Читать книгу The Life of Sir Henry Morgan. With an account of the English settlement of the island of Jamaica онлайн

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Nothing was heard from Mansfield in Jamaica until about the end of May, 1666, when two of the ships that had sailed with him came into Port Royal with the news of his failure to accomplish anything against the Dutch. They reported that Curacao might have been taken, but "the private soldiers aboard the Admiral were against it, averring that there was more profit with less hazard to be gotten against the Spaniard, which was their only interest."[107]

Mansfield then complied with their wishes, probably with little reluctance, as his own inclinations seem to have agreed with theirs. A Spanish prisoner offered to conduct them to Cartago, the thriving capital of the wealthy province of Costa Rica, which they were told was rich and unfortified. A landing was made at Punta del Toro in the bay of Almirante, near Matina in the "kingdom of Veragua", on April 8, and they marched rapidly ninety miles inland in the hope of taking Cartago by surprise. As long as they were in the lowlands they had little difficulty in obtaining provisions by plundering the native plantations, but after ascending the Cordillera little could be procured. Quarrels over the partition of this scanty supply began between the English and the French. After entering the town of Turrialba, 2,500 feet above the sea level, now renowned for the excellence of its pineapples, they found their further advance stiffly opposed. Mansfield's followers are said to have numbered six hundred men of several nationalities, speaking different languages, as among them, besides many English, there were Flemings, French, Genoese, Greeks, Levantines, Portuguese, Indians, and negroes. Chief among his officers were named John Davis, Joseph Bradley, and the Frenchman, Jean Le Maire.