GALLANTRY OF GENERAL PAEZ. 475 



he turned with his companions, and made a 

 desperate charge upon his pursuers, whom 

 he drove back among their own infantry; 

 and again retired over the river, leaving 

 seventy of the enemy dead on the field, be- 

 fore they could get their light infantry out 

 to attack him ; — himself only losing one cap- 

 tain, whom he brought over the river to die 

 among his comrades. For this gallant action 

 the one hundred and fifty followers of Paez 

 received the order of Liberators of Venezuela. 

 This triumph had a doubly good effect, by 

 cheering up the spirits of the little army of 

 patriots, and convincing Morillo that he was 

 in a very disagreeable neighbourhood ; he, 

 finding he could not bring them to action in 

 his own ground, and that the wet season was 

 about setting in, determined on moving his 

 army to the other side of the river Apurd, 

 into winter-quarters, and by that means to 

 avoid the disagreeable visits of Senor Paez. 

 It was also thought in the patriot army 



