Augustus Mansfield, Ph,D had resided in Manaus, the capital of the heart of Amazonia, Brazil, for the last ten years. No one knew as much about the thirty areas where tribes lived that had never seen a white man, contained in the 20 million acres of Javari valley, as he did. As an anthropologist, and accomplished naturalist, he often ventured into the untouched rainforest. So far, he had not been attacked by the tribes, which all were cannibals when the fancy suited them. At age thirty-eight, he was a master of the forests of Amazonas, commonly called the Amazon Basin of Brazil. He had published several books depicting his observations of the two hundred tribes that he had encountered, each with its own linguistic style.
He opened and read a letter from a Carol Jones. It read as follows:
Augustus Mansfield
Dear Sir,
I, and two of my friends, Jane Wakefield, and Wendy Turnball have finished our second year in preparation for our doctorate degree in anthropology. As part of our course work, we were assigned your books. For our dissertations research, which as you know must be unique, we would like to be guided to a tribe of people that has never seen a white person in the Amazon, by you, so that we may observe them for a period of two months..
My father has instructed me to offer you the sum of twenty thousand dollars, plus the reimbursement of all expenses for the trip.
Please provide your advice.
Yours,
Carol Jones
Augustus wrote the following to her via e-mail; "Dear Miss Jones. I would be delighted to guide you into the area you mentioned. However, I would advice that the tribes are hard to locate and are suspicious of any white person. They believe in supernatural spirits, use hallucinogenic plants, and are cannibals of loved ones, and enemies . Every girl, from age thirteen on up is expected to be pregnant. The local natives will not venture into the deep rainforest. So, each of you would have to carry a backpack of fifty pounds. We would have to eat off the land. You may have to consume soups of grubs, or snake fillets. I have attached a clothing and camping equipment list of items that I find to be of use in the wilderness.
I have never seen how the tribes will react to a white woman. I would warn you that you might be a subject of great interest to them.
If, after consideration of the above facts, you wish to proceed, then I am at your service. Sincerely, Augustus (Gus) Mansfield The three woman were not spooked. After the exchange of several messages, it was agreed that they would start their expedition on September tenth.
With his short wave radio, Gus contacted three anthropologists interested in the unknown tribes, that he had guided into the same area where he intended to take the women. He had just left them deep in the same territory that he intended to take the women. They would be the only other civilized men in all of the Javari Valley when he was there with the women. These men were all associated with Cambridge University in England. They were in their forties. Gus informed them of where he expected to progress to each day of the expedition with the women. They found it to be very interesting that all three women were just twenty-four years old.
The women arrived in Manaus, Brazil on September tenth. Gus carefully inspected all the equipment that they had purchased to be contained in their backpacks. The women, themselves were objects of great interest to Gus. Jane was a small woman with small breasts, who stood just five foot two. Wendy was six foot tall, with huge breasts, milky white skin, and bright red hair. Carol was about five foot six, cute as a button, and wore her natural blonde hair cut short. They and Gus were taken by seaplane two thousand miles up the Amazon and dropped off on the part of the river known as the Rio Negro.
Immediately after leaving the river, they were immersed in the rainforest. It is one thing to think of going into a jungle. It is a sobering thing to actually be there, with the constant chatter, hoots, growls, and movement of the wild creatures. It was hot, humid, and soon a thunderstorm drenched them. Several Red Handed Howler Monkeys screeched at them as they progressed under the forest canopy.
Gus whispered "Stop, don't move, that is a Bushmaster snake. It is deadly." It slithered away. Gus pointed out an Emerald Tree Boa. Crossing a small river, he caught bare handed a four foot long Black Caiman, which is a relative of the crocodile
They walked a game trail through a low mountain notch. Just as they entered a small clearing at the highest point, three bronze skinned men, faces painted, wearing loin cloths, and carrying spears, silently appeared from three different directions.
"Whispering just loud enough so that the three women could hear him, Gus said, "Don't move, especially your hands. These men are not from this area. I believe that they are natives of Madrid. They are known for their love of eating women."
"Your kidding," whispered Jane.
"Absolutely not," Gus whispered.
The three natives pointed their spears at a large nearby cave. Gus, followed by the frightened women, walked slowly to it, and sat down, just inside the entrance. The beat down grass, and a fire pit indicated that the Madrid natives had been staying in the area for a few days.
