was fine, the
stars shone, the Panama guns were harmless. They slept "with great
repose and huge satisfaction," careless of the chance of battle, and
anxious for the fight to begin.

PANAMA

Old Panama, the chief Spanish city in South America, with the one
exception of Cartagena, was built along the sea-beach, fronting the bay
of Panama, between the rivers Gallinero and Matasnillos. It was founded
between 1518 and 1520 by Pedrarias Davila, a poor adventurer, who came
to the Spanish Indies to supersede Balboa, having at that time "nothing
but a sword and buckler." Davila gave it the name of an Indian village
then standing on the site. The name means "abounding in fish." It soon
became the chief commercial city in those parts, for all the gold and
silver and precious merchandise of Peru and Chili were collected there
for transport to Porto Bello. At the time of Morgan's attack upon it, it
contained some 7000 houses, with a number of huts and hovels for the
slaves. The population, counting these latter, may have been as great as
30,000. Many of the houses were of extreme beauty, being built of an
aromatic rose wood, or "native cedar," ingeniously carved. Many were
built of stone in a Moorish fashion, with projecting upper storeys. It
had several stone monasteries and convents, and a great cathedral,
dedicated to