HARDENBURG'S NARRATIVE: SOURCE OF THE PUTUMAYO
Not far from the city of Pasto, in Southern Colombia, a small,
swift-flowing mountain stream has its origin in one of the high peaks of
the Colombian Andes. Here, plunging furiously down the steep,
precipitous descents of the Cordillera Oriental, between the high,
heavily wooded mountains, which rise almost perpendicularly to the
clouds, it dashes itself into spray against the immense boulders that
form its bed, and throws itself over the numerous precipices in its path
with a deep, resounding roar like distant thunder.
This mountain torrent is the River Putumayo, which, leaving the towering
Andes, flows in a south-easterly direction more than a thousand miles
through the great fertile, wooded plains of the Amazon basin, finally
entering the great river in Western Brazil.
The region traversed by this magnificent river is one of the richest in
the world. In the Andes and its upper course it flows through a rich
mineral section. At its source, near Pasto, numerous goldmines are being
discovered daily and are changing hands rapidly, and there are immense
deposits of iron and coal.
Having resigned our positions on the Cauca Railway, my companion W. B.
Perkins and myself had set out upon our long-talked-of trip across South
America, leaving the town of Buenaventura, on the Pacific coast of
Colombia, on October 1, 1907, traversed the successive ranges of the
Andes, and had arrived at the little Indian village of Santiago, in the
level valley of Sibundoy.
The valley of Sibundoy--once the bed of an ancient lake--is situated in
the Cordillera Oriental at an elevation of about 2,300 metres above
sea-level, and is some 25 kilometres long by 10 wide. The Putumayo, here
but a small, crystal mountain stream, flows through it, rising in one of
the numerous peaks that surround the valley on every side. A part of the
valley is low and swampy, but the rest is good, rich soil, quite
suitable for agricultural purposes, and covered with a thick, short
grass. Although all the encircling mountains are clad with forests, the
valley is, at present, cleared and ready for cultivation.
In this beautiful Andean valley four distinct villages have sprung
up--San Antonio, Santiago, Sibundoy, and San Francisco. Of the first,
San Antonio, I can say but little, as it was out of our line of march
and we did not have time to visit it; but I understand that it is an
Indian village of approximately the same size and characteristics as
Santiago. It is connected with Lake Cocha by an Indian trail, which is
to be followed more or less by the location of a new mule-road.
Santiago is composed of about fifty houses and a mud church, thatched
with palm-leaves, erected by the Capuchins for the conversion and
instruction of the Indians. Except for the five or six fathers who
conduct the services and an old white hag who had been the
_compañera_[25] of a certain ex-President in the eighties, when he was
engaged in business here, the whole population is Indian, and amounts,
all told, to probably five hundred. These Indians, although short and
small, are tough and strong and are of an agreeable, reddish, coppery
hue. The average height of the men seems to be about five feet; the
women average from two to four inches less. They are nearly all bright
and cheerful, and, as a rule, intelligent, although they sometimes feign
stupidity when in contact with whites. Timidity and bashfulness,
especially among the women and children, are very common.
Although all, thanks to the fathers, know a little Spanish, among
themselves they use their own language exclusively, which seems to be
derived from the ancient Quichua of the aborigines of Peru and Ecuador.
This language is spoken in a sort of sing-song, soft and melodious,
which is rather pleasing to the ear. These aborigines call themselves
Incas or Ingas,[26] and their dialect is known as the Inca language, and
is rather easily picked up by the whites, who are much in contact with
the Incas.
These Indians live in large rectangular houses, the walls of which
consist of upright sticks, tied together with bark, the roof being of
thatch and the floor of hardened earth. The spaces between the upright
sticks that form the walls obviate the necessity for windows. Sometimes,
if the house is a large one, several families live in it together, each
family having its own corner, fireside, and utensils. The furniture is
very limited, and generally consists of benches of various sizes and,
sometimes, a low table, all of which are carved out of solid wood, not a
nail being used in their construction. Their domestic apparatus is
composed chiefly of great earthen pots, which they are very skilful in
making; gourds, which serve as plates, cups, &c.; and several large
round stones with which they crush their maize.
The dress of the Incas is very picturesque. That of the men consists of
a long cotton shirt, either blue or white, which reaches almost to the
knees, nearly covering a pair of knee-pants of the same colour and
material. Over this is thrown a heavy woollen poncho, always of a
greyish-yellow colour, with thin, black stripes, which reaches almost to
the feet. Their long, black hair, thick and abundant, takes the place of
a hat, and is prevented from dangling in the face by a gaily coloured
ribbon or a piece of the inner bark of the tree known to them as
_huimba_, which passes around the crown of the head just above the ears.
The women invariably wear a red shirt, the lower extremity of which is
covered by a short black skirt, reaching to the knees. A bright red
blanket, thrown over their shoulders, completes their costume, for, as a
rule, they do not wear the headband used by the men. Both sexes are very
fond of beads, and generally have an immense necklace of them, while
smaller strings are worn on the wrists and ankles.
The chief, or _gobernador_, is elected with great formality once a
year. Then the retiring magistrate, in the presence of the whole tribe,
hands over to his successor the silver-headed cane which has been since
time immemorial the emblem of authority amongst the Incas. The chief's
house is always distinguished by a decoration of palm-leaves over the
door, for all business with the whites is done through him, disputes
between Indians are settled by him, and he possesses the power of
punishment. The punishment is generally a whipping or confinement in
stocks, which are always kept in the chief's house.
The food of these aborigines consists chiefly of maize, collards, and
game. From the maize they manufacture their peculiar _mazata_, which is
their principal aliment, for they eat it morning, noon, and night, the
collards and the game they shoot being merely auxiliaries. The maize is
first scalded in one of the great earthen jars, after which, when cool,
a certain proportion of it is thoroughly chewed until it is well mixed
with the saliva. In this important operation the whole family, both
young and old, takes part, seated in a circle around the huge pot of
scalded maize, each one provided with a smaller gourd, into which they
shoot the well-masticated mixture of maize and saliva. This operation
concluded, the next step is to mix thoroughly the salivated maize with
the other, and the whole mass is then deposited in the large earthen
jars, where it is allowed to ferment for several days under the action
of the organic principles of the saliva. The mixture is then preserved
in this state, and when they wish to prepare their beverage they merely
take out a handful of this preparation, reduce it to a paste, stir it
in water, and their drink is ready. This _mazata_ has a sour, bitter
taste, very palatable to the Indian, but disgusting to most white men.
Their arms consist chiefly of blow-guns or _bodoquedas_, although at
present shot-guns and _machetes_ are beginning to be introduced among
them. These blow-guns are not manufactured by the Incas, but are bought
by them from the Indians of Mocoa, who obtain them from the Cioni
Indians of the Upper Putumayo. The Cionis, in turn, are supplied with
them by the Indians of the River Napo, who are the original
manufacturers. This celebrated weapon is a hollow, tapering pole, from
two to four metres long, pierced longitudinally by a hole some
three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. The outside surface of the pole
is wound around with thin strips of tough bark, over which is applied a
smooth, black coating of gum-resin from the _arbol del lacre_, or
sealing-wax tree, while the thicker end terminates in a mouthpiece, into
which a small arrow, some twenty centimetres long and tipped with a
little cotton instead of a feather, is introduced. The mouth is then
applied to the mouthpiece, and with the breath the little arrow is shot
out with great force to a distance of from thirty to forty metres.
These arrows, apparently so insignificant, are in reality awful in their
effects, for their points are tipped with the celebrated _curaré_, made
from the _Strychnos castelmoeana_, called by them _ramu_, and from the
_Cocculus toxicoferus_, known to these aborigines as _pani_. The points
are often cut, so as to break off after penetrating the skin and stay
in the wound. A puncture of the skin by one of these arrows causes death
within a minute, for I have seen a large dog struck by one of these
little missiles drop dead before he could run five metres. Like the
_bodoqueda_ itself, these little arrows reach the Incas only after
passing through the hands of several tribes, and are generally carried
in a small bamboo quiver, to which is tied a little gourd filled with
cotton. It is interesting to note that although the _curaré_ with which
the arrows are tipped is a deadly poison, it has absolutely no injurious
effect upon the game killed by it. In many respects this weapon is
superior to the shot-gun, but its great advantage is its noiselessness.
Thus, a hunter can kill bird after bird without fear of their becoming
alarmed and flying away. The Indians can shoot very accurately with the
_bodoqueda_ up to about thirty metres.
On the 16th the _gobernador_, with whom my companion Perkins and myself
stayed, told us that the Indians had finished preparing their
_habío_[27] and were ready to depart; so, after seeing them load up, we
bade adios to the _gobernador_ and at 11 a.m. started for Sibundoy. The
road was tolerably good, consisting in many places of logs, laid
transversely across the way, and skirted the edge of the surrounding
mountains a little above the level of the valley, of which we would have
had an excellent view but for the dense underbrush which interposed
itself between the valley and us. On our march we crossed several
beautiful little _quebradas_, whose clear, crystal waters glistened
brilliantly in the sun; but our appreciation of their beauty was
somewhat diminished by the fact that as nobody in the whole valley wears
shoes there were no bridges over them, and we were obliged to wade
through their cold, icy waters, wetting ourselves up to the knees in
doing so.
After a march of some three hours we entered Sibundoy, a village of
about the same size and appearance as Santiago, where we made our way to
the Capuchin convent, determining to wait here for our Indians. We were
kindly received by the four priests here, as well as by the Padre
Prefecto, the head of all the Capuchin establishments in the territories
of the Caquetá and the Putumayo, who makes this place his headquarters.
One of the fathers, Padre Estanislao de Los Corts, a Spaniard from
Cataluña, was especially kind, and, after showing us around the new
convent they were building, supplied us with the following data about
the Indians of Sibundoy:--
The Indians of Sibundoy call themselves Cochas and speak a language of
the same name, which is quite distinct from the Inca and much more
complex and difficult. The Cochas are said to be lazier, more dishonest,
and of a surlier disposition than the Incas, although resembling them
very much in appearance, customs, dress, and mode of living. It is
believed that these Indians were brought here long ago by the Spaniards
from the River Vaupes as slaves for the goldmines of Pasto and that,
escaping from their captors in this vicinity, they finally settled in
the valley. They now number about 1,500, the greater part, however,
living in lone huts in the mountains.
We remained at the convent waiting for the Indians all the afternoon,
but as they did not appear we were glad to accept the Padre Prefecto's
pressing invitation to stop here for the night. The priests told us that
the _cargadores_[28] had probably gone to their homes to enjoy a last
farewell feast before beginning the trip to Mocoa, which we afterwards
found to be the case. The convent was scrupulously clean and fitted up
roughly and simply, for nearly everything had been made by the fathers
themselves. The food was plain and coarse, but substantial and well
cooked, one of the priests skilfully performing this important
operation.
The next morning at eight o'clock the two Indians who were to carry our
food, blankets, &c., put in their appearance, looking somewhat seedy and
informing us that the others were coming later. They were accompanied by
a pretty little Indian girl, carrying their _habío_, who they said was
their sister. The _padre_, however, suspected immorality and, as a
precautionary measure, bade them go to church. This over, we sent them
on ahead in charge of Pedro, with orders to wait for us at the next
village--San Francisco--while we stopped a little longer to take lunch
with the _padres_.
Lunch concluded, we duly thanked the hospitable Capuchins for their
kindness to us and once more set out. After a pleasant walk of about two
hours we reached San Francisco, where we were cordially received by the
head priest, whom we had met at Sibundoy, and installed in the convent,
where we found Pedro and the Indians. San Francisco is a little,
_triste_ place of some two hundred inhabitants, who claim to be whites,
but, except for the fact that they wore hats and trousers, I could see
but little difference between them and the _infieles_. There are two or
three small shops and about twenty other houses, most of which were of
_adobe_.
Bright and early the next morning we set out along the level valley,
which we followed for some time until we struck the Putumayo, here a
small, swift-flowing mountain torrent, about six feet wide. Crossing it,
we continued along its heavily wooded banks until we came to a small
affluent on the left, which we followed up to its source. Climbing to
the top of the hill, we found ourselves upon a sort of divide, which we
slowly descended by an almost perpendicular trail over huge, slippery
rocks and rolling cobble-stones to the bottom of a deep, narrow cañon,
formed by another small, torrential _quebrada_. All the rest of the day
we followed the course of this stream, which we crossed no less than
thirty-four times. Occasionally the cañon, always steep and narrow,
became merely vertical walls of rock, rising from the edge of the stream
upwards to a height of from fifty to a hundred metres. In these places
we were compelled to wade down the bed of the stream, while on other
occasions the trail, about six inches wide, passed along the
perpendicular face of some wet, slippery rock, forty or fifty feet above
the river. How the Indians passed such places, carrying the heavy
_bultos_[29] that weighed from eighty to a hundred pounds, is beyond my
comprehension, nor have I any desire to make that day's journey again to
find out.
At about six o'clock we reached the junction of this stream with
another of about the same size, where they combine to form the River
Patoyacu. Here we stopped at a tolerable _rancho_, Perkins and I utterly
exhausted, but the two Indians and the girl apparently as fresh as ever.
Neither Perkins nor myself suffered from sleeplessness that night,
although a large, flat rock was our only couch.
The next morning, as soon as our rather frugal meal of dry meat, coffee,
and fried plantains was over, we crossed the Patoyacu and began the
ascent of a monstrous mountain, the top of which we reached at about two
o'clock in the afternoon. The rest of the day was spent in a constant
succession of long, steep, painful ascents to the tops of the mountains,
and immediately afterwards long, steep, painful descents to the bottoms,
where, crossing some insignificant _quebrada_[30] we would sit and rest
a few minutes before starting on the next climb. While taking lunch at
one of these streams, Perkins noticed some peculiar-looking rocks,
which, upon examination, seemed to indicate the existence of a good
quality of marble. We took along several specimens for further
examination.
The scenery is magnificent, of a wild, savage splendour, rarely seen
elsewhere than in the Andes. The high, heavily wooded mountains, rising
almost perpendicularly to the clouds, are separated from each other by
foaming, plunging _quebradas_, which, dashing themselves into spray
against the immense boulders that form their beds, leap over the
numerous precipices in their courses with a deep, resounding roar like
distant thunder.
We endeavoured to reach a _rancho_[31] called Papagallos, but, when
darkness overtook us, we were still far from it, according to our
Indians, so we hastily made a rough _rancho_ and, after about an hour
and a half, succeeded in igniting a fire, for it had rained during the
afternoon and everything was completely soaked. The fire, at last
successfully started, was just beginning to flicker up and give out a
little heat, when suddenly another heavy rain set in and, within fifteen
minutes, our hard-won fire was out and we and all our belongings were
wet through. As the rain continued steadily until morning and the cold
all this time was intense, we did not pass a very enjoyable night.
The next day was only a tiresome repetition of the one already
described--up and down all day. How many miles we made I do not know,
but I can state that, whatever their number, they were mostly on end. At
9 a.m. we passed Papagallos and at about 2 p.m. we commenced a long,
steep descent of nearly 2,000 metres, the bottom of which we reached at
about half-past four. Here we found the two small _ranchos_, known as
Cascabel, and stopped for the night. These two _ranchos_ were situated
upon the left bank of the River Campucana, a good-sized stream formed by
the various _quebradas_ we had crossed. We had now passed the last of
the mountains, for from this place to Puerto Guineo, the port of
embarkation, it is practically level. We had at last crossed the Andes,
and were now upon the great Atlantic Slope.
In the morning we followed the left bank of the Campucana for some time,
scaling successfully on the way the famous "Carniceria,"[32] a very
dangerous rock, high, slippery, and almost perpendicular, so-called
because of the numerous people dashed to death down it. At ten o'clock,
while crossing the river, we met Don Elias Jurado, Leonardo's brother,
_en route_ to Pasto--the first traveller we had met since leaving that
city. Continuing our journey through the dense forest, at one o'clock we
reached Piedra Lisa,[33] another dangerous rock, along whose smooth,
unbroken front, which stood at an angle of about fifty-five or sixty
degrees, the trail passed. The passage of this rock, which is about
fifty metres long, is very perilous and would be impassable were it not
for some overhanging branches which one can grasp and hold on by.
Piedra Lisa safely passed, the road continued fairly level, although
very muddy on account of the thick undergrowth, and at three o'clock we
entered Pueblo Viejo, a long string of scattered bamboo houses,
intermingled with fields of maize, plantains and _yuca_, and large
tracts of practically virgin forest. At one of these huts we stopped to
take a few minutes' rest; the people received us very affably and
immediately brought out a large jug of _chicha_,[34] which we soon
emptied for them. After a little conversation about the probability of
our getting lost in the "city" (of Mocoa), we again pushed on, and at
four o'clock in the afternoon of November 21st reached Mocoa in a state
of complete exhaustion.
Here, after a great deal of inquiry, we secured a very dirty room in a
still dirtier bamboo hut. Leaving our effects here, Perkins and I went
to the little crystal stream, known as the Quebrada Mulata, which dashes
past the back of the town, and indulged in a good bath. By the time we
had finished this operation, the indefatigable Pedro had ascertained the
whereabouts of the "restaurant," to which we immediately wended our way,
for we were starving. After we had finished our dinner, which did not
take very long, for it was composed only of a quantity of unripe
plantains, a still larger quantity of overdone _yucas_, and a little
thin, tasteless coffee, we invested in a couple of bottles of wine and,
retiring to our hut, Perkins, Pedro, and I duly congratulated one
another on the successful termination of the first stage of our
journey--the trip over the Andes. This duty performed, we retired to
dream of our approaching descent of the Putumayo.
The next morning we called upon the _Intendente_, General Urdaneta, and
presented to him the letter from Dr. Miranda. He received us very
cordially and promised us that he would see that we had _cargadores_ by
Monday to take us to Puerto Guineo. After a pleasant conversation of
almost an hour and a half, during which he supplied us with considerable
information about Mocoa and the Putumayo, we left him and went out to
take a look at the city. At noon we met him again at the restaurant,
where he introduced us to Dr. Ricardo Escobar, the medical officer of
the garrison here.
Mocoa is the capital of the territory of the Putumayo, an immense tract
of land comprising the whole region between the Rivers Napo and
Putumayo from Mocoa to the Atlantic. This rich section is also claimed
by Peru and Ecuador. The dispute between these two countries has been
submitted to the King of Spain for arbitration; and the country that
gains his decision will then have to arrange the matter with Colombia.
There are no Ecuadorians established as yet in any part of this vast
territory, the upper half of which, as far down as Remolino, is occupied
by the Colombians, while the Peruvians are in possession from there to
the Brazilian boundary at the mouth of the Cotuhué, for Brazil, with her
usual astuteness, has seized a large triangular area at the confluence
with the Amazon. The part of the territory at present occupied by
Colombia is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Nariño, and all
officers and officials are appointed from Pasto.
The capital of this huge territory is a small town of bamboo huts having
a population of about five hundred. Until recently it was the place of
confinement of political prisoners, but about a month before our arrival
President Reyes had pardoned all but nine, who had been sent out of the
country by way of the Putumayo, the Government's agent, Don Rogerio
Becerra, conducting them as far as Remolino, where they had been
released.
As the maintenance of these prisoners and the garrison had been the
chief industry, the exile of the former and the withdrawal of the
latter, which was taking place when we arrived, was causing a general
exodus to Pasto. A small traffic with the rubber-collectors of the Upper
Putumayo and the neighbouring Indians is, however, still carried on.
Agriculture, stock-raising, &c., are developed only sufficiently to
supply the small local demands, for the inaccessibility of the place
prohibits any large trade with outside markets.
The climate of Mocoa is agreeable and healthy, and the land, level and
covered with thick forest, is fertile and well adapted to agriculture.
The temperature is about 20° C. and the elevation above sea-level is
approximately five hundred metres. One very attractive feature of this
vicinity is the complete absence of mosquitos and gnats. From Mocoa one
can see, blue in the distance, the mighty, towering peaks of the
Cordillera Oriental, which, rising high above the unbroken wall of
forest that surrounds the town, seem to pierce the very sky.
A good mule-road or highway connection with Pasto and La Sofía, the head
of steam navigation on the Putumayo, would do much to awaken Mocoa from
the torpor into which it is now plunged; for, in that way, this virgin
region would have an outlet not only for the important forest products
such as rubber, ivory, &c., but also for the valuable agricultural
staples, as coffee, cotton, _yuca_, sugar-cane, and the thousand other
products of the _tierra caliente_,[35] which can be grown here. Besides,
the opening of these means of communication would greatly facilitate
immigration to this vast region, which is the most essential aid to its
development.
An interesting plant, very much in evidence here, is the _achiote_[36]
or _urucú_. This is a small tree, yielding a fruit, which is encased in
a red berry, resembling in shape that of a chestnut. This fruit, when
crushed, gives out a bright red juice, which is used by the whites to
dye clothes with and to colour soups, meat, &c. The Indians, in addition
to using it in this way, also employ it to paint themselves with.
The Indians of Mocoa are also Incas, the same as those of Santiago. They
speak the same tongue, have the same customs, houses, arms, and
utensils, differing only in the dress, which, on account of the heat,
consists only of a long, black or white cotton shirt, almost concealing
a pair of knee-pants of the same colour and material, and in their food,
which is more diversified and comprises not only maize, &c., but also
_yuca_, plantains, and many forest products. Like the Incas of Santiago,
they also profess Christianity and have a limited knowledge of Spanish.
These Indians are very ugly and do not possess the good features, clear
skin, and physical endurance which so characterise their brothers of the
mountains. Many of them suffer from the _carate_,[37] so prevalent in
the Cauca Valley, and, consequently, present a most repugnant
appearance.
The following incident illustrates the superstition of these aborigines.
One day Pedro and I went to an Indian house to buy some souvenirs. Here,
the aged owner of the hut had an old, worthless _bodoqueda_[38] that he
wished to sell me, and insisted so strongly upon my buying it that I
lost patience and spoke to him rather harshly. Instantly one of our
Santiago Indians, who seemed to have taken rather a liking to me, called
me aside and implored me not to offend the old Indian, who was a noted
_brujo_ or wizard, for, if I did, he would surely visit some fearful
punishment upon me, such as making me blind or insane, or even worse.
Although I laughed and explained to him that the wizard was nothing but
an old fraud and could do me no harm, the good fellow could not be
convinced, but still clung to his belief. Such superstitions are very
common among all these aborigines.
During the next two days only three of our Santiago Indians showed up,
thus delaying us in the same manner as they had done at Pasto and at
Sibundoy. In this interval we made the acquaintance of Don Octavio
Materón, a junior partner in a company, formed in Pasto, for the purpose
of cultivating rubber on the Upper Putumayo. The manager, Don Gabriel
Martínez, to whom Jurado had given us a letter of introduction, had, we
learned, gone down in his capacity as _corregidor_ to the Caraparaná,
leaving Materón and the other partner, Gonzalez, in charge. Materón had
come to Mocoa to bring down some _bultos_ of merchandise that had been
delayed here, and, finding that we were going his way, kindly decided to
wait for us.
On Monday morning, November 25th, the Indians sent by the _Intendente_
arrived, ready to take our effects to Guineo. As there were still two
_bultos_ lacking, we decided that Perkins and Pedro should go on with
the five _bultos_ that were ready and await my arrival in Guineo, while
I remained in Mocoa to take down the other two _bultos_ as soon as the
_cargadores_ should arrive with them. So, bidding goodbye to Perkins and
Pedro and arranging with the remaining Indians to return in three or
four days, I resumed my weary task of waiting.
As we had been informed that it would be necessary to purchase a canoe
here, I made several inquiries and at last was directed to one Bernardo
Ochoa, a lean, bilious-looking _aguardiente_[39]-merchant, a victim of
the _carate_, who had a canoe in Guineo that he would sell. I did not
fancy buying a canoe without seeing it, but, as both Materón and the
_Intendente_ assured me that it was large, well-preserved, and quite
worth sixty dollars "hard," I began negotiations with the man, who at
first asked one hundred dollars, but, after a great deal of haggling,
finally sold it to me for eighty dollars "hard." At the same time I
bought a small barrel of _aguardiente_, as I was told that it would
greatly facilitate intercourse, not only with the Indians, but also with
the "whites" who inhabit the region.
On Wednesday morning, at about 9 a.m., Dr. Escobar came in and informed
me that a messenger had just arrived from Pasto with an order to arrest
Pedro and send him back to Cali. Completely amazed by this intelligence,
I went to the _Intendente_, who showed me the order and informed me that
he had already sent two soldiers to Guineo to arrest the boy and bring
him back. As we had taken Pedro from the railway and had stayed several
days in Cali and Popayán and several weeks in Pasto, without any attempt
having been made to arrest him, I could only think that it was some
mistake, so I made a few guarded suggestions to the General, but without
the slightest effect.
In the afternoon I set about hiring another boy to take Pedro's place,
and after some time succeeded in engaging a stupid, torpid-looking
youth, to whom I offered a couple of pounds to clinch the bargain. What
was my surprise then to see him come back in a couple of hours and, with
tears in his eyes and in a voice trembling with fear, beg me to let him
off. Upon investigation, I found that some wretch had filled his weak
head full of bloodcurdling yarns about the cannibal Indians and the
decimating fevers met with there. The poor fool was in such a miserable
state of fear and dismay that, upon his paying back the money I had
advanced him, I was glad to let him go.
On the following afternoon I was agreeably surprised to see the two
_cargadores_ from Santiago arrive with the two remaining _bultos_.
Finding that they were intact--for the Indians often steal part of the
contents of the _bultos_--I paid the two rascals and sent word to the
Mocoa _cargadores_ that four of them should come in the morning to take
us to Puerto Guineo.
Shortly after I had arranged this matter the soldiers arrived with
Pedro, who seemed to be quite knocked up with the long march and the
gloomy prospects of the tedious journey before him. Shaking hands with
the poor boy to encourage him a little, I asked what it was that he had
done. He protested his innocence of any wrongdoing so stoutly that,
convinced that there must be an error somewhere, I again went to the
_Intendente_, but he was determined to carry out his orders, and I could
do nothing with him. Returning to Pedro, I endeavoured to cheer him up
a little, but without much success. After writing him a good reference,
I paid him off, and, with a last _adios_ left the poor boy alone in his
dismal cell. I never saw nor heard from him since.
In the morning, as soon as the _cargadores_ put in their appearance, I
loaded them up with the two _bultos_, the barrel of _aguardiente_, and
our food and hammocks, &c., while Materón did the same with his, after
which we took our leave of the _Intendente_ and the _simpático_ Dr.
Escobar, and began the last stage of our overland journey.
The morning was fine and invigorating, and we pushed on rapidly,
crossing many fine, sparkling _quebradas_, which wound their way softly
through the dense, tropical forest that covers the Amazon Basin from the
Andes to the Atlantic. As we made our way along the level path, we
frequently stopped to examine some strange plant, to pursue some rare
butterfly, or to shoot some new bird, whose brilliant plumage or sweet
notes attracted our attention. Just before noon we passed a "cave," a
great, long, overhanging rock, in some places of such a height as to
permit us to stand erect under it, and reached a large, sparkling
stream, where, seated on a great rock, overspread by the protecting
shade of the forest, we had our lunch.
[Illustration: VEGETATION ON THE PERUVIAN AMAZON.
To face p. 74.]
The traveller, entering for the first time these gloomy forests, as yet
untouched by the hand of man, is bewildered by the splendour and
magnificence of a superabundant vegetation. Indeed, it is impossible to
give any exact idea of the immense variety of the thick-growing plants
and of the incessant activity of Nature in their development. The
dense vegetation accumulates and piles up, forming, especially on the
banks of the streams and rivers, opaque masses, perfectly impenetrable,
through which the sun's rays never pierce. The high giants of the forest
tower above everything, the smaller trees and the shrubs crowd under
their branches, while the numerous vines and _bejucos_ knit the whole
into one solid mass.
In the afternoon we reached a cross which marked the divergence of our
road into two trails, one going to Puerto Limon on the Caquetá, and the
other to Puerto Guineo on the River Guineo, an affluent of the Putumayo.
This cross is about six leagues from Mocoa and the same distance from
Limon and Guineo. Some distance beyond, we stopped for the night in a
couple of small _ranchos_ built about a month before by the soldiers who
escorted the exiles to the port. Here we passed a fairly comfortable
night, well protected from the torrential downpour which took place
shortly after our arrival here and continued all night.
In the morning we found the trail wet and muddy and the vegetation,
through which we were obliged to wade, soaked us completely, so we
removed our shoes and clothes and put on _alpargatas_ and pyjamas. These
we found lighter and much more comfortable, and in this garb we
continued the rest of our journey. Soon the trail became worse and the
small, shallow _quebradas_ became rushing, brawling torrents, through
which we were, in some cases, almost obliged to swim. The Indians, in
these places, grasped hands and waded through together, carrying the
_bultos_ on their heads. At first I trembled for my poor possessions
when they did this, but I soon perceived that they knew their business,
and did not interfere with them.
Towards the end of the journey the trail passed along the banks of the
Guineo River, normally a quiet, meandering stream not over two feet
deep, but now a swollen, dangerous torrent. We experienced some
difficulty in crossing several of its numerous tributaries, but, after
what seemed an eternity, we reached Guineo at one o'clock in a state of
complete exhaustion.
Here we found Perkins comfortably installed in an old bamboo hut known
as the "convent," where the priests from Mocoa generally stop when they
come down to Guineo to preach to the Indians. We soon discovered our old
railway enemies, the _moscas_ or gnats, which made me feel quite at
home. But a still worse misfortune was revealed to us when Perkins, who
was preparing some food for Materón and me, informed us that all the
bread was spoiled, having probably got wet on the Páramo of Bordoncillo.
We braced up considerably, however, when he dished us out a hearty meal
of fried _yuca_, plantains, sausage, and _panela_, and after a couple of
hours' rest felt quite restored.
We then went out, and, through an Indian to whom I delivered a letter
Ochoa had supplied me with, ordering the transfer of the canoe to me,
had a look at our vessel. We found it to be a good river-going craft,
about nine metres long and something over one metre wide, and in a
tolerable state of preservation, being made of cedar, which is the best
wood for the purpose.
[Illustration: TROPICAL VEGETATION ON THE AFFLUENTS OF THE PERUVIAN
AMAZON.
[To face p. 76.]
These canoes or _pituches_, which, as a rule, measure from six to ten
metres in length, are made from a single log of wood, hollowed out by
the adze, or, as with some Indians, by fire. Cedar[40] is the favourite
wood, for it is light, easily worked, and very durable. When this cannot
be obtained, however, various other kinds of trees are employed, such as
_caoba_ or _aguano_,[41] _palo-rosa_ or _lauro-rosa_,[42]
_palo-maria_,[43] _catagua_ or _assacú_,[44] and _itauba_.[45] But none
of these woods are equal to cedar, for either they do not resist the
action of the water so well, or else are so heavy that they make the
canoe cumbersome and dangerous to navigation.
We next bought a couple of paddles from the Indians, and our naval
equipment was then complete. The paddles in use in this region by both
whites and Indians are generally only about a metre and a half in
length, with wide, rounded blades, which facilitate rowing in shallow
water. Oars such as are used in oar-locks would be quite useless here on
account of the numerous stumps and logs in the rivers and along their
banks and chiefly the cargo, which often takes up nearly all the inside
of the canoe. Many of these paddles are constructed of fine wood, well
finished and painted and varnished to a degree.
The only other building at Puerto Guineo, in addition to the convent, is
an old, dilapidated church, both of which stand on the bank of the river
in a small clearing sowed with plantain-trees. As already stated, the
priests of Mocoa often come down to Guineo for a few days at a time to
preach to the aborigines, and the convent and church were built by the
Indians, partly for the convenience of the _padres_ and partly as a sort
of monument to their own importance. Like the convent, the church is of
bamboo with an earthen floor and a thatched roof, upon which some
vegetation was beginning to present itself. Inside were a few crude
pictures of saints, and behind the altar stood a cross with a ghastly
figure of the Crucifixion upon it. A few cheap altar-cloths and the
remains of several used-up candles completed the outfit, the whole of
which was entirely covered and wound up with numerous cobwebs.
In the midst of the dense forest, surrounding these neglected relics of
civilisation, live a tribe of Indians who call themselves Cionis and
speak a language of the same name. They are quite distinct from the
Incas, and occupy the whole region of the Upper Putumayo, living in
small villages of from ten to fifty families along its banks. In all,
they do not number over a thousand. But they all speak more or less
Spanish, with the peculiarity that the only form of the verb they use is
the gerund.
These Indians are short, broad, and strong, but generally lazy and
shiftless. Like the Mocoa branch of the Incas, nearly all of them suffer
from _carate_. The ugly and unusual custom of pulling out the eyebrows,
eye-lashes, &c., and cutting the hair short is observed by both sexes.
The women are, if possible, uglier than the men, which is saying a good
deal, but the latter endeavour to compensate for this by painting their
faces blue and pink. The ordinary designs used for this purpose are
geometrical figures and branches of trees, &c.
Another very common custom is that of piercing the ears and the dividing
wall of the nose with small bamboo tubes coloured a bright shining
black, and frequently from ten to fifteen centimetres in length and
nearly one centimetre in thickness. They also generally wear upon each
arm, just between the shoulder and the elbow, a sort of bracelet, made
of fibres from the leaf of the _chambira_[46] palm, the loose ends of
which reach almost to the wrist--this is supposed to ward off attacks of
rheumatism and other similar complaints.
Their dress is very simple, and consists merely of a long shirt called
_cushma_, 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, &c. Besides 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_,[47] 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_,[48] the
_camona_ or _huacrapona_[49] and the _tarapoto_,[50] 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_[51] 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 prepared
fruits of the _totuma_ or _cuyera_,[52] which, by the simple operation
of cutting open and cleaning 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,
_chambira_-palm-fibre bags, little clay ovens to bake _fariña_ in,
fishing-nets, whistles made of the leg-bones of different birds, fifes
made of bamboo, and torches of the heart of the _maguey_ 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 _capitán_, 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
_bodoquedas_ 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 of the Santiago Indians,
for, in addition to the numerous forest products, such as the
_papaya_,[53] the _lime_,[54] the _caimito_,[55] _marañon_,[56] the
_pishuayo_,[57] bread-fruit,[58] the 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
important, the _danta_ or _sacha-vaca_[59] which lives in shady swamps;
the _chancho del monte_ or _huangana_,[60] which is a kind of peccary
that lives in herds in the depths of the forest; the _ronsoco_ or
_capivara_,[61] a large amphibious rodent; the _venado_ or deer,[62] of
which there are several species; several kinds of monkeys, such as the
_guaribas_, the _cotomonos_, and the _maquisapas_; the _sloth_[63]; the
armadillo[64]; 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 larvæ
or with the fruit of the _setico_[65] tree. Besides these, they
frequently employ the celebrated _barbasco_.[66] 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 cultivate a few
plantain-trees,[67] a little maize,[68] and the invaluable _yuca_ or
manioc, from which they manufacture their two most popular alimentary
products, _mazata_ and _fariña_. There are two kinds of _yuca_--the
wild-yuca or _yuca brava_[69] and the cultivated variety,[70] 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 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 _fariña_, 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 roasting 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 _fariña_ can be preserved for a long time 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 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_-palm. 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 hammock. One of these hammocks can be rolled
up until it occupies only 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 supply has been obtained, they 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 manufacture, they always wear a quantity of
_cascabeles_, which are nothing more than strings of the dried fruits of
the _schacapa_[71]. These _cascabeles_ 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 _bejuco_[72], which they call _yoco_,
is their substitute for coffee; from another _bejuco_ they extract a
narcotic known to them as _ayahuasca_ or _yajén_, the effects of which
are similar to those of hasheesh and opium; the leaves of the _huitoc_
or _jagua_[73] 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.