avana; though as the latter were far the better armed a
conflict between them would probably have been disastrous to the
Spaniards. But the two ships in the harbor were now aroused and began
firing upon the Spaniards with their artillery, while reenforcements of
men for Sores put off for shore in boats. Sores and his companions made
a fierce sally from the house. The few Spaniards made a stand, but the
negroes and most of the Indians would not oppose clubs and stones to
swords and arquebuses. They fled incontinently to the jungle, followed
by Angulo himself.

His victory thus completed, Sores returned to the house where he had
left Lobera locked in a room with the dead and dying. He absolved the
commander from all responsibility for Angulo's treacherous conduct, and
complimented him upon the valor with which he had defended La Fuerza as
well as upon his good faith. He would not, however, release him without
a ransom, according to the custom of the times. In default of the
ransom, he would take him to France as a prisoner, though treated with
all consideration. Lobera was without means, but his friends with whom
he was permitted to communicate soon raised the required sum of two
thousand two hundred pesos, and he was set at liberty. He thereafter
went to Spain, carrying with him the news of what had happened to
Havana.

The negotiations for the ransom of the town were less successful. Angulo
had fled far inland, and could not be reached, and the Spaniards who
remained could not offer more than a thousand pesos, a sum which Sores
scorned. In default of ransom, therefore, the place was looted and
burned. Three buildings alone remained standing: La Fuerza, the church,
and the hospital. Indeed, the interior of the church was almost entirely
destroyed. Sores and his men were fierce Huguenots, and they tore down
the images of saints and took the robes and altar vestments to make
cloaks for themselves. All the boats found in the harbor were burned.
The neighboring estates for miles around were destroyed, and some of the
negroes who offered resistance were hanged. The harbor was carefully
surveyed and sounded, to facilitate future entries. Finally, his work
being thus thoroughly done, Sores sailed away at midnight of August 5,
less than a month after his arrival.

At the end of September a little French vessel, containing only a dozen
men, entered the harbor, inspected the ruins of the city, and seized a
Spanish caravel which