The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-28

without ransom. The Earl rejected the
offer at once. but told them that as he
took no pleasure in shedding Christian
blood he would receive them to mercy
So he sent them this ultimatum:
"A resolution which you may trust to-
Il am content to give yourself and all
your people their lives; yourself with your
captains and officers to pass with your
arms; all the rest of your soldiers with
their rapiers and daggers only. You shall
all stay here with me till give you pass
age from the island, which shah be within
| thirty days. Any one of you which I shall
choose shall go with me into England. but
snail not stay longer there than one month
but, being wen fitted for the purpose shall
be safely sent home into Spain without,
ransom
Some of the Earls officers suggested
that the men in the fort might noe under
stand English and advised that the ulti-
matum be translated into Spanish but the
liarl said that he would not seek their
language and that they would have to
learn his. They did; and they surrendered.
The English made no attempt to force A
ransom for the island. II was the Earps
design to hold it for his country. 'being
as he said the very key of the West In
dies which locketh and shutteth all tha
gold and silver on the continent and
America and Brazil"
But his design failed on account of tho
climate. The chaplain of the fleet gives
TINS account OF the island: Books had
their glued backs melted or loosened nv
the heat; flowers or fruits candied in Emo
land, lost their crust there and English
comfts grew liquid. The great rains in
July and August were very dangerous Ia
bodies already rarefied by the heat of the
sun then over them, and early in JuIv
more than 200 had died with twice &C.
many sick This convinced the Earl that
it was mot Gods pleasure that this island
as yet should be inhabited by the English.
and he made overtures to the STANDARDS
for ransoming it, The Spaniards entered
into negotiations with their usual design
of delaying things until the English forces
should be weakened so that they could
not enforce their demands Finally the
English found it prudent to sail away. and
they went. after having taken ali the
goods and money that they could find
AT that time Porto Rico was not only an
important port of call, but it was said IN
be wonderfully rich in gold. The English
had heard that Joachim de Luyando a
mint master in the island, had sent Ia tho
King of Spain a mass of pure gold which
was worth $500 ducats and manv times
he had found pieces of pure ore so large
that by merely splitting them he had rnoda
trenchers of gold for use at his table This
man was said to have become 80 rich nat
often he would meet slaves coming into
the city with loads of gold, and ne woI,Id
not know that they were his till they told
him so.
Horses were plentiful then on the island
The chaplain said: There is so iucredthIa
an abundance of them that It is Lawful for
any man to kill what he needeth for tjs
own use If only he be SO honest as 10 brinc,
the skins TO the proper owners. They are
smaller than our English horses. wen
made and well melted but methjnks tbara
are many things lacking in them uyhIat
are ordinary in our English light horses
They are all trotters.