TARAPOTO TO CANELOS 127 



Puca-yacu is a colony of the still considerable 

 pueblo of Canelos. It contains also four or five 

 Jibaros, who are married to women of Canelos. 

 The Governor has in his house a Jibaro girl whose 

 history is singular. It seems that among those 

 Indians when a man of note dies it is the custom 

 to put his wives to death, in order that their spirits 

 may accompany him, as they did while in the body. 

 An old chief died two years ago, leaving four wives, 

 whereof one was scarcely nine years of age. This 

 poor creature, knowing that they would seek to 

 kill her, fled into the woods, and though pursued, 

 succeeded in reaching Sara - yacu, where the 

 Governor then was, and placed herself under his 

 protection. Her "friends" have since reclaimed 

 her, but the Governor refuses to give her up, and 

 she still remains with him, and is an excellent 

 servant to his wife. She has been baptized by the 

 name of Magdalena, the Governor and his wife 

 standing sponsors. She looks little like a widow, 

 with her slender, girlish figure and smart chitty 

 face. The Jibaro Indians still abound on the 

 Pastasa (above the mouth of Bombonasa) and on 

 its upper tributaries. There is a settlement of 

 them, commonly called the Jibaria, at three days 

 from Canelos, near the river Pindu, on the route 

 to Banos. . . . 



There is a magnificent view looking west from 

 the plateau of Puca-yacu, but I saw it only once, 

 for about a couple of hours, in all its entirety, 

 takes in an angle of about 60 , bounded left and 

 right by forest on adjacent elevations. 

 feet stretched the valley of the I'.ombonasa, taking 

 upwards a north-westerly direction, its waters not 



