off from his flagship, was standing on his quarter-deck,
waving "with a handkerchief," to the captain of the Tawnymores' ship. He
was signalling him to scatter the canoas astern of the flagship. It was
a dangerous moment, and Ringrose plainly saw "how hard it would go with
us if we should be beaten from the Admiral's stern." With the two canoas
he ran down to engage, pouring in such fearful volleys of bullets that
they covered the Spaniard's decks with corpses and dying men. "We killed
so many of them, that the vessel had scarce men enough left alive, or
unwounded, to carry her off. Had he not given us the helm, and made
away from us, we had certainly been on board him." Her decks were
littered with corpses, and she was literally running blood. The wind was
now blowing fresh, and she contrived to put before it, and so ran out of
action, a terrible sight for the Panama women.

Having thus put the Tawnymores out of action, Ringrose and Springer
hauled to the wind, and "came about again upon the Admiral, and all
together gave a loud halloo." The cheer was answered by Sawkins' men,
from the periagua, as they fired into the frigate's ports. Ringrose ran
alongside the admiral, and crept "so close" under the vessel's stern,
"that we wedged up the rudder." The admiral was shot, and killed, a
moment later, as he brought aft a few musketeers to fire out of the
stern ports. The ship's pilot, or sailing master, was killed by the same
volley. As for the crew, the "stout Biscayners," "they were almost quite
disabled and disheartened likewise, seeing what a bloody massacre we had
made among them with our shot." Two-thirds of the crew were killed, "and
many others wounded." The survivors cried out for quarter, which had
been offered to them several times before, "and as stoutly denied until
then." Captain Coxon thereupon swarmed up her sides, with a gang of
pirates, helping up after him the valorous Peter Harris "who had been
shot through both his legs, as he boldly adventured up along the side of
the ship." The Biscayners were driven from their guns, disarmed, and
thrust down on to the ballast, under a guard. All the wounded pirates
were helped up to the deck and made comfortable. Then, in all haste, the
unhurt men manned two canoas, and rowed off to help Captain Sawkins,
"who now had been three times beaten from on board by Peralta."

A very obstinate and bloody fight had been raging round the third
man-of-war. Her sides were splinte