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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Sailing that day, Ximinez arrived at Cartagena on July 22, and on delivering Guzman's letter to the governor, he was promised the assistance of a frigate, a galleon, and a barque with 126 men, half of them being soldiers of the garrison and the rest mulattoes. With this reinforcement Ximinez again set sail on August 2, and on the 10th came in sight of the island. After contending for some hours with adverse winds and currents, he entered the harbour and anchored, having lost his barque in a gale on the hidden reef called Quita Senora. The garrison fired round shot at his ships from three guns, whose fire was returned in like manner. Ximinez then sent an officer to demand the surrender of the island which he declared had been "taken at the point of the sword" in time of peace between England and Spain. Smith replied that it had formerly been an English possession and he would die in its defence rather than comply.

Next morning three negroes deserted from the garrison and came on board the flagship. They told the admiral that it consisted only of seventy-two men, who were much dismayed at seeing so large a force brought against them. Encouraged by this news the Spaniards landed and advanced towards the nearest intrenchment under a brisk artillery fire, to which they replied from their own guns until nightfall. This mutual cannonade was continued for two whole days at intervals, with little apparent effect on either side. Then on Sunday, August 5, being the anniversary of "the ascent to Heaven of our Lady", the flagship, San Vicente, fired two full broadsides at the battery called "la Concepcion", while the Vice-Admiral directed his fire upon another called "Santiago". When those works were abandoned troops were landed and took possession of them without resistance. They next advanced toward the gate of the main fort, named "Cortadura". Adjutant Francisco de Caceres, approaching this fortification with only five men, was driven back by the discharge of a cannon loaded with fragments of metal, which plainly revealed that the English had no proper ammunition. They had broken up the organ in the church and fired away sixty of its pipes at one shot. Meanwhile Captain Juan de Galeno, climbing over the hills in the rear with ninety men, had taken the castle of Santa Teresa, driving a handful of men who had occupied it into Cortadura. Don Juan de Leyba then advanced against that fort with sixty men from the Concepcion battery, while Ximinez crossed the harbour with his main force and moved upon it from another direction. Finding themselves menaced with assault on three sides at once, and having lost six men killed and many wounded, the remnant of the garrison surrendered. The royal standard of Spain was raised in triumph and the victors devoutly returned thanks for the success they had won on "Lady Day". They admitted the loss of only one man killed and four wounded. Among the prisoners, seventy in number, were two Spaniards, who were shot as traitors next morning.