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 aggressions 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. López informed me that this company, planning to get possession of the rubber estates of the Colombians of the Caraparaná, 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 López if it were not possible to avoid passing through that region and cross over by some varadero[89] 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 Ordoñez and Martínez. These gentlemen, López 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 we had to prolong our stay. In the course of my conversations with López, who seemed to take life pretty easily, I learned that all the rubber produced in this section of the Putumayo is an inferior kind of jebe or siringa, known technically as jebe débil or weak-fine rubber. Such large quantities of it are produced, however, and at such a small cost, especially in the Caraparaná and Igaraparaná districts, that its poor quality is more than compensated for. López 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 reaching the port, they disembarked, and we saw that they were the police force that Becerra had told us of. López and I went down to the port to greet the Corregidor, Don Gabriel Martínez; 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 corregidor 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, Martínez 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 since, and naturally feared that he had been detained.
López 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, without food, without medicines, and suffering from malarial fever of the worst kind. López 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 healthy.
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 López brought out a small barrel of the indispensable aguardiente, and everybody, including the sick policemen, their Cioni boatmen, and Perkins and myself, got on more or less of a jag,[90] which lasted all day, and was not interrupted even by the death of one of López’ 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 López was kind enough to furnish us with. This task completed at four o’clock, we had lunch, and after rendering the genial López a small return for his hospitality, Perkins and I set out once more upon our journey down the river.
During the afternoon we stopped on a large playa 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 killing a couple of wild ducks, which seemed to be very numerous in this vicinity.
On the following morning we set out at about six o’clock, being awakened at about half-past five by a numerous army of gnats or moscos. These little pests, described in the first chapter as being very prevalent on the Cauca Railway, had not afflicted us since leaving Puerto Guineo, the point of embarkation. They now became very aggravating, and such was their ferocity and perseverance that we were finally compelled to don the gloves and veils we had had made in Pasto for the purpose. Owing to the suffocating heat, these articles were inconvenient to a degree, but as they were undoubtedly the lesser evil, we endeavoured to put up with them.
At about 2 p.m. we reached Yubinete, the place where Martínez had been kidnapped. As soon as we reached the port a couple of racionales came down and conducted us up along a winding path to the little split-palm hut, which was situated on a high knoll on the right bank, some two hundred metres from the river. The place seemed desolate and neglected, for rank weeds and large bushes arose on every side. The proprietor, it seemed, was absent, and the two racionales, who had been left in charge, took life very easy.