The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1913-09-19

/ Spanish days will be woefuIly dis
| appointed by the town as it now is.
Romance, commerce, everything at
tractive has fed long ago from that
place and Porto Bello is nothing but
dirty. immoral little village, full of
low cantinas, slatternly natives and
NANCY ours. At each side of the
town is the ruin of 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
and these two were 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
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 1t, Porto Bello might
well seem to have been impregnable,
yet 1t was taken twice by the Eng
fish. Sir Francis Drake planned to
capture it in 1895, 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 a 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 feet.
Sailing into what is now Colon har
Dor, he took his men up a river in
canoes. landed at place called Els
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
terror-stricken, were soon driven into
one of the other forts and for hours
they bravely withstood the assaults
OF the buccaneers until, as Esouemel.
ing tells US, Captain Morgan began n
despair of the whole success of tha
enterprise. Finally he had a number
OF ladders made and forced the
priests and nuns whom he had can.
tured to set them up against the
walls. Many of these poor creatures
We're killed by the defenders. but az
last the ladders were placed and the
buccaneers swarmed up them carrving
fireballs and pots of powder which
they kindled and hurled among the
Spaniards The garrison surrendered
at discretion. but the gallant governor
defended himself so obstinatelv that
the English were forced to kill him
Morgan remained in Porto Bello sew.
eral weeks, plundering the place and
torturing the citizens to induce them
to reveal the hiding places of their
riches.
Though an important place in the
transshipment of gold from the west
coast of Sou.a America, Porto ReIo
never was large town. but for sew.
erai weeks each year it was very
populous- This was at the time Of
the annual fair, when the galleons
from Spain were in the harbor wait
ing for the mule trains to bring the
gold from Panama. Then merchants
and Adventures from all that part of
The world gathered in the village and
trade was brisk in the big building
now called the custom house. whose
'uined walls still are standing. nj :
handising. drinking and fighting divid.
ID the time until the galleons set SAN
or Spain with their golden cargoes.