Their dress is very simple, and consists merely of a long shirt called ciishma, of black or white cotton... although generally the latter, which is worn by both men and women. The only difference between the men's cushma and the women's is that in the former the opening that admits the head is vertical and runs down along the bosom, while in the latter it is horizontal and reaches from shoulder to shoulder. This garment resembles nothing so much as a night-shirt without sleeves. The Cionis are also excessively fond of beads, and the amount of them they wear is astounding. In fact, they are so numerous as to totally conceal their necks, the lower parts of their ears, and most of their shoulders. These beads, which often weigh from ten to fifteen pounds, are only removed when the Indians go to bed, bathe, etc. Besides Atrocarium.
80 THE PUTUMAYO these they generally wear several necklaces of monkey or danta teeth and a string or so of the bright, red-spotted-with-black seeds of the huairuro or quairor* which they wear as a sort of talisman. The houses of these Indians are, like those of the Incas, large, rectangular structures, the walls of which are formed either of upright poles tied together with the bark of the sacha-huasca or the tamshi, or else of slabs of split bamboo or palms, such as the chonta^f the camona or huacrapona % and the tarapoto,% whose thick, almost hollow trunks, when split, form large durable planks, quite suitable for different purposes. The roofs are of thatch, for which the leaves of the yarina || or vegetable-ivory tree are generally used. Several families, as a rule, live in the same house, each, however, having its own corner, fireside, and utensils. Their furniture is limited to hammocks of their own manufacture and little low stools either carved out of solid wood or else made from slabs of bamboo or the above-mentioned palm-trees. Overhead several light cross-timbers are stretched, upon which they hang their clothes, their arms, and many domestic utensils. As they generally eat with their fingers, knives and forks are unknown, while for spoons they employ certain shells or small gourds. As dishes they use the easily pre- pared fruits of the totuma or cuyera,^ which, by the simple operation of cutting open and clean- Abrus precatorius. t Bactris ciliata. I Iriartea deltoida. § Iriartea ventricosa. II Phitelephas macrocarpa. ^^ Crescentia cuyete.
HARDENBURG'S NARRATIVE 81 ing out, form convenient receptacles for their food. For cooking they employ the earthen pots similar to those of the Incas ; in the manufacture of these pots and the subsequent painting and varnishing of them the Cionis exhibit great skill. Other utensils are — fans, various-sized baskets, rude drums, c/zam&zra-palm-fibre bags, little clay ovens to bake farina in, fishing-nets, whistles made of the leg-bones of different birds, fifes made of bamboo, and torches of the heart of the magiwy or of chonta, impregnated with resin, &c. For washing their clothes, hair, &c., they use the inner bark of a tree called the quillay and a soapy substance known as suyuyu. Each of their villages seems to be absolutely independent of the others, and, like the Incas, elects annually, with great solemnity, its chief or gobernador, who has about the same powers as among those aborigines. In addition to the gobernador, there is a sort of lieutenant-governor, called the capitdn, who acts as a sort of auxiliary to the chief and takes his place when the latter is absent. These Indians are now lazy and peaceful, and the inter -village wars, formerly frequent and sanguinary in the extreme, are now, thanks to the teachings of the priests and the Colombian settlers, a thing of the past. Their arms, which are now used only for hunting, consist merely of machetes and shot-guns, obtained from the Colombians, and the bodoqaedas or cerbatanas, already described, which they get, in exchange for their hammocks, from the Indians of the Napo. Their food is much more diversified than that 6
82 THE PUTUMAYO of the Santiago Indians, for, in addition to the numerous forest products, such as the papaya* the lime,j- the caimito,X maranon,% the pishuayo,\\ bread-fruit,! tlie tender tops of the chonta, the camona, &c., hunting is excellent here, and many are the animals that fall victims to their skill. Among these we may mention, as the most impor- tant, the danta or sacha-vaca** which lives in shady swamps ; the chancho del monte or huangana,-\-f which is a kind of peccary that lives in herds in the depths of the forest ; the roiisoco or capivara,XX a large amphibious rodent ; the venado or deer,§§ of which there are several species ; several kinds of monkeys, such as the guarlbas, the cotomonos, and ihe maquisa pas ; the sloth II II ; the armadillo tH ; and various others. They also hunt wild birds of many different species and sizes, such as the paujiles, wild -ducks, partridges, wild -turkeys, various kinds of doves, &c. To all these we must add the numerous different kinds of fine fish, which they catch at all seasons of the year, especially in the dry season. Among the most important of these are palometas, corbinas, bagres, boquichicos, gamitanas, cunchis, dorados, &c. For fishing they use nets made of chambira- palm fibre, spears and hooks manufactured from hard wood or thorns, which they bait with larvae or with the fruit of the setico *** tree. Besides Carica papaya. + Citrus limonum. % Liicuma caimita. § Anacardium occidentale. || Guilielma speciosa. Artocarpus incisa. '■'* Tapirus americanus. tt Dicotyles labiatus. \\ HydrochcBrus capibara. §§ Cervus. |||| Bradypus. ^m Dasypus. *'■'* Cecropia peltata.
HARDENBURG'S NARRATIVE 83 these, they frequently employ the celebrated barbasco* Selecting some pool or quiet corner of the river, they drop a quantity of the crushed leaves and root of this plant into the water, which shortly assumes a milky hue and soon poisons the fish, both large and small. Directly the whole surface of the pool becomes covered with the dead bodies of the fish, of which the largest only are selected, the rest, including the millions of tiny fish, thus being killed and left to rot without being utilised at all. On other occasions they often take advantage of the pools left when the river goes down in the dry season, the fish imprisoned in them being either speared or caught in nets. Besides these sources of food, the women culti- vate a few plantain-trees,t a little maize,$ and the invaluable yuca or manioc, from which they manufacture their two most popular alimentary products, mazata and farina. There are two kinds of yuca — the wild -yuca or yuca brava § and the cultivated variety, II both of which are very much used in the whole Amazon Valley, The former contains, however, besides its nutritive elements, a milky sap, which is one of the most virulent vegetable poisons known, its active principle being hydrocyanic acid, but, as the sap is volatile, it is easily removed from the farine by means of pressure and evaporation. In the preparation of the mazata, the favourite beverage of these Indians, the yuca is peeled and boiled in but little water in one of their large pots, after which it is smashed to paste by means Yacquinia armillaris. f Musa paradisiaca. X Zea maiz. § Manihot utilissima. || Manihot aypi.
84 THE PUTUMAYO of a club. This process concluded, the next step is to take out a proper proportion of this mass and mix it with saliva, in the same manner as the Incas do with their scalded maize. The yuca thus prepared is then well mixed with the other, the pot is carefully covered, and the preparation is left to ferment several days, when it is ready for consumption. This mazata does not differ much in taste from the maize-mazata of the Incas. The civilised inhabitants of this region prepare this beverage in a less repugnant and more hygienic way — that is, they add to the paste sugar-cane juice or the juice of a ripe plantain, in place of the saliva. In preparing the farina, the yuca is thrown into a trough filled with water and left there until it is in a state of semi-putrefaction, when it is taken out, peeled, and pulverised. If it is the cultivated variety, it is then dried and put through a roast- ing process upon hot plates, but if it is the yuca brava, the poisonous sap must first be removed. To do this, the yuca, already pulverised, is wrapped up in a good-sized piece of llanchama — the tough, inner bark of a tree of the same name — which is then twisted up and tightened with a stick, after the fashion of a tourniquet, until the sap is all pressed out and evaporated. It is then dried and roasted in the same way as the other yuca. This farina can be preserved for a long timfe if kept dry, and it forms one of the chief articles of food of many of the inhabitants of the Amazon, especially when they are travelling. It is eaten either dry with water or, best of all, with milk
HARDENBURG'S NARRATIVE 85 and sugar, when it becomes an agreeable, as well as a wholesome, article of food. The Cionis are very skilful in the manufacture of the light, durable, and beautiful hammocks, which they use in place of beds, from the strong fibres of the leaves of the cambira-pahTi. They often spend months upon the fabrication of a single hammock, first collecting the leaves, next extracting the fibres, then twisting them into long strings, and finally weaving the strings into a ham- mock. One of these hammocks can be rolled up until it occupies onlj^ the space of a fair-sized book, and it is so durable that it will last for years. They also exhibit marvellous patience and skill in making the insect, feather, and shell ornaments that they wear on their feast-days. One especially interesting ornament is the yacta, a beautiful crown, composed of a great variety of fine large red and yellow plumes, inlaid with so many small feathers of so many different kinds and colours that it is a veritable work of art. Another common ornament is a long string of brilliantly coloured feathers, which is worn around the neck. They also collect the bright green wings of a large insect, very common in these parts, of which, after a sufficient supph' has been obtained, thej'^ make a similar string, which also encircles the neck. In addition to all these, which are worn only on special occasions, they generally have several bracelets, anklets, &c., of gaily coloured woollen yarns or locks of hair. At their dances, the music of which is furnished by drums, whistles, and fifes of their own manu-
86 THE PUTUMAYO facture, they always wear a quantity of cascabeles, which are nothing more than strings of the dried fruits of the schacapa* These cascabele's they attach to their legs and waist in such a manner as to produce a rattling, tinkling noise at every step they take. Other very interesting products of the industry of these aborigines are the fine combs, made of carefully arranged and polished thorns, tied together with eccentrically coloured threads. Some of these combs are really splendid pieces of workmanship. A thorough and extensive knowledge of the uses and properties of the countless products of the forest is also possessed by the Cionis. Thus, for example, the root of a certain beluco,-f which they call yoco, is their substitute for coffee ; from another bejuco they extract a narcotic known to them as aijahuasca or yajen, the effects of which are similar to those of hasheesh and opium ; the leaves of the huitoc or jagua % are used to cure itching and all erysipelatic diseases, as well as to protect them from the gnats and mosquitoes ; and thousands of other trees, shrubs, and bejucos supply them with almost everything they need or desire. Cerveza peruviana. f Vine or creeper. X Genipa oblongifolia.
CHAPTER III THE UPPER PUTUMAYO Early the next morning, Sunday, December 1st, we engaged two Cioni boatmen for our canoe, as did Materon for his ; and, after constructing a platform of split bamboo to put in the bottom of the boat in order to prevent our effects from becom- ing damp, we began loading our little craft with its miscellaneous cargo. In accordance with Materon's advice, we deter- mined to stow away our trunks, books, and engineering instruments in the most inaccessible part of the canoe, while our food and the Indian trading stuff, as well as our arms, should occupy such parts as to render them quickly getatable. After a good deal of shifting about and changing, we succeeded in getting everything more or less as we desired it, and were by ten o'clock ready to start. Thinking that this was an occasion worthy of a little celebration, Materon, Perkins, and myself then proceeded to lessen the contents of our barrel of aguardiente by a good drink each, after which we called up the Indian boatmen and, one by one, gave them a good bracer also, which they swallowed with great solemnity. Then we got in the little 87
88 THE PUTUMAYO space that had been reserved for us in the middle of the canoe — for the cargo was stowed fore and aft as much as possible — and gave the signal to begin the journey. Materon had already informed us that the first couple of days' journey was somewhat dangerous, on account of the swift, roaring current, the power- ful whirlpools, and the numerous stumps and logs that stud the whole course of the river ; but we did not fully realise it until the canoe, shooting out into the middle of the stream, was caught by the current, almost before it could be turned bow fore- most, and dashed with sickening speed among the stumps and logs that loomed up on every side. We soon perceived, however, that our Cionis were used to their job, for they guided the flying canoe with the greatest skill as it continued its wild pro- gress down the swift-running river. One of them, the popero, or pilot, always sits on the high, narrow seat in the stern, and, paddle in hand, steers the canoe and from time to time directs the manoeuvres of the other, known as the puntero, who generally stands in the bow and calls out the obstacles, such as logs, stumps, &c., to the popero, in case the latter cannot see them from where he is seated. In descending a river one puntero is sufficient, for the canoe is generally carried along rapidly enough by the current, and all the bogas * have to do is to keep the craft from striking against obstacles and from being thrust by the strong currents sometimes encountered into the unpleasant and often dangerous remolinos or whirlpools. But when the river is to be ascended, known as Boatmen.
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 89 subida or surcada, several bogas are necessary. The route must then be close to the bank, where the current is not so strong, but where such obstacles as logs, stumps, salient rocks, overhanging branches, troublesome insects, and other similar incon- veniences are numerous. Here the paddles are useless, except when crossing the river * in search of an easier route on the opposite bank, and the bogas must push the canoe along by main force, employing for this purpose long poles called botadores or tanganas. In canoeing in the smaller rivers, especially in the dry season, bad places, caused by the shallowness of the water or the immobility of the huge logs that frequently form an impenetrable network on or near the surface of the water, are often met with ; in such cases the bogas either wade ashore and pull the canoe out of the bad place by means 0|f a rope or else enter the water and shove and lift until it is free. If, however, the canoe is very heavy and these methods fail, they strip the bark from the se/zco-tree, which is always to be found on the banks of these rivers, and stretch it out on top of the obstacle. As this bark is very slippery and soapy, the canoe readily slides over it when they push. Materon informed us that, as a general rule, one day's descent is equivalent to three days' surcada ; this, however, is subject to numerous circumstances and mishaps, such as the conduct of the boatmen, the condition of the river, the weight of the cargo, the cut of the canoe, the character of the travellers, the necessity of hunting and fishing for food, &c. Chitnbada.
90 THE PUTUMAYO What a pleasant sensation it was to sit calmly in the canoe, while the swift current bore us steadily onwards, and to watch the thick, tropical vegeta- tion, which lined the banks of the stream, swiftly recede until hidden from view by a bend of the river ! How different it was from the monotonous climbing and descending of the Andes that had caused us so much toil ! Several times we passed through places that seemed to me perilous in the extreme, for the whirling current would dash us with frightful rapidity directly towards some huge stump or half- submerged log, while other obstacles of a similar nature appeared on every hand. We seemed to be almost upon it, when a deft turn of the popero's paddle would bring us to one side by a margin of three or four inches. Again, we would shoot some small rapid ; the canoe would give a jump, and the next instant we would dash the water out of our half-blinded eyes, and, looking around, would see the rapid far behind us. We saw plenty of wild turkeys, wild ducks, and monkeys on the trees near the bank, while occa- sionally a river seal, or nutria, would be seen curled up on a log or disporting itself near the shore. All these animals seemed quite tame, and would allow us to approach within a few metres, and then, just as we were taking aim, off they would go. Finally, after wasting a good many shots — for it is no easy matter to shoot from a rapidly moving canoe— I managed to kill a nice fat paua, or wild turkey, and one of Materon's men shot a duck. At noon we stopped on a gravel playa for lunch, which consisted chiefly of panela and aco, and
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 91 took us only some fifteen minutes. Then we con- tinued about two hours, when we entered the much- discussed Putumayo, much larger than when we saw it in the Andes, but still not a large river. It was low, and the high banks and the exposed islet were completely covered with the debris it had brought down in the wet season, such as huge logs, branches of trees, bamboo poles, &c. During the afternoon we continued to observe large numbers of birds and monkeys, which made the whole forest resound with their ear-numbing howls. Great flocks of parrots and other gaily plumaged birds flew overhead, their rather harsh voices being heard continually. We shot at several, but whether they were too high for our guns, or, as was probably the case, our aim was inaccurate, we did not get a single specimen. We did, however', kill two or three more ducks. These ducks are generally to be seen perched up in the trees along the banks or else on some stump in mid-stream, although occasionally one perceives them floating with the current or swimming on the surface of the water. They dive with lightning - like rapidity, and very often succeed in getting away, even when hit severely. Their vitality is amazing, and they are not slow to bite one if they are not quite dead on being picked up. At about 4 p.m. we reached the tiny Cioni village of San Diego, a small group of about ten little bamboo shacks on the right bank of the river. The whole village came out to welcome us as we rather stifily climbed out of our canoes, for it seemed that Materon was very popular with them. They brought out a few fruits and a small jar of
92 THE PUTUMAYO the yuca-nazata, already described, which we respectfully refused. They are in all respects similar to those of Puerto Guineo, and each of the little huts contained two or three families. Materon informed us that they had but recently established themselves here, abandoning their old village on the other bank of the river on account of a severe epidemic that had broken out among them and killed nearly half their number. We spent the rest of the afternoon trading with them, giving them some of our beads, harmonicas, mirrors, hats, handkerchiefs, &c., for a few of their manufactures, such as hammocks, yactas^ strings of monkey and danta teeth, combs, and the like. They are no fools at bargaining, and have a pretty good idea of the value of the articles they are acquainted with ; they are also rather clever at demonstrating what labour it has cost them and how much time they have spent in making any article that one fancies ; so, on the whole, we did not get much the better of them. At bedtime, which was about nine o'clock, the capitdn and gobernador showed us the corner that we were to occupy in conjunction with a couple of Cioni families, and helped us fix up our hammocks. Following the example of our hosts, we did not trouble to undress very much, but soon fell asleep, and did not awake until time for desayuno. Early next morning, after taking leave in a most affectionate manner of our hosts, who supplied us with several bunches of plantains and a quantity of yucas and an agreeable fruit known as the papaya, we set out on our easy and interesting journey. At about noon we passed the mouth of
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 93 the Guamues, the outlet of Lake Cocha, which seemed almost as large as the Putumayo itself. During the morning we succeeded in shooting a couple of wild turkeys and several ducks ; one of the former was almost lost on account of having fallen in a lot of thick bushes some distance from the shore. The vegetation is very dense all along the banks. The most common types are large bamboos ; numerous palms, such as the palma de la cera or wax-palm, the chonta, the fragrant stasia, the royal, and others ; 5e//co -trees, already mentioned ; the palo de la balsa, or raftwood-tree ; the yarina, or vegetable ivory -tree ; and a variety of others, intermingled with shrubs and bushes of innumer- able kinds, and bound together into one tangled, impenetrable mass by the countless bejucos and climbers everywhere in evidence. Nearly every tree of any size is covered with innumerable parasites, among which are to be found several varieties of orchids, whose brilliant flowers serve to diversify the universal green of the forest. The most common of these are different species of Epidendrum, Oneidium, Peristeria, Catasectum, Sobralia, Cypripedium, Maxillaria, Stanopoea, &c. At about two o'clock we reached Materon's estab- lishment La Sofia, where we were cordially received by the other partner, Gonzalez, and his wife. La Sofia is a good-sized, two-storied bamboo bunga- low, with a fine wide veranda extending along its front, while around the building in every direction extend fields of maize, ijuca, sugar-cane, &c., with the dark, silent forest in the background. As the place is built on a rather high bank, one can obtain
94 THE PUTUMAYO from the veranda an excellent view of the placid, smiling river as it slov^ly rolls past to join the mighty Amazon on its course to the Atlantic. La Sofia was formerly the headquarters of General Reyes, ex-President of the Republic, when he was engaged in the collection of quinine in this region years ago. It is at the head of steam naviga- tion on the Putumayo, and it was here that Reyes' steamer Tiindama was lost. When Materon had arrived here, some eleven months before, he had found everything overgrown by the rank, tropical vegetation and all the old buildings almost com- pletely destroyed. Reyes had named the place La Sofia in honour of his fiancee, and Materon and his partner had retained the name. The company already had about ten peons en- gaged in clearing the land and cultivating the crops, and had advanced merchandise to all the Cionis, who had agreed to work out their indebtedness by planting rubber -trees, building houses, clearing land, &c. I was pleased to observe that strict morality was the rule, and that Gonzalez permitted no abuses against the aborigines either by taking away their women, by cheating them, or in any way at all. As to the peons ^ they seemed cheerful and contented. There are two distinct kinds of rubber — that pro- duced by a tree that must be cut down to extract the milk, which is called caucho negro, or black rubber, and is produced by the Gastilloa elastica, and that which is the product of a tree that can be tapped indefinitely, which is known as jebe or siringa, and is collected from the Hevea brasiliensis. These two varieties of rubber are each subdivided
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 95 into several classifications, according to the quality of the latex or milk and the care and skill employed in their extraction and preparation. As a general rule, siringa is much more valuable than caucho, and is the best kind adapted for cultivation, although Materon was planting both sorts. After showing us some samples of each, he informed us that the whole region of the Upper Putumayo had once abounded in caucho negro, but that at the present date very little remained, owing to the fierce onslaughts of the caucheros many years ago. The next day Materon had some of his men build a little rancho of palm -leaves over our canoe amid- ships to protect us from the sun and rain. This sort of awning is called a pamacari, and is in general use in the Amazon Valley ; it gave the canoe a very picturesque appearance, and, as we afterwards found, was very convenient. We spent the rest of the day in inspecting the estate and taking down a Cioni vocabulary, in which language Gonzalez was very proficient and kind enough to give us the benefit of his knowledge. This vocabulary, which I had hoped to take back to civilisation with me, was, however, lost under particularly aggravating circumstances, which will be duly recorded in a succeeding chapter. Although Materon and Gonzalez implored us to stay a week or so with them, we decided to resume our journey on the following day ; but in the morning, just as we were about to start, Perkins was attacked with a heavy fever, and so our depar- ture was postponed. We dosed him up with quinine and put him to bed, where he soon began to per- spire freely, which is to be desired in these malarial attacks.
96 THE PUTUMAYO Finding our patient better in the afternoon, Gonzalez, Materon, and myself took a little trip down to San Jose, a small Cioni town about a kilometre below La Sofia. This village and its inhabitants are very similar to Guineo and San Diego, only a trifle larger than the latter. Here we stopped some time, and I was able to obtain several souvenirs from the Indians, besides a shallow earthen pot, which I determined to fix in the canoe to cook in, thus avoiding the loss of time consequent to performing this operation on shore. On our return, while pushing the canoe upstream between the numerous stumps along the shore, in the manner already described for surcadas, Gon- zalez, although an excellent boatman, suddenly lost his balance and fell with a thud into the deep water. Fortunately, we succeeded in pulling him out, none the worse for his wetting, and in a half- hour reached La Sofia without further adventure. Here we found Perkins somewhat better, so we fixed the pot in the fore part of the canoe in tlie manner I had planned and made arrangements to depart on the following day, for Gonzalez had decided to accompany us as far as Yocuropui, the next Cioni village, to see the Indians there. Perkins better, we accordingly bade goodbye to our kind friend Materon the next morning, Thurs- day, December 5th ; and, lashing our canoe to Gonzalez', in order to keep together and to facilitate conversation, we once more resumed our journey. Materon had thoughtfully filled the canoe with papayas, bananas, &c., so what with them, the con- versation, and the shooting, we were kept pretty busy.
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 97 The river soon became much broader, owing to the numerous tributaries, and the current much gentler, while great sand and gravel playas began to appear with some frequency. Numerous beau- tiful birds, flying from stump to stump, lent an air of life to the otherwise silent river, while occasion- ally a group of monkeys could be seen making their way from tree to tree, almost hidden by the thick leaves and tangled creepers so characteristic of Amazonian vegetation. Soon the heat grew uncom- fortable, so we all withdrew under the commodious pamacari, where it was quite agreeable. At 11.30 we stopped for almuerzo on an immense playa, upon which were two or three dilapidated- looking raiichos, probably erected by the exiles about a month before. Having partaken of a fair lunch of fried yuca, sausage, rice, and coffee, we were about to get into the canoes when Perkins' eye fell upon a huge ostrich -like bird several hundred metres away. As he was such a fine speci- men, Perkins endeavoured to get within range, but in vain ; for the beauty, apparently as fond of his fine feathers as we were, soon disappeared into the forest and we saw him no more. This fine bird was probably a nandii or ema* sometimes called the ostrich of America. Resuming the journey, at about two o'clock we passed a large playa on the left bank, known as the Playa de Oro f on account of the supposed richness of its placer deposits. We did not examine it, however, owing to lack of time. A little later Perkins had the good fortune to kill a large duck, and Gonzalez almost got another, but it dived and Rhea Americana. i The Golden Beach.
98 THE PUTUMAYO
went up the river, and when next he appeared he had nearly reached the shore, so we did not pursue him farther.
At about 5.30 p.m. we reached an extensive sand island in the middle of the river, where we decided to stop for the night. After securing the canoes we started cooking, while the Indians crossed over to the thickly wooded river bank and soon returned with a load of palm -leaves and several short poles of cana brava* or wild cane, from which, within ten minutes, they constructed two ranches, where we were to sleep during the night. After the meal was over we sat around smoking, while the Indians washed the dishes, soon after which we all retired.
During the night I felt something pricking one of my fingers, as it seemed to me. Striking a match, I was amazed to see the blood pour from a smooth, round hole, about a quarter of an inch in diameter, on the first joint of my index finger. Thinking it might have been done by some poisonous reptile, I awakened Gonzalez, who, after a glance at the wound, informed me that it was the work of a vampire bat.
As I afterwards ascertained, these bats are very common in this region, in some parts becoming a veritable pest, attacking not only mankind but also cattle, pigs, &c., and often almost killing them by the constant loss of blood, while I have seen men who told me they had been obliged to flee from certain localities in order to avoid the pertinacious attacks of these midnight marauders. They always commit their depredations at night, and it is very. '^' Gynerium sogitatum.
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 99 rare that they awaken their victims, for while their sharp teeth quickly burrow their way through the skin to the blood, their continually moving wings fan the wound in such a manner as to cause almost complete absence of pain, and the victim generally knows nothing of the midnight attack until he observes the wound. The next morning, at about seven o'clock, we again set out, and in a few minutes we saw a fine pava^ which promptly fell a victim to Gonzalez' aim. After a short stop for lunch, we saw some young peccaries at the bottom of the steep bank on our left. Approaching hastily, we succeeded, after a short struggle, in capturing them alive, as they were very young, and then disembarked to try for the mother, whom we heard grunting in the dis- tance. We spent a good half-hour struggling through the thick, thorny underbrush, but all in vain ; we could not find her. The young ones we put in the boat, for Gonzalez wished to take them back to La Sofia to see if he could domesticate them. In about two hours more we reached Yocuropui, a small village of about ten houses, situated on a high knoll on the right bank. Here we passed the afternoon in trading with the inhabitants, ex- changing the various articles that we had bought in Pasto for Indian souvenirs, such as bodoquedas, quivers of poisoned arrows, pots of paint and poison, &c. Here we got a couple of splendid hammocks. These Indians are Cionis, and in every way resemble those already described, except that they are, I think, a little crookeder. In accordance with
100 THE PUTUMAYO our custom, we had given them a gourdful of aguardiente on our arrival, but, not satisfied witli that, several of them had sneaked down to the canoe while we were trading with the rest and had almost half -emptied the barrel before we discovered them. Gonzalez, who was corregidor — a sort of magistrate — during Martinez' absence, then made a long speech to them, emphasising their " base breach of hos- pitality to the two illustrious travellers," and wound up by threatening to put several of them in stocks. Completely abashed by this, they silently slunk out of the hut, and for the rest of our stay at Yocu- ropui our barrel of aguardiente was left severely alone. On the following day we bade adios to Gonzalez and set out alone, as the bogus of Guineo would go no farther, and those of Yocuropui wished to delay several days in order to celebrate one of their fiesta^ which was to occur in about ten days. We had already lost much valuable time in Pasto and Mocoa, and as Gonzalez had assured us that there were no falls nor rapids before us, we were rather glad to try our own skill as bogus. Perkins, seated upon the high poop astern with his short Indian paddle in his hand, acted as popero, while I did the cooking up in the bow, at the same time keeping my eyes "peeled" for stumps and game with the gun in easy reach. The sun was very hot, but occasionally a gentle breeze helped matters a little. The current was now very gentle, and our progress was exceedingly slow. As we were slowly drifting along the bank to get the benefit of the current, which was strongest there on account of a bend in the river, I dis-
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 101 cerned the dark outline of some large object lying upon an immense fallen tree-trunk. Approaching nearer, we found to our astonishment that it was an enormous boa -constrictor curled up fast asleep sunning himself. As our rifle was out of order I took deliberate aim with the shot-gun, and at a distance of some ten metres let fly at him. The hideous monster jumped up and, after lashing his tail wildly about two or three times, plunged with a splash into the water but a few metres from our canoe and was lost to sight. From our short view of him we perceived that he was of a dark -brown colour, except his belly, which was white and about ten inches in diameter ; his length being, as near as we could judge, some twenty or twenty-five feet. These reptiles are fairly numerous on the Putumayo. Along here we noticed that the river followed a regular system of long windings. First one bank would be eaten into by the strong current that swept past it, while the opposite shore would be pro- tected by an extensive sand or gravel playa, often a kilometre or so in width. Then the current would in the course of a couple of kilometres reach the other bank and begin its scouring operations there, while the first would commence to accumulate a play a. This system of long curves or windings extends along the whole course of the Putumayo, and it is to be observed in most of the large rivers of the Amazon basin. It is this that makes the Putu- mayo so wide and shallow and accounts for the numerous sand islands thrown up in midstream. In low water the channel cut out by these ever-
102 THE PUTUMAYO changing currents must be strictly followed by all steamers and launches in order to prevent grounding. At eleven o'clock we stopped and had lunch, which I had cooked previously while Perkins was performing the role of boga^ on a nice shady playa on the right bank. Here I managed to kill a good- sized turkey, and, after continuing about two hours, I got another, so that for dinner we had an excel- lent meal, the chief piece de resistance being roast turkey. This operation concluded, we tied up the canoe securely, and instead of building a rancho both went to sleep in the canoe under the pamacari. It was a little crowded, but we got along all right and passed the night quite comfortably. At about six o'clock the next morning we resumed the trip, and a couple of hours later passed the mouth of the Quebrada San Miguel, a large tribu- tary, almost as large as the Putumayo itself, on the right bank. It was here that we first made the acquaintance of a gigantic buzzing bee that followed us for hours, flying about Perkins' head in such an irritating manner that he split our best paddle in a vain endeavour to kill it. This he finally succeeded in doing, but the deceased's place was soon taken by others, who kept at poor Perkins until nightfall. They did not trouble me, probably on account of the smoke from the fire burning in the pot I got in San Jose. At midday Perkins took an observation for lati- tude, and found that we had just passed the Equator, being then a few minutes south of the Line. In order to celebrate this occurrence we both got out- side of a good dram of aguardiente ; we had made
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 103 a successful " dash " to the Equator, to employ the Polar term. Soon we came to a place where the river divided into two arms, or brazos, a large and a small one. We chose the latter for the sake of the shade and the better chance of shooting game. As we slowly made our way through the narrow brazo, the branches in some places joining over our heads, the calm beauty of the luxuriant vegetation and the intense silence of the forest, broken only by the occasional shrill call of some brilliant bird or the howl of a distant tribe of monkeys, com- bined to make us think we were in some fairy land. Emerging at last from the shady arcade of the brazo, we again entered the main river, and at one o'clock reached Montepa, the last village of the Cionis, situated upon a steep knoll on the left bank. It consisted of eight or ten little bamboo huts, very similar to the other Cioni villages already described. Here we stopped a couple of liours and had a long talk with the capitdn, who seemed to think we were very brave in making the trip without bogas, and as a token of his admiration offered us each a drink of mazata. After collect- ing a few more souvenirs we were about to depart, when Perkins suddenly spied an enormous catfish, which, after the inevitable haggling, we purchased. This reminded us that we had plenty of lishing- tackle ourselves, so we resolved to test our angling abilities that very night. Taking a most affectionate leave of the worthy capitdn^ whose extreme friendliness was doubtless inspired by our aguardiente, we resumed our
104 THE PUTUMAYO; descent, and continued for a couple of hours, when, reaching a convenient island, we stopped for the night. While I prepared dinner Perkins shot a few small birds, which seemed to belong to a species of dove, as bait, and, after our meal was over, we rigged up a couple of lines and began fishing. Soon I felt a nibble at my hook, and when I thought the fish had it well digested I pulled and had the satisfaction of landing a fine big cat- fish. Perkins soon caught another, and presently we had a good number of the handsome big fellows. In the morning we enjoyed an excellent breakfast of fried fish, after which we again set out. The river now became enormously wider on account of its division into several brazos, some of which covered great distances before rejoining the main channel. Large islands, covered with the prevail- ing dense vegetation, commenced to appear with great frequency, while tributaries of all sizes con- tinued mingling their contents with those of the main river. In fact, the whole country was becoming a complete network of brazos and que- bradas, so intermingled and so numerous that it was often difficult to distinguish the one from the other. This continued all the way to the mouth of the river, and is common to nearly all the great streams that empty into the Amazon. Here we began to observe the boto, dog-fish or pira-jaguar* of the Indians, a huge fish often more than two metres in length, which plays about in schools in many parts of the river. They would flop awkwardly about, close to the boat, appar- Phoeajna brasiliensis.
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 105 ently quite at home with us. A rather peculiar custom of theirs is that of gasping and snorting violently, as though disgusted about something. Its flesh is not edible — at any rate, the Cionis will not eat it. This fish is also known as the dolphin of the Amazon. During the whole day we suffered heavily from the suffocating heat, for the burning rays of the equatorial sun shot down upon our unprotected backs with a seemingly intentional fury, and not a breath of air stirred all day. Our thirst was astounding, but, luckily, Materon had insisted upon our taking along a quantity of limes, which now came in very handy to alleviate it. The next day, Tuesday, the 10th, at about ten o'clock, we met a party of Indians, apparently re- turning to Montepa from a hunting expedition. We hailed them and asked what luck they had had, but they hurried off without replying, probably half- frightened to death at seeing two genuine, full- blooded white men. In the afternoon we saw a ronsoco, or capivara^^ a large amphibious animal somewhat resembling a hog, standing near the water on a small flat area at the foot of a very steep clay bank. As soon as we got within range I discharged the shot-gun at him, and then we both kept up a hot fire with our revolvers, wounding him in several places, as he made desperate efforts to clamber up the steep, slippery bank. Despairing of this, he suddenly plunged into the water, and we were just on the point of giving up pursuit of him when we saw his head as he came up to breathe. We emptied "^^ Hydrochcerus capibara.
106 THE PUTUMAYO our six-shooters at him again, ,but again he dived, coming up in about two minutes, when at our once more taking a shot at him he disappeared for good and we saw him no more. I suspect that we killed him and his body sank. This animal feeds on grasses and weeds on the banks of the river, and is generally about the size of a hog. His scanty coat, of a greyish colour, is hard and bristly, but his flesh is used as food by the Indians, although it is not very tasteful. The lard it furnishes is, however, very much esteemed in most parts. I believe that this is the largest rodent known. This rather exciting conflict concluded, we kept on until six o'clock, when we tied up the canoe to a nice sand play a. After dinner we again went out on a nocturnal fishing expedition, and had fair luck, catching enough for breakfast, but not such big ones as on the preceding night. At about ten o'clock we retired to the canoe. The next morning, at about half-past four, we were awakened by a sudden jar, so severe that we rolled all over each other. Climbing out from under the pamacari as quickly as possible, we found to our horror that the canoe was adrift. It had undoubtedly become released during the night from the stake to which it had been fastened and had drifted on downstream with the current. It was only by good luck or the hand of Providence that it had not capsized already. As soon as we realised what had happened I immediately climbed out in the bow to ward off any other stumps that we might be about to strike, while Perkins hurried back to the poop and
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 107 endeavoured to get the bow foremost, for the canoe was floating broadside. Complete darkness pre- vented us from seeing more tlian two feet aliead of us, but Perkins succeeded in getting the bow pointing more or less ahead and keeping it there, while I stood up in front trying to make out the best course to avoid the stumps. After what seemed like an eternity— as we expected to capsize every moment— although really about an hour, day began to dawn and we began to breathe again. Soon a good-sized playa appeared and we stopped for breakfast, feeling rather surprised that we were alive to partake of it. After a short rest and a long pull of aguardiente we pushed on again. Soon a gentle breeze began to blow, which was very agreeable, for the heat was scorching ; it gradually increased, however, until it got to be quite a nuisance, raising waves nearly two feet high and blowing against the pama- cari with such force that we were once more in danger of capsizing. Finally, the situation became so ticklish— for we did not dare to approach the bank on account of the dangers from falling trees, &c.— that, much to our regret, we were obliged to remove the pamacari, leaving nothing but the bare framework. Things went better then, and in accordance with our usual luck, the wind soon after ceased and within an hour all was calm again. In some seasons of the year fierce tempests take place on the rivers of the Amazon basin, called turbonadas. These are generally accompanied by lightning, torrential rains, &c., and the wind, often attaining a velocity of from twenty to thirty metres per second, blows down trees and causes such large
108 THE PUTUMAYO waves and whirlpools that canoes are often over- turned and lost unless great care is taken. At two o'clock we unexpectedly reached Guepi, a scattered collection of three Colombian rubber- trading establishments, about a kilometre apart from each other. We stopped for an hour or so at the first house, belonging to one Seiior Muiioz ; this was a large split-palm bungalow, raised about six feet above the level of the ground in order to prevent flooding during the wet season, when the river overflows its banks. It appeared to be uncompleted, for there were no walls, although the roof and the elevated floor were finished, and the latter was covered with a miscellaneous collection of bultos, heaps of yuca and plantains, pots and kettles, peons in hammocks, pieces of rubber, and other things too numerous to mention. The inhabi- tants seemed to be taking life easily and not worry- ing about a rainy day, for they all knocked off as soon as we appeared and began simultaneously to talk and to fill themselves and us with aguardiente. They seemed to be a merry, jovial lot, and when we left insisted upon presenting us with a dozen eggs and a whole lot of papayas and plantains. At about 3.30 we reached the settlement of Senor Fajardo, another bungalow, somewhat smaller than Munoz', but on much the same style. Here we were also cordially received by the proprietor, a small, dark-complexioned man of about fifty, and his buxom wife. As they both pressed us to stop all night with them we gladly assented, and, accom- panying them to the house, we were introduced to Drs. Ortiz and Hernandez, two of the recently exiled political prisoners from Mocoa, who, it appears,
A TYPICAL RIVER BANK CLEARIXG.
THE UPPER PUTUMAYO 109 had escaped from the escort at this place and were about to set out for Iquitos via the River Napo. Tlie two exiles seemed to be very decent fellows, and gave us a rather interesting account of their imprisonment and of their subsequent escape from the escort ; their companions, however, had elected to continue their journey to the Caraparana and take a launch from there to Iquitos, as was our intention ; but these two gentlemen had thought it more interesting to ascend the River Guepi by canoe as far as possible, and then, crossing over- land to the River Santa Maria, an affluent of the Napo, to descend that river and the Napo to their destination, the Peruvian town of Iquitos on the Amazon. As we were bound for the same place we promptly made an arrangement to the effect that the ones who reached there last were to regale the first-comers with a good dinner and half a dozen bottles of the best champagne. We then celebrated this compact with a drink of aguardiente each and retired for the night. As the river had risen some two feet by morning the two exiles determined to take advantage of this fact to set out at once, for such small rivers as the Guepi can only be navigated conveniently for any distance when the water is high. In accord- ance with this resolution they immediately began to pack up and send for their bogas, and at eleven o'clock, everything being ready, the two voyagers, with a last adios, took their departure. Returning to the house, we enjoyed an excellent lunch, during which we learned that our host had extensive rubber areas in the interior of the forest, several days' journey from the riverside and that
110 THE PUTUMAYO his peons were now at work there, extracting and preparing this produce for market ; some of this rubber he sells at Mocoa, but his principal market is at Iquitos, which he described as the chief rubber centre of the Upper Amazon. In addition to his regular employees he had several Indians also at work collecting for him, whom he paid in merchandise. Lunch over, we said goodbj^e and took our departure, loaded with a fresh supply of limes, yucas, &c. The river, muddy and swollen to a degree, took us along rapidly, and soon Guepi was left behind and we were again alone upon the river. At about five o'clock we began looking for a playa to stop for the night on, but none were to be seen — the river had covered them. We continued, however, in the hopes of finding some suitable place until it grew dark, when, fearing to go any farther, we tied up to a good, stout stump on the bank. Here we missed our pamacari, but, after some meditation, we hit upon the idea of hanging our ponchos over the framework, which, fortunately, we had left on. This scheme working satisfactorily, we had a couple of games of chess, and then retired. CHAPTER IV THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO At about seven o'clock the next morning I awoke, yawned, crawled out of our makeshift pamacari, and saw — a desert of wet, uneven sand. Perfectly stupefied, I awakened Perkins, and we stepped out to investigate. There stood — firm as a rock — the stump that had served as our sheet-anchor, and yonder— separated from us by a broad stretch of sandy beach— ran the river. At last we understood. The river had gone down some two feet during the night and had left us stranded on the enormous play a that was now revealed. Awakening at last from the stupefaction that had overcome us, we endeavoured to push the canoe over the 150 metres of sand that lay between the river and us. We might as well have tried to move the river itself, for we could not shift it an inch. Still undismayed, we grasped our trusty machetes, cut down several setico -trees, peeled off the bark, and, after a severe struggle, got them under the canoe with the idea of sliding it over them. But it was useless, for they sank out of sight in the sand. The next attempt was still more laborious, for it was nothing less than building a track, composed of two parallel rows of logs and 111
112 THE PUTUMAYO then inserting rollers between the track and the canoe. This, too, proved unavailing. In despair we took out all our effects and tried it again, but in vain. Roused to desperation, we made one more effort by trying to overturn the craft, but it was so waterlogged that we could not lift it three inches. Panting, perspiring, and cursing bitterly, we saw that we were in for it, so, taking a long drink of aguardiente each, we carefully put everything back in the canoe, and I cooked the breakfast while Perkins fixed up the two mosquito -bars over the framework of our late pamacari. Breakfast over, we sat down to consider the matter, calmly and judicially. We had tried everything our ingenuity could suggest, but without the slightest success. Thus we should be compelled to stop here until some one came along and helped us or until the river rose again. Judging by the fact that up to this point we had not encountered a single traveller, the first possibility seemed very remote ; and in regard to the second, we now remembered that Fajardo had informed us that this was probably the last rise of the river until the beginning of the wet season, which is about the end of January. As it was now Friday, December 13th, it looked as though we were bound to stay here some time. After lunch we set out upon an exploring expe- dition along the deserted playa, which proved to be some three kilometres in length. Through its southern extremity ran a small quebrada, which issued from the dense, impenetrable jungle and finally emptied into the river. In some of the deep pools of this stream we observed several enormous alligators swimming about, the tips of
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 113 their noses protruding from the water like the tops of logs. Several species of Saurians are common in the Central and Lower Putumayo, such as the Alligator cynocephalus, which is frequently from eight to ten feet long ; the Alligator palpebrosus, smaller but equally voracious ; and the Crocodilus sclerops, or spectacled alligator, so called on account of his horrible red eyes, projecting outwardly like a pair of glasses on his snout. This brute, which attains a length of from twelve to fifteen feet, lays its eggs in the warm sand, where in due time they are hatched. These alligators, or cay manes ^ rarely attack man, and feed chiefly on fish and small animals, such as river-seals, capivaras, &c. Returning to the canoe, we thought that it would be an excellent idea to remove our shoes and socks and go barefoot, for the sand was loose and soft and inconvenienced us by getting in the tops of the shoes. We had no sooner taken off these articles, however, than we discovered that the sand was burning hot from the blazing rays of the sun- so hot, in fact, that we hastened to put them on again at once. While I busied myself preparing dinner Perkins went to work cleaning up our rifle, which we had neglected and allowed to become very rusty. By the time dinner was ready he had polished it up and it was as good as ever, which made us feel a little more at home, for we had heard most bloodcurdling tales of the ferocity of the jaguars and tigers so common in this region. The jaguar, ounce, or American tiger,* is almost Fells onca. 8
114 THE PUTUMAYO as large and ferocious as the tigers of Asia, often measuring over six feet in length, exclusive of the tv^o -feet -long tail. It attacks nearly all animals, and sometimes man himself. Its sleek coat is of a bright tan colour on the back and white under- neath, and on its flanks four rows of black rings, surrounding small black dots, are to be observed. This is the most common kind met with. Other species are : the black jaguar,* known to the Indians as the jaguarete, which is very ferocious ; the puma, cougar, or American lion,t whose coat is of a uniform tan, and which often measures four feet in length ; the grey tiger,J which is only about two feet long ; and the maracaja tiger, § which has a coat of different shades of black, white, and grey, and is still smaller than the preceding one. The next morning we again went out hunting and exploring, and found numerous 4(^nta, or tapir tracks, from the forest to the river. They were very large, and we followed them until they dis- appeared into the inaccessible forest. Reaching the southern end of the beach, we observed several turtle tracks, but did not notice them closely, for just then we stumbled upon what looked like a jaguar trail, which we followed until it, too, dis- appeared in the depths of the forest. Somewhat discomfited at these repeated disappointments, we returned to the alligator pools and amused ourselves at taking pot-shots at the alligators until they dis- covered our game and promptly got away. A little later we shot a small bird, resembling a seagull, Fells onca nigra. f Fells concolor. X Foils pardalis. § Fells tlgrina.
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 115 which we saved as bait for a fishing expedition we had planned for that evening. Returning to the canoe, we had lunch ; and, then, as it was too hot to go out on another expedi- tion, devoted the rest of the afternoon to chess : but I lost every game, although when we were on the Cauca Railway I used to beat Perkins easily. Whether my mind was distracted by our shipwreck, or whether Perkins had done some studying up, I cannot say ; the fact remains that during all the time we were shipwrecked I only won a single game, and we must have played over fifty. At about seven o'clock in the evening we went down to the edge of the river and commenced fishing. At first we did not get a single bite, and we were just about giving it up in despair, when a school of enormous catfish appeared upon the scene, and in less than an hour and a half we had enough to last for a couple of days. Here we observed several more monstrous alligators, and soon so many appeared that we began to get a little nervous. They did not molest us, however, and we kept on fishing until nine o'clock, when we retired to our humble abode — the canoe. Shortly after breakfast the next morning I went out on another expedition, taking my machete with me. After exploring the plaija, without seeing any- thing more than tracks, I succeeded in penetrating a short distance into the forest, where I was lucky enough to kill a fine, large bird, known as the paujil. Returning to the canoe, I stumbled upon a large turtle track ; following it some distance, I observed that it had dug up the sand, probably
116 THE PUTUMAYO to deposit some eggs, so, excavating a little with my machete, I discovered the nest, which contained over eighty eggs. As these eggs are excellent eating, I took off my shirt, tied them up in it and carried them to camp, along with the paujil. At any rate, we were in no danger of starving. There are two kinds of turtle common on the Putumayo, a large and a small species, known respectively as the charapa and the charapilla. The former is often two or three feet in diameter, and lays eggs almost as large as those of a hen and sometimes as many as a hundred in a nest. The latter is only about a foot or eighteen inches across, its eggs are only about half the size of the former's, and there are only from twenty to thirty of them in a nest. The flesh of both these Chelonians is succulent and nourishing ; the shell, which, however, is not so valuable as that of a sea- turtle, is used in some places for different purposes. The eggs are very agreeable, and are eaten either fresh or smoked ; in Brazil they extract from them an oil, which is employed for illuminating, like kerosene. After lunch, which was composed of rice, turtle- eggs, fish, and yuca, we again took up chess, which we played steadily until about three o'clock, when, happening to glance up towards the river, I was overjoyed to perceive several canoes coming up- stream. Rushing down to the water's edge, we saw that there were five canoes, each one containing about ten Indians. As soon as they came up to us, I told them of our misfortune and asked them to help us out, promising to reward them generously. The wretches merely smiled and
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 117 passed on, which so enraged us that, had I not observed that they were all well-armed, I should certainly have fired a couple of rifle-shots across their bows. As it was, we could do nothing but stand there and execrate them, which naturally was useless. When they finally disappeared, we returned with bitter thoughts to our chess, which we kept at until after dinner. During this meal we were so upset over the malicious action of the Indians that we determined to have blood of some sort, so, after some delibera- tion, we decided that it should be the danta's whose track I had observed in the morning. Accordingly, at about nine o'clock, we set out on the warpath ; Perkins carried the shot-gun and I the rifle, while we both had a revolver and a naked machete. Arriving at the spot where the trail disappeared into the forest, we selected a couple of well-concealed but comfortable seats and waited. After spending several hours sitting there in absolute silence, our patience was finally rewarded by hearing the sound of snapping underbrush, and the next moment a large, awkward form waddled past us and out upon the moonlit sands. We fired almost simultaneously, and had the satisfaction of seeing the animal fall with a thud ; the next instant, however, it was again upon its feet and dashing wildly and violently about. Mean- while, we discharged our revolvers again and again, but without much effect ; at last the gallant Perkins rushed up and with a few powerful blows of his machete ended the melee, receiving, however, a slight gash in the calf of his leg from a projecting tusk.
118 THE PUTUMAYO We dragged the heavy body of the vanquished j^anta to our canoe, and, after duly celebrating our victory, found him to be nearly six feet in length and close to three feet in height. We then pro- ceeded to skin him and cut him up in small pieces for smoking, for this is the most common method of preserving meat in this region. This operation concluded, we immediately built a large fire, erected over it a barbacoa* and then, salting the pieces one by one, we put them over the roaring fire until they were cooked through. This task was not finished until daylight, when, not troubling to get breakfast, for we had eaten an enormous quantity of the roasting tapir, we immediately retired, quite exhausted but happy. The tapir, danta, or gran bestia is the largest mammal of the Amazon Valley, and somewhat resembles the hog. Its snout is, however, prolonged to a small, flexible proboscis and its brown skin is covered, not with bristles but with a few silky hairs. During the daytime the tapir generally remains hidden in the cool, swampy marshes, coming out only at night to feed on roots, nuts, &c. When startled, he rushes along at great speed, his head down and perfectly regardless of trees and underbrush, through which he passes like a whirlwind. The only sounds this animal makes are low grunts and short, shrill whistles, quite out of proportion to his large frame. The tapir — the most valuable of all the pachyderms— ought to be domesticated, for its flesh is excellent and its skin makes first-rate leather ; in addition to this, A framework of unseasoned wood built over an open fire to suspend meat, &c., from.
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 119 it has been suggested that it would also serve as a beast of burden. We did not awake until about 11 a.m., when we had breakfast or lunch — whichever it was — after which we set out on our usual stroll. Perkins elected to take the shot-gun and penetrate the forest a short distance, while I went down to the alligator-pool. I saw several turtle tracks on the way, but decided not to dig any eggs, as we had an ample supply of provisions. Arriving at the pool, I sat down in the sand awaiting for some of the Saurians to put in an appearance ; I sat there for some time, and was just thinking of returning to camp, when the water swirled up and the head of a river-cow or lamantin showed up for an instant. I jumped to my feet and the Cetacean promptly disappeared ; although I hung around the pool for an hour or more, I saw nothing more of the river-cow, and, quite disappointed, returned to our abode. The manatee, diigong, uaca-marina, or lamantin is none other than the classical siren, and some- times reaches a length of from twelve to fifteen feet. Its pisciform body terminates in a fan- shaped tail, while the two fins in front, although flat and membranous, consist of five claw-like pro- jections, somewhat resembling human fingers. The females have breasts, similar in shape to those of a woman. Their flesh is excellent, and they generally yield large quantities of fat, which is often used as an illuminant. As the manatee has a verj-- delicate sense of hearing, its capture is rather difficult, and the Indians generally conceal them- selves in the thick rushes that surround the bank
120 THE PUTUMAYO of a pool and wait there for the victim to come up. As it feeds on certain plants that grow on the edge of the bank, it approaches the shore with some frequency. The Indians then watch their chance and, at a favourable moment, spring out and stab it before it can escape. This animal is becoming rarer every year, owing to the persecution it suffers. In about half an hour Perkins arrived with three victims — a small dove, a little green lizard, known as the iguana, and a parrot. After making a brief examination of these trophies, of which he seemed very proud, I prepared dinner, after which we had a quiet smoke and then retired. The next morning we were overjoyed to perceive that the river had risen nearly a foot during the night, but our hopes began to abate when it slowly commenced to go down again, and by eleven o'clock completely vanished, for the water was even lower than before. It certainly began to look as though we were to be detained here several weeks, possibly months. In the afternoon we went out hunting, in spite of the suffocating heat. Coming to Perkins's trail in the forest, we followed it to the end, took out our machetes, and, cutting out some of the underbrush, proceeded for about a kilometre farther. Resting here for some time without seeing anything worth shooting, we were about to return when the crackling of twigs indicated that some large animal was prowling around in our vicinity. Approaching cautiously, we peered through the rank vegetation and perceived a herd of about fifteen peccaries, busily engaged in
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 121 devouring the fallen fruits of a group of palm-trees. As we had plenty of meat, we did not kill any of them, but, after observing them for a few minutes, started back to camp.* The flesh of these pachyderms is excellent ; if the animal killed is a male, it is necessary, however, to remove certain gland's immediately, otherwise the meat will have a strong, disagreeable flavour. In some parts the natives take advantage of the natural pugnacity of this animal to encompass its destruction. The modus operandi is as follows : The hunter sneaks to them as they are feeding and excites them by imitating the barking of a dog ; as soon as they perceive him they all make a rush in his direction ; the hunter climbs a con- venient tree and the enraged peccaries dash them- selves against it in an endeavour to overturn it ; the hunter then descends within reach of them, and, with his stout machete frequently kills numbers of the infuriated animals before they abandon their attack. In the evening we again went fishing, but with indifferent success. The fish did not seem hungry, and it was not until after ten o'clock that we caught enough for breakfast. These were, as on the other occasions, all catfish. Other fish, however, abound in the Central and Lower Putumayo, most of which are already mentioned. One small fish, known as the candirii, is much feared in some parts on account of its fondness for entering the lower orifices of people in bathing. On the following day Perkins did not feel very well, so I went out alone with the object of securing The travellers seem to have encountered a numerous fauna. — Editor.
122 THE PUTUMAYO some more turtle eggs. Reaching the vicinity of the alligator-pool, I found a small trail which led along the bank for some distance. Following it with my eyes on the ground, I suddenly stumbled over something and almost lost my balance. Looking around, I perceived that I had run up against an enormous spectacled alligator that had been sunning himself on the sands, and I assure the gentle reader that I lost no time in making my get-away. The hideous monster lost no time in pursuing me, and my blood ran cold when I looked around and saw his wide-open jaws not more than two metres behind me. Fortunately, the forest was close, and in less time than it takes to. tell it I was up a tree and pouring down a hot revolver fire upon my disgruntled antagonist, who soon walked off in disgust. After some time I cautiously descended ; needless to say, I did not follow up any more turtle trails in the vicinity of the pool, for I had no desire to enter those pearly gates that I had just escaped from so narrowly. Perkins, better in the afternoon, went out, while I remained with the canoe ; in about an hour and a half he returned with about twenty small eggs, having found a charapilla's nest and a large, beautifully plumaged bird, known as the piuri ; this bird has a magnificent, black curled topknot and a yellow bill, tipped with black, and is about the size of a turkey. I believe this fine bird is rather rare. The next morning Perkins and I set out on a forest expedition ; following our previous trail to the end, we took out our machetes and hacked our way on a couple of kilometres farther. On
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 123 the way we saw a tribe of the monkeys known as the Barrigudos ; they are hairy and pot-bellied, with large, bullet-shaped heads and well-formed limbs. As soon as they saw us they scampered off, and we did not take a shot at them. Finally, perspiring from every pore as a result of our exer- tions, we were about to sit down to rest a little while, when Perkins heard in the distance the hoarse, piercing call of the toucan.* Wishing to secure a specimen of this strange, queer-looking bird, he set out in the direction from whence the call seemed to come, while I remained at the end of our trocha, enjo3dng a smoke. After waiting there an hour or so I began to get alarmed for him, and hallooed repeatedly at the top of my voice, but the deep silence of the forest was broken by no answering yell. Then I bethought myself to dis- charge my rifle, but nothing was to be heard in reply except the long-drawn-out echoes. What could I do? I dare not set out in search of him, lest I, too, be lost, for in these dense solitudes people have perished from starvation and exposure, unaware that they were within a kilo- metre of a house. I sat there for hours, shouting and firing my rifle at short intervals and was just becoming desperate, when, faint in the distance, I thought I heard the dull report of a shot-gun. When the echoes of my answering discharge died away, I listened anxiously and, after a short interval, once more heard the muffled boom of the shot-gun, but a little louder than before. Keeping up a steady fire, in about three-quarters of an hour I was overjoyed to see Perkins, with Ramphastas discolorus.
124 THE PUTUMAYO the toucan in his arms, appear in quite a different direction than he had set out from. After he had recovered himself somewhat by means of the small flask of aguardiente that I had with me, he informed me that the possibility of getting lost had never occurred to him until having shot the bird. After about an hour's pursuit, he started to return ; then he had realised that he was lost, for he had not the slightest idea of which way to return, and wandered about for hours until he finally got within range of the report of my rifle. After that, the rest was easy, and in less than an hour he had found his way back. Returning to the camp, we examined the toucan that had been the means of leading him astray. These birds are as a rule about the size of a pigeon ; their huge yellow beak is almost as big as their entire body. It is, however, of a porous and cellular structure, and does not weigh much. Their plumage is brilliant and attractive, the back, tail, and wings being of a dark rich blue, while the breast is yellow. The toucan lives in hollow trees in the depths of the forest, and feeds on fruits and insects ; as a rule, it lays only two or three eggs, which it often devours. At about four o'clock I went out in search of some turtle eggs, and, after some half -hour's trail- ing, found a large nest containing over a hundred. Tying them up in my shirt, I was returning to camp when I heard the report of the rifle, which seemed to come from that direction ; hastening onward, I turned a bend and saw three men get out of a canoe and approach our abode, where
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 125 they seemed to be cordially received by Perkins. Within a few minutes I joined them, and was overjoyed to see that they were a detachment of the Caraparana police force of the Corregidor, Gabriel Martinez. The officer in charge of the little hsind—AIferez Velasco — was very agreeable and courteous, and readily consented to lend a hand. So after dinner, which was a very pleasant affair, we removed all our effects from the canoe, collected our rollers, passed around the aguardiente, and in less than two hours our gallant craft was again afloat. The Alferez and his men then retired, completely ex- hausted by this task and the long day's poling up the river, and Perkins and I commenced our heart- breaking labour of carrying our baggage, &c., over the half-kilometre that separated us from the canoe — for it had not been convenient to roll the heavy craft to the nearest part of the river on account of the sand-hummocks that intervened, and to have taken the canoe up to this place would have meant two hours' hard work on account of the strong current and the long bend in the river. It was truly a sickening task. We had had originally seven bultos, weighing about four arrobas each ; now, in addition to this we had a barrel of aguardiente^ our Indian souvenirs, Perkins's mineralogical specimens, our danta, &c. To add to our disgust the river commenced to rise rapidl}^, and soon we perceived that, if we had not been in such a hurry, there would probably have been no necessity for carrying our things, as the river would have relieved us of this task. Sweat fell from us in streams, the rough edges of the bultos
126 THE PUTUMAYO cut our shoulders mercilessly, and, to make matters worse, it began to rain in torrents. Still we stuck to it, and at about one o'clock in the morningt Perkins staggered on board with the last load — the barrel of aguardiente — on his back. After lighten- ing this part of our equipment by two good drinks each, we immediately retired and slept the sleep of the just. The next morning it was as we had expected — the river had kept on rising, and the greater part of the playa was submerged. Making our way to the police detachment, we held a long chat with the officer, gave them a chunk of the smoked danta-meai, passed around the aguardiente, and thanking them heartily, took our departure. The swift current took us along rapidly, and soon the scene of our shipwreck faded away in the dis- tance and became but a pleasant memory of the past. Lunching in the canoe at about eleven o'clock, we steadily continued our descent. At about two I thought I would like to try my hand at being popero, so Perkins accordingly gave me a few hints on it and then retired under the pamacari to enjoy a short nap. I got along first-rate for an hour or so and was beginning to think myself almost the equal of a professional Indian boga, when, borne along at a tremendous rate by the rushing current, we ran into a log that stuck some six feet out of the water at an angle of about thirty degrees. The log was too high to strike the bow, and passed over it ; it reached the pamacari, got caught fast in it, the canoe turned broadside, listed to port, water poured over the gunwale in torrents,
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 127 and I commenced to say my prayers. The next moment the pamacari snapped, the canoe veered around bow foremost again, the log, with the released pamacari still attached to it, raked the rear part of our craft, knocked me overboard, and the canoe was free. I hastily grasped the end of the log and hung to it like a tick to a nigger's shin, until Perkins struggled to his feet and threw me a rope, for no mortal man could have come up with the canoe in the teeth of the current. I grabbed the rope, and Perkins, after some delay, finally yanked me aboard, none the worse for my misadventure except a large bruise on my fore- head. I did not play the role of popero again for some time. At about five o'clock we stopped for the day at a large play a; I may say, however, that we spent some time in sounding the vicinity of the place where we tied the canoe, in order not to get stranded again. Taking a little walk to explore our neighbourhood, we stumbled upon several turtle trails, and, following them up, found some three large nests. Digging a little with our machetes at one of them, we unearthed about eighty eggs, which we conveyed to the canoe ; some of these eggs we had for dinner in the shape of an omelette. The next morning we again set out on our journey. As our danta was now getting spoiled, I kept an eagle eye on the trees along the bank in hopes of killing something, and shot at several monkeys, but with apparently no effect. Finally I perceived a large turkey, and as soon as we got within range drew a bead on him and fired. The
128 THE PUTUMAYO bird fell to the ground, we drew up, I got out and found the dead body of a buzzard or gallinazo. This repugnant bird, also known as the urubil in Brazil, is about the size of the wild turkey, which it somewhat resembles at a distance. Its plumage, however, is a sort of dingy black, and its fairly large beak is of the same colour. They always emit an insufferable, carrion smell, and are the universal scavengers of the tropics. Indeed, in Colombia the killing of a gallinazo is punish- able by a heavy fine. Of these birds the best known species are the Cathartes fcetens, the C. aura, and the C, jata. The white gallinazo is not so common, and is popularly supposed to be the king of the flock. While on the Cauca Railway I saw one feeding on a dead mule, while all the common urubils stood on one side, waiting until he had had enough. The Indians (as well as many of the "whites") are very superstitious in regard to this bird, and consider its appearance as a good omen. Having shot nothing eatable, we reached a promising-looking playa at two o'clock and dis- embarked in search of some more turtle-eggs. We were busily engaged in excavating a nest, when Perkins saw a solitary canoe slowly making its way up-stream. Approaching the bank, we hailed the strangers, and they began to steer in our direc- tion ; as they came nearer we saw that they were all Indians, except one, who was a well-dressed, elderly white man. It was then that we became conscious of our clothes, or rather of our lack of them, for I was dressed only in a torn shirt, an equally torn pair of trousers, and a wide
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 129 Stetson hat, while Perkins was clad only in a long shirt and his flowing beard. Mastering our embarrassment, we introduced ourselves to the old man, who proved to be none other than Don Rogerio Becerra, the gentleman who had escorted the exiles down to the Caraparana, from whence he was now returning to Mocoa, He seemed to be a very pleasant and agreeable man, and we held quite a conversation with him, in the course of which he informed us that the Corregidor, Don Gabriel Martinez, to whom Jurado had given us a letter, was on his way up also with his police force, and that we might expect to meet him in a couple of days. After a little more conversation he presented us with a live charapilla, of which he had several, and slowly resumed his long and tedious journey. After unearthing the rest of the eggs, we, too, set out and continued our trip without any further incidents until about half-past five, when we stopped at a large play a. While I was engaged in cooking the dinner here, Perkins went out for a prowl with the shot-gun and succeeded in get- ting a large duck. The following morning, December 22nd, we got an early start at six o'clock and continued the trip without incident until ten o'clock, when, owing to the stifling heat, we drew up to a beach and put up a new pamacari-frame, over which we laid our mosquito-bars to make a little shade. No sooner was this accomplished than the sun dis- appeared behind a cloud, a strong wind arose, and it began to rain in torrents. This kept up for some two hours, and, of course, we got soaked •
130 THE PUTUMAYO at the end of this time, however, the sun came out again as hot as ever, and in another two hours we were dry. Shortly after this we met a group of four or five capivaras trying to scramble up the crumbling, four-foot-high vertical bank of an immense sand island covered with a tall, dense grass. As soon as we got within range Perkins let fly at them' with his rifle, while I did the same with the shot- gun ; the only noticeable effect was to accelerate their frantic efforts to mount the bank. Then the swift current wafted us down opposite to them, and we opened up a hot revolver fire. One or two of them dived then, and another, with a desperate leap, got on top of the bank and instantly disappeared in the tall grass. By this time we were some distance past the spot where they had been, and as the current was very strong, we did not judge it worth while to go back, seeing that they had all disappeared. On the following daj'^ we were again favoured, at about noon, with another heavy downpour. The wind was so strong as to cause large waves and make our progress exceedingly slow. When the storm passed, at about one o'clock, the sun again obligingly came out and dried our clothes for us, as on the previous day. A little after this we had the luck to shoot a turkey and find a large nest of turtle eggs ; the charapilla that Don Rogerio had given us we still kept tied up on his back alive in the bow, intending to keep him for Christmas. At about 3 p.m. we came in sight of a house, which, according to what Don Rogerio had told us, we surmised was Yaracaya, the rubber estab-
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 131 lishment of Seiior Jesus Lopez. Around the house was a little patch of clearing, planted with ijuca, plantains, &c., while, surrounding this little piece of man's feeble handiwork rose the unbroken stretch of primeval forest and the island-studded river, rushing onward to join the mighty Amazon. Keeping in towards the right bank — upon which the establishment is situated — we were so engrossed in taking stock of the place that we got stuck on a submerged sand-bar and some difficulty was ex- perienced in getting off it. Then a tall, dark, bearded man, dressed in a pair of checkered blue trousers and a white shirt, who proved to be Lopez himself, came down to the bank, accom- panied by a peon, and gave us a cordial welcome. Leading us up the gentle slope, he conducted us into the house, which was built on posts about six feet above the level of the ground. It was of bamboo and split-palm, large and ample, and had a porch running along the front, which faced the river. Presently a tall, rather pretty woman appeared, whom he introduced to us as the wife of his partner, now absent on a trip to Iquitos, via the River Napo. In the kitchen we observed a number of Indian women busily engaged in making farina. We had not intended stopping here for more than an hour or so, but shortly after our arrival Perkins was attacked by a heavy dose of fever, and as Lopez pressed us to stay, we were glad to accept his invitation. I spent most of the lime in conversation with our host, who kindly supplied me with considerable information about the region of the Caraparana.
132 THE PUTUMAYO In the course of this conversation I learned that there was considerable ill-feeling between the Colombians of that section and the Peruvians on account of the boundary dispute and the aggres- sions of the latter, who are much more numerous than the Colombians and all employees of a large firm which has its headquarters in Iquitos and is known as the Peruvian Amazon Company. Lopez informed me that this company, planning to get possession of the rubber estates of the Colombians of the Caraparana, had influenced the Peruvian officials at Iquitos, in open violation of the modus vivendi, to send troops up to help expel them, and that, moreover, these troops had just arrived. Somewhat taken aback at this rather interesting information and not wishing to get mixed up in any frontier disputes, I asked Lopez if it were not possible to avoid passing through that region and cross over by some varadero * to the River Napo, as his partner had done. He replied that there were several varaderos we could take, the best one being near an establishment known as Remolino— some five-days journey down the river — which belonged to the Colombian company of Ordonez and Martinez. These gentlemen, Lopez went on to inform me, had plenty of Indians in their service, and, in addition to lending us the necessary number of cargadores, would probably be glad to buy our canoe and such effects as we did not desire to take with us. This advice seemed reasonable, and I determined to act on it. The next morning found Perkins no better, so "= Portage. — Editor.
THE CENTBiAL PUTUMAYO 133 we had to prolong our stay. In ttie course of my conversations with Lopez, who seemed to take life pretty easily, I learned that all the rubber pro- duced in this section of the Putumayo is an inferior kind of jebe or siringa, known technically as jebe debil or weak-fine rubber. Such large quantities of it are produced, however, and at such a small cost, especially in the Caraparana and Igara- parana districts, that its poor quality is more than compensated for. Lopez furthermore told me that he had several racionales and a number of Indians employed on his inland estates. The former he paid a salary, while the Indians exchanged the rubber they collected for merchandise. In the middle of the afternoon we perceived several canoes coming up the river ; finally reach- ing the port, they disembarked, and we saw that they were the police force that Becerra had told us of. Lopez and I went down to the port to greet the Corregldor, Don Gabriel Martinez ; what was our amazement when the corporal in charge gave us the pleasing information that four or five days previously, while they had been stopping at an establishment known as Yubinete, a launch had appeared with about forty employees of the Peruvian Amazon Company on board, who had informed the corregldor that he must go to El Encanto, their headquarters, with them. Upon his refusal they had exhibited their arms, and declared that they would take him by force then. Seeing that resistance would be useless, Martinez had ordered his men to wait three days for him, and, if he did not appear at the end of that time, to proceed on up the river. They had not seen him
134 THE PUTUMAYO since, and naturally feared that he had been detained. Lopez asked them to stop over Christmas, and they gladly assented, for the poor fellows, of whom there were eight, were in a lamentable condition. Thin, weak, and emaciated, they looked more like ghosts than men. They were all in rags, with- out food, without medicines, and suffering from malarial fever of the worst kind. Lopez gave them some food and assigned them quarters under the house, while I gave them the greater part of our quinine. They were accompanied by ten or twelve Cioni boatmen, who, curiously enough, looked quite plump and healthj^ The next day was Christmas, and Perkins was better, so we celebrated the occasion by killing, the turtle Don Rogerio had given us. In addition to this delectable dish, the lady of the house made some plantain dessert and several other dainties, which we devoured ravenously. Then Lopez brought out a small barrel of the indispensable aguardiente, and everj^body, including the sick policemen, their Cioni boatmen, and Perkins and myself, got on more or less of a jag,* which lasted all day, and was not interrupted even by the death of one of Lopez' Indians, who, it seems, had been ailing for some time. The next morning at eight o'clock the policemen set out on their homeward journey. We saw them off, and, returning to the house, spent the rest of the forenoon in taking down a lot of Cioni words, which Lopez was kind enough to furnish us with. This task completed at four o'clock, we had American slang term for a drinking bout. — EDITOR.
THE CENTRAL PUTUMAYO 135 lunch, and after rendering the genial Lopez a small return for his hospitality, Perkins and I set out once more upon our journej^ down the river. During the afternoon we stopped on a large play a and dug up a quantity of turtle eggs. While engaged in this operation we observed a magnificent bird of a blackish colour, which we took to be the ibis. We endeavoured to drop him, but he was too wily for us, and we could not get within range. A little later I succeeded in kill- ing a couple of wild ducks, which seemed to be very numerous in this vicinity.