354 



SPANISH AMERICA. 



above-mentioned places ; and some of the 

 letters having fallen into the hands of Bo- 

 livar, the whole plan was thus developed. 



^ It may easily be imagined, that out of 

 the slaves in Venezuela, amounting to seven- 

 ty thousand, and a numerous host of vaga- 

 bonds, there would be little difficulty in se- 

 lecting a force, formidable not only from its 

 numbers, but still more from its sanguinary 

 cruelty. Bolivar was unable to prevent the 

 execution of this execrable project ; but he 

 lost no time in adopting every measure that 

 promised a chance of mitigating the evils 

 of such a scourge. 



Puy and Palomo having obtained pos- 

 session of Barinas, Guanare, and some other 

 towns, a division of Bolivar's army was 

 marched in that direction. Puy retired to 

 Barinas, where he ordered five hundred and 

 seventy-four individuals to be arrested, of 



