“Since it had been looted by L’Ollonois, Maracaibo and its neighboring city of Gibraltar had prospered and grown immensely rich, the fortifications had been greatly strengthened and a Spanish fleet was constantly cruising near to prevent raids by the buccaneers. Arriving off the port at night, Morgan drew close to the harbor bar unseen and opened fire at daybreak. From morn until night the battle raged until, feeling that they could not hold out another day, the garrison evacuated the fort at nightfall and left a slow match leading to the magazine in the hopes of blowing up the buccaneers if they entered. In this they were very nearly successful, but Morgan himself discovered the burning fuse and stamped it out when within six inches of the explosives. “Finding his ships could not enter the shallow harbor, Morgan embarked in boats and canoes and after terrific fighting silenced one fort after another and took the town. Then began an awful scene of butchery and torture. All that L’Ollonois had done in the stricken town before was repeated a hundredfold. The people, rounded up and shackled, were broken on the wheel, torn to pieces on the rack, spread-eagled and flogged to a pulp. Burning fuses were placed between their fingers and toes. Wet rawhide thongs were twisted about their heads and allowed to dry until, as they shrunk, the wretches’ eyes burst from their skulls and many were cut to pieces a bit at a time or flayed alive. Those who had no treasures whose hiding place they could divulge died under their torments, and those who confessed were too far gone to recover. For three terrible weeks this awful work went on, the buccaneers sparing neither young nor old, men, women or children, and daily scouring the countryside to bring new victims to the torture chambers. Then, satisfied he had every cent that it was possible to secure, Morgan loaded his remaining prisoners on his ships and sailed for Gibraltar as L’Ollonois had done. He had sent prisoners ahead, demanding the surrender of the town and threatening to torture and butcher every living soul if resistance were made, but notwithstanding this the inhabitants and the garrison put up a stiff fight. Finding he could not take the place by assault, Morgan started his men overland through the woods, and the people, realizing the buccaneers would take the place, fled with what valuables they could gather into the country, first having spiked the guns and destroyed the powder in the forts. As a result the buccaneers entered the city without a shot fired and found no living soul save one half-witted man. Despite the fact that he was a demented, helpless creature the buccaneers ruthlessly placed him on the rack until he begged for mercy and promised to guide his tormentors to his riches. Following him, they were led to a tumble-down house containing nothing of any value with the exception of three pieces of eight—all the poor man’s earthly possessions. The buccaneers, however,