THE BATTLE. 
181 
Chap. XI.— B. S.] 
the beasts that carried the king’s treasure to Cruces 
and Portobclo, or served for other commercial pur¬ 
poses. Nor had measures of defence been forgotten. 
Towards the land the city was protected by strong 
fortifications, and towards the sea its situation was 
such that, on account of the shoal water which left at 
ebb tide nearly for two miles nothing save bare roclcs, 
no vessel could approach it. The vicinity was con¬ 
verted into plantations and gardens, in which the fair 
Panamanians enjoyed the freshness of the morning or 
partook of the cooling breezes of the tropical evening. 
The inhabitants were mostly merchants who employed 
a vast number of slaves. Many skilful mechanics and 
artisans, encouraged by a ready market at the time of 
the Portobelo fair, and a number of opulent citizens, 
had taken up their residence here. Panama, besides 
being the See of a Bishop and the seat of the Provin¬ 
cial Government, contained many ecclesiastical and 
civil officers, with their usual train of attendants. It 
was this city which a few boats’ crews dared to at¬ 
tack ! which was to fall before a handful of pirates ! 
A faint purple had hardly announced the dawn of 
the 27th of January, 1671—the last day which the 
devoted place, after a short but brilliant existence of 
152 years, was to witness—when the drums and trum¬ 
pets called the buccaneers to the attack, and made 
them conscious that the time had arrived when they 
must either defeat their enemies, or fall themselves 
victims to their own daring plans. Adopting the ad¬ 
vice of the guides they avoided the direct road leading 
to the city, on which ample preparations had been made 
