HOMEWARD MARCH. 
189 
Chap. XI.—B. S.] 
and seventy-five beasts of burden laden with spoil. 
One party of the pirates inarched in the van, another 
in the rear, and the captives in the centre. When 
the" march commenced, lamentations and shrieks were 
heard on all sides. The women begged on their 
knees to restore them to liberty, and not take them 
from their native land, but Morgan remained deaf to 
their solicitations, and unmoved by their tears. On 
arriving at the village of Cruces, it was proclaimed 
that every one who was not ransomed within three 
days would be transported as a slave to Jamaica. 
Many were released by their friends and relations, 
but a great number were not so fortunate, and these, 
together with some of the inhabitants of Cruces, were 
led into hopeless captivity. 
After collecting all the rice and Indian corn that 
could be obtained, the buccaneers departed from the 
last-named village on the 5th of March, taking the same 
route as before, the river Chagres. When nearly half¬ 
way, Morgan commanded a general halt, and muster¬ 
ing ; every one was obliged to take his oath that he 
had not concealed or appropriated to himself a particle 
of the spoil. As might have been expected, this so¬ 
lemnity proved a mere farce among a community of 
men whose morality was of so lax a nature ; it was 
therefore necessary to have a different mode of inves¬ 
tigation. By common consent each company ap¬ 
pointed an inspector, and the chief was the first who 
submitted himself to their search. The French assist¬ 
ing in the expedition had a great aversion to these 
proceedings, and loudly protested against it; but 
