The Spaniards, hoping that by submission they might save their own lives and their houses from conflagration, threw down their arms and raised the white flag. There were several large stone churches in the place. The demoniac pirates drove the whole population, men, women, and children, into these churches, and imprisoned them there. They then commenced their system of plunder and wanton destruction. Every house and by-place, and the region all around, were searched. The night was rendered hideous by their drunken orgies. There was scarcely a conceivable crime of which these wretches were not guilty. They were fiends of the foulest dye, with no pity. Their outrages cannot be described. Even the imagination of most readers cannot conceive of the crimes they perpetrated. They either forgot the captives they had crowded into the churches or intentionally left them to starve. No provision whatever was made for their wants, and they were not furnished with any food. The piteous moans of women and children touched not their hearts. Large numbers perished in the lingering agonies of starvation. Disappointed in the amount of treasure they found, they began to put their prisoners to the torture, men, young girls, and even little children, to extort from them the confession of where riches were secreted. While perpetrating atrocities which cannot be named, a man was captured who had letters from the governor of Santiago to some of the leading inhabitants. In these documents the governor wrote: “Do not be in too much haste to ransom your town or persons from the pirates. Put them off as long as you can, with excuses and delays. In a short time I will certainly come to your aid.” This alarmed Morgan. He feared that the governor of Santiago might rally a sufficient force perhaps to seize his ships, perhaps to cut off his retreat. He ordered his men immediately to march, as rapidly as possible, to their fleet, with all the plunder they had gathered. He also made renewed efforts, by all the energies of torture, to wrest from the wretched inhabitants the treasure which he supposed they had hidden. Those who had nothing to reveal, had their nerves lacerated and their bones crushed to force a confession of that which did not exist. He compelled his captives to drive all the cattle to the bay, kill them and salt them, and convey the barrels to his ships. A quarrel arose between two of the pirates. One challenged the other to a duel. The party consequently went ashore in the boats. As they drew near the appointed spot, one of the two, treacherously approaching the other from behind, ran him through the back with his sword, and he fell dead. Morgan, who had just committed crimes which should cause the foul fiend himself to blush, said that it was not _just_ and _honorable_ to kill a comrade thus treacherously. He therefore, with the assent of the whole demoniac gang, put the offender in irons and hung him.