or some
circumstances which enabled him to give his captors the slip.

The manner of his release was afterwards frequently recalled with no
little awe by the superstitious. At eleven o'clock at night the alarm
was given that the Royalist forces were about to be attacked by the
patriots, whose army had been seen advancing. The Spaniards retreated in
a panic, and Paez and his fellow-prisoners effected their escape. The
following morning, when the Royalists had recovered from their alarm,
they could find no enemy within a radius of fifty miles. This incident
was put down by the populace to the intervention in his favour on the
part of the host of departed spirits known as the "ejercito de las
animas."

Paez was extremely popular among his men, the hardy Llaneros of the
northern plains, born horsemen and fighters, corresponding in many
respects with the famous Gauchos of the south. Paez himself was a
magnificent horseman, and wielded the lance, the characteristic weapon
of the Llaneros, to perfection. He was thus doubly beloved of his
troops, since it was these qualities, of course, which appealed to them
more than the military strategy of which he gave such marked evidence.
On one occasion, when accompanied by very few of his own troops, Paez
rode up to a powerful body of Royalist cavalry. When quite close to the
enemy his men turned their horses as though in sudden terror, and
galloped away, hotly pursued by the Royalist horsemen. When Paez
considered that he had drawn these sufficiently far from their camp, he
turned upon them and cut them up in detail.

His most extraordinary feat, however, was the capture of some Spanish
gunboats on the River Apure by means of his Llanero cavalry. This is an
account of the feat as given by an eye-witness who was attached to the
British Legion:

"Bolivar stood on the shore gazing at these [the gunboats] in
despair, and continued disconsolately parading in front of them,
when Paez, who had been on the look out, rode up and inquired the
cause of his disquietude. His Excellency observed: 'I would give
the world to have possession of the Spanish flotilla, for without
it I can never cross the river, and the troops are unable to
march.' 'But it shall be yours in an hour,' replied Paez. 'It is
impossible,' said Bolivar; 'and the men must all perish.' 'Leave
that to me,' rejoined Paez, and galloped off. In a few minutes he
returned, bringin