left his companions attending to the shipping of the cattle.

To fortify her coasts and strengthen the garrison of her forts became an
urgent need for Cuba and brooked no delay. For while the government of
Spain deliberated at leisure upon means to furnish the much-needed aid,
the enemy was alive to the opportunity which inadequate defense offered.
The invasion of Santiago de Cuba, which is the most important event of
Salamanca's governorship, was a flagrant example of what could at any
time happen at any point along the Spanish American coast. One October
day in the year 1663, a British squadron, according to some authorities
consisting of fifteen, according to others of eighteen ships of various
sizes appeared at the entrance to the port, with unmistakably hostile
intention. The commandant of the Morro immediately informed the
governor, D. Pedro Morales, of this unwelcome arrival, but the governor
did nothing except summon the troops to their respective quarters. Morro
was garrisoned by only eighty men, under an inexperienced captain; some
historians give the number as only twenty-five. It seems to have been an
unpardonable carelessness on the part of the governor not to have at
once dispatched an enforcement to the garrison. The inhabitants
volunteered to make a sortie to attack the enemy. But the governor did
not seem to realize the seriousness of the situation and forbade them to
take any action against them.

[Illustration: MORRO CASTLE, SANTIAGO

The oldest of the fortifications of the former capital of Cuba, erected
in the sixteenth century to protect the place from French and English
raiders. It occupies a commanding position on a headland overlooking the
splendid harbor and the waters which were the scene of the destruction
of the last Spanish fleet in Cuban waters.]

The enemy's forces landed at a point called Aguadores, three quarters of
a league from the city. They numbered eight hundred men and encountered
no opposition whatever. But as it was then night, they decided to encamp
on the little plain of Lagunas and wait until daybreak. The officials of
the garrison, relying on their familiarity with the ground, urged the
governor to let them make a sortie with three hundred picked men and
take them by surprise. But Governor Morales still doubted that they
would have the courage to attack the city and refused the proposal of
the brave troops as he had the offer of the people. When the morning
came, his amaz