W. E. Hardenburg

“ Here we began to observe the boto, dog-fish or pira-jaguar (Phoeajna brasiliensis) 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, apparently 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. ”

“ After lunch we set out upon an exploring expedition along the deserted playa, which proved to be some three kilometers 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 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 ”

“ These alligators, or cay manes rarely attack man, and feed chiefly on fish and small animals, such as river-seals, capivaras, etc. 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They always commit their depredations at night, and it is very 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. ”

“ 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 prevailing dense vegetation, commenced to appear with great frequency, while tributaries of all sizes continued mingling their contents with those of the main river. ”

“ 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 Putumayo 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-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. ”

“ 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 color, 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. ”

“ 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, etc., 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. ”

“ 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, exchanging 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. ”