778 



VENEZUELA 



for the overthrow of .Palacio. By the middle of 

 March he had 1.J500 men organized in the Apure 

 country, whence he pushed northward after the 

 imprisonment of the Federal judges, fighting un- 

 important skirmishes with the various Govern- 

 ment garrisons in Zamora. 



Meanwhile Gen. Eliseo Aranja began collect- 

 ing a body of revolutionists in the State of Los 

 Andes. Crespo, an experienced fighter, crossing 

 into Miranda, marched on toward Caracas, en- 

 gaging the scattered forces of the Government. 

 His force was not strong enough or well enough 

 equipped for a descent on the capital, and 

 the other bodies that were recruited in dis- 

 tant parts of the country were unable to co- 

 operate in such a maneuver. Arms and equip- 

 ments were wanting for all the revolutionary 

 forces, but arrangements were made for intro- 

 ducing them from the West India Islands and 

 from New York and Hamburg. Crespo there- 

 fore adopted waiting tactics, and began a 

 series of maneuvers intended to draw the Govern- 

 ment troops out upon the plains, where his cavalry, 

 hardy llaneros mounted on strong mustangs and 

 expert with the lance, could deliver their im- 

 petuous attacks. The. Government forces were 

 much better provided with arms in the beginning 

 of the struggle, but an extravagant administra- 

 tion had left the Treasury empty, the Government 

 being necessitated to obtain an advance of 8,000,- 

 001) bolivars from the Bank of Venezuela at the 

 start, and after a while even the wretched pay of 

 20 cents a day which was decreed ,for the com- 

 mon soldier was held back and cut down, while, 

 when food rose to famine prices in the cities held 

 by the Presidential forces, rations were reduced 

 to less than was necessary to sustain the strength 

 and preserve the contentment and loyalty of the 

 soldiers. Palacio's generals pushed out in strong 

 columns, for it was necessary for them to strike 

 quickly and also to occupy the principal towns 

 in force. Crespo's bands did not attempt to 

 stand before them, but disappeared after firing 

 away their scanty supply of ammunition from 

 behind stones and trees, inflicting usually much 

 heavier losses than they received. These skir- 

 mishes were chronicled in the Government reports 

 as important victories, and the revolutionary 

 army was stated in the reports sent abroad to 

 have been dispersed and Crespo and his generals 

 to be fugitives, at the time when they were gain- 

 ing recruits faster than they could arm them and 

 after they had begun to gain battles and were 

 joined by whole battalions of Government sol- 

 diers who deserted with their arms, and were 

 drawing their lines constantly closer to Caracas. 



Dr. Sebastian Casanas, a politician of force 

 and ability, but inexperienced in military affairs, 

 was made commander-in-chief of the expedi- 

 tionary force that was sent out against Crespo 

 when hostilities began. He made his headquar- 

 ters at La Victoria, a town of 10,000 inhabitants, 

 half-Mjay between Caracas and Valencia. A large 

 number of rifles and cartridges were seized by 

 workmen on the railroad near La Victoria, who 

 cut down the escort of 60 soldiers, and went off 

 to the rebels with the six car-loads of munitions. 

 Arms and ammunition were smuggled out of 

 Caracas to the insurgents who swarmed in the 

 neighboring mountains. There was no difficulty 

 in landing arms at Guanta, the port of Barce- 



lona or other places on the coast or on the Ori- 

 noco or Apure rivers, especially after the capture 

 of a Government war vessel had given them the 

 naval command of the Orinoco. A war steamer 

 was captured carrying military supplies by a 

 party of young revolutionists who surprised the 

 captain and crew on Lake Maracaibo. In the 

 evening of March 24, a dynamite bomb was ex- 

 ploded with terrifying force in the garden of the 

 Casa Amarilla, the President's official mansion in 

 Caracas. It caused all-the military and police to 

 rush to the defense of the President, and thus 

 accomplished its object, which was to enable 

 numerous revolutionists who understood the sig- 

 nal to pass through the unguarded streets and 

 make their escape to the mountains. 



The first regular engagement was fought near 

 El Totumo, only 3 days' march from Caracas. 

 The insurgents were successful at first, driving 

 back the force which had been sent to occupy 

 Gen. Crespo's cattle ranch at El Totumo, but re- 

 enforcements came up, and with 7,500 men, out- 

 numbering the enemy three to one, the Presiden- 

 tial troops made a stand on a hill, which the 

 Crespists tried to storm three times, losing J'OO 

 killed, and then retreated, being pursued in their 

 turn, in the direction of Crespo's base in eastern 

 Zamora. Skirmishes took place almost daily for 

 the next two months, but the revolutionists did 

 not again rashly join battle with the troops that 

 Palacio hurried into the field. The next encoun- 

 ter of any importance took place at Ortiz, where 

 Gen. Rodriguez attempted to intercept a force 

 that was marching from the Orinoco to join 

 Crespo. Here the Government troops were com- 

 pelled to fall back, leaving the town of Ortiz, in 

 the State of Guarico, in the insurgents' hands, 

 and on the heels of this victory for the rebels 

 came the seizure of the National gunboat " Nucve 

 de Julio," which was stationed at Esmerelda on 

 the Orinoco river. Two transports loaded with 

 arms for the Government were captured subse- 

 quently. On April 1, three dynamite bombs 

 were exploded in the Plaza Bolivar in front of 

 the Casa Amarilla, and in the midst of the con- 

 fusion that followed the prisons were broken 

 open by the revolutionists, who released the 

 political prisoners. A large part of a regiment 

 quartered in the Caracas barracks deserted at this 

 time to the enemy, with its commander, Gen. 

 Pulgar. 



On April 6 the Governor of Zamora issued a 

 proclamation denouncing Palacio as a tyrant and 

 usurper, and calling for volunteers to expel the 

 dictator from Venezuela. On the same day 600 

 infantry and 5 troops of cavalry left to form a 

 junction with a body of insurgents from the 

 State of Lara, who were advancing to join Gen. 

 Crespo, who then had his headquarters in the 

 State of Carabobo. Gen. Polanco marched out 

 from Valencia to intercept them, and on the 

 morning of April 7 he overtook the rebels, who 

 had combined under Gen. Manzano, and num- 

 bered 5,000. A fierce battle ensued, in which 

 both sides lost heavily, and the Government 

 troops, who were greatly inferior in numbers, but 

 were better armed and trained, forced the rebels 

 to abandon the town of Araure and fall back 

 toward Acaragua, which Manzano had taken 

 possession of a day or two before. In the night, 

 re-enforced by 500 cavalry, , the rebels made a 



