On the Route of Bolivar's Great March: Caracas to Bogotá Viâ Arauca and the Paramo of Pisva Author(S): Hiram Bingham Source: the Geographical Journal, Vol
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On the Route of Bolivar's Great March: Caracas to Bogotá Viâ Arauca and the Paramo of Pisva Author(s): Hiram Bingham Source: The Geographical Journal, Vol. 32, No. 4 (Oct., 1908), pp. 329-347 Published by: geographicalj Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1776922 Accessed: 27-06-2016 03:59 UTC Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Wiley, The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Geographical Journal This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 03:59:13 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms The Geographical Journal. No. 4. OCTOBER, 1908. VOL. XXXII. ON THE ROUTE OF BOLIVAR'S GREAT MARCH:" CARACAS TO BOGOTA VIA ARAUCA AND THE PARAMO OF PISVA. By Prof. HIRAM BINGHAM. IN 1819 the armies of General Bolivar and Santander marched from the central Venezuelan llanos, crossed the Arauca river at Arauca and the Andes by the paramo of Pisva, defeated the Spaniards at Pantano de Vargas and the Bridge of Boyaca, and secured the independence of Colombia. I had always felt that the difficulties of this march, which has been likened to those of HIannibal and Napoleon, had been greatly overestimated. Anxious to learn the truth, I persuaded Dr. HTamilton Rice to assist me in an attempt to go from Caracas to Bogota by way of this little-known region. We met in Caracas in December, 1906, and on January 3, 1907, started for Valencia by the German railway. Our outfit weighed about 1000 lbs., but the officials of this thrifty road made it weigh 1000 kilograms. A vigorous protest availed us nothing, and we were filched out of 325 bolivars (?13) for " excess luggage." In Caracas we secured two West Indian negroes who knew some Spanish and rendered faithful service to the best of their ability in all sorts of ways until honourably discharged in Bogota. In Valencia we added two faithful " peons" to our party. They walked across Vene- zuela in attendance upon our cart, the first wheeled vehicle to attempt such a journey. Besides the cart-mule we bought five saddle mules at * " His passage of the Andes was a mightier feat than Hannibal's passage of the Alps; his marches were longer than those of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane; his audacity in risking battles against odds equalled Marlborough's, while his patience under reverses, his skill in leading dispirited, half-mutinous armies, and his never- failing ingenuity as a strategist, entitled him to the praise, somewhat grudgingly bestowed by Wellington, of being an extraordinary comnmander" (The Times, London, August 8, 1883). Map, p. 448. No. IV.-OCTOBER, 1908.] z This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 03:59:13 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 330 ON THE ROUTE OF BOLIVAR'S GREAT MARCH: prices ranging from &13 to ~20, One of them lasted to the end of the march, and was sold for ?6 the day we reached the Bogota railroad. We left Valencia January 10, B0L~BL 0 0 00 0 0 0passed through Tocuyito, and camped for ten days near the 00000000000 :1 0f:0000 ~ BI 00000battlefield of Carabobo. Several battles have been fought at this strategic point, where the roads i00-tT0-:00 0 i from southern and western fi; --0- 0000 000 0 000 0 0 00 : Venezuela unite. It is chiefly i0 :-; 0 00000 0; 0- j famous for being the site of the :00000 I-;0 : :: ( ; deciding conflict between Spain f f;Xf ;fyy I-:-~~- - i- fand Venezuela in 1821. So far . :03 ;00000 0 000 as I have been able to discover, i ; 0000 00000000 no map of the battlefield has hitherto been published. The region is very fertile, and sup- 0 00 00-00;; 00^00 ;0 0X vports quite a large population. 00 ;00 0;00000000 The inhabitants are well fed, f fff00;00ff000 000000ff and fond of games chiefly f 0f;tt:;0000-000000 0ff Sbowling and cock-fighting. In 0 ff ;000 S*iS; :: ;the woods are numerous birds, f;0Xpj i-00 0 00 < peccaries, yenados (Odocoileus :f0:0fS;;j;00;f;;f: ;;j00+ w g~mnatus), iguanas, and red 00000000iS 00-3 X Eqsquirrels(Sciubrusvariabilis). We f-ffffffffftf0000000000 :0;-0 00fg;:o saw no snakes anywhere in 00000Ji00220 a0;.0 0 0 zlent zoological museum estab- f A;SfAQ AAS ?;CASS000S;in Caracas. 00 40X; $200; 0 $ig We left C:arabobo on January fS 0 00 :000 t: i02l, passing through a hilly ~~~~~~~~~that had been made by the late 0;;000 0 00 i00 00X XPresident Gluzman Blanco. A iS ;-$ 0--00;; - 00 j Wnew road leadin gfrom the plains X ~~~~~~~~was in course of construction. f00 0'0 00 000 '0 Beyond the hills lay the barren S0000000f0Qf f;fS0000000ff000A-000000000S00000plain of Tinaquillo, where B oli- 0 00000000200- ;j :0 00000var roviewed his forces on June :~~~~~~~~2, 81bfr trig_ fo h This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 03:59:13 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms C1\ARACAS TO BOGOTA VIA ARAVCA AND THE PARAMO OF PISVA. 331 Tinaquillo lies on the banks of the sluggish little Guayavita. The fare at the inns hereabouts is not bad, and consists of soup, beef stew, eggs, fried pilantains, maize cakes, and excellent coffee. And so it continued with little variation until we reached Barinas. From Tinaquillo, our road lay south over a barren range of hills, another plain, and then more hills, these last rather more fertile and consequently more populous. The next day brought us to the beautiful falls of Tinaco. Although not at all remarkable, except that they were the only falls seen in Tenezuela, the surroundings are wild andl picturesque. A ravine about half a mile long has been cut by the falls, which are at present about 10 and 40 feet high respectively. The river is well stocked with fish, which are caught in an ingenious manner by the lazy fishermen. Wiherever the fish are accustomed to jump the rapids of the shorter falls, the fishermen suspend baskets, which catch those individuals that make poor leaps. About 8 miles beyond the falls the road climbs out of the valley and descends on to the plain of Tinaco, the northern limit of the great llanos. Here the road branches out east, west, and south. The town is unattractive, but there are numerous shops and a comfortable inn. The next morning we turned westward. Our road now becamle a succession of grassy plains divided by wooded streams. The govern- ment telegraph-poles with their single wire were the only guide posts, but we found them quite sufficient as far as Barinas, the end of the line. We now began to see quantities of small wild pigeons (Zenaida vinaceorufa), green parroquets, and other birds of brilliant plumage, including macaws and parrots. About 13 miles beyond Tinaco we crossed a low, chapparal-covered ridge, and caught our first glimpse of San Carlos. In the time of Bolivar it was a place of great importance, boasted of 30,000 inhabitants and many wealthy citizens. To-day it has barely 3000 souls and a few interesting ruins. Earthquakes, revolutions, and cattle plagues have combined against it. A few com- panies of sad-eyed soldiers and a handful of grafting politicians hardly make up for its lost estate. The ruins of the grand house where Bolivar is said to have been enter- tained shortly before the battle of Carabobo are most extensive, and cover a city block. Part of the outer walls are still standing. The corner room has recently b)een roofed over andl turned into a butcher's shop. The ruins of another house not far away remind one of Italy, while those of the " Casa Blanqueria " are almost Pompeian. Painted frescoes, elaborate reliefs, carved wood ceilings, and tiled floors now shelter a polite but poverty-stricken family and their pigs and fowls. The exterior is decorated with caryatids that look like Incas. We left San Carlos January 24, and entered a region of low foot- hills. The village of San Jose, 3 miles from San Carlos, has not twenty houses now standing, although it was once a place of some importance. z 2 This content downloaded from 128.197.26.12 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 03:59:13 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 332 ON THE ROUTE OF BOLIVAR'S GREAT MARCH: Beyond San Jose, the road crossed grassy savannas and wooded streams where bamboo thickets predominated. Occasionally one met wild bulls on their way to the bullfight. Each bull, with his head securely tied up in a sack, was attended by two or three llaneros, or cowboys. By a raw-hide lasso run through his nose the bull was fastened to the tail of a tame horse, on which rode the first llanero, whose mournful whistle, oft repeated, announced the approach of a wild animal. Another familiar sight on the roadside were the fires which the natives are fond of setting in the dry season.