Captain Sawkins’s canoe, and also that on which was the narrator of the fight, were much to leeward of the rest, so that one of the Spanish ships came between the two and fired on both, wounding, with these broadsides, five men in the two canoes. But the commander paid dearly for his passage between them, as he was not quick in coming about again, and making the same way; for the pirates killed, with their first volley, several of his men upon the decks. Thus they got also to windward, as the rest were before. The admiral of this armadilla (or little fleet) came up with them instantly, scarce giving time to charge, thinking to pass by them all with as little damage as the first of the ships had done. But, as it happened, it turned out much the worse for him; for they were so fortunate as to kill the man at the helm, so that his ship ran into the wind, and her sails lay aback. By this means they all had time to come up under her stern, and, firing continually into his vessel, they killed all that came to the helm; besides which slaughter they cut asunder his mainsheet and brace with their shot. At this time the third vessel was coming to the aid of their general. Hereupon Captain Sawkins, who had changed his canoe and had gone into one of the boats, left the admiral to four canoes (for his own was quite disabled), and met the captain of the second ship. “Between him and Captain Sawkins,” says the chronicler, “the dispute was very hot, lying aboard each other, and both giving and receiving death as fast as they could charge. While we were thus engaged the first ship tacked about, and came up to relieve the admiral; but, we perceiving it, and foreseeing how hard it would go with us if we should be beaten from the admiral’s stern, determined to prevent his design. Hereupon two of our canoes, to wit, Captain Springer’s and my own, stood off to meet him. He made up directly towards the admiral, who stood upon the quarter-deck waving unto him with a handkerchief so to do; but we engaged him so closely in the middle of his way, that had he not given us the helm, and made away from us, we had certainly been on board him. We killed so many of the men that the vessel had scarce men enough left alive, or unwounded, to carry her off; yet, the wind now blowing fresh, they made shift to get away from us, and save their lives.