Chapter Three: Depuis Amanha
The next day four of us met to finalize the equipment, the cost and payment terms that were required. Dick, Abibe, his brother, an American who we had recently met, Tony Richardson, and I met at our hotel to begin the discussions and negotiations. Tony who was originally from Tennessee, had spent most of his life in Brazil and cautioned us to, “know where to put your foot,” before you do anything. Abibe was genuinely concerned about our welfare and the possibility of Brazilian crooks, JATO they called them, stealing our gear, or worse, bringing harm to us. We began to learn that Brazilians had very little trust in their fellow countrymen. Doubting one another’s motivations with suspicions foremost in their minds required negotiations to be completed on a cash basis.
Abibe expressed sincere relief when we told him that our operations were to be on a smaller scale and he felt better selling us the gear we needed. In the back of our heads we could not help but think of some of the potential dangers with those whom we would hire and knew very little about, particularly their local culture, and their idiosyncrasies combined with our lack of language fluency. My personal overseas experience was that stealing was perfectly normal and acceptable in many foreign countries. If you can take it without being caught it is okay. I was now even more determined that Dick and I would keep our 44 magnums hidden, maintaining an element of surprise if we actually needed to use them.
Over the next couple of days we agreed with Abibe that he would provide the heavier Brazilian made gear, primarily pumps powered by gasoline engines and canvas hoses from Belem. The rest of the gear and supplies, gas, oil, food, and lanterns would come from his store in Maraba. We selected three almost identical Brazilian pumps driven by the same gasoline engines. We ordered one 2-inch pump and two 2 ½ -inch pumps so we could cannibalize a broken engine or pump for spares if necessary. We made a decision not to purchase a more robust 3-inch Briggs & Stratton primarily due to our limited funding. We could only afford one U.S.-made pump, a decision we would soon regret.
On 1 September we withdrew 6,000,000 Cr ($2,150) from the bank to partially pay for our equipment. All was set to go. Abibe had arranged for the pumps and hoses to be flown from Belem to Maraba on a WWII B-17 owned by a meat packing company, Frigopar. The pumps and hoses would then be shipped by boat along with the supplies from Maraba to Araguatines where we would load them on our newly purchased boat rigged with a green canvas cover and an outboard motor. We would then have to repeat the 1 ½ day boat trip up stream through the rapids and falls to the Isle de Cocoa Well, but now heavily loaded with men and equipment. The last thing we had to do was to pick up medical supplies from the American nuns who ran the Guadalupe Hospital in Belem. These nuns were exceptionally considerate and helpful, gave us malaria tablets and asked us to come back when we got out of the jungle for testing. Dick and I took the tablets regularly and we carried sufficient quantities for the workers as well but they declined.
In retrospect, Dick and I had not fully comprehended the adverse environment we were encountering. Aside from a shift to a predominantly rice and beans diet, excessive humidity with temperatures exceeding 115°, we not only knew that we had to take precautions against malaria but we also had to be concerned about elephantiasis. Both of these diseases are transmitted through mosquitoes carrying worm larvae (Microfilariae) and there were more than enough of those where we were headed. Overlaying our uneasiness about diet and the environment were concerns about minimal funding, culture and language knowledge. Finally and unspoken, in the back of our minds, was the apprehension of unknown potential threats from the Indians in the jungle with the rumor mill full of unpleasant stories about those who ventured into certain areas of the Amazon Basin would never return. Certainly we never knew anyone nor did we have specific stories about others who might have been killed in the interior but the tales stoked our imaginations and made us nervous. Integrating all these issues 40 years later it seems formidable. We did not fully integrate them, so we moved forward or at least onward.
We thought we were ready to go on 2 September but due to all kinds of problems, slow business culture, miscues, timing, one excuse after another, etc., etc. we did not get our gear to Araguatines until 15 September. The Frigopar B-17, rumored that it had to be started using a rope wound onto the propeller, never did take our heavy gear to Maraba. We became mistakenly impatient with Abibe for not executing promptly. Clearly we had not adjusted to the indigenous work ethic. “Depuis Amanha” (day after tomorrow) rang through our ears as one setback followed another.
During this delay we witnessed Brazil’s Independence Day, 7 September, with thousands of people young and old alike, including us, turning out to celebrate in a huge Belem parade lasting over five hours. We watched from a friend’s balcony four stories up facing Main Street. More than 35 secondary schools had been practicing for weeks. All the military services were decked out in formal attire; veterans including WWI vets proudly marched carrying old Springfield rifles. It seemed very strange 40 years ago to see men embrace each other for a reunion rather than a hardy handshake. I was taken by this strange exceptionally deep and genuinely emphatic greeting. Almost two weeks slipped by but then Abibe rented a Beechcraft Bonanza on 8 September and flew Dick and me from Belem back to Maraba to organize supplies from Abibe’s store. He said all the pumps and hose would arrive in Maraba on the 9th, the same day we both started growing beards. It was not clear due to our language deficiencies exactly what supplies we were getting and we only had estimates of what food, gas and oil provisions we thought we needed. Reordering more supplies from Maraba would take almost a week.
Unsurprisingly, the heavy gear did not arrive on the 9th. Dick and I became discouraged and having nothing better to do we drowned our sorrows in a dozen beers, proceeding into the wind, sheet by sheet. Word then came from Abibe that he had made arrangements to fly the three pumps and hundreds of feet of hose directly from Belem to Araguatines. Food and supplies would leave Maraba and arrive in Araguatins where Dick and I planned on meeting them on 13 September.
Belem, Para, Brazil 1967
Fishing dominates Belem Harbor
VERN MARK
Fisherman bring in catch, Belem Habor
Celebrating Brazil’s Independence Day, Sept 7th
Interior portion of the Amazon jungle where diamonds were mined