As Serrano had owed a small sum of money to the El Encanto branch of the Peruvian Amazon Company the manager of that establishment, one Miguel S. Loayza, had made this fact an excuse to send up a "commission" about a month before our arrival to abuse and intimidate him so that he would abandon his estate. As soon as the "commission" arrived the miserable wretches who formed it began their hellish labours by chaining Serrano up to a tree; then these model employees of the "civilising company," as they call themselves, forcibly entering his wife's room, dragged the unhappy woman out on the porch, and there, before the tortured eyes of the helpless Serrano, the chief of the "commission" outraged his unhappy victim. Not satisfied with this, they took his entire stock of merchandise, amounting to some 10,000 _sols_,[93] together with his little son and the unfortunate woman who had just been so vilely outraged, embarked them on the launch, and took them to El Encanto. Serrano had never seen them since, but had heard that his wife was being used as a concubine by the criminal Loayza, while his tender son acted as servant to the same repugnant monster. This horrible story, in conjunction with the other accounts of the ferocity of these employees that I had been given and the treacherous kidnapping of the unfortunate Martínez, combined to make me think that we had stumbled upon a regular Devil's Paradise in this remote corner of the world. Still, I reflected, I had as yet heard but one side of the case--the Colombian--and therefore was not qualified to come to any decision in regard to the matter. Serrano then informed me that they were expecting the arrival of Don Jesus Orjuela, the newly appointed Police Inspector and Government agent from Bogotá, who, they expected, would do something to protect them against these outrages. Although this gentleman had no forces, nevertheless it was understood that he had authority to make some arrangements with the Peruvians, if possible, to provide for the protection of the Colombian settlers. Early in the morning of the following day we dispatched three of Serrano's Huitotos to Josa, in order to aid Perkins in bringing over the effects we were to sell to Serrano. Our personal baggage could remain there during the five or six days that would elapse before our departure with Serrano and the two exiles for the _varadero_. The rest of the day I spent in preparing a part of the following essay on the Huitotos, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Caraparaná and Igaraparaná districts. In the extensive area occupied by the "civilising company," between the Caquetá and the Napo, many distinct tribes of Indians, such as the Huitotos, the Boras, the Yurias, the Ocainas, the Yahuas, the Andoques, and the Andoqueros are found. Of these the largest and most important tribe is the Huitotos.