The Ely miner., 1924-06-27
SIMON BOLIVAR
A. d. 1919

young Ferulnand, prince or the AS
turiaS, had the condescension to play
at tennis with mere colonial; and
the latter won.
Long afterward, when Don Ferdi-
nand was king, the colonial challenged
him to another ball game, one played
with cannon balls. This time the
stake was the Spanish American en-
pire, but Ferdinand played Bolivar,
and again the latter won.
Now tell me-" lady said once,
"what animal reminds one most Of
the Senor Bolivar?"
And Bolivar thought he heard some
one say monkey" whereat he flew
into an awful passion until the of
fender claimed that the word was
sparrow" He stood five feet six
inches, with a brd-like quickness, and
puckered face with an odd tang of
monkey. Rich, lavish, gaudy, talking
mock heroics, vain as a peacock, al
ways on the strut unless he was on
the run, there is no more pathetically
funny figure in history than tragical
thought, knocking at the door of South
America, and opened-to let in chaos.
II don't know" drawled a Spaniard
of that time, ito what class of beasts
these South Americans belong"
These Spanish colonials were treat
ed as dogs, behaving as dogs. When
they wanted a university Spain saiC
they were only provided by Providence
to labor in the mines. They were not
allowed to hold any office or learn the
arts of war and government. Spain
sent officials to ease them of their
surplus cash, and keep them out of
mischief
They were loyal as beaten dogs un-
til Napoleon stole the Spanish crown
for brother Joseph, and French armies
promenaded all over Spain closely pur-
sued by the British. There was no
were not Napoleon's dogs. Napoleon's
ENJOYS to Venezuela We're nearly torn
to pieces before they escaped to sea,
where a little British frigate came
and gobbled them up. The sea be-
longed to the British, and so the coloni-
other gentleman, to King George
Please would he help them to gain
their liberty? George had just chased
Napoleon out of Spain, and said he
would do his best with his allies,
the Spaniards.
Tn 7 nli arth
tryman who loved liberty and had
fought for Napoleon, real profession
al soldier General Miranda was able
and willing to lead the armies of free
dom, until he actually saw the Ven
ezuelan troops. Then he SHE'D hard.
He really must draw the line some
where Yes, he would take. command
of the rabble on one condition, that
he got rid of Bolivar. To get away
from Bolivar he would go anywhere
and do anything. So he led his rabble
and found them stout fighters, and
drove the Spaniards out of the central
provinces.
The politicians were sitting down
to draft the first of many comic-opera
constitutions when an awful sound,
louder than any thunder, swept out
of the eastern Andes, the earth rolled
like sea in storm, and the five
cities of the new republic crashed
down in heaps of ruin. The barracks
buried the garrisons, the marching
troops were totally destroyed, the pol
iticians were killed, and in all one
hundred twenty thousand people per-
ished. The only thing left standing in
one church was pillar bearing the
arms of Spain; the only districts not
wrecked were those still loyal to the
Spanish government. The clergy point
ed the moral, the ruined people re-
pented their rebellion, and the Spanish
forces took heart and closed in from
every side upon the lost republic. ST.
mon Bolivar generously surrendered
General Miranda in chains to the vic
torious Spaniards.
So far one sees only, as poor Mi
randa did, that this man was a sick
ening cad. But he was something
more. He stuck to the cause for
WHICH lie udu given Ills illc, JOlIcu IUc
rebels in what is now Colombia, was
given small garrison command and
ordered to stay in his fort. In defiance
of orders, he swept the Spaniards out
of the Magdalena valley, raised large
force, liberated the country, then
marched into Venezuela, defeated the
Spanish forces in a score of brilliant
actions, and was proclaimed liberator
and absolute power In both Colombia
and Venezuela. One begins to marvel
at this heroic leader until the cad
looms out "Spaniards ead Canary
islanders !" he wrote, reckon on death
even if you are neutral, unless you will
work actively for the liberty Of Amer
lea. Americans! count on life even If
you are culpable."
Bolivar's pet hobbies were three In
number: Resigning his job as liber-
ator; writing proclamations; commit
ting massacres. II order you," he
wrote to the governor of La Guayra,
"to shoot all the prisoners in those
dungeons, and in the hospital, without
any exception whatever"
So the prisoners of war were set to
work building a funeral pyre. When