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XVII
316
Eduardo Neale-Silva 317
7Funes was killed by Arevalo Cedenio, January 30, 1921. Rivera's novel appeared
three years later.
8 Corroborations can be
found in The Putumayo Red Book, London, 1913. There is also
a Spanish edition of Bogota, 1913.
9 La Vordgine,p. 298. Before describing the massacre Arthur Friel states: "On the night
of May 8, 1913, San Fernando was gay with music and general jollification for the caucho
(rubber) season had ended." The River of Seven Stars (New York: Harper and Bros., 1924),
p. 128.
10 George Brisson, Casanare (Bogota, 1896); Hiram Bingham, The Journal of an Expedi-
tion Across Venezuela and Colombia, 1906-1907 ... (New Haven, Conn., 1909), Chapters
vI-Ix; H. J. Mozans (J. A. Zahm), Up the Orinoco and Down the Magdalena (London,
1910), Chapter vII.
Eduardo Neale-Silva 319
2 La Vordgine,p. 218.
27JoaqulnRocha,Memorandum
de viaje (Bogota, 1905),p. 124. See also VicenteOlarte
Camacho'sLas crueldadesde los peruanosen el Putumayoy en el Caquetd,third edition
(Bogota, 1932), p. 66. 28 Rocha, op. cit., p. 119.
29 Fray Gasparde Pinell, Excursi6napost6licapor los rios Putumayo,San Miguel de
as the most brutal slavery machine of modern times. The evidence for
this accusation had been obtained from an American engineer, Mr.
W.E. Hardenburg, who had gone to the Putumayo in 1907 with his friend
Mr. W. B. Perkins to study the possibilities of the rubber industry there.
An official investigation followed three years later, and in 1913 the
atrocities of the Putumayo became known the world over.32The Peru-
vian Amazon Company was liquidated, but Arana continued operating
new companies in a vain attempt to retain a waning market. In 1921,
Julio Cesar Arana became senator for the Department of Loreto, Peru,
and took an active part in discouraging the ratification of the Salomon-
Lozano treaty of 1922, with which Colombia and Peru sought to put an
end to a long and protracted boundary litigation which affected precisely
that region where the Arana Company had been operating.33
Among the employees of Arana were two renegades from Colombia.
One of them, Benjamin Larrafiaga, is called by Rivera: "Ese pastuso
sin coraz6n, socio de Arana y otros peruanos, que en la hoya amaz6nica
han esclavizado mas de treinta mil indios."34 His compatriot, Miguel
Triana, calls him "hijo del pueblo de Pasto que en diez afios lleg6 a ser el
Nabab de los giiitotos y el Montecristo de la ciudad teologica."35Also
historical is Juanchito Vega, who had formerly been Colombian Consul
at Iquitos. "Se hacia indispensable sustituir al peligroso Larranfagapor
Juan Bautista Vega, tambien pastuso de nacimiento, y mas traidor que
el otro a los intereses de su pais."36
While Arana directed the export trade from Iquitos and Manaos his
agents committed unheard of atrocities at the various stations. Rivera
mentions two of these agents, the notorious Victor Macedo and the
bookkeeper Loaiza.37Both had long criminal records.
32Cf. House of Commons: CorrespondenceRespecting the Treatmentof British Colonial
Subjects and Native Indians in the Putumayo District, Including Sir Roger Casement's
Report, Vol. LXVIII (1912-13), Miscellaneous No. 8; Special Report and Reportfrom the
Select Committeeon Putumayo Atrocities . . . Vol. ix (1912-13); Reports, Proceedings, Evi-
dence, Appendices and Index, Vol. xiv (1913), 713 pp.; House of Representatives: Slavery in
Peru . . 62nd Congress, 3rd. Session, Document No. 1366 (Washington, 1913), 443 pp.
33Cf. The Putumayo Red Book (London, 1913); W. W. Hardenburg, The Putumayo, the
Devil's Paradise (London, 1913); G. S. Paternoster, The Lords of the Devil's Paradise
(London, 1913); J. F. Woodroffe, The Upper Reaches of the Amazon (New York, 1914). A
biography of Julio Cesar Arana is given by Fray Gasper de Pinell, op. cit., pp. 196 ff.
Arana's evasive testimony in London is found in House of Commons, xiv, 459-500.
34La Vordgine, p. 192.
36Miguel Triana, Por el sur de Colombia (Paris, 1907), p. 121. Details of his life and
sudden death, probably by poisoning, are given in The Putumayo Red Book, pp. 86-87, and
in Pinell's book, pp. 149-150.
38From accusation of Unos Colombianos, Manaos, July, 1907, apud Olarte Camacho,
op. cit., p. 48. Cf. La Vordgine, pp. 199, 211, 226. 37 La Vordgine, pp. 214, 197.
324 The Factual Bases of "La Vordgine"
... que era colono del rio Cuimafif."49In the book of Olarte Camacho to
which we have so often referred there appears an article entitled "Voces
del Putumayo," signed by Morales.50
We now come to Don Clemente Silva and Zorayda Ayram. The former
has a prototype in the "rumbero" Di6medes of Tod, who is said to
have accompanied the French scientist Robuchon. Don Clemente's fam-
ily tragedy was in all likelihood invented by Rivera to account for the
long travels of this character. There were many expert guides like Don
Clemente, and Rivera may not have had in mind any one in particular.
As for Zorayda Ayram, "la madona," it is believed that her prototype
is dofia Narcisa Saba, widow of Barrera Malo and owner of a modest
house at Puerto Carreiio where meals were served in hotel fashion.
"Corre como valida la especie de que dofia Narcisa, cuyo verdadero
nombre, mucho mas lindo, es Nazira, fue retratada por Jose Eustasio
Rivera en La Vordgine, con el inolvidable nombre de Zoraida Ayram."5'
Whether this be true or not, we have ample reason to believe Zoraida a
genuine character. A few women ventured into the Colombian interior
and traded in rubber. It is known, besides, that not a few of the peddlers
of the Amazon were "turcos," a vague name applied to Turks, Syrians,
and Jews.
Still more difficult to identify is El Cayeno. Although he was in all
probability a real person, we have not been able to find mention of him
in any book dealing with the Isana, Vaupes, or Rio Negro. Mr. E. K.
James, however, affirms in the preface to the translation of La Vordgine
that "Funes and El Cayeno, undisguised in this story by any pseu-
donyms, were figures known and hated throughout the rubber world."
This information was obtained from Rivera himself at the time of the
novelist's stay in New York. Rivera had with him some Spanish sources
and assured Mr. James of the authenticity of El Cayeno. This is partly
corroborated by Mr. Earl P. Hanson, who traveled in the Amazon
region a few years ago. He met a Frenchman-so he states in a letter to
us-still living in the upper Guainia. This individual was reputed to be
a fugitive from Cayenne. By personal admission one of his bitter enemies
was, as related in the novel, none other than Funes. As not all the facts
given in La Vordgine agree with the ones we have been able to gather,
we are led to believe that Rivera again gives us a type rather than a
definite individual. Certainly some of the qualities of El Cayeno would
also apply to other masters of the rubber regions like that ponderous
49La Vordgine, p. 193. 50 Olarte
Camacho, op. cit., pp. 65-70.
51L. E. Nieto Caballero, Vuelo al Orinoco, in El
Tiempo, Bogota, Nov. 1., 1934, apud
Arturo Torres Rioseco, "Jose Eustasio Rivera," Revista CuLbana,vi (April-June, 1936),
Nos. 16-18, p. 75.
Eduardo Neale-Silva 327
62 Gordon MacCreagh, White Waters and Black (New York, 1926), pp. 320-321. So ac-
curate is the factual data of La Vordgine that Messrs. Howard and Ralph Wolf did not
hesitate to include El Cayeno as an authentic figure in their excellent work Rubber-A
Story of Glory and Greed (New York, 1936). The authors have informed us that their
reference to El Cayeno was written on the basis of the facts given in Rivera's novel.
63 "Nominally-says the British Consul-General-the men were well paid with from
5 1. to 61. per month, but this pay given with one hand was generally taken back with the
other, for the prices at which the men were forced to satisfy their necessities from the
company's stores ate up each month's and even several months of their earnings before
they became due. A man in debt anywhere in the Amazon rubber districts is not allowed to
leave until the debt is paid and, as the creditor makes out the account and keeps the
books, the debtor frequently does not know how much he owes and, even if he had the
means, might not always be able to satisfy their claims. Accounts are falsified and men are
kept in what becomes a perpetual state of bondage, partly through their own thriftlessness
(which is encouraged) and partly by deliberate dishonesty." From Sir Roger Casement's
Report, HIouseof Commons, Vol. LXVIII,Miscellaneous No. 8, p. 18. Cf. La Vordgine, pp.
189, 217.
54 Rivera mentions the Vanivas, Bares, Carijonas, Huitotos, Andoques, Puinaves and
Maipurefios, aside from a cosmopolitan tribe of the Papunagua formed by refugees from
the rubber regions. La Vordgine, pp. 134, 168, 169, 176, 195. Mr. Custodio Morales tells of
the existence of a similar cosmopolitan tribe at Cuemafii. Cf. Olarte Camacho, op. cit.,
pp. 67-58.
55Details on the use of achiote, yopo, yage, and on Indian beliefs and practices may be
found in the books of Fray Gaspar de Pinell, Perez Triana, and Brisson, already cited.
328 The Factual Bases of "La Vordgine"
of San Fernando. Ever since Puerto Ayacucho was made the seat of the
government in 1928, San Fernando has been a ghost town. In 1932 it
had only about sixty people. The town, although dead, survives in the
memories of those who lived through the reign of terror of the half
demented Tomas Funes, the ogre of San Fernando.
San Fernando was not a safe place for a governor: Venancio Pulgar
was shot, Melendez Carrasco wounded, Maldonado killed; and Roberto
Pulido, the one presented in La Vordgine, was murdered in cold blood,
along with seventy others.56
Opinions on the wisdom and honesty of governor Pvlido vary. Rivera
is inclined to justify his commercial activities, admitting, however, that
Pulido "al vender con mano oficial recogia con ambas manos."57Mr.
H. C. Dickey, on the other hand, states that Pulido, not satisfied with
taxes alone, had a monopoly of cigarettes, which he sold to his own
soldiers, charging the purchases to their next month's pay. Pulido, we
are told, even opened a gambling den where cigarettes were used as
chips.68 Some claim-with Rivera-that the governor's decrees were
well inspired. Mr. Arthur Friel, who has written a very able account of
San Fernando affairs, states that Pulido intended to use some of the
proceeds of his taxes for the improvement of transportation facilities.59
Undoubtedly the governor was not above reproach and, knowing that
his situation was not safe, he preferred to live at Catanapo, where it
was "healthier."60
As some of the taxpayers could not pay with cash, Pulido confiscated
rubber, tonka beans, balata, or any other produce of value. One of those
affected was Colonel Tomas Funes. The facts given in La Vordginecon-
cerning the events of May, 1913, are as accurate as any. The reader may
compare them with those found in the lengthier account of Friel, who
obtained his information largely from men of the Orinoco. Funes sec-
retly armed his men and attacked Pulido and his family at night. The
governor, who had just returned home with fever; was in his hammock.
68Cf. RufinoBlancoFombona,Diariode mi vida (Madrid,1929),pp. 181-182.
57La Voragine,p. 299. "El gobernador-the novelist explains-no habfa establecido
impuestosestfipidos;sin embargo,fragu6basela conjuraparasuprimirlo.Su malaestrella
le aconsej6dictar un decretoen el cual disponfaque los derechosde exportarcauchose
pagaranen SanFernando,conoroo con plata,y no con pagaresgiradoscontrael comercio
de CiudadBolivar."La Vordgine,p. 300.
58 "He wouldtake
fifty per cent of the cigarettesout of eachpot, as ownerof the resort,
and sell them backto the players.And I have it on goodauthoritythat he did not disdain
shoes and articlesof clothing, even food of the soldiersfor which he exchangedmore
cigarettesfor gambling."H. C. Dickey, My JungleBook(Boston,1932),pp. 173-174.
69ArthurFriel, op. cit., p. 127.
60Cf. Leo E. Miller,In the Wildsof SouthAmerica(New York, 1919),pp. 153, 163.
Eduardo Neale-Silva 329
A volley of bullets killed him before he could defend himself. His wife,
driven to insanity by this assassination, was captured and bound, along
with her son, a lad of about fourteen. In the meantime the henchmen of
the crazed Colonel killed some seventy people: "En las tiendas, en las
calles, en los solares reventaban los tiros. Confusi6n, fogonazos, lamen-
taciones, sombras corriendo en la obscuridad."6l
After the massacre Funes appointed himself governor. With garrisons
stationed at strategic points along the rivers and with an army of crim-
inals behind him, Funes became sole authority along the Orinoco. Some-
times an innocent individual was "sent to Funes's cemetery" for the
most trivial reason. In the black list were included his own accomplices.
In mortal fear for his life, El Coronel ordered the death of whole families.
Rivera justly says:
Jamfs, en ningunpais, se vi6 tiranocon tanto dominioen vida y fortunascomo
el que atormentala inmensurablezonacaucheracuyasdos salidasestas cerradas:
en el Orinoco,por los chorrosde Atures y Maipures;y en el Guainia,porla
Aduanade Amanadona.62
Oddly enough, Funes became the official governor of Amazonas by a
decree of Juan Vicente Gomez. Mr. Dickey, who met the monster of
the Orinoco, describes him as "a small, dapper chap... He had a retreat-
ing forehead, a luxuriant black moustache, a sallow complexion. He wore
a number five shoe."63His reign of terror lasted eight long years, until
January 30, 1921, when he was shot by Arevalo Cedeiio.
Rivera mentions also a few minor individuals who are historical. One
of Funes's subordinates was a certain L6pez: "El grupo de Lopez,
felinamente se acerc6 a la ventana abierta."4 This individual is men-
tioned in Friel's book. Lopez acted like a scared rabbit-Friel asserts-
when he faced a firing squad in 1921.65Another culprit in Funes's "army"
was Gonzalez, mentioned in La Vordgine as the one who murdered sev-
eral men with his own machete.This was Gonzalez Perdomo, the author
of a book vindicating Funes. Gonzalez was later placed in charge of the
Maipures garrison. Like many others he was poisoned by Funes himself.66
Even Espinosa, barely mentioned in the novel, is a real character. And
it is at least remotely possible that Vacares, nicknamed "El Vaquiro" in
the novel, is the individual whom Friel calls Baca.67
61 La 62La Vordgine, p. 301.
Vordgine, pp. 302-303.
63 4 La
Dickey, op. cit., pp. 175-176. Vordgine, p. 302.
65 "The most noted butchers in Funes's force were Luciano L6pez, his second in com-
mand, who really was a butcher-the town's official killer of cattle-and one Avispa, whose
name (real or assumed) meant 'Wasp'." Friel, op. cit., p. 144.
66
Ibid., pp. 144, 145. Cf. La Vordgine, p. 303.
67
Friel, op. cit., pp. 135-136, 137.
330 The Factual Bases of "La Vordgine"
Near the end of the novel Rivera mentions two other persons that
deserve comment. One is Monsefor Massa, to whom we have already
alluded. Monsefior Massa has been described as
Digno sucesor.... Hombre practico, poseedorde la educaci6ny experiencias
necesariasparauna laborde este genero,y, animadodel celomisioneroy espiritu
religiosoque pareceninspirar a los Padres Salesianos,su iniciativa, energia,
entusiasmoy habilidadestan obteniendoresultadosnotables.68
The other person is Joao Castanheira Fontes. Joao was probably related
to don Antonio Castanheiro Fontes of Umarituba whom Dr. Hamilton
Rice met on his trip to the Rio Negro.69
A close examination of other materials which we have been unable to
consult would probably show that several of the names and events not
discussed in this paper are also historical. As secretary of the Second
Section Committee Rivera had excellent opportunities to examine a
good number of documents from which to draw information. Besides,
he must have talked to many a river boatsman to whom the inside story
of the Putumayo and San Fernando was well known. It is well-nigh
impossible today to verify many of the details given by the novelist, as
most of the possible informers prefer to carry their secrets with them.
Friel, Hanson, and others who have traveled in the Amazon interior
have found a general reluctance to confide in strangers.
Rivera mentions over sixty rivers and tributaries of the region covered
by the novel. So sure was the novelist of his geographical knowledge that
he dared to call the map prepared by the Oficina de Longitudes "mapa
costoso, aparatoso, mentiroso y deficientisimo." Aside from the many
rectifications made in recent years concerning the headwaters of certain
Colombian rivers, we have found many evidences of imperfect knowledge
of the geography of the Colombian interior. As late as 1925, for example,
Fray Estanislao de Las Corts published a Report relating his adventures
along "el desconocido rio Caguan," a tributary of the Caqueta.70 La
Vordgine also contains a great profusion of information on the fauna
and flora of Colombia. Rivera was a lover of nature and a good observer.
Now he delights in the gorgeous sight of a herons' pond or the glory of
the awakening day; now he succumbs to the spell of the jungle and its
destructive denizens, the recoiling giilo, the voracious carib fish or the
devastating tambochas.
La Vordgine is a historical record and a social document. Probably
the historical part of its plot will relegate the novel to a secondary place
in the future. But certain sections will survive, especially those written
in complete detachment from pure history. The events of the Putumayo
and San Fernando refer to a specific time and a specific place and have
no representative value. More significant by far are the sections inter-
preting the soul of the llanos and the jungle.
While the novel is essentially accurate, the impression it leaves in the
reader is erroneous. Rivera crowded into a simple plot the history of some
fifteen long years. The choice of the events, their rapid succession, and
the exalted dramatic atmosphere that pervades the pages of the novel,
all contribute to make of La Vordgine exactly what its title implies, a
vortex of action. The mad world depicted in the second and third parts,
even though its component elements are historically true, is essentially
an artificial accumulation of events unrelated in time and space. In
contrast with the first part the latter sections of the novel are not a
synthesis but a summary.
Probably the more artistic passages of the novel were written as
separate units and fused into one work at a later date. This explains the
unevenness of the novel and its defective technique. The poetic and
factual moods indicate a difference in the time of composition and a
difference in purpose. When the novel was finally written, the artist was
partly defeated by the historian.7
EDUARDO NEALE-SILVA
University of Wisconsin
71 Subsequent to the completion of this article I consulted the excellent book of Earl P.
Hanson, Journey to Manaos, (New York, 1938). In the detailed account of Funes's regime
the author alludes to the Italian Jesus Capecchi and to Dr. Baldomero Benftez, both his-
torical characters mentioned by Rivera. (Cf. La Vordgine, pp. 302, 305). I also succeeded
in obtaining a copy of El proceso del Putumayo (Lima, 1915), a general expose written in
self-defense by Sr. Carlos A. Valcarcel, the Peruvian judge at Iquitos already discussed
(See footnote 46). The evidence given by Valcarcel concerning the affairs of the Putumayo
is overwhelming. Finally, one modification. When the articles published in El Tiempo of
Bogota appeared in book form, L. E. Nieto Caballero inserted a letter signed by Nazira
(dofia Narcisa Saba) denying the supposition that she is Zoraida Ayram. Vuelo al Orinoco
(Bogota, 1935), p. 151.