Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1913-09-12

aPoga ISs2H0.
i Spanish days will be woefully d,
appointed by the town as it now <
! Romance, commerce, everything Al
| tractive has fled long ago from thai
/ place and Porto Bello is nothing bQ
| a dirty, immoral little village, full d
| low cantinas, slatternly natives and
NANCY ours. At each side Of ti
I town is the ruin Of Spanish fort
lifts picturesqueness marred by fisher
mems nets and the local washing
hung up to dry
1 Thus the work of man has decayei5
but Nature is as kind as ever to
Porto Bello. It's bottle-shaped hr
Dor is one of the prettiest to BE-
found, with promontories guarding the +
entrance, beautiful hills On both
Isides and enhancing little rivers
meandering down from the mOur
tains and through the jungle into
lifts upper end. One hill opposite tA
town boasts the remains OF three IN
usually interesting Spanish forts
One is at the waters edge, anOtha
several hundred yards up the slope
and these two were once CONNECTED
by a covered stone stairway the ruins
OF which still provide the easiest
means of ascending. On the SUN
nit of the hill is the third fort
mighty square tower surrounded By
a deep moat. The walls are almos
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, tho
two at the ends of the town and an
other just above it, Porto Bello might
well seem to have beer ;mpregnabs
yet it was taken twice by the Eng
|lish. Sir Francis Drake planned hI
capture it In 1896, but just as hsl
ships were about to begin the attack
Drake died and was buried in thsl
mouth of the harbor. Dispirited Nl
the loss of their leader, the English
sailed away, but Capt. William Parka
took up the project in 1902. win
two ships he got past tie first foFs
lat night and after a desperate fg4
captured and sacked the city, carry
ling off 10000 ducts worth of plunto'
The second taking Of Porto Bel0
was the first notable exploit of Hem
Morgan, the famous buccaneer, as al
independent commander of a hee'
Sailing into what is now Colon hd
Ibor, he took his men up river
canoes, landed at place called Is
terra Tonga Lemos and marcnlnS
Through the jungle, attacked the clVI
from the rear. First capturing wv
castle above the town, he shut ll'
garrison in one room and blew them
and the fort to pieces with gunpoT.
der. The governor, the citizens anu
the rest Of the soldiers, surprised anu
terror-stricken, were soon driven lhp
one of the other forts and for hOtl'
they bravely withstood the assans
of the buccaneers until, as FsquenVr
ling tells us, Captain Morgan began y
despair of the whole success OF li'
enterprise. Finally he had & nuIlOa
lof ladders made and forced s'
priests and nuns whom he had cay
tured to set them up against 'p'
walls. Many of these poor creataiss
were killed by the defenders, pu' =
last the ladders were placed ana ~
buccaneers swarmed UP them carryils
|freballs and pots of powder VIC
they kindled and hurled among ",
ISpaniards. The garrison SURRENDER.
at discretion, but the gallant govern,
defended himself so obsiinatelg sl.'
the English were forced to XII ni~
Morgan remained in Porto Bello =,
eral weeks, plundering the place ,s's
torturing the citizens to induce tlsh I,
ito reveal the hiding places OF W.
riches. -.
Though an important place III ~
Etransshipment of gold from the w9 w,
coast Oh south America, Iot'O
never was large town, but for ~ -,
eral weeks each year it was W., i
populous. This was at the time - !.
the annual fair, when the gallsoa;t.
from Spain were in the harbor VA a..
ing for the mule trains to brins ~
gold from Panama Then 1nerchap j
and adventures from all that par. !. i
the world gathered in the village :, a., ar
trade was brisk in the big bullo nss
now called the custom house. WIZ ~,
ruined walls still are standing. ,sa
ehandising, drinking and fghtlng y Iii
ed the time until the galleona SCI -
for Spain with their golden catF :