Draft:Walter Ernest Hardenburg

Walter Ernest Hardenburg (1886-1942) was an American engineer and later the author of the book The Putumayo: The Devil’s Paradise, based on his experience and other eye witness accounts during the Putumayo genocide. Hardenburg collected over twenty testimonials from ex-employees of Julio César Arana, which was the founder of the Peruvian Amazon Company.

Early life
Walter Ernest Hardenburg was born in Galena, Illinois in 1886 to Elizabeth and Spencer Hardenburgh. His father was a successful agricultural merchant in Galena, and around 1892 Spencer moved to Youngsville, New York with his family.

https://www.scdemocratonline.com/stories/march-28-2023-edition,87567?

South America
Hardenburg and his friend Walter Perkins were American engineers hired to work on the Cauca Railway prior to October of 1907. They later acquired employment to work on the Madeira-Mamoré Railroad project. Instead of taking an easier route, the two decided to travel over the Andean mountains, and down the Amazon to get to Bolivia which is where the construction site was located.

Hardenburg became fluent in Spanish during his time around Colombia and Peru.

Warnings on the journey

Arrest on Liberal

Witness of massacre

Loayza

Iquitos

Benjamin Saldaña Rocca and M. Galvez Saldaña had previously issued a petition on August 9, 1907 to the local courts requesting criminal charges be brought against eighteen employees of the J.C. Arana y Hermanos firm.The petition included a few details pertaining to horrific acts of violence perpetrated against the indigenous population, which was forced to collect rubber for the firm.

Leaving SA

1909 Paternoster article

1912 BSR murdered in SA, while PAC is going into liquidation + “reforms” in Putumayo

December 1912 The Putumayo the Devil’s Paradise

RIVER THAT GOT FORGOT CHAPTER STARTS BEFORE P78, IMPORTANT TO W.E.H.

In the Putumayo River Basin
On December 22, 1906, Hardenburg and Perkins arrived at Yaracaya, which was a rubber station that belonged to Jesús López. Originally, the pair did not plan to stay very long however López insisted they stay when Perkins "was attacked by a heavy dose of fever." Hardenburg learned more about the local border conflict with Peru from López, and he stated that Colombian settlers were being violently expelled and harassed in the Putumayo region by Peruvian soldiers. Lopez insisted that these soldiers were acting in the interest of the Peruvian Amazon Company, which intended to obtain control over all of the Colombian settlements in the region. He also stated that more Peruvian soldiers had recently arrived in the region from Iquitos. Hardenburg asked if there were any portage routes to the Napo River which would totally avoid this conflict, and López directed him to Remolino, a settlement belonging to "Ordoñez and Martínez," who were Colombian rubber exporters. Apparently their company had "plenty" of native workers, who could be used to transport Hardenburg and Perkins supplies. Remolino was around five days down river from Yaracaya, and there Hardenburg could sell his boat before proceeding on land. The morning after this conversation, a group of policemen had arrived at the Yaracaya port. They revealed that Gabriel Martínez, the partner of Ordoñez, was abducted a few days ago at gunpoint by employees of the Peruvian Amazon Company, which stated he must go to El Encanto with them. El Encanto was the Peruvian Amazon Company headquarters on the Caraparana River and managed by Miguel S. Loayza.

On December 30th, the travelling pair arrived at Remolino, which Hardenburg described as "merely a sort of receiving station and warehouse." Perkins and Hardenburg proceeded on foot towards the settlement of La Union after they were told that Ordoñez was currently around there. Instead of Ordoñez they met his assistant manager who introduced himself as Fabio Duarte. This assistant manager invited the travelers to rest while they wait for Ordoñez who was out in the forest with his indigenous workers. These workers were Huitoto locals, and around two hundred of them lived around La Union.0 According to Duarte, workers exchanged the rubber they collected with their company who gave them merchandise "sold to them at rather exorbitant prices."

At La Union, Walter learned that the Putumayo region was originally colonized by the Colombians, however at the time there were only three Colombian settlements left in the region. These settlements were La Union, La Reserva which belonged to David Serrano, and El Dorado, belonging to a Colombian man named Ildefonso Gonzalez. Julio Cesar Arana's rubber firm had been acquiring and annexing Colombian estates in the region of the last few years leading up to 1906, and had apparently offered to buy La Union on multiple occassions. According to Hardenburg, "these proposals having been refused, the autocratic Company had commenced persecuting them in many ways, such as refusing to sell them supplies, buying their rubber only at a great discount, kidnapping their Indian employees, &c."

Hardenburg was sent to David Serrano's settlement of La Reserva when it became apparent that Ordoñez would not return for a few days. The tour guide provided to Walter gave him more information about rubber collection in the region, stating that the Peruvians treated the natives "very badly." When Walter inquired what the guide had meant by this, he stated that when the workers do not bring enough rubber "to satisfy the Peruvians they were flogged, shot, or mutilated at the will of the man in charge. When I asked if the Colombians also indulged in these practices he replied that they did not, for they always treated them well. It is unnecessary to state that I took all this information with a grain of salt, for it seemed to me very improbable." According to Hardenburg, David Serrano had around forty-five Huitoto families on his land and employed them to extract rubber latex.

See page 148-149 for abuses against Serrano + Serrano was killed in January of 1908, 6 months after the Peruvian Amazon Company assumed responsibility over Arana's assets in the Putumayo.

The murder of Serrano and acquisition of his estate effectively closed off a route of escape for natives fleeing from the Peruvian Amazon Company towards the Napo River.

Hardenburg believed that their luggage was stolen by the Peruvian Amazon Company employees, as Loayza never returned these goods as promised.

Hardenburg noted that El Encanto's agency was managed by Loayza, while La Chorrera was managed by Victor Macedo. The earnings that Peruvian Amazon Company administrators received from their employers was based on a commission of how much rubber their station collected.

"Another common form of punishment is that of mutilations, such as cutting off arms, legs, noses, ears, penises, hands, feet, and even heads. Castrations are also a popular punishment for such crimes as trying to escape, for being lazy, or for being stupid, while frequently they employ these forms of mutilation merely to relieve the monotony of continual floggings and murders and to provide a sort of recreation. The victims generally die within a few days, or if they do not die they are murdered, for it is said that in 1906 Macedo issued an order to his subordinates advising them to kill all mutilated Indians at once for the following reasons: first, because they consumed food although they could not work; and second, because it looked bad to have these mutilated wretches running about. This wise precaution of Macedo’s makes it difficult to find any mutilated Indians there, in spite of the number of mutilations; for, obeying this order, the executioners kill all the Indians they mutilate, after they have suffered what they consider a sufficient space of time."

"Hardenburg's narrative of the customs, etc. of the Huitotos is very largely a translation of Robuchon's, I find - often word for word."

Duarte later killed along with two other peons.

In Iquitos
Hardenburg gave English lessons to raise money for himself while in Iquitos. One of his most prominent students was a well known lawyer in the city who also happened to be the senator of Loreto, Dr. Julio Ego-Aguirre [es ]. Hardenburg would later find out thhat Ego-Aguierre was employed as a lawyer for Julio César Arana.

Roger Casement later referred to Hardenburg's manuscript as his "Police News" and used it's contents as a corroborating source as well as a guide for his investigation.

"There is no doubt the Hardenburg papers are in the main true. Here and there details are wrongly given. There are lies and exaggerations, but the main facts and charges are substantially correct. Moreover, hundreds of crimes not recorded there have taken place. Normand, Aguero, Fonseca, Montt, Jimenez, the two rodriguez brothers and Martinengui, have between them, murdered several thousand of these unhappy beings. There is no doubt of it."

Hardenburg later wrote to a Colombian official that he had met in Pasto: "I hate these people and in case of a war I will return to Colombia and offer my services to you."

"We laid the matter before J.C. Arana who was in Iquitos at the time of my arrival there. We did this, simply stating what our luggage was composed of, and that we thought we should be paid for it. He promised 'to see about it.'" - Perkins The government of Peru later granted Hardenburg and Perkin's a £500 payment in compensation for the luggage they could not recover on the Caraparana River.

Taussig believed that the material collected from La Felpa and La Sancion, which was later published in Hardenburg's 1912 book, were more powerful revelations to the public than what Hardenburg had witnessed himself. This material also allowed Hardenburg to gain a better comprehension on the Peruvian Amazon Company's grasp of the Putumayo basin. A portion of Hardenburg's original manuscript which included further depositions and information was excluded from the final publication.

Taussig mention of Hardenburg depositions and massacres.

Hardenburg left the Amazon in June of 1909 and began a voyage to London, arriving in August.

See THOMSON 1913 P109 for WALTER PERKINS information of killing of SERRANO.

Truth articles
Roso Espana recounted a correria against an Andokes village in his deposition to Jornal do Comercio, included in the Hardenburg depositions.

Joao Braga

Stanley Sealy and James Chase denied a claim of Braga's which stated that Augusto Jimenez had burned a chief named Tiracahuaca and his wife alive with kerosine in July of 1908. Chase stated that Tiracahuaca had been placed in a cepo, however he had escaped and was at large by the time of Casement's investigation. Chase also declared that this chiefs wife had been beaten to death by another Peruvian Amazon Company employee named Armando Blondel.

Celestino Lopez gave his deposition in a letter to Hardenburg, and described several incidences that occurred during his employment around Abisinia and Morelia.

Hardenburg presented the issues of La Felpa and La Sancion that he had obtained in Iquitos to Sidney Paternoster, the lead investigative jouranlist and assistant editor for Truth. "The Devil's Paradise: A British Owned Congo" was published on 22 September of 1909 by Truth and Sidney Paternoster Paternoster pointed out that three of the seven Peruvian Amazon Company directors were English.

Accusations of blackmail
Reporter Horace Thorogood ventured to the Peruvian Amazon Company headquarters in London to get an official statement regarding the Truth article published on September 23, 1909. Thorogood was greeted by three men, two of which were later identified as Abel Alarco, and his brother German Alarco, who was a former mayor of Iquitos. The last man was later believed by Thorogood to be Julio Arana. Thorogood was told that Hardenburg approached Arana's legal advisor, Dr. Julio Ego-Aguirre with an offer that the book Hardenburg was writing would not be published in exchange for a payment of £7,000. The company delegation at the office invited Thorogood to return the next day, however none of the directors were there when he came back. Thorogood reported that a secretary had greeted him and told that while none of the directors were present, they wished that the subject would not be written about further. This secretary handed Thorogood an envelope with a banknote and this was interpreted as a bribe. An article regarding this incident was published by The Morning Leader on September 27th, 1909.

^ 1909

v 1912

In an interview with a newspaper named El Comercio, Abel Alarco accused Hardenburg of blackmail and Alarco also admitted that coercion was required to get the natives to extract rubber. He stated "[o]ne does not conquer by caressing". One accusation levied by Alarco was that Colombian president Rafael Reyes had purchased Hardenburg's services in exchange for £4,000.

Julio Cesar Arana stated that he brought evidence regarding Hardenburg's blackmail attempt before the Select Committee the previous day, however, the next day he stated that he had not brought this evidence.

Another point of contention against Hardenburg's character, was the forgery of a check by Julio Muriedas. Muriedas convinced Hardenburg that he had sold an estate, and he had received a bill of exchange worth ₤830. Hardenburg was deceived into cashing this check in for Muriedas since he had gotten deliriously drunk. Muriedas wrote on the back of the check "[p]ay to the order of Senor W. E. Hardenburg, for value received" and wrote the date as "Iquitos, 8th June, 1909." The reason provided by Muriedas for cashing this bill in at Manaus instead of Iquitos, was that he wished to avoid extortionate fees. Muriedas was interred in jail again at a later date due to another incident of forgery. There, he denied that he knew or that he had ever met Hardenburg.

Muriedas had previously provided a testimony that implicated Armando Normand in the Putumayo atrocities.

Seizure of Pensamiento estate and accounting of Pensamiento affair included in and Hardenburg MANUSCRIPT page 137.

A week after the Select Committee meeting, Truth publlished an article that denounced Arana and his company, while issuing a defense of Hardenburg. The reporter stated "I think, no one who read the evidence which he [Hardenburg] gave last week will doubt that he fully vindicated himself, and the impression which he made upon those who were present at the time was much stronger than what could be conveyed by the mere printed report of his evidence."

Investigation into the Putumayo genocide
"The Putumayo Slavery is, indeed, as Hardenburg said, and as I laughed at when I first read it a year ago in Truth, a bigger crime than that of the Congo, although committed on a far smaller stage and affecting only a few thousands of human begins, whereas the other affected millions."

The Hardenburg depositions implicated Prefect [Carlos] Zapata with corruption and being in the pay of Julio Arana. These depositions also referred to a local Peruvian 'comisario,' or magistrate, named Amadéo Burga, who was as employed by Arana's firm while holding his government position. Burga was a brother in law of Pablo Zumaeta, a director of the Peruvian Amazon Company and brother in law of Julio Cesar Arana.

Casement could not find any of the witnesses mentioned in the Hardenburg documents at Iquitos, however the commission he was with was able to interview the notary's who signed the Hardenburg depositions. Casement stated that these two notaries were not able to provide any assistance in the investigation.

Reference of Anti-Slavery Society and Aboriginies Protection Society amalgamation and their prioritization on the Putumayo atrocities.

"Of Normand, [Frederick] Bishop said that nothing related by Hardenburg was unture. He believed it all."

"From all I can gather, privately there is little doubt that Hardenburg's and Whiffen's statements were not lies but mainly true."

"What in Hardenburg's testimony came across as appalling and senseless brutality in a theater of sensual cruelty, in Casement's testimony was the logical outcome of the 'competition for scarce resources'-in this case, those of 'labor.' Where Hardenburg fetishizes, Casement reifies; two sides of the one coin."

"Casement's Foreign Office report served not so much to puncture the mythic character of the situation as to render its terrific reality. "

^ In reference to Casement corroborating Hardenburg's information.

Later life
Hardenburg published a book with the name "Mosquito Eradication" in 1922. The book contains a variety of comprehensive information regarding the biology and behavior of mosquitos, and methods to deal with them.

Hardenburg published a pamphlet in support of socialism.

He had two sons, named James and Gerald Hardenburg.

His father was named Spencer Hardenburgh.

Listed as a new member of the "Sons of the American Revolution" in 1938, and was granted admission due to his great grandfather Nathaniel Gildersleeve, who was a apparently. private in New York during the revolution. Page 125. https://www.sar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/XXXIII-NO-2_OCTOBER-1938.pdf

Listed on 1940 census, married to an Angela Hardenburg? https://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/California/Walter-Hardenburg_2hd175 Find better source.

https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G002895.pdf

Walter Ernest Hardenburg passed away on April 11th, 1942.

Walter was mentioned on a memorial in Cypress Lawn Memorial Park, Colma, San Mateo County, California, United States

Walter Ernest Hardenburg is among the "In memorandum" list published by the "Sons of the American Revolution" in 1942. The given death date by this source is April 11th, 1942. https://www.sar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/XXXVII-NO-1_JULY-1942.pdf







Legacy
Author Jordan Goodman stated that withoit Hardenburg "the story of the Peruvian Amazon Company's evil empire would never have left the Amazon."