51 THE SEA. 



Santis.nina Trinidad, they had set on fire. They had also made a hole in her, and loosened 

 her fore-sail. But they quenched the fire with all speed, and stopped the leak. This 

 being done they put their wounded men on board her, and made her for the present their 

 hospital. 



Having- surveyed their own loss, they found eighteen of their men had been killed in 

 the fight, and twenty-two wounded. The three captains against whom they had fought 

 had been esteemed by the Spaniards the bravest in all the " South Seas " ; neither was 

 their reputation undeserved, as may easily be inferred from the narrative given of the 

 engagement. As the third ship was running away from the fight, she met with two more 

 coming out to their assistance; but gave them so little encouragement that they turned 

 back and dared not engage the pirates. The fight began about half an hour after sunrise, 

 and by noon the battle was finished. Captain Peralta, while he was their prisoner, would 

 often break out into admiration of their valour, and say that surely "Englishmen were 

 the most valiant men in the whole world, who endeavoured always to fight openly, whilst 

 all other nations invented all the ways imaginable to barricade themselves, and fight as 

 close as they could." 



Other vessels were shortly afterwards taken. But in spite of their successes, there 

 was dissatisfaction among some of the pirates, and Captain Coxon was openly branded as 

 a coward by some of them, for the small part he had taken in the engagement. He 

 immediately deserted with seventy of the men. Soon afterwards other pirates, however,, 

 joined the forces. 



Eight days after their arrival at Tavoga (now called Toboga), they took a ship that 

 was coming from Truxillo, and bound for Panama. In this vessel they found two thou- 

 sand jars of wine, fifty jars of gunpowder, and fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. This 

 money had been sent from that city to pay the soldiers belonging to the garrison of 

 Panama. From the prize they had information that there was another ship coming from 

 Lima with one hundred thousand pieces of eight more, which vessel was to sail ten or 

 twelve days after them, and which, they said, could not be long before she arrived at 

 Panama. Within two days after this intelligence they took another ship laden with flour 

 from Truxillo, and the men on this prize confirmed what the first had told them, and said 

 that the rich vessel might be expected there in the space of eight or ten days. 



While they lay at Tavoga the President or Governor of Panama sent a message by 

 some merchants to them to know what they came for. To this message Captain Sawkins 

 made answer that " he came to assist the King of Darien, who was the true lord of 

 Panama and all the country thereabouts, and that since he had come so far it was 

 reasonable that they should have some satisfaction. So that if he pleased to send five 

 hundred pieces of eight for each man and one thousand for each commander, and would 

 not any further annoy the Indians, but suffer them, to use their own power and liberty, 

 as became the true and natural lords of the country, that then they would desist from 

 further hostilities, and go away peaceably; otherwise, that he should stay there, and get 

 what he could, causing the Spaniards what damage was possible." From the Panama 

 merchants they learned there lived there as Bishop of Panama, one who had formerly been 

 Bishop of Santa Martha, and who had been prisoner to Captain Sawkius when he took 



