Here we had lunch with them, which was a rather meagre affair, after which we sold them some of our remaining Indian trading-stuff in order to get it out of the way. During the course of this deal, which was enlivened by a considerable amount of haggling and aguardiente, we learned that nothing more had been heard of the unfortunate Martínez, and the opinion of the two racionales was that he was being detained at El Encanto for some underhand purpose.
Bidding adios to the hospitable racionales, we resumed our descent at about 3.30, and continued it without incident until about six o’clock, when we stopped at a large playa near where the river—or at least the arm that we were following—divided into three brazos. Here we saw several ducks, but they would not let us get within range. With the darkness the gnats disappeared, but great blood-sucking mosquitoes soon took their place; it was out of the frying-pan into the fire.
After a night of torture we resumed our journey on the following morning, taking the left brazo, as the two racionales had informed us that it was the quickest. The gnats now relieving the mosquitoes, we again put on the paraphernalia of the previous day, but found it unendurable, for the narrow brazo was like an oven, being too wide to provide shade and too small for the breeze to enter.
Had it not been for these little wretches we should have enjoyed the passage through the brazo, for on either side—almost within arm’s length—towered up in magnificent confusion the luxuriant, impenetrable vegetation of the Amazon Valley. The calm beauty of the scene was from time to time enlivened by the numerous bands of gaily-coloured parrots and parroquets that, with shrill, hoarse cries, would circle about in the sky far above us. Again, we would perceive a group of monkeys leaping from tree to tree with the agility and quickness peculiar to them. At other times the silence would be broken by the splash of the large fish, which, intent on securing some delectable insect for their lunch, would leap out of the water in their eagerness.
At about two o’clock we emerged from the brazo and again entered the main channel, which along here averaged from one to two kilometres in width. Here there was a little wind, which served to relieve us a trifle, but, unfortunately, it did not last long, and the stifling heat and the clouds of gnats soon resumed their sway.
A little later, while keeping along the right bank to get the benefit of the current, we observed a band of the large guariba[91] monkeys making their way along the bank. As we were in need of some meat, we hastily disembarked and set out in pursuit of them. Perceiving an especially large one, I let fly at him with the shot-gun; he fell, but, striking a branch in his descent, caught it with his tail and hung there head downwards. Finally, after shooting him six times more and spending over half an hour throwing sticks at him, he condescended to fall, and we took him in triumph to the canoe. We had a fine dish of monkey-steak for dinner that night.
The guaribas are the largest and most interesting of the numerous species of monkeys that abound in the forests of the Putumayo. They average two feet in height, have well-developed fingers, and a heavy beard under the chin. Their long, prehensile tail is covered with hair on top, but the under surface is bald and horny. They are generally of a brownish colour, but this often varies, according to the age of the individual. The guaribas have powerful voices, and when they all get together and begin howling, the din is deafening. They feed on fruits and nuts, and the females carry their young on their backs like some Indian women.
The next day we got another early start; the river was high, and the current took us along rapidly. During the morning we shot at several splendid-looking parrots, but they were too far off for our fire to be effective. The gnats still hen-pecked us, though not so ferociously as on the previous days, because we now got along faster. We had intended digging some turtle eggs, but the river was so swollen that the greater part of the playas and islands were covered.
At noon a heavy rain set in, which soaked us through and through. Then the sun came out again in all its glory and dried us within an hour or so, while our enemies the gnats took their toll of us; they literally appeared around us in clouds, and we killed thousands of them at a time by simply clapping our hands together. Finally they became so numerous that I was compelled to make a fire in the pot in the bow, which I rendered as smoky as possible by wetting the wood. This drove them off a little, but was as bad for us as it was for the gnats.
During the afternoon the river went down somewhat, and the beaches and playas were once more revealed. The water, however, had obliterated all tracks, &c., and consequently we were unable to find any nests. At five o’clock we stopped at the mouth of a little quebrada, where the fish actually swarmed. Every moment they would jump up out of the water, for some reason or other, and two of them even went so far as to leap into our boat. Nevertheless, our daintiest bait would not tempt them to bite.