patriot chieftains, who had
maintained themselves in isolated parties dispersed over the _llanos_ of
Cumana, Barcelona, and the Apure. It is a curious fact, that the isolation
of several of these parties was so complete, that, for many months, they
did not know of any other than themselves being in arms for the delivery of
their country. It was only by their coming into accidental contact that
they discovered that there was more than one patriot guerilla in
existence.[3] Bolivar supplied some of them with arms, and at the same time
augmented his own force to a thousand men. The Spaniards assembled in
superior numbers to destroy them; but Bolivar embarked, and relanded at
Ocumare, with an intention of taking Caracas: great part, however, of the
Spanish army having by this time returned from New Granada to Venezuela,
Bolivar was obliged to re-embark for Margarita.

[3] For the honour of the _llaneros_, this circumstance ought to be
more distinctly detailed.

In 1817, he landed near Barcelona, where he collected seven hundred
recruits, and marched towards Caracas; but, being worsted in an affair at
Clarines, he fell back again upon Barcelona, where he shut himself up with
four hundred men, and made a successful resistance against a superior
force.

Bolivar received some reinforcements from the interior of the province of
Cumana, upon which he decided upon making the banks of the Orinoco the
theatre of his future efforts. Having further augmented his force, and
taken the necessary steps to keep alive the war in the districts on the
coast, he marched to the interior, beating several small royalist parties
which he encountered on his route.

Of the Spanish army which had returned from New Granada, a division, under
the brave General La Torre, was destined to act against the patriots in
Guayana. A division of the latter, under General Piar, having obtained a
decisive victory, Bolivar was enabled to invest Angostura, and the town of
old Guyana, which were successively taken on the 3rd and 18th of July.

In Angostura, Piar was found guilty, by a court-martial, of an attempt to
excite a war of colour. Piar (a man of colour himself) was the bravest of
the brave, and adored by his followers; but his execution stifled anarchy
in the bud.

The rest of the year 1817 was actively spent in organizing a force to act
against Morillo, who had lately been reinforced by two thousand fresh
troops from the Peninsula, under Ge