he sea. Sailing then to their place of rendezvous, the
captors indulged in the wildest and most luxurious orgies, their tables
groaning with strong liquors and rich provisions; gaming, music, and
dancing succeeding; extravagance, debauchery, and profusion of every kind
soon dissipating their blood-bought wealth.

Among the pirate leaders several gained prominence for superior boldness
or cruelty, among whom we may particularly name L'Olonnois, a Frenchman,
of such savage ferocity that all mariners of Spanish birth shuddered with
fear at his very name. This wretch suffered the fate he deserved. In an
expedition to the Isthmus of Darien he was taken prisoner by a band of
savage Indians, who tore him to pieces alive, flung his quivering limbs
into the fire, and then scattered the ashes to the air.

Most renowned of all the buccaneers was Henry Morgan, a native of Wales,
who ran away from home as a boy, was sold as a slave in Barbadoes, and
afterwards joined a pirate crew, in time becoming a leader among the
lawless hordes. By this time the raids of the ferocious buccaneers had
almost put an end to Spanish commerce with the New World, and the daring
freebooters, finding their gains at sea falling off, collected fleets and
made attacks on land, plundering rich towns and laying waste thriving
settlements. So greatly had Spanish courage degenerated that the pirates
with ease put to flight ten times their number of that Spanish soldiery
which, a century before, had been the finest in the world.

The first pirate to make such a raid was Lewis Scott, who sacked the town
of Campeachy, robbing it of all its wealth, and forcing its inhabitants to
pay an enormous ransom. Another named Davies marched inland to Nicaragua,
took and plundered that town, and carried off a rich booty in silver and
precious stones. He afterwards pillaged the city of St. Augustine,
Florida. Others performed similar exploits, but we must confine our
attention to the deeds of Morgan, the boldest and most successful of them
all.

Morgan's first enterprise was directed against Port au Prince, Cuba,
where, however, the Spaniards had received warning and concealed their
treasures, so that the buccaneer gained little for his pains. His next
expedition was against Porto Bello, on the Isthmus, one of the richest and
best fortified of American cities. Two castles, believed to be
impregnable, commanded the entrances to the harbor. When the freebooters
learned that t