Paez The Llanero Chief And The War For Freedom
On the 3d of June, 1819, General Morillo, the commander of the Spanish
forces in Venezuela, found himself threatened in his camp by a party of
one hundred and fifty daring horsemen, who had swum the Orinoco and
galloped like centaurs upon his line. Eight hundred of the Spanish
cavalry, with two small field-pieces, sallied out to meet their
assailants, who slowly retired before their superior numbers. In this way
the ro
alists were drawn on to a place called Las Queseras del Medio,
where a battalion of infantry had been placed in ambush near the river.
Here, suddenly ceasing their retreat, and dividing up into groups of
twenty, the patriot horsemen turned on the Spaniards and assailed them on
all sides, driving them back under the fire of the infantry, by whom they
were fearfully cut down. Then they recrossed the river with two killed and
a few wounded, while the plain was strewn with the bodies of their foes.
This anecdote may serve to introduce to our readers Joseph Antonio Paez,
the leader of the band of patriot horsemen, and one of the most daring and
striking figures among the liberators of South America. Born of Indian
parents of low extraction, and quite illiterate, Paez proved himself so
daring as a soldier that he became in time general-in-chief of the armies
of Venezuela and the neighboring republics, and was Bolivar's most trusted
lieutenant during the war for independence.
Brought up amid the herds of half-wild cattle belonging to his father, who
was a landholder in the Venezuelan plains, he became thoroughly skilled in
the care of cattle and horses, and an adept at curing their disorders. He
was accustomed to mount and subdue the wildest horses, and was noted for
strength and agility and for power of enduring fatigue.
A llanero, or native of the elevated plains of Venezuela, he rose
naturally to great influence among his fellow-herdsmen, and when the
revolution began, in 1810, and he declared in favor of the cause of
freedom, his reputation for courage was so great that they were very ready
to enlist under him. He chose from among them one hundred and fifty picked
horsemen, and this band, under the title of "Guides of the Apure," soon
made itself the terror of the Spaniards.
The following story well shows his intrepid character. After the death of
his mother young Paez inherited her property in Barinas, and divided it
with his sisters who were living in that town. The Spanish forces, which
had been driven out of it, occupied it again in 1811, and proclaimed a
general amnesty for the inhabitants, inviting all property-holders to
return and promising to reinstate them in their fortunes. Paez, hearing of
this, rode boldly into Barinas and presented himself before the Spanish
commandant, saying that he had come to avail himself of the amnesty and
take possession of his property.
He was soon recognized by the inhabitants, who gathered in hundreds to
welcome and shake hands with him, and the news quickly spread among the
Spanish soldiers that this was the famous Captain Paez, who had done them
so much mischief. Seizing their arms, they called loudly on their
commander to arrest and shoot the insolent newcomer as a rebel and
traitor. But this officer, who was well aware of the valor of Paez, and
perceived his great influence over the people of Barinas, deemed it very
imprudent to take a step that might lead to a general outbreak, and
concluded to let his perilous visitor alone. He therefore appeased his
soldiers, and Paez was left unmolested in the house of his sisters.
The governor, however, only bided his time. Spies were set to watch the
daring llanero, and after some days they informed their leaders that Paez
had gone out unarmed, and that there was a good opportunity to seize his
weapons as a preliminary to his arrest. When Paez returned home after his
outing, he was told that armed men had visited the house and taken away
his sword and pistols.
Incensed by this act of ill-faith, he boldly sought the governor's house
and angrily charged him with breaking his word. He had come to Barinas, he
said, trusting in the offer of amnesty, and vigorously demanded that his
arms should be restored--not for use against the Spaniards, but for his
personal security. His tone was so firm and indignant, and his request so
reasonable under the circumstances, that the governor repented of his
questionable act, and gave orders that the arms should be returned.
On hearing this, the whole garrison of Barinas assailed the governor with
reproaches, impetuously demanding that the guerilla chief should be
arrested and confined in irons. The versatile governor again gave way, and
that night the Paez mansion was entered and he taken from his bed, put in
irons, and locked up in prison. It was no more than he might have
expected, if he had known as much of the Spanish character then as he was
afterwards to learn.
But Paez was not an easy captive to hold. In the prison he found about one
hundred and fifty of his fellow rebels, among them his friend Garcia, an
officer noted for strength and courage. On Garcia complaining to him of
the weight of his irons and the miserable condition of the prisoners, Paez
accused him of cowardice, and offered to exchange fetters with him. To
keep his word he broke his own chains by main strength and handed them to
his astonished friend.
Paez now spoke to the other prisoners and won their consent to a concerted
break for liberty. Freed from his own fetters, he was able to give
efficient service to the others, and before morning nearly the whole of
them were free. When the jailor opened the door in the morning he was
promptly knocked down by Paez and threatened with instant death if he made
a sound. Breaking into the guard-room, they seized the arms of the guard,
set free those whose irons were not yet broken, and marched from the
prison, with Paez at their head, upon the Spanish garrison, two hundred in
number. Many of these were killed and the rest put to rout, and Barinas
was once more in patriot hands.
This anecdote will serve to show, better than pages of description, the
kind of man that Paez was. When the act became known to the llaneros they
proclaimed Paez their general, and were ready to follow him to the death.
These cowboys of the Orinoco, if we may give them this title, were, like
their leader, of Indian blood. Neither they nor their general knew
anything about military art, and felt lost when taken from their native
plains, a fact which was shown when they were called upon to follow
Bolivar in his mountain expedition against New Granada. Neither persuasion
nor force could induce them to leave the plains for the mountains. Bolivar
and Paez entreated them in vain, and they declared that rather than go to
the hill-country they would desert and return to their native plains,
where alone they were willing to fight. This was their only act of
insubordination under their favorite leader, who usually had complete
control over them. He made himself one with his men, would divide his last
cent with them, and was called by them uncle and father. His
staff-officers were all llaneros and formed his regular society, they
being alike destitute of education and ignorant of tactics, but bold and
dashing and ready to follow their leader to the cannon's mouth.
The British Legion, about six hundred strong, was in the last year of the
war attached to the llaneros corps, its members being highly esteemed by
Paez, who called them "my friends, the English." The soldiers of the
legion, however, were bitterly opposed to their commander, Colonel
Bossuet, whom they held responsible for the miserable state of their
rations and clothes and their want of pay. At the end of one day, which
was so scorchingly hot that the soldiers were excused from their usual
five o'clock parade, the legion rushed from their quarters at this hour
and placed themselves in order of battle, crying that they would rather
have a creole to lead them than their colonel.
Their officers attempted to pacify them, but in vain, and the
lieutenant-colonel, against whom they had taken offence, was attacked and
mortally wounded with bayonet thrusts. When Colonel Bossuet appeared and
sought to speak to them they rushed upon him with their bayonets, and it
needed the active efforts of the other officers to save him from their
revengeful hands. Tidings of the mutiny were brought to General Paez in
his quarters and threw him into a paroxysm of rage. Seizing his sword, he
rushed upon the mutineers, killed three of them instantly, and would have
continued this bloody work but that his sword broke on the body of a
fourth. Flinging down the useless weapon, he seized some of the most
rebellious, dragged them from the ranks by main strength, and ordered them
to be taken to prison. The others, dismayed by his spirited conduct,
hastily dispersed and sought their quarters. The next day three of the
most seditious of the soldiers, and a young lieutenant who was accused of
aiding in the mutiny,--though probably innocent of it,--were arrested and
shot without trial.
Paroxysms of fury were not uncommon with Paez. After the battle of Ortiz,
in which his daring charges alone saved the infantry from destruction, he
was seized with a fit, and lay on the ground, foaming at the mouth.
Colonel English went to his aid, but his men warned him to let their
general alone, saying, "He is often so, and will soon be all right. None
of us dare touch him when he is in one of these spells."
But Colonel English persisted, sprinkling his face with water and forcing
some down his throat. The general soon recovered and thanked him for his
aid, saying that he was a little overcome with fatigue, as he had killed
thirty-nine of the enemy with his own hand. As he was running the fortieth
through the body he felt his illness coming on. By way of reward he
presented Colonel English with the lance which had done this bloody work
and gave him three fine horses from his own stud.
These anecdotes of the dashing leader of the llaneros, who, like all
Indians, viewed the Spaniards with an abiding hatred, are likely to be of
more interest than the details of his services in the years of
campaigning. In the field, it may be said, he was an invaluable aid to
General Bolivar. In the campaigns against Morillo, the Spanish
commander-in-chief, his daring activity and success were striking, and to
him was largely due the winning the last great battle of the war, that of
Carabobo.
In this battle, fought on the 26th of June, 1821, Bolivar had about
sixteen hundred infantry, a thousand or more of them being British, and
three thousand of llanero cavalry under Paez. The Spaniards, under La
Torre, had fewer men, but occupied a very strong defensive position. This
was a plain, interspersed with rocky and wooded hills, and giving abundant
space for military movements, while if driven back they could retire to
one strong point after another, holding the enemy at disadvantage
throughout. In front there was only one defile, and their wings were well
protected, the left resting upon a deep morass. A squadron of cavalry
protected their right wing, and on a hill opposite the defile--through
which ran the road to Valencia--was posted a small battery.
This position seemed to give the royalists a decisive superiority over
their patriot antagonists, and for twenty days they waited an attack, in
full confidence of success. Bolivar hesitated to risk an attack, fearing
that the destiny of his country might rest upon the result. He proposed an
armistice, but this was unanimously rejected by his council of war. Then
it was suggested to seek to turn the position of the enemy, but this was
also rejected, and it was finally decided to take every risk and assail
the enemy in his stronghold, trusting to courage and the fortune of war
for success.
While the subject was being discussed by Bolivar and his staff, one of the
guides of the army, who was thoroughly familiar with the country they
occupied, stood near and overheard the conversation. At its end he drew
near Bolivar, and in a whisper told him that he knew a difficult foot-path
by which the right wing of the Spaniards might be turned.
This news was highly welcome, and, after a consultation with his
informant, Bolivar secretly detached three battalions of his best troops,
including the British legion and a strong column of cavalry under General
Paez, directing them to follow the guide and preserve as much silence and
secrecy as possible.
The path proved to be narrow and very difficult. They were obliged to
traverse it in single file, and it was paved with sharp stones that cut
their shoes to pieces and deeply wounded their feet. Many of them tore
their shirts and made bandages for their feet to enable them to go on.
Fortunately for the success of the movement, it was masked by the forest,
and the expedition was able to concentrate in a position on the flank of
the enemy without discovery.
When at length the Spaniards found this unwelcome force on their flank
they hastily despatched against it the royal battalion of Bengos, driving
back the nearest troops and unmasking the British legion. This they fired
upon and then charged with the bayonet. The British returned the fire and
charged in their turn, and with such dash and vigor that the Spaniards
soon gave way. In their retreat Paez marched upon them with a squadron
called the Sacred Legion, and few of them got back to their ranks. In
return a squadron of the Spaniards charged the British, but with less
success, being dispersed by a hot musketry fire.
"While the Spanish right wing was being thus dealt with, a fierce attack
had been made upon the front. The unexpected flank and rear attack was so
disconcerting that La Torre lost all presence of mind, and on every side
his men were driven back and thrown into confusion. In front and on flank
they were hotly pressed. The opportunity of retreating to the succession
of defensive points in the rear was quite lost sight of in the panic that
invaded their ranks, and soon they were in precipitate retreat, their
cavalry dispersed without making a charge, their infantry in the utmost
disorder, their cannon and baggage-trains deserted and left to the enemy.
In this state of affairs Paez showed his customary dash and activity. He
pursued the Spaniards at the head of the cavalry, cutting them down
vigorously, and few of them would have escaped but for the fatigued and
weak condition of his horses, which rendered them unable to break the
files of the Spanish infantry. In one of their unsuccessful charges
General Sedeno, Colonel Plaza, and a black man called, from his courage,
El Primero (the first), finding that they could not break the infantry
lines, rushed madly into the midst of the bayonets and were killed.
The news of this defeat spread consternation among the Spaniards.
Thousands of the royalists in the cities hastened to leave the country,
fearing the vengeance of the patriots, the Spanish commanders lost all
spirit, and three months later the strong fortress of Carthagena
surrendered to the Colombians. Maracaibo was held till 1823, when it
surrendered, and in July, 1824, Porto Cabello capitulated and the long
contest was at an end.
This final surrender was due in great measure to General Paez, who thus
sustained his military service to the end. Though not gaining the renown
of Bolivar, and doubtless incapable of heading an army and conducting a
campaign, as a cavalry leader he was indispensable, and to him and his
gallant llaneros was largely due the winning of liberty.