Morgan arrived at Maracaibo to find the city largely deserted, its residents having been forewarned of his approach by the fortress's troops. He spent three weeks in the city, ransacking and plundering what he could. Privateers searched the surrounding jungle to find the escapees; they, and some of the remaining occupants, were tortured to find where money or treasure had been hidden. Satisfied he had stolen all he could, he sailed south across Lake Maracaibo, to Gibraltar. The town's occupants refused to surrender, and the fort fired enough of a barrage to ensure Morgan kept his distance. He anchored a short distance away and his men landed by canoe and assaulted the town from the landward approach. He met scant resistance, as many of the occupants had fled into the surrounding jungle. He spent five weeks in Gibraltar, and there was again evidence that torture was used to force residents to reveal hidden money and valuables.