, 1880-06-17
sacking OF Porte Bello.

H Near Dy lS uDe ruAneu caUhearal, oedr-
lag still vestiges of its former beauty.
All the gildpd decorations have been de,
stroyed, and its shrine riaed Of what
ever of value it contained. But some
Of the antique carving yet remains the
marble pavements and the frescoed walls.
Two OF three bells still hang in the di-
lapidated tower, but the resi- lie half
buried at the base. From these bells
q the notes Of warning rang when Nor
gan began that terrific attack that ended
in the sack and ruin Of the city in
1865, While the cannon thundered
from fort and castle, their wild, shrill
peal sounded clear and high amid the.
fnghtful tumuft, sahilhening ailtfor gen,
:, eral defense. At the other extremity
Of the street stands the dismantled fort
:, of Todo Hierro, half hidden by the en-
veloping foliage Of the huge trees that
have taken root in and within its wallis.
Here Morgan began his attack. He
had long had his eye on. this point, the.
fame of whose great wealth attracted,
while the strength Of its fortificationsl
fl seemed to render an assault almost mad-
I'd ness. Under the cover Of night the
bold bucanneer crept up to the very
walls. Before the startled sentinel had
, time to sound the warning a"alerte,
he, was overpowered and brought to
Morgan, who wrung from him valuable
information that led to the capture Of
the city, Then the attack began The
f, roar of cannon and crash of firearms
awakened the slumbering town. From
n the beginning the buccaneers had the
advantage. Soon the assault became
conquest, and turned into slaughter 1t
WIS pitiless butchery. No quarter was
given; the shrieks Of women and chill
dren, mutilated and tortured by the
cruel soldiery rent the air. The COVER
nors castle held out TO the last, the gov.
estior himself never falterihg for an in
,stant At length priets and nuns, torn
from their cloisters, we're forced to the
! van of the attack, bearing scaling lad.
ders, that thus they might drown the fire
Of the castle. Urged onward from the
rear, they were mown down by their
own friends, who did not dare to listen
to their cries for mercy. When the gov
ernorr hims elf fell, covered with wounds,
panic seized his followers, and the city
d, surrendered Internationally. For sew
eral days riot and debauchery reigned
among the buccaneers. The forts were
dismantled, the cathedral and churches
10 were stripped, the wealth of Porto BeIlo
{. pluudered. io,At length, satiated with
their brutal bacchanalie, Morgan and
his men set sail for Jamaica, bearing
with them their spoils, and leay-
ing tnheap of ruins where
once had stood beautiful and pros
porous city. Porto Belo never recov-
cred from that terrible sacking 1t re-
vived little in time, but no sooner had
{ the tide Of prosperity began to set to-,
.rwardlit than down swooped the ravag
ers again, and under Admiral Vernon,
in 1889, gave, it the finishing stroke,
capturing and dismantling it. Thus this
gem of, the coronet OF Spain, torn from
its setting, and trodden under foot by
the marsuders, has With the decline of
powsrsih the parent country, Sunk into
utter ruin. Where once stretched an
open, fertile, country, with broad fields
Of vegetables and grain, with groves of
cocoanuts and pines, where the toll and
activity Of man added beauty and USE
fulness to the gifts Of nature, now, un,
pruned and ungarnered, her very lavish
ness is destruct;on,v and her fertility,
death Decay and Hesolation are writ,
ten everywhere. Against walls and
towers that once stood in stately pride,
now lean the wretched bamboo huts of
the modern Porto Belliana, while the
yiichI merchants of CASTLE and Leon
have been superseded by nfongrel race,
composed Of othe mingled blood Of the
negro, the native and the Spaniard, who
lounge away bheir lives amid the plenti-
tuds OF natgre's providing, witbout
theught efhthe past or d care for the fu-
tnts; content to exist as mere bene6cia n
ries of the land.-Letter to the New
York Times .-.9tg4s