"Morgan next went to Jamaica, where he joined a band of pirates--mostly English and French--who attacked the Spanish treasure-ships in these waters. You can easily imagine that Morgan's part in this business wasn't small. He never thought of such a thing as mercy. The crews of captured ships who weren't killed in the battles had to walk the plank.
"Fortune favoured Morgan, and, unlike most of his companions, he saved his booty, and in a little while was able to buy a ship. In this vessel he had as villainous a body of men as ever walked the deck.
"With his ship he joined other pirate captains, and it was not long before he was in command of a fleet of fifteen vessels, with over five hundred men,--men who were not afraid of anything, and who did dreadful things wherever they went.
"With the constant additions to their force, the buccaneers began to spread out. They were not satisfied with capturing ships and killing their crews, but began to go upon the land, and a good many native and Spanish settlements in the West Indies and on the shore of South or Central America suffered. Wherever the pirates suspected Spanish treasure might be stored, they were sure to make their appearance, sooner or later. Town after town was captured and destroyed, and everything of value carried away."
"But what has all this to do with Panama?" asked Vasco, who, though interested in Morgan's history, was anxious to learn about the destruction of the city.
"I'm coming to that very soon," replied Harlan. "After a time Morgan and his men began to wonder if they could not capture Panama, which was then the chief city of all this region, and was famous everywhere for its vast wealth. And, as so often happens, the stories about its wonders far exceeded the reality.
"The inhabitants did not dream that the buccaneers would ever dare to attack Panama, fortified as it was, and defended by Spanish soldiers. But they didn't know much about the spirit which was in Morgan and his men, and they didn't realize to what the greed for gold would lead.
"To make a long story short, Morgan decided to attack Panama. By this time he had twelve hundred followers. Landing about forty miles from the city, with only a small supply of provisions, they took up their long march through forests and over the mountains and across the streams. They could not move very fast, and the men were nearly starved. I remember reading in some book, that at nightfall often the happiest man in the company was the one who had saved from his breakfast a small piece of rawhide on which to make his supper."