The appearance of the unfortunate Indians of the Putumayo is ghastly and horrible; thin, cadaverous, and attenuated, they look more like ghosts than human beings. And nevertheless, they go out to meet the employees when these latter pass through their villages, and give them what few fruits they have. These gifts have been rewarded by death, on more than one occasion. Only very rarely have they rebelled; but this rebellion consists only in fleeing from their villages to emigrate far off, trying to get out of reach of their executioners. They do this only when they are murdered, flogged, burnt, tortured, mutilated, and robbed of their wives and children with more than usual frequency. This is the crime of the Putumayo Indians--trying to hide themselves from their murderers. Well, these villains, enraged beyond all bounds, collect in parties of fifty or more and start in pursuit of the fugitives. They fall upon them at midnight, and after surrounding the huts in which their victims are asleep, set fire to them and shoot all who try to escape. Is it not reasonable that these unfortunates should defend themselves and their dear ones when attacked in their last possessions? It is here that sometimes, not always, desperate struggles take place, the criminals with their rifles and the Indians with clubs and _machetes_. As is natural, the latter are always defeated and once more the victims of their torturers, who burn them by hundreds or else again reduce them to slavery. We believe it right to make known that the rubber there is becoming exhausted, and that to collect even one ounce of it means real sacrifices. It would be well if the English purchasers who have formed a syndicate in order to exploit that region could see that its resources are all imaginary, for Arana & Co. sell what does not belong to them, as slavery does not exist in Peru. We shall treat of other points in regard to this matter later, for the unfortunate syndicate that has embarked in this adventure should be informed of the real state of affairs and in what difficult conditions things are in, for certain international treaties exist with Colombia which have, at the present time, assumed a most serious and bellicose aspect. _Translated from the "Jornal do Comercio," of Manaos, September 14, 1907._ In accordance with our promise to our readers, we give the following news, as complete as possible, of a barbarous deed, the theatre of which was a point close to one of our frontiers. This narrative, detailed and horrible, we believe to be true, for it was related to us by one of the victims, who is at present in this city, the Colombian Roso España, a young man twenty-one years of age, of low stature and agreeable features.