Captain Morgan was now entirely in command of the pirate fleet, and had under his command no less than 700 men, part English and part French, on twelve vessels. A council was called, and some recommended an attempt on the City of Havannah, while others, who had been prisoners there, thought it useless to try any such scheme with less than 1,500 men. They finally resolved to attack the town of El Puerto del Principe, an inland town of Cuba, tolerably near the coast, where the inhabitants were wealthy, and had never yet been attacked by the pirates. They made sail, steering toward the coast nearest that town. At a bay named El Puerto del Santa Maria, a Spanish prisoner on board the fleet swam ashore by night, and succeeded in reaching the threatened town, where he gave the inhabitants information of the coming attack, and they, of course, immediately began to hide and carry away their riches and movables. The governor immediately enrolled all the males of the town, about 800, and posted part of them in a position where by necessity the pirates must pass, while he made other preparations for hindering them, by cutting down trees and laying them across the roads. He placed ambuscade parties with cannon to harass them on their march. “Captain Morgan with his men now on the march found the avenues to the town impassable; hereupon they took their way through the wood, traversing it with great difficulty, whereby they escaped divers ambuscades; at last they came to the place from its figure called by the Spaniards La Savanna, or the Sheet. The governor seeing them come, detached a troop of horse to charge them in the front, thinking to disperse them, and to pursue them with his main body; but this design succeeded not, for the pirates marched in very good order at the sound of their drums, and with flying colours. Coming near the horse, they drew into a semicircle, and so advanced towards the Spaniards, who charged them vehemently for a while; but the pirates being very dexterous at their arms, and their governor and many of their companions being killed, they retreated towards the wood, to save themselves with more advantage; but before they could reach it most of them were killed. Thus they left the victory to these new-come enemies, who had no considerable loss of men in the battle, and but very few wounded. The skirmish lasted four hours; after which they entered the town, not without very great resistance of such as were within, who defended themselves as long as possible, and many seeing the enemy in the town shut themselves up in their own houses and thence made several shots upon the pirates, who therefore threatened them, saying, ‘If you surrender not voluntarily, you shall soon see the town in a flame, and your wives and children torn in pieces before your faces.’ Upon these menaces, the Spaniards submitted to the discretion of the pirates, believing they could not continue there long.”