520 Adventures in Colombia. Nov. 



inquiry (preceded by an oath), " whether he meant to detain them there 

 all night ?" and the mild but dignified reply of the stranger, " lead on !" 

 made him acquainted with the name as well as rank of the individual 

 before him. It was the gallant, the unfortunate Piar ! An involuntary 

 exclamation betrayed Winton's place of concealment; and at the same 

 instant the sabre of the ferocious Dias gleamed like a flash of light- 

 ning in his eyes, as, propelled by the Herculean arm that wielded 

 it, it struck the protecting tree, into which it penetrated so deeply 

 as to render it difficult to disengage it. The savage, sullen at hav- 

 ing missed his aim, yet not daring to repeat his blow against one whom 

 he deemed a friend of Bolivar's, declared his intention of detaining 

 Winton a prisoner for the night ; and having formed his party, 

 they proceeded to the " Plaza." Here he left him in custody of the 

 officer commanding the guard stationed at the government-house ; and 

 having sent a message to the governor, he received in a few minutes, 

 through an aid-de-camp, an order to lodge his other prisoner in the 

 " Capello,"* which he instantly obeyed. The " Plaza," or square of 

 Angostura, was situated in the centre of the town, three sides of which 

 were occupied by the government-house, the Palace of Congress, and the 

 chapel, with the curate's house adjoining it ; the fourth side, and facing 

 the palace, was filled by an immense brick building, which had been 

 erected by the Spaniards, and intended as a cathedral : the revolution, 

 however, prevented its completion ; the outward walls, of considerable 

 height, were alone standing, and it was wholly unroofed. Its interior pre- 

 sented the appearance of a second Golgotha, the compartment of earth 

 which it encompassed being literally strewed with human skulls, and other 

 mouldering remnants of frail humanity it having served as a charnel- 

 house during the rigours of a late siege. Large flocks of the " zamora/' 

 or South American vulture, were constantly seen hovering over its wide 

 aperture, and croaking, as if in pleasurable anticipation of fresh offal. 



So soon as Piar's arrival had been notified to Bolivar, a military 

 council, consisting of members devoted to the interest of the latter, was 

 assembled to try the unhappy man upon charges equally vague as inde- 

 finite : the chief one, however, was an alleged conspiracy to subvert the 

 existing government, and raise the people of colour to power by a 

 total extermination of the whites.t There appears to have been no just 

 grounds for such an imputation. Paradoxical as it may be deemed, his 

 greatest fault was the eminent service he had rendered his country ; 

 and, like Coriolanus, he was doomed to become the victim of envy and 

 ingratitude. When summoned before his judges to receive the sentence 

 of his condemnation, his conduct was both firm and manly. He stooped 

 not to repel an accusation which, he said, the whole tenor of his political 

 life ought to prove a sufficient acquittal of. He solicited but one favour 

 permission to die with the full insignia of the rank which he had 

 gained in the field of honour. His request was complied with. 



The next morning, at an early hour, the garrison paraded in the 

 square. The arrangements for the execution having been made, the 



* " Capello," chapel. It is customary to lodge prisoners, the night previous to their 

 execution, under a strong guard, in this holy sanctuary, in order that they may receive 

 the rites of mother church, and enjoy the benefit of ghostly consolation ; a small room 

 behind the altar, with grated windows, being generally reserved for that purpose. 



f- Piar was himself a mulatto. 



