Once more Bolívar was obliged to leave Guayaquil, this time to go to Quito to defend the city against the pastusos, who had again rebelled. After punishing them, he sent men to the city of Pasto to finish the work of pacification, and he returned to Guayaquil in January, 1823, where he was met by a commission sent from Perú to insist upon his taking command of the Perúvians. Upon receipt of authorization from the Colombian government, he proceeded to Callao, where he arrived on the first of September, 1823. Congress conferred upon Bolívar the title of Libertador, and placed in his hands supreme military authority over all the forces of the country. In order to insure close coöperation between the civil administration and the military operations, he was vested with political and executive authority. Bolívar accepted these powers with great modesty, and remarked:
"I do for Perú more than my ability permits, because I count upon the efforts of my generous fellows-in-arms. The wisdom of Congress will give me light in the midst of the chaos, difficulties and dangers in which I see myself…. I left the capital of Colombia, avoiding the responsibilities of civil government. My repugnance to work in governmental affairs is beyond all exaggeration, so I have resigned forever from civil power so far as it is not closely connected with military operations. The Congress of Perú may count, nevertheless on all the strength of Colombian arms to give the country unlimited freedom. By protecting national representation I have done for Perú the greatest service a man could do for a nation."
There were elaborate festivities in honor of Bolívar, and his moderation, as well as his other personal qualifications, was recognized and admired. General O'Higgins of Chile was present on that occasion. At one of the banquets, Bolívar proposed a toast voicing the hope that the children of America might never see a throne raised in any of its territories, and that, as Napoleon was exiled in the middle of the ocean, and the new emperor, Iturbide, thrown out of Mexico, all usurpers of the rights of the people might fall, and that not one of them might remain throughout the New World.
Bolívar had many difficulties to overcome in the work of organizing the elements of the country for the final struggle. Perúvians had not been hardened by constant fighting as had Venezuelans and New Granadians, and although they were patriotic and anxious to obtain their freedom, yet they lacked the ardor that only Bolívar knew how to kindle in men's hearts. He decided to hasten the advance of the Colombian reinforcements, knowing that he could trust them to form a strong nucleus around which he could organize the Peruvian campaign. In the midst of his incessant work, he would say:
"We must conquer or die! And we will conquer, for Heaven does not want us in chains."
In January, 1824, Bolívar became very ill with fever. Before he had fully recovered he began to direct the preparations for the campaign, and while convalescing displayed remarkable energy in his work.[1] At times, though, he showed some signs of discouragement. He had already said he felt that his energy was diminishing, and in a letter to General Sucre he wrote:
"I am ready to meet the Spaniards in a battle to end war in America, but nothing more. I feel tired, I am old, and I have nothing to expect."
He had something to expect: the last and final victories, and then the ingratitude of his fellow citizens. Perhaps at that time he was beginning to feel the advances of the illness which caused his death.[2]
[Footnote 1: When he was still very weak, sitting ghost-like in an armchair, his friend don Joaquín Mosquera, who had been his ambassador to the countries of the South, asked him, "And now, what are you going to do?" "To conquer," answered Bolívar.]
[Footnote 2: Tuberculosis.]