y built of stone
and richly furnished. Walls surrounded the city, which was well prepared
for defence. It was the emporium for the precious metals of Peru and
Mexico, two thousand mules being kept for the transportation of those rich
ores. It was also the seat of a great trade in negro slaves, for the
supply of Chili and Peru. The merchants of the place lived in great
opulence and the churches were magnificently adorned, the chief among them
being a handsome cathedral. Beautiful paintings and other costly works of
art ornamented the principal dwellings, and everything concurred to add to
the importance and beauty of the place.

A century earlier Sir Francis Drake had led his men near enough to Panama
to behold the distant sea from the top of a high tree. But he had
contented himself with waylaying and plundering a mule-train laden with
treasure, and in 1670 it seemed the act of madness for a horde of
freebooters to attack the city itself. Yet this was what the daring Morgan
designed to do.

The first thing to be done was to capture Fort St. Laurent, a strong place
on an almost inaccessible hill, near the banks of the Chagres River. Four
ships, with four hundred men, were sent against this fort, which was
vigorously defended by its garrison, but was taken at length by the
expedient of firing the palisades and buildings of the fort--composed of
light wood--by means of burning arrows. The assailants suffered heavily,
losing more than half their force, while of the garrison only twenty-four
were taken, many of the others having leaped from the walls into the
river, preferring death to capture by their ferocious foes. From the
prisoners it was learned that the people of Panama were not ignorant of
Morgan's purpose, and that the threatened city was defended by more than
three thousand men.

As the remainder of the fleet drew near, the freebooters, seeing the
English flag flying on the fort, manifested their joy by the depths of
their potations, getting so drunk, in fact, that they managed to run four
of the ships on the rocks at the mouth of the Chagres, among them the
admiral's ship. The crews and cargoes were saved, but the vessels were
total wrecks, much to Morgan's chagrin.

At length, on the 18th of January, 1671, the march on Panama actually
began, with a force of thirteen hundred picked men, five hundred being
left to garrison the fort and one hundred and fifty to seize some Spanish
vessels that were in the river.