SIMON BOLIVAR AND LOS CASTILLOS 49^^ 



the English remained at St. Thomas. It would appear, 

 if we are to believe Father Simon's report, that the 

 occupation of the place extended over twenty-five days. 

 Of the failure of Keymis to find the mine, the real object 

 of the expedition, of his suicide after his interview with 

 the admiral, of the imprisonment and subsequent exe- 

 cution of Sir Walter Ralegh because of the encounter 

 at St. Thomas, I do not believe it would be within the 

 scope of this narrative to give the details. On account 

 of a fray on that worthless arid bit of country which 

 lay before us, one of the greatest of all Englishmen 

 was beheaded, a man who was as great in intellect as 

 James was small, who was as brave as his king was 

 cowardly. 



But it is not only in connection with English history 

 that Los Castillos lays claim to have been a place of 

 importance in the past, for it is said that at a critical 

 moment during the war of independence, Simon Bolivar 

 was nearly captured in its vicinity ; he only escaped by 

 hiding in the swamp adjoining the town. Had this re- 

 markable man been taken prisoner by the troops of Spain 

 how different might have been the termination of that 

 war which secured the independence of the Spanish 

 colonies in South America ! 



Several passengers suffering from a form of malignant 

 fever were taken on board at Los Castillos. Some ap- 

 peared to be in a dying condition, and those were placed 

 on blankets on the deck. No account was taken of the 

 fact that the fever might have been of a contagious nature. 

 One would believe that this place as seen from the steamer 

 ought to be anything but unhealthy, but I was told that 

 an extensive swamp behind the hill is the cause of the 

 fever from which the inhabitants suffer, and that at 



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