Ciudad Bolívar

“ They are doomed, because the women of civilized [108] countries continue to have the same fondness for feathers and ornaments characteristic of savage tribes.”16
The houses of Ciudad Bolivar, built on a hill of dark, almost bare hornblende-schist, are in marked contrast with those of the Port-of-Spain. In Trinidad’s capital each residence—usually frame—is provided with numerous doors, and jalousied windows, and surrounded by gardens, with a profusion of the most beautiful tropical flowers and trees. ”

“ The inclination of the bank, where merchandise is landed, amounts in places to almost 45°, and yet no machinery of any kind is used for transferring even the heaviest kinds of freight from the vessel to the top of the acclivity. All is carried on the shoulders of men, usually mestizos and negroes.
We spent a week in and around Ciudad Bolivar, and, during this time, we had ample opportunities to study the manners and customs of its people. The population of the city is not more than twelve or thirteen thousand—a small number for the entrepot of the immense Orinoco basin. ”

“ Nevertheless, the western llanos undoubtedly possess great resources and convenient outlets. To the north they can communicate with Barquisimeto, Puerto Cabello, and other towns, whilst the streams on which they are situated are all tributaries of the Orinoco, or of its main feeders, thus putting them into communication with Ciudad Bolivar. If good government continues, and capital is attracted, there must come to this great territory a degree of prosperity far greater than it has enjoyed in the past, or than its present inhabitants probably even dream of. ”

“ You Americans are not long in Venezuela, and you might be overcharged, while I—the cantineros of this Ciudad Bolívar know better than to try to cheat Loco León. The last one who tried it was three weeks in recovering.
Ha! You smile. Have you already heard of Loco León—Mad Lion? No? My name is Lucio León. But because I roam in wild places where these townsmen dare not go and see things which they do not believe, they have changed Lucio to Loco. I do not care. The laughter of fools is harmless. ”

“ I now am in need of gasoline. I have no money here—the men of the crew took it—but we left funds in bank at Ciudad Bolívar, and when I arrive there I can pay well for the fuel and food obtained here. So I ask you to give us twenty gallons of gasoline and enough food to enable us to finish our journey.”
For a moment after she ceased speaking no answer came. The merchants stared. Her story rang true enough, except that the explanation of the presence of El Tigre still seemed a bit improbable; and her request for assistance was altogether natural. ”

“ It was useless to go backwards, unless we wished to return to Orocué, and thence to Trinidad. Even if we returned to Orocué, we could not get a steamer down the river for several months, and to make the long trip to Ciudad Bolivar in a bongo was not to be thought of. We were confronted by the first really grave difficulty of our journey, and when we considered all the circumstances, it was enough to depress the stoutest heart.
“But why had not our men and mules arrived,” we asked ourselves time and again? ”

“ I NOW, as I have told you, señores, before this, I am a rover of the balata rubber country where the Maquiritares live. In the dry time, when no balata can be gathered, I ramble in those wild mountains both for business and for pleasure: I scout for new rubber trees, I visit the tribe-houses of my Maquiritare friends, and I enjoy the freedom and the sudden adventures of the untamed highlands. In the rainy season my Maquiritares work the balata for me at the places I have chosen, and when the crop is in I bring it down the Orinoco to sell to Blum's commission house here in Ciudad Bolívar. ”

“ Nor must the possibilities of Guayana be ignored in this general summary, for a considerable proportion of some of the larger exports given in Appendix B is shipped through Ciudad Bolivar; these are mainly, of course, forest products and gold, but there are great possibilities of increased output of both these, with the development of more permanent agricultural and pastoral resources in the woods and savannahs of southern Venezuela. The introduction of industrial colonists has, as we have [264] seen, been planned already, and much may come of the wise prosecution of such a scheme. ”

“ They may be within a league of us even now—”
“And the federal garrison which I have asked from Ciudad Bolívar may be landing at the port at this moment,” sarcastically retorted the chief. “One is as likely as the other. I tell you again, and for the last time, that we can do nothing at all but wait for whatever may come. If the soldiers of the President come it is well. If raiders come—then every man must do what he can for himself.” ”

“ I recall that you leased it from Guillermo la Torre, of Ciudad Bolívar, who is a citizen of Venezuela. In time of disorder any Venezuelan boats useful to federal authorities can be summarily taken over for government use. I have in mind an exceedingly important use for that launch. But it will not interfere with your journey. The boat will proceed to Ciudad Bolívar very soon, and you shall have ample protection and all courtesy, for I myself shall ride with you. It is necessary to consult with General Perez regarding a question of troops, and— But first there is a more immediate matter. Pablo! ”

“ In steamship lines the republic has almost nothing to show. A regular service is maintained on Lake Maracaibo, one on Lake Valencia, and another oa the Orinoco, Apure and Portuguesa rivers, starting from Ciudad Bolivar.
The coast of Venezuela has an aggregate length of 1876 m., and there are 32 ports, large and small, not including those of Lakes Maracaibo and Tacarigua, and the Orinoco. The great majority of these have only a limited commerce, restricted to domestic exchanges. ”

“ The exchanges of domestic products are less important than they should be. The Orinoco trade is carried on almost wholly through Port of Spain, Trinidad, where merchandise and produce is transferred between light draught river boats and foreign ocean-going steamers. The distance from Port of Spain to Ciudad Bolivar is 299 m. and the traffic is carried by foreign-owned steamers. Under the administration of President Cipriano Castro this traffic was suspended for a long time, and trans-shipments were made at La Guaira. ”

“ On that same day, eleven years before, in Angostura, Colombia had been created by his genius. He died at the age of forty-seven and one-half years.
"Few men have lived such a beautiful life in the whirlpool of action; nobody has died a more noble death in the peace of his bed." [1]
[Footnote 1: Bolívar—J.E. Rodó.]
His death was the end of Colombia.
For twelve years his remains rested in Santa Marta, and then they were carried to Caracas, where they now lie in the Pantheon, between two empty coffins, that of Miranda on his right and that destined for Sucre on his left. ”

“ A great assembly of the most prominent men of Bogotá conferred upon him the title of Liberator of Nueva Granada, and bestowed the same title on all the men composing his army, each one of whom also received a cross of honor called the Cross of Boyacá. A Vice-President of Nueva Granada was appointed, General Francisco de Paula Santander, the man who had organized the troops which Bolívar joined when he invaded the viceroyalty. Bolívar considered all the inhabitants as citizens of Colombia, without asking questions about their previous conduct, and issued passports to those who cared to depart. ”

“ In Bolivia the name of Sucré is as omnipresent as Bolívar’s in Venezuela and Colombia, and most naturally when the new republic was formed the name of its chief city, Charcas, was changed to Sucré to honor the hero of Ayacucho—Antonio José de Sucré—when this “right hand” of Bolívar became its first president. The city is ancient, kindly, and romantically beautiful in its setting on the eastern slope of the royal range, and once, under a law enacted some eighty years ago, it was the capital. ”

“ In 1816 Bolivar again showed himself in the field at the head of his famous liberating army, which, crossing over from Trinidad, and gaining reinforcements at every step, planted freedom, such as it was, all along the northern parts of South America, in which the new republic of Colombia was founded under his presidency, in the neighbouring district of New Granada, and down to the La Plata province, where he established the republic of Bolivia, so named in his honour. ”

“ Three days after the battle of Boyaca, Bolivar entered Bogota in triumph. "A congress met in December and decided that Venezuela and Nueva Granada should form one republic, to be called Colombia. Morillo departed for Europe in 1820, and the victory gained by Bolivar at Carabobo on June 24, 1821, decided the fate of Colombia. In the following January General Bolivar assembled an army at Popayan to drive the Spaniards out of the province of Quito. His second in command, General Sucre, led an advanced guard, which was reinforced by a contingent of volunteers from Peru, under Santa Cruz. ”

“ With this sword you will again rescue her from the power of her oppressors. The Congress of Nueva Granada will give you its protection because it is satisfied with your conduct. You have been an unfortunate general, but you are a great man."
Then the Congress ordered him to liberate Santa Fé (Bogotá) , a part of Nueva Granada, which had been separated from the Union. Bolívar with his usual activity proceeded to Bogotá, reached the outskirts of the city and, promising immunity of properties and honor, offered a capitulation. ”

“ His plans of a life presidency and of an hereditary Senate, as also the life Senate decreed by the Congress of Angostura, were rejected. Bogotá was declared the capital of the Republic; Bolívar, “as he feared,” was named President, and Santander Vice-President.{404}
Bolívar repeated his resignation, but added that he would yield if Congress persisted. Congress did persist, upon which he made an eloquent speech, in which he said:—
“A man, such as I am, is a dangerous citizen under a popular government. I wish to be a simple citizen in order to be free, and that all may be so likewise.” ”

“ Merry laughter sounded on all sides, and it was hard for me to imagine that this gay city was really Bolivar, the mysterious capital, queen of the romantic Gulf, where half the dark conspiracies that startled the Spanish-American republics were hatched; home of revolutionists exiled for the time being from their native shores, and as wicked a place for its size in all probability as might be found upon the entire terrestrial ball. ”

“ In 1817 he led the patriots in a battle against Morillo and again found himself a conqueror. Venezuela chose him to be her President, and in 1819 New Granada did him like honor, the two States uniting to form Colombia. In 1823 [Pg 26] his love for liberty and hatred of Spain caused him to lend assistance to the revolting Peruvians. The latter were successful, and as a reward for the excellent service of the Liberator, Bolivia, named in his honor, was erected into a separate State, and Bolivar was made its President for life. For a few years he remained President of both Colombia and Bolivia. ”

“ General Bolivar obtained leave from the congress at Bogotá to go to Peru—the grand scene of his subsequent triumphs.
The person of Bolivar is thin, and somewhat below the middle size. He dresses in good taste, and has an easy military walk. He is a very bold rider, and capable of undergoing great fatigue. ”

“ Each province bares its noble breast,
Each hero—save in Bogota!
At the first sudden gush of the music from within, the father of the damsel started to his feet, and with confusion in his countenance, was about to leave the apartment. But Bolivar arrested his footsteps, and in a whisper, commanded him to be silent and remain. The conspirators, startled, if not alarmed, were compelled to listen. Bolivar did so with a pleased attention. He was passionately fond of music, and this was of a sort at once to appeal to his objects and his tastes. ”

“ He has not the eye of San Martin, whose glance would pierce you through in a moment. Bolivar’s weather-beaten face tells you that he has not been idle. No man, I believe, has borne so much of the burden, or has toiled so hard in the heat of the day, in the cause of South American Independence, as Bolivar. His labours in his own country are already crowned with nearly complete success; Colombia may be considered free and independent. According to all the accounts which reach us, the Congress of that country is going on with great steadiness. ”

“ The President of Colombia, Mosquera, committed so many errors in government that he lost his prestige and was forced to leave Bogotá. The government then passed into the hands of Caicedo. A military insurrection overthrew the President and the Vice-President, and the military element proclaimed Bolívar chief of the republic, granting him full powers. General Urdaneta, old friend and constant companion of Bolívar, was entrusted provisionally with the executive power, and he organized a cabinet. He at once sent a commission to meet the Libertador in Cartagena. ”

“ Being next-door neighbour to Venezuela, Colombia was naturally one of the first states drawn into the ambitious operations of Bolivar, and for a time it looked as though its capital, Bogota, would assume a predominant importance in the southern continent, but the liberator underestimated the strong sense of nationality which had developed in the different sections of the vast country, and when his influence died down Colombia retained her individuality just as Venezuela preserved hers. ”