prevent the debauchery of his people, which he foresaw would be very great at the
     beginning, after so much hunger sustained by the way - fearing withal lest the
     Spaniards, seeing them in wine, should rally their forces and fall upon the city,
     and use them as inhumanly as they had used the inhabitants before.

     Captain Morgan sends several canoes and boats to the South Sea. He sets fire to
     the City of Panama. Robberies and cruelties committed there by the Pirates till
     their return to the Castle of Chagre.

     Captain Morgan, as soon as he had placed guards at several quarters where he
     thought necessary, both wothin and without the city of Panama, immediately comman-
     ded twenty-five men to seize a great boat, which had stuck in the mud of the port
     for want of water at a low tide, so that she could not put out to sea. The same
     day, about noon, he caused certain men privately to set fire to several great edi-
     fices of the city, nobody knowing whence the fire proceeded nor who were the au-
     thors thereof, much less what motives persuaded Captain Morgan thereto, which are
     as yet unknown to this day. The fire increased so fast that before night the grea-
     test part of the city was in a flame. Captain Morgan endeavoured to make the pu-
     blic believe the Spaniards had been the cause thereof, which suspicions he surmi-
     sed among his own people, perceiving they reflected upon him for that action. Ma-
     ny of the Spaniards, as also some of the Pirates, used all the means possible ei-
     ther to extinguish the flame, or by blowing up houses with gunpowder, and pulling
     down others, to stop its progress. But all was in vain; for in less than half an
     hour it consumed a whole street. All the houses of this city were build with ce-
     dar, being of very curious and magnificent structure, and richly adorned within,
     especially with hangings and paintings, whereof part was already transported out
     of the Pirates way, and another great part was consumed by the voracity of the fi-
     re.
     There belonged to this city (which is also the head of a bishopric) eight monas-
     teries, whereof seven were for men and one for women, two stately churches and one
     hospital. The churches and monasteries were all richly adorned with altar-pieces
     and paintings, huge quantity of gold and silver, with other precious things; all
     which the ecclesiastics had hidden and concealed. Besides which ornaments, here
     were to be seen two thousand houses of magnificent and prodigious building, being
     all or the greatest part inhabited by merchants of that country, who are vastly
     rich. For the rest of the inhabitants of lesser quality and tradesmen, this city
     contained five thousand houses more. Here were also great number of stables, which
     served for the horses and mules, that carry all the plate, belonging to the King
     of Spain as to private men, towards the coast of the North Sea. The neighbouring