sts among them to turn their
arms against the enemies of their country when a volley stretched her
lifeless on the ground.

Meanwhile Bolivar had been fitting out, in Haiti and in the Dutch island
of Curacao, an expedition to take up anew the work of freeing Venezuela.
Hardly had the Liberator landed in May, 1816, when dissensions with his
fellow officers frustrated any prospect of success. Indeed they obliged
him to seek refuge once more in Haiti. Eventually, however, most of the
patriot leaders became convinced that, if they were to entertain a
hope of success, they must entrust their fortunes to Bolivar as supreme
commander. Their chances of success were increased furthermore by
the support of the llaneros who had been won over to the cause of
independence. Under their redoubtable chieftain, Jose Antonio Paez,
these fierce and ruthless horsemen performed many a feat of valor in the
campaigns which followed.

Once again on Venezuelan soil, Bolivar determined to transfer his
operations to the eastern part of the country, which seemed to offer
better strategic advantages than the region about Caracas. But even here
the jealousy of his officers, the insubordination of the free lances,
the stubborn resistance of the loyalists--upheld by the wealthy and
conservative classes and the able generalship of Morillo, who had
returned from New Granada--made the situation of the Liberator all
through 1817 and 1818 extremely precarious. Happily for his fading
fortunes, his hands were strengthened from abroad. The United States had
recognized the belligerency of several of the revolutionary governments
in South America and had sent diplomatic agents to them. Great Britain
had blocked every attempt of Ferdinand VII to obtain help from the Holy
Alliance in reconquering his dominions. And Ferdinand had contributed
to his own undoing by failing to heed the urgent requests of Morillo for
reinforcements to fill his dwindling ranks. More decisive still were
the services of some five thousand British, Irish, French, and German
volunteers, who were often the mainstay of Bolivar and his lieutenants
during the later phases of the struggle, both in Venezuela and
elsewhere.

For some time the Liberator had been evolving a plan of attack upon the
royalists in New Granada, similar to the offensive campaign which San
Martin had conducted in Chile. More than that, he had conceived the
idea, once independence had been attained, of uniting the weste