The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1913-09-12

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Spanish days will be woefully dis
appointed by the town as 1t now is.
Romance, commerce, everything at
tractive has fed long ago from that
place and Porto Bello is nothing but
a dirty, immoral little village, full of
low cantinas, slatternly natives and
NANCY ours. At each side of the
town is the ruin OF a Spanish fort,
its picturesqueness marred by fisher
mems nets and the local washing
hung up to dry.
Thus the work of man has decayed,
but Nature is as kind as ever to
Porto Bello. It's bottle-shaped har-
Dor is one Of the prettiest to be
found, with promontories guarding the
entrance. beautiful hills on both
sides and enhancing little rivers
meandering down from the noun
tains and through the jungle into
its upper end. One hill opposite the
town boasts the remains of three I'M
usually interesting Spanish forts.
One is at the waters edge, another
several hundred yards up the slope,
and these two we're once connected
by covered stone stairway the ruins
of which still provide the easiest
means of ascending. On the sum-
NIT Of the hill is the third fort, a
mighty square tower surrounded by
a deep moat. The walls are almost
intact but the roof has fallen in and
the fortress is full of trees and shrub
berry.
With these three forts, two others
protecting the harbor entrance, the
two at the ends of the town and an
other just above it, Porto Bello might
well seem to have been impregnable,
yet 1t was taken twice by the Eng
lish. Sir Francis Drake planned to
capture 1t in 1896, but just as his
ships were about to begin the attack
Drake died and was buried In the
mouth of the harbor. Dispirited by
the loss of their leader, the English
sailed away, but Capt. William Parker
took up the project in 1902. With
two ships he got past the first forts
at night and after desperate fight
captured and sacked the city, carry
ing off 10000 ducts worth of plumber.
The second taking of Porto Bello
was the first notable exploit of Henry
Morgan, the famous buccaneer, as an
independent commander Of a fleet.
Sailing into what is now Colon hSr-
Dor, he took his men up a river in
canoes landed at place called Es-
terra Tonga Lemos and marching
through the jungle, attacked the city
from the rear. First capturing the
castle above the town, he shut the
garrison in one room and blew them
and the fort to pieces with gunpow-
der The governor, the citizens and |
the rest of the soldiers, surprised and |
were soon driven into !
one of the other forts and for hours |
they bravely withstood the assaults |
Of the buccaneers until, as Esquemel- |
ing tells us. Captain Morgan began to
despair Of the whole success of the |
Finally he had a number
Of ladders made and forced the
priests and nuns whom he had cap
Lured to set them up against the
walls. Many of these poor creatures
we're killed by the defenders, but at
last the ladders were placed and the
swarmed up them carrying
ireballs and pots of powder which
hey kindled and hurled among the
Spaniards. The garrison surrendered
1t discretion, but the gallant governor
defended himself so obstinately that
he English were forced to kill him.
Morgan remained in Porto Bello sew
aral weeks, plundering the place and
the citizens to induce them
% reveal the hiding places of their
'iches.
Though an important place in the
Of gold from the west
,oast of South America, Porto Bello
lever was large town, but for sew
raj weeks each year it was very
,opulous, This was at the time of
he annual fair, when the galleous
rom Spain were in the harbor wait
ng for the mule trains to bring the
5old from Panama Then merchants
md adventures from all that part of
he world gathered in the village and
rade was brisk in the big building
low called the custom house, whose
uined walls still are standing. Mer-
drinking and fighting divid-
ID the time until the galleons set sail
or Spain with their golden cargoes.