gress of New Grenada, he attacked his enemies at Cucuta, routed them, and despatched a detachment towards Guadalito under the orders of Don Nicholas Briceno, who levied more troops in that neighbourhood, and then proceeded to occupy the province of Barinas. Bolivar, in the mean while, met with fresh successes at Grita, and seized upon the department of Merida: whilst Briceno, being defeated by the Royalists, fell into their power with seven of his officers. This event afforded the Spaniards an opportunity of applying to their own colonies the same horrible system of warfare which they had practised in Europe, under the pretext that every means is allowable to repel aggression. Tilear, the governor of Barinas, ordered these prisoners to be shot, together with several other members of families of distinction, who were accused of holding correspondence with the Independents. Bolivar, who had hitherto conducted the war with great forbearance, was inflamed with indignation at these cruelties: he swore to avenge Briceno, his brother in arms, and declared that every Royalist who should fall into his hands should be consigned over to the vengeance of his soldiery. But this spirit of inexorable justice and retaliation ill-accorded with Bolivar's character: the menaces he held out were, we are assured, never realized but on one single occasion, and that, indeed, at a time when the safety of his followers appears absolutely to have required it. His army increasing daily, he divided it into two corps, one of which he committed to Rivas; while, placing himself at the head of the other, he advanced towards Caracas through the districts of Truxillo and Barinas. After several engagements, which terminated in their favour, the two commanders were assailed by the flower of Monteverde's troops at Gestaguanes; and the obstinate encounter which ensued was finally determined by the Spanish cavalry, who passed over to the side of the Independents, and thus gave them the victory. Monteverde then shut himself in Puerto Cabello with the remains of his army. On the other hand, Bolivar followed up his success, and invested Caracas, which capitulated by the counsels of a junta suddenly collected. The conditions which he exacted were by no means severe he declared that no one should be molested on account of his political opinions; and that those who wished to withdraw were at liberty to remove themselves and all they possessed. Whilst Bolivar was entering the place, the governor made his escape, and embarked for La Guyra, leaving fifteen hundred Royalists at the conqueror's mercy.

Monteverde, spite of the humiliating situation in which he was placed, assumed a tone of arrogance which could not fail to hasten the entire defection of the colonies from the mother-country: he refused to ratify the treaty presented to him, and declared" that it was derogatory to the dignity of Spain to treat with these rebels." The disdain which the rebel general displayed was much more in character, for he confined himself to leaving the insult unnoticed. He was received with great enthusiasm at Caracas on the 4th of August, 1813. Marino, another commander, was equally victorious in the eastern provinces; and the entire region of Venezuela, with the exception of Puerto Cabello, was rescued from the grasp of its oppressors.

Bolivar, desirous of turning his success to the account of humanity, proposed an exchange of prisoners with Monteverde; who, regardless

of the disparity of numbers, was unwilling to lower his pride to such a compromise: he preferred applying the reinforcements which had reached him to a fresh assault upon the Independents, at Agua-Caliente. This assault recoiled upon himself: the greater part of his force was destroyed; he was saved with difficulty from falling into the hands of his enemies, and was carried to Puerto Cabello, severely wounded. Bolivar had hoped that this victory would have drawn the calamities of war to a nearer close; he again sent a flag of truce to the Royalists, accompanied by Salvador Garcia, an individual whose virtuous character entitled him to the esteem of all parties. But Salomon, the new Royalist commander, proved himself to have inherited the impolitic principles and ferocious disposition of his predecessor: he ordered the venerable priest to be loaded with irons and cast into a dungeon. It appears as if the Spaniards had been anxious to exasperate men's minds, and aggravate the horrors of a warfare, the principal miseries of which were ultimately doomed to fall on their own heads. Puerto Cabello, being vigorously attacked both by sea and land, was speedily reduced; an event greatly hastened by D'Eluyar, a young soldier, to whom the Independent general had intrusted the operations of the siege. The citadel, however, refused to capitulate, though it was afflicted with a disease, in want of provisions, and without the remotest hope of being relieved. In consequence of its obstinate resistance, Bolivar determined simply to invest it, and was deterred from attempting an assault, which must have proved murderous, and might have miscarried. During this siege, a battalion of the Independents was attacked by a party of Royalists, and behaved so ill that Bolivar thought it right to disarm it; but a short time afterwards the battalion, eager to regain its lost credit, armed itself with pikes, and rushing on the enemy, plundered them of their arms and accoutrements, and used them for its own equipment. This achievement signalized the combat of Araure. The whole of the campaign of this season was eminently conducive to the prosperity of the Independent cause.

The inhabitants of the province of Caracas, as is the case with all infant republics, were extremely jealous of the liberty which it had cost them so many sacrifices to acquire; their mistrust was roused by the continued dictatorship which was exercised by Bolivar, who delegated it to his inferiors, by whom it was abused to a degree which frequently redoubled their apprehensions; and, although he had never himself applied his power improperly, yet his refusal to resign it on the requisition of the Congress of New Grenada engendered a spirit of discontent which met him even in the midst of his own followers. He perceived that this was the proper moment for divesting himself of his authority. A general assembly of the principal civil and military officers was therefore convoked on the 2d January, 1814; and in its presence Bolivar was resolved upon renouncing his dictatorial powers; after rendering a scrupulous account of his operations, as well as of the plans he had deemed it necessary to adopt. His power was tottering; but this proceeding gave it new vigour. The leading persons of Venezuela, men whose patriotism was above suspicion,-Don Carlos Hurlado de Mendoza, governor of Caracas; Don J. Ch. Rodriguez, president of the municipality; and the highly respected Don Alzura, sensible of the necessity which still existed for the tutelary superintendence of such a leader as Bolivar, were joined by their colleagues in

soliciting him to continue in the dictatorship, until the province of Venezuela should be united again with New Grenada.

The Royalist party were, by this time, aware of all the difficulties in which their struggle against the Independent provinces was involved; and hoping for new allies in the slaves which peopled them, they sent agents secretly among them to organize their irregular bands. Among these emissaries were Palomo, a negro, who was a notorious thief and murderer, and a man of the name of Puy, who was abhorred in every quarter; in short, the persons pitched upon for the purpose were every way worthy of their mission and the object it proposed. The new plot was revealed to Bolivar by some intercepted despatches; though it was not in his power wholly to prevent its execution. Any country that has long been the theatre of war, must contain numbers who are ready for plunder and devastation, particularly when they can put on the false mask of a pretended "good cause;" the activity of the Independent general did not long permit them to pursue their ill designs with impunity. The execrable Puy, who was far more bloodthirsty than any of his comrades, repaired to Barinas, where, fearing that its inhabitants would rise en masse against him, he seized and shot five hundred of them. The remainder owed their rescue entirely to the sudden appearance of Bolivar on the spot. In a few days the Royalist agent again feli upon the town, and massacred the remnant of his victims. Exasperated by the infamous conduct of his adversaries, Bolivar assumed a character totally foreign to his generous principles and habits, and ordered eight hundred Royalists to be shot. This severe retaliation occasioned the death of the Independents who were imprisoned in Puerto Cabello; but whom the Governor had hitherto spared. In the midst of these shocking scenes, Bolivar was eagerly prosecuting a more honourable warfare: he routed one of the principal Royalist commanders near the Tuy, whilst Rivas was obtaining minor advantages over the motley horde commanded by Rosette, a mulatto; and Yanez, a Royalist partisan, was totally defeated at Ospinos, and perished on the field of battle. Rosette, and Bovès, another Royalist leader, were not, however, to be discouraged by these reverses; they were strengthened by considerable reinforcements, and immediately resumed the offensive, by marching to Caracas and attacking Bolivar himself. Here he was so ably seconded by Marino and Montilla, that he completely defeated the Royalists at Bocachica; and being joined by Urdaneta and Morino on the 28th of May, he obtained another signal victory over the Spaniards, who were under the command of the gallant Cagigal. These repeated successes were unfortunately the occasion of disaster to the Independents; for their over-eagerness in the pursuit of their foes led the respective generals to separate, and Bolivar was consequently attacked in an unfavourable position in the plains of Cura, where the Spanish cavalry had ample space for operations: the Independents fought manfully for several hours, but were at last obliged to resign the contest. This victory reanimated the hopes of their opponents; and Cagigal, Bovès, and Calzadas, having effected a junction, menaced Marino's division, which was compelled to retreat before far superior numbers into Cumana. The reverses which now attended the Independents' operations led to consequences in the highest degree disastrous. The people, being deprived of the benefits which induced them to approve or tolerate a military government, began to discern its

disadvantages, and were become sensible that the very rapidity of military movements, and the arbitrary measures which follow in their train, were irreconcilable with the spirit of liberty. They soon learned to look upon the ill-success of those who fought in defence of that liberty with an eye of indifference. These impressions incapacitated the Republicans from recruiting their forces at this period. They were obliged to raise the siege of Puerto Cabello and embark for Cumana, where Bolivar arrived with the shattered remnant of his forces. The Spaniards reentered La Guyra and Caracas, and the inhabitants of Valencia, notwithstanding a gallant defence, were forced to capitulate. The conquerors have been charged with violating the terms of this surrender, and putting the eloquent Espejo and other officers of the garrison to death, after the town had surrendered. A short time before all these reverses, a young man, who was descended from one of the first families of Santa Fe, had hallowed the cause of independence by an act of devotion which is well worthy of being handed down to posterity. Ricante was in command of the fort of San Matteo, and an action was contesting at some distance from it. One of the Royalist chiefs determined to make himself master of the fort, the garrison of which was extremely scanty, and made his way towards it at the head of a strong detachment. Ricante, perceiving that resistance was useless, sent away all his soldiers, who joined their countrymen on the field of battle. The Spaniards, conceiving the fort to be evacuated, entered it without opposition; but the gallant youth, setting fire to the powder, buried himself and his enemies beneath the ruins of a post which he was unable to defend !

It was not in the power of adversity to shake the dauntless patriotism of Bolivar; he reappeared at the head of a considerable force in the province of Barcelona, and was doomed to experience fresh reverses in the unfortunate conflict of Araguita; whence his next movement was to embark for Carthagena, where he might devise the means of restoring the tottering fortunes of his country. Rivas and Bermudez, in the mean while, had taken up positions which enabled them to keep together the troops under their command, and were in a short time joined by many who were determined not to succumb under the Spanish yoke, or were hopeless of escape excepting from the success of a cause which they had openly espoused. Morales and Bovès made several fruitless attempts to overcome them, until, their ranks being considerably increased, they were in a situation to act with decision; which they did, by attacking and defeating them at Urica, on the 5th of December, and then occupying Mathurin, which had been the headquarters of the Independents. Rivas was taken prisoner and shot. whilst Bermudez took refuge in the island of Margarita, where he remained until the arrival of the Spanish general Morillo. When the expedition under the orders of this celebrated commander approached to lay siege to Carthagena, Bolivar quitted it, and repaired to Tunja, where the Congress of New Grenada was then sitting. Here he put himself in motion with a few troops, and made himself master of Santa Fe de Bogota; from whence he marched towards Santa Martha, in his attempt on which he was foiled through the jealousy of Don M. Castillo, the governor of Carthagena. Enraged at the refusal of the reinforcements which the Congress had assigned to him, he was on the eve of entering Carthagena sword in hand, when he found that MoVOL. V. No. 25.-1823.

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rillo had begun operations against that important post. Bolivar now dismissed every feeling of resentment from his mind, united his troops to those of the garrison, and set sail for Jamaica, from whence, he trusted, he would be enabled to return with forces adequate to effect the raising of the siege; but the failure of pecuniary resources crippled his efforts and prevented his arriving in time to save Carthagena from falling into Spanish hands. This place had undergone the most lamentable sufferings and its very conquerors were deeply affected at the misery to which famine and disease had reduced its brave defenders; who evacuated it on the 6th of December, 1815, after spiking the guns, embarked in thirteen vessels, and, forcing their way through the enemy's gun-boats, made for Aux Cayes.

The hopes of the Independents seemed now at their last gasp. Their enemies in the old world, the enemies of freedom in all hemispheres, thought it strange that the Americans should conceive the idea of possessing a country of their own. America had witnessed her worst reverses, emerging from her most signal successes; and Spain, in her turn, beheld her victorious career in a foreign clime pregnant with the ultimate ruin of her hopes. She would have thought her triumph incomplete had she refrained from humbling the vanquished; and forgot that her arrogance might estrange those colonists who had hitherto adhered to her cause. The encouragement which these new allies held out to them, excited the indefatigable warriors, whom the fatal rout at Urica had not tamed into submission, to form themselves into corps of guerillas, and place themselves under the command of Monagas, Zaraza, and other chiefs. A short time demonstrated the formidable character which such bodies may assume; the suddenness of their incursions, and the rapidity of their movements, justly entitled them to the appellation of "The Tartars of America," and enabled them to rekindle the dying embers of their liberties. Arismendi, after various successes, took possession of the island of Margarita; and Bolivar, skilfully availing himself of this fortunate turn of affairs, lost no time in hastening the equipment of an expedition which was collecting at the expense of some private individuals. Among these was Brion, a man of large property, whom none could exceed in devotion to the cause of freedom to him was intrusted the command of two ships of war and thirteen transports, which composed the naval force of this expedition. Towards the close of March 1816, Bolivar, who had been joined by two battalions of black troops, from Pétion, the Haytian president at Port au Prince, set sail with his little army. On his way, he captured two vessels under Spanish convoy, one of them a king's ship, of 14 guns and 140 men, after an action in which Brion was wounded; he afterwards disembarked at Margarita, and drove the Spaniards from every part of the island, excepting the fort of Pampatar. At Carupano he strengthened his force with several corps of guerillas, and compelled the Spaniards to evacuate that post; thence he marched to Occumare, where, after resting his troops at Choroni, he left his advance, under the command of Mac Gregor, who made himself master of Maraçay and the Cabrera. The future depended on instant energy and decision; and Bolivar circulated a strong manifesto throughout the province of Caracas, in which he developed his intentions, and strove to rekindle the dormant patriotism of those for whose sake he had once more hoisted his standard. This manifesto, instead of awakening the enthusiasm which