American Tropics: Towards a Literary Geography “The term ‘American Tropics’ ers ty @ kind of extended Caribbean, an area ‘which iochades the southern USA, the Atlantic Boral of Cental Americ, the Carbean islands, and northern Soath America. European colonial powers fought intensively ere against Indigenous populations and aginst ‘ach ther fr contol of lind ad resources. Thi aren shares history in Thich the dominant fact i the ara of saillons of white Eropeans and black Affcans shares an environment whlch Is eopical or sustopial: and shares a socio-economic model (the plantation) whose es Isted wel ito the twentieth cenry. The approach taken bythe sre s geographical a the sense thatthe fous of ech volume son rion. Back region i 2 zone of encounter, beinging together sets of writing in diferent languages and styles, fiom diferent trary and cultural backgrounds, ll of whi have a commen the attention paid to the same place, “The imaginative space ofthe American Tropics scien therfore offers Alec cenesd trary history fom those conventionally produced st US, (Caren, or Latin American iterate. The development of the discipline of cultural geography has encouraged wore sophisticated anaes of motions of place and region, whic this series ring to baron its materials. The individual Yelumes therefore stand at an ange Yo national Lirary histones, offing Uitferent perspective, with each value contributing one piece of the igor towards a completly new map ofthe literary history ofthe ae, Series Eators ‘Maria Cristina Fumagall (Profesor inthe Department of Literature, Film, nd Theatre Stair a the University of Essex) Peter Hulme (Profesor in the Department of Literatur, Fm, and Teste Stole tthe University of Fssex) (Owen Robinson Senior Lecturer in the Department of Literature, Bim, and "Thstre Stas a the University of Hse) Lesley Wylie (Lecturer in the Schol of Modern Languages atthe Universty of Leceste) Colombia’s Forgotten Frontier A Literary Geography of the Putumayo: LESLEY WYLIE LIVERPOOL UNIVERSITY PRESSChapter Three No-man’s land: testimonial literature of the rubber boom ‘Muchas noches, me echo a llrar por lo que be visto en el “ José, a campesino from the Putumayo (2000)" Introduction flict ees st rt rl et smhoeee een eer Scat eee Siaclinbttngatmert ec ayeoce Source re Sa tory asp cid a eee aired Saeco ee os cone of Te 5 pg ‘eth en as hi ry oa on ‘epg psd nap 8 yh Geen ova ci ea Baw An toro nti! ci, prt or "un nip ty for what Thave sending the day eed a Lozano Eto® inden aaer 7 7 “SPSL Moe Weng Wows (ods: Michel Jou 296) 188 Fuster pag ference ar ncaed parentbeteaiy in he tex Noman’ land 5 Deseseling Menschen im Hotel ~ translated into English 8 Grand Hotel {in 1980 end made into the Hollywood dase starring Greta Garbo jut "vo yeas later ~ Baum had fed to the USA from Germany in 1932 where she continued her literary career in English? Although Baus, 2 peaife rts, ooce mockingly described herself as ' strate second-rate author’ tn the introdvction to The Weeping Wood she atempts to re-establish er intellectual credntials* Quoting Thomas Marin (who had once presided lovee trary competition won by Baum), she reficts on her bool’ style «nd frm an in particular, is generic instability. The Weeping Wood, Barra Pins, i a ‘panoramic novel with rubber as its protagoas, entlaing ‘ts much act as i contains play and make-believe.) the happenings La this Book take place on two differnt planes ~ the one facteal the ther fictions (i. ‘The description of the ‘dying Indian’ in the passage above seems to fanboy what Baum terms the ‘hybrid’ (p. vil) nature of The Weeping Wood. Although the eponymous man ~ & Huitoto called Inbitde © 4 ctional character, the outline of his sufirings at the haade of the Peruvian Amazon Company is sadly accurate, Although this tends to the meodramatic(paticuly through the sesthetic overload of phrases such "bloody pulp or cougulting clos), as Haun stresses inher introduction, the “hapter dealing withthe Putumayo atrocities, which makes the most unbelievable reading, unfortunatly, no literasy invention, but is based 4s every detail on the ierefuuble fats laid down in a Blah blac book published in 1912" (p. viil. Baum’ harrowing short story gues onto relate langly fromm the perspective of the dying man, the retroupective tl ofthe aurival of the rubber company and its brutality towards the people of the Putumayo: Imbitid’ ater is hanged, his wif is burned alive his tnfant son is beheaded, and his younger sister ie raped repeatedly by company oficial, By synthesizing testimonial accounts ofthe rubber oom, Booey sory affords sustained insight into the life ofa single victim ofthe PACS When, The North-West Amazone... ™ Casement 111 Documents. ° Wiest Ole Camacho, Las reads de las peranas en of Patumayo yo ‘Cage ed edn (Bog: lpr Nacional, 1982, p17 Casement, 1911 Docent p.86 Colombia Forgotten Frontir cone particular tropical novell, published « decade ari: Conta’ Heart ‘brine. Casement had me Conrd in Aca and ner eoresponded criti rogerding the Congo Reform Assocation, among other subjects Tatas eter Conrad refers to Casement having ead Heat of Darkess?* ‘Poona has sugested that Hert of Darkness wap Conca’ way of eallng eth the terror of the rubber boom in the Congo, and asia explanation qs been advanced i this chapter for Casement’ obsessive jour keping tase Patumaya: In a curious extreiteray echo of Heart of Darkest, vaen Canon Lindsay of Malahide wrote tothe Home Seretary in support WP Gusemont after is arrestin 196 be noted that, since his setura from {he Patumayo, Casement “had the abit of waking the rods barcheaded ‘Tet ewinging his arms inthe ai, so that people thought him sad” — ‘Zhavlous that recalls Mastow’s propensty fr ‘toterfing) about the tests 1 gunning bier at pfctl respectable pron following hi ey ln tia Congo in Conrad’ wook2” There ae numerous parlls with Heart of eek in Casement’ Journal iniaing the resemblance of the saint pation manager Normand to Conrad's Kurt ~ = likeness recently made serait in Vargas Loss El sueho det cle? Casement diary is ‘Rpt ith images of darkness (form the Putumayo & &“benighed Teor [Jp 394) and Conradian ‘loon! ~ “pervading loom [tht rer leaves man things onthe Putumayo! (A, p. 242) and which seems {pois metonymicaly #o the greater moral darkess at the Best ofthe rebber indy "Throughout Casements journal, the topical jungles of the Putumayo are gone a5 2 paysoge morals, emblazoned with stories of indigenous iw wa pan that Mill row in thee of Si Rayer Casoment’s Hert ZF peace: The it Dosen Tai, Sharanion. Colralisn, end the Wd 9 pa hs Gewnton of sents spr he Paar wth 2 60808 aoe re) Moreen Ret M. Burroughs, Tae! Wrainand Aces re mts of Cam te Cog An, andthe Ptiaye (New Bt ge oi), bas cscsed the intrctons beween. eat of Dares Tre Cnceats wings om the Panay are cae ol Rage Case imperal, Rel, Relutonary (Dei: “te Llp res, 207), p18 Sa, Shamania alot, and the Wd Nar p39. 5% Ged 0 Ssh, Roger Casement, 45 Goa, Heat of Dries. 70 eee, Noman’ monstntere recounted i che novel flowed CRS Ty Cakcmom shout how he had a somewhat perverse cariosty ck St copes Mario Vagus oes, suet dl eta (Doral Agr een cll sy ha thee asin igure thet resembles Kats lt aan eee pent A hs Armand Noeman Ceres, Amazon four p25 Noman land” a ssfring When ein inthe fret at cd Casement cr mallsted snd Jone rer ev intel nist A hacked to det A p15 tess rego numa Caen fran anlar twa te te, Wile atin nl nis i tong of se Bae ares “old rv et ry ep. 20, ts ince erie nd dnd oat coer pro he ei Saving pone ect nythat «nb aierae nfl Sega ited 23 to bt non lier ire ot ep ct ni i Caren ec fhe ae Sd ee fom te et saplmmtd by cad tna om atin By 1810 nocd pore fer Fo ‘hr Bees an he cntinanu each abe ae owed Sarton Cannes! tw po fhe Amerindian hunger Rotem thir emactes boas ut nthe fet nth shape of rach crept thy Hd tr dvs In ht sch fod twa nly we Scie Tiaon and © Donel mae et he wat done “Setar Normand Inn” nt ney desperate col ee twos tothe mr of wi! rial the opernnc of weil me trope of inentetury te wating on he Parma sca tn Caen fs rfsion os conte pds Cosennt te og ge sy of ed ol Ba oy anno rays ind topped ssp oe gus Tein, Company wh ish ste, Bech Reno Re" Ta is ral eae ‘et eg ope aig eo oC ph) bmn a te loan nye ery poo Cap.) peeps Spon Disks sete ow the err nthe shen fod led ne yo elles pi fading a tae or {Se of thse deca ode he een sent a Dt ht eal ep ting spe ir than Wh df ep scaly Se Dike eM Pp Mes ann ety Hs 93, * Casement, Amazon foun p20 ts hsp, Dering the ruber bom apne et tr ain ct es ion realign a dof lca fh pode ands homogeeaton of itepci pce lh bean cr me cme Fore denon otis Cat, er at Cad Fog p23 mecca88 Colombia's Forgotten rontor forlunch at Occidente~ e pleasure thats tempered when he discovers thet they had beea stolen from an indigenous git Sable abeence of tropical lors in Casement’ journals matched Dy the desethof animal Hie, In one of few journal entries to mention tropical cra Gaccment describes his atempt to go butteniy netting while st kim Retr 1 took moments change, and sent “Andokes’ with the butery net caemtas che lovey beings tha infest this fetid each, We went down resend the tavatory’ newly constructed for out coming, Gielgud 8 coer te ratonals was icecting the putting in of logs to make steps seth dope to bik house, which squats astride a small brook. (-) J fund eighteen women with machetes squating and caning the ‘ground. (A), p99) “The brightly coloured buterfies of the Amazon jungle ~ especially the ‘ae Mepbo area visual archetype forthe witalty and wopersbundance te atmerica tropis, and buterfy netting favourite patie of the opal traveller (as Casement suid have Been are fom Ws reading ere secon by naturalists suchas Alfred Russel Wallace and Henry eeipateys" In tha instance, Casement recreation of» setpice of the abel waveogue produces «space more petlental than Edsnicy The Sorbie use of the word ‘squat’ drives home the beach’ new function as a Haaae the lovely utters seem out of pace i this puri and soled reezpe " ordze whichis clea of hasan origin ~ and are expicly sae ol dreae and excess va the ver ‘infest As Stepan explains, aati te nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, topical nature wat auto bean ambivalent entity, sanding Tor many diferent values = for pee and warmth but also for & dangerous and diseased environment: fr et eabaane fry bu lio fr fal exes Casement digas a is sarcnge in this epsode seems t stems not from an antipathy to the ‘onc thmslrs, but to the rubber dst in particu. On Bi eur trp to Tgsitos, steaming parted Cara Parana, Casement rejoices at being ‘back in the ld of the myriad palms (Ah San uta with grass growing “hr AV 430) long te Peso Seunges, even so-caed “peaches are plentiful, and Casement i ered te me batteries of all shades and patterns: ‘green and black | Cavemen boa books by both the Poo, 1 Stun luring Doel Narr 23 Jown the Pusimayo River and aay from the Tare My und dors the fre ax Tovey Lo] ech | No-manisiand | » ee ee a Ee poeta pe etes ere ee eee ee they were not children of the forest, but chien of eewhere est, but cilden ost inthe fret babes in the wood gown up 8 ru, ad nding he rot holy cage ad ches, bat remembering es ht as pot ic home ..] They never gave the impeesion of being at home” a ee rare vg ce erate ephemera ea cee onion ieee eee ee a aSeersnce a meccitanente Cate yore ima a a nthe a a ha deine companied by aly cen ware os eee ernie seat cree ceed pnetet ec eer cee “Estate” to-day’ (AJ, p. 408). * 5 See Pm dant © Cement The Faye df 35-24 Lee cena Pa. Renin rotor nehih cep ane ‘and selfconscious rellection yet bs Full with significances’ en ue