Even here the patriots were by no means safe from the vengeance of Spain.  Various attempts were made to assassinate Bolivar.  On one occasion a dastardly endeavour of the kind was within an ace of being successful.  Bolivar had sailed to Jamaica in order to obtain supplies for the patriot forces.  His presence in the island was noted, and some Spaniards bribed a negro to enter the house where he was staying and to slay him as he lay asleep at night.

The murderous black succeeded in penetrating to the room where the General usually slept.  A figure lay upon the bed, and this the assassin stabbed to the heart; but it was not that of the Liberator.  It was his secretary, who had died in his stead.

Bolivar, however, was not a man to be deterred from his plans by attempts such as these.  He was possessed of a high courage, and was by no means averse to distinguish himself on the battle-field from the rest in the matter of costume.  At Boyaca, for instance, he donned a jacket and pantaloons of the most brilliant scarlet and gold, thus attracting an amount of attention on the part of the enemy which was sufficiently perilous in itself.

The British did not long delay in taking an active interest in the struggle for independence, and very soon volunteers came flocking to the assistance of these northern districts of South America.  Two separate British legions fought for Bolivar.  One had been raised in England, and was commanded by General English; the other, formed in Ireland, was led by General Devereux.  Some corps of native Indian troops, it may be remarked, were officered by the British, and there was, moreover, in the patriot service a battalion of rifles composed entirely of British and German troops.

At first it appears that a marked spirit of distrust manifested itself between the native patriots and the British; but very soon a mutual admiration cemented a friendship between the two races.  The English volunteers found it difficult to display their true mettle in the early days of the war.  They suffered very severely on their first landing, since they were unaccustomed to the climate, and found themselves unable to accomplish the long marches made by the patriots.  In a short while, however, they grew used to the country and its ways, and then their feats, instead of meeting with a certain amount of derision, provoked the enthusiastic admiration of the Columbians.

It is certain that the campaign was no kid-glove one.  Some of the marches were attended by almost incredible hardships and sufferings.  It was, for instance, necessary in some districts to ford rivers in which the perai fish abounded.  This fierce little creature, as is well known, is capable of tearing off a formidable mouthful of human flesh at a single bite, and this it never fails to do when the opportunity offers.  Many severe wounds were caused among the British ranks by these ferocious fish, and it may be imagined that in the first instance experiences of the kind were as startling as they were disconcerting.