The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1915-10-12
DARING DEEDS OF MORGAN, THE
FAMOUS BUCCANEER, IN THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.
GREAT WERE PRIZES OF LOOT

That prince of buccaneers, Sir
Henry Morgan, who won title by
able work at piracy, has long since
ceased to sail and his name is only
a whisper in the southern seas TO-
day.
He wasn't Sir Henry to begin
with-just plain Henry Morgan, son
of a Welsh farmer, and he ran away
to sea. The sailing master with whom
he sailed sold him into bondage IN
America at the end of the voyage.
An active lad like Henry, however,
soon succeeded in getting away from
the sweaty bonds of toll, escaped
from Barbaroes and went to Jamaica.
There he started in the buccaneer-
ing business and eventually demon
strated what W. S. Gilbert later an
nounced: 1T is a glorious thing to
be a pirate king.
You must understand that piracy
or buccaneering, az it was called
was a much more respectable calling
in the 18th century than it is today.
Spain was the natural enemy OF ENG
land. and it was considered perfectly
good form to rob and murder Span
lard wherever you found him, wheth-
or England happened to be officially
at war with Spain or not. There
might be times of peace between his
most Catholic majesty and the King
of England on the other side OF the
Atlantic, but in America the two ma
lions were always at war.
A Pirate Captain Bold.
Henry Morgan, after trip or
two on other mems ships and thriftily
saving his share of the booty, went
in with a number of other ambitious
Young pirates and bought snip OF
his own. He was elected captain ana
from that day on Henry Morgan con-
tinued to be captain of every eXpedl-
ton he attended.
His first big success came at Porto
Bello. Porto Bello was large Span
ish town in Panama, whence the
treasure ships sailed every year for
Spain. 1t was strongly tortlhed Dy
two castles, one on either side OF the
harbor mouth, and had it been pre-
pared would have been almost I'M
possible to capture. But Morgan TOOK
the place by surprise. When ne leLi
Jamaica with a fleet OF nine small
ships, carrying 400 rufiians OF assort'
ed races he did not tell even his cap
tains of his destination A secre
wasn't a secret if more than one man
knew it, the astute captain believed
Not until the coast of Central Amer
lea was reached did he pass around
the word that Porto Bello was to be
taken.
The ships themselves were left in
a harbor some miles from Porto Bel
10, and, under cover OF dusk, the pl
rates moved stealthily upon The
doomed town in long boats and ca
noes. At midnight, when no human
sound disturbed the chorus of the
southern jungle, they reached Porte
Bello They seized a Spanish sen
try-so swiftly and SO effectually die
they gag him that he had no chance
to cry out or to fire his tiintlock.
Brandishing their long knives the.
made him describe to them all the
defenses of the city. Then the pi
rates surrounded one of the castle
which guarded the town and com
manded the garriSon to surrender
lest they should every one be put Il
death The Spaniards replied with
volley and the fight began.
The Fan OF Porto BeiiO.
In a short time Morgan's men ha,
battered down the defense and Wer
swarming through the castle. Al
the Spanish officers and soldiers VIII
were not slain at once were shut u
in one great room and then the pow
der magazine was fired. Not Span
lard escaped.
But this was only one of man
castles. The fighting continued fror
dawn to noon of the next day. TIL
Spaniards defended themselves sal
lantly When Morgan's men tried t
set fire to the doors of their castle
they hurled great stones and home
made bombs, and earthen jars packe
with powder down upon them.
The governor of the town com
manded the last castle that fell MOI
gan tried time and again to take it
then he had great ladders built, 5
wide that three or four men couI
scale a ladder at once. These h
forced the nuns and monks whoI
he had captured in Porto BellO t
drag up and place against the wal
He did not believe the Spanish gov
ernoT would kill these people. Blu
the old Spanish governor was a hOn
hearted a fighter as Henry Morga
himself. He killed the monks an
nuns unhesitatingly rather than slac
his defense. They called to him pit
eously begging him to surrender an
save their lives and his own. He Onl
ordered the fighting to be redOut
led. But at last the ladders wer
placed, with tumbled heaps of priest
and nuns prone at their feet.
A Gallant Spaniard.
Then the pirates" runs an oil
account written by one of their nun
ber. mounted in great number an
with not less valor, having freball
IN their hands and earthen pots flu
81 powder; all of which things. bein
now at the top of the walls. the
Flndled and cast in among the Spar
iards