Heartbeat in the Amazon

By Ken Filing

Heartbeat in the Amazon is a work of fiction although it is based on a true and existing culture in South America. The author has taken great latitude with the time frame, location and history of the ancient tribes of the Amazon Basin. In order to add intrigue and create flow into the story, he has improvised a great deal of fiction. The characters are not patterned after anyone living or dead, they are all fashioned from the authors imagination.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jul 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490742076

Ken Filing

Ken Filing is a retired entrepreneur who enlisted in the navy at age seventeen and served during the Korean War earning the Korean Service Medal with three battle stars. He and his wife Teddy have traveled the world, some of which was on their own boat. They have visited many islands and sailed forested rivers. Now after retirement, they enjoy winters in their Florida condo where Ken spends his time writing novels. Currently this is his sixth published adventure novel. Ken has also documented many of his sailing adventures that remain unpublished and are enjoyed by family and friends. This novel is based on true historical facts of lost tribes and Amazon women in the Amazon Basin.

Book preview

Chapter One

A s the dank, eerie mist rose in the humid air, a loud, piercing scream came from the hut at the edge of the jungle. It shattered the tranquility of the Indian village.

In obvious agony, the painful cry and subsequent moans came from a young Indian girl. The shrieks and wails reverberated through the dense rain forest deep in the Amazon Basin.

Keep pushing, Elia, keep pushing. The baby is trying to come, emphatically instructed the attending American medical missionary.

Oh, Dr. André, why is she in so much pain? Why won’t the baby come? Was the shaman right? Have the river gods put a hex on her? implored the young female Indian aide, wringing her hands.

Don’t be ridiculous, Minnini. You know there is only one God, and he is watching over Elia. Now help me hold her from struggling. I’ve got to try to turn the baby. It’s in the breech position.

I’m so scared, Doctor. What is breech? Is it bad?

Well, it’s not good, child, but I’ve seen it before, and I know what should be done. Not like those women in the village who are supposed to be midwives and, even worse, those medicine men with their incantations. The shamans would make the women walk away from this poor expectant mother. She probably wouldn’t survive that ordeal and most certainly lose the baby.

Caroline, hold her shoulders and try to keep her still while I work, ordered the doctor to his wife, who assisted him in these births.

***

André Clark received his medical training at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. He then decided to become a medical missionary and studied theology at the University of Huston. It was there that he was contacted by the Mission Society of the Universe to travel to the depths of the Amazon to administer to lost Indian tribes deep in the Amazon Basin. He felt that he had a calling and realized the dangers and sometimes futile efforts that others had faced and never came home. He decided to dedicate his life to this calling.

While getting the basic theology training, he knew that he excelled in the medical end of missionary work and aspired to heal the body as his goal. Of course he had a deep religious faith and was aware that the lost tribes of the Amazon were in need of discovering Christianity, but they also were in dire straits and lacking the basic health necessities.

At the university, he joined a study group that had heated debates on many subjects, one of which was the goals of mission work. In the group was a bright-spirited female student named Caroline, who sometimes seemed to enjoy sparring with André on a one-on-one basis.

After one of these heated sessions, André purposely encountered Caroline in the hall and said, Hey, you were kind of tough on me today.

She answered with a smile, Well, I guess that’s one way to get your attention. Shall we discuss it over coffee?

He was astonished and flattered that this desirable young female theology student would have an interest in him. He couldn’t help but notice her in class but hesitated approaching her because of his shyness and the very nature of her major.

Love came quickly. Neither one wanted a long engagement, and by the end of the school term, they were married. The Amazon assignment soon followed after graduation when the Mission Society of the Universe needed a married couple with qualifications to find and contact the lost tribe of Yano-Matis Indians and establish a mission as well as a clinic.

***

André was having a difficult time with this birth and was perspiring profusely even though it still was not yet in the heat of the day. The sun was just rising over the dank, steamy jungle in which this primitive Indian village was neatly tucked away. In its own remote corner of the world, the village was far from any semblance of modern medicine or, for that matter, far from any modern convenience of even the most basic kind.

André mumbled to himself, It’s no use. The baby is too far into the birth canal. I can’t turn it.

He straightened his aching shoulders, regained his resolve, and announced, Okay, Caroline, then we’ll have a breech birth. I’ll need your help.

He called out to Elia, Push, my darling, push… Your baby wants to see the light of day.

Elia screamed again as she gave a gigantic effort fighting through the excruciating pain.

Good girl… good girl… one more big push… I’ll help you all that I can.

She screamed in full voice once more as she strained in response to her attendant.

With the young mother’s final gigantic push, the baby was born, feet first, but one leg was bent back at the hip. With Caroline’s help, the leg snapped back into place as it cleared the birth canal. No permanent damage was done due to the flexible joints of the newborn.

It was a baby boy, and a quick look determined that he had all his fingers and toes, but wait… He’s not breathing… He’s turning blue. André quickly started mouth to mouth, breathing carefully into those tiny lungs, giving him the life-sustaining oxygen needed to get his start into this cruel world where he was destined to struggle from the very beginning.

My baby… my baby… Is my baby okay? called Elia, sensing a problem and reverting to her native tongue.

André raised his head away from the child’s, grabbed him by the feet, hoisted him into the air, and gently smacked him on his butt.

The baby gulped a huge breath and lustily let out the first cry of his life.

Oh, he’s a fighter all right, said Caroline with a huge grin.

She laid him on the new mother’s breast.

Everything is okay, Elia. You have a fine baby boy.

Even though weak from her effort, Elia cooed and whispered, He’s beautiful but so tiny.

He’s healthy and will grow quickly, my child. Have you thought about a name for him? André asked.

Yes, she answered in broken English. I shall call him Franco Jr.

Minnini, the young aide, looked startled and suppressed a throaty sound. She glanced at Caroline but kept silent.

André, in his wisdom, said, I want you and the baby to stay with us here in our lean-to, Elia. I want to make sure that the milk comes and is enough to satisfy the hunger of your little one.

Yes, of course. I’m so tired. Can I rest now?

Certainly, let me have the baby, he answered.

He took the baby and gently handed him to Minnini, instructing her, Clean him up while I handle the afterbirth.

Yes, Dr. André. Minnini swabbed the newborn with clean towels.

Oh, look how light his skin is, Miss Caroline. I know there will be trouble. The shaman will look badly on this. I just know it.

Just never mind. I’ll take care of her and the baby. There will be no trouble if I can help it. And I will see to it, said the determined missionary with a stern look on her face. She was strong, and with the help of God, she will conquer this adversity. God will help her with this challenge just as he has helped her make the headway she has made with these primitive people.

In a month or so, after she has helped this young mother and her newborn son get on their feet and get established, she will make a trip to the gold mine upriver, north of the village, and see what she might be able to accomplish with the father of this child.

Hmmm, I wonder what kind of reception I will get. The young man seemed decent enough, but what of the management at the mine. They don’t look favorably on intermingling. I’ll try to get a feel of things from Elia. She spent some time working at the mine… obviously.

I should go back to the village, Miss Caroline. I’ve been here all night, and I’m very tired, announced Minnini.

Yes, of course, Minnini. You’ve been a great help to us. This was a very difficult birth, and we couldn’t have done it without your help. Bless you, my child.

I’m so happy to help you do God’s work, miss. You are my mentor.

Thank you, dear. Now go home and rest.

What should I say if the chiefs ask me questions about Elia? she asked.

Just tell them that I told you to leave before the baby was born. God will forgive you. You are doing this to protect Elia. Tell them that the doctor and I will meet with the chiefs later today.

And with that, Minnini left the lean-to and trudged the short distance to the main part of the village.

Caroline was now alone with the newborn child who was bright eyed and chewing on his fist. The doctor was busy attending to the sleeping mother.

She lifted him out of the makeshift cradle and said, Let’s make sure that you will always be in God’s hands, little Franco.

She carried him to her eating area where she had a few supplies and fresh water. She poured a cupful of water from the goatskin pouch. With one hand, while gently holding the child with the other, she dribbled the water over the cooing baby’s head and said, I baptize you, Franco, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

She then carried the child back to the cradle and laid him back in the makeshift bed. He instantly fell asleep.

Okay, it’s time for me to get some rest. It’s been a very busy night. I’ll need all my wits about me when the doctor and I meet with the chiefs later, she murmured.

She climbed into her hammock and was soon fast asleep. André climbed into his hammock soon thereafter, and both were sleeping in minutes.

***

A steady beat of drums was coming from the village when the sleeping couple, groggy from a trying night, awakened from a deep sleep. It was shortly after the noon hour, and the heat and humidity were stifling.

Caroline parted the ever-present mosquito netting that surrounded her hammock. The new mother and her child were still peacefully sleeping. They were exhausted from a very difficult night for both of them. Soon the baby will awake and cry for his breakfast.

I hope Elia is up to it, she murmured.

She padded to their eating area and enjoyed some fresh fruit for breakfast. She then carried some to her husband, now crawling out of his hammock. She listened intently to the constant beat of the drums, trying to determine what message they were imparting. From the many years of living with this remote branch of the Yano-Matis people, she was able to discern whether they were happy drums or not-so-happy drums. This strain sounded almost aggressive. She was more attuned to this than her scientific husband, who labored lovingly on the health issues of their people.

But another happier sound joined the drumbeat—that of a hungry baby announcing to his mother that he was ready to have his breakfast. The lusty cry awoke the mother. She rose up and called, Miss Caroline, are you there?

Yes, Elia, I’m here. I’ll bring Franco Jr. to you. Let’s see what we can do to appease his hunger.

She scooped up the child and placed him in his mother’s arms. Both mother and child followed their natural inborn instinct and the first feeding went very smoothly.

André watched contentedly, feeling very gratified that he was a party in bringing this happy family together.

This makes it all worthwhile, he quietly whispered.

Franco Jr. nursed until he was satisfied. There was no danger here of a shortage of milk. Elia was a healthy young girl and born to be a mother.

Caroline took the baby from his mother’s breast. She also was hungry.

I’ve got a good supply of fresh fruit for you, Elia. You’ll need plenty of nourishment to keep that little fella in mother’s milk.

Thank you, Miss Caroline. I’m famished.

As Elia hungrily devoured the fruit, Caroline sat beside her cot and talked to her in a calm, relaxed demeanor.

My child, we must discuss our circumstances. Are you up to it now or do you want to rest?

I’m okay. I know I did wrong. Will God forgive me? I love Franco so much, and I just couldn’t help myself.

Of course God forgives you, child. You’re not the first one that gave in to life’s temptations. But now you must face your responsibilities. We have some hurdles to cross, and we must figure out the best way to do it. I will know more when I visit with the chiefs and gauge their attitude.

Elia slumped down in her cot.

She then said in a downcast tone, I know what they think. They tried to turn my own father against me. My mother begged him to bring me to you. He was overcome with grief because of his love for you, Miss Caroline, but since he is a leader, he feels he had a duty to them. He brought me here in the dead of the night because he is afraid of the shaman. They hate Franco and his company. If you and the doctor hadn’t taken me in, I don’t know what would have happened.

You and Franco Jr. can stay here for now, but we must try to work it out with the hierarchy of the tribe, or you will have misery from here on. I also want to visit the mine and talk to management. Perhaps they can help. I don’t know how, but maybe, with God’s help, you and the father can have a life together… if he’s willing.

I think he would be willing, but his boss is a tyrant and does everything to turn Franco against me. He called me bad names and said terrible things about me. We have troubles both here and at the mine.

I know, child. You rest for today. I’ll leave in a few minutes and see what I can do.

Caroline readied her backpack with snacks for the children in the village, slung it onto her back, and called to her husband, Okay, André, I’ll need your help in talking sense to the chiefs. Let’s get this over with.

Chapter Two

TEN YEARS EARLIER

D r. André and Mrs. Caroline Clark’s flight to Guajará was in a Ford Trimotor airplane, which they boarded in Manaus located in North Central Brazil. It was a very uncomfortable flight in this antique airplane that flew as slow as sixty miles per hour and never more than ninety-five miles per hour. The dependable old aircraft was one of the few that could land passengers in this tiny airport.

Guajará is a lazy, pleasant little town situated on the Purus River, a tributary of the Amazon, on the Peruvian border. It was here that they negotiated passage on a flat-bottom riverboat called a chalana and hired a Portuguese guide named Quito to find the Yano-Matis tribe located somewhere deep in the Amazon Basin on one of the many tributaries of the Purus River. It was in 1976 when it was discovered that some of these ancient people were still living in the Amazon Basin. The Yano-Matis is a nomadic tribe located in the remote rain forest west of the Purus, upriver and close to an unnamed tributary of the Rio Ituxi, a tributary of the Purus. They are thought to have moved somewhere around the entire area of tributaries of the Rio Ituxi. They live in simple huts.

There may be only three hundred of them left alive, and this splinter group probably makes up most of them. They were taken over by the warlike tribes more than a century ago, when boundaries between individual tribe territories were not clearly defined. They served as their hunters, at which they excelled. Finally, a group of them were rebellious and broke away to form this remote tribe.

André and Caroline accepted this difficult assignment with the hope of bringing Christianity to these ancient people while offering modern medicine to heal their bodies. They both were strong and healthy, in excellent physical condition from playing varsity athletics at Huston, and mentally capable of facing adversity. Caroline was the only child of a minister and his wife, who were killed in an auto accident while she was away studying theology. She had no other close family members. She was tall for a woman, slim but not underweight. Though not a raving beauty, she was pleasant to look at with dark-brown hair kept short for convenience’s sake. She was considered a good catch for some lucky man and had received a few marriage proposals. The only one she even considered was the one she accepted from a dedicated missionary doctor named André Clark.

André had a troubled youth. In his teenage years, when his parents divorced, he rebelled and came very close to getting into the drug scene as a means of getting accepted by his peers. But for the intervention of a dedicated athletic coach, he may have succumbed to this culture as several of his high school friends had. Coach mentored him and became his surrogate dad during his junior and senior years. He was an excellent student, and a scholarship to a university of his choice eventually led to a medical degree. As a means of giving back, he decided on the treatment of lost tribes in the Amazon Basin, which led him to the Mission Society of the Universe and subsequent marriage to Caroline.

The first difficult part was to find the Yano-Matis people. Their guide assured them that he would prevail even though he had never visited the village. He was going on hearsay and his lifelong experience on the rivers in the basin.

A very uncomfortable seven-day trip up the Purus River by chalana was slow and turned into a ten-day trip. But compared to the next upcoming leg of travel on a small unnamed tributary in a comparatively, tiny open boat with an outboard motor, it will be remembered as being almost luxurious.

They left the chalana to continue on this small boat after stopping at a fazenda, which is a large cattle farm located off the main river. It was rumored that the pantaneiros on the farm might give them some guidance on where the remote Indian village might be.

Quito had a long conversation in Portuguese and was able to draw a very rough chart of the route of tributaries they must travel to get to their destination… which, at best, was only hearsay.

When Quito makes his return trip, the fazenda is the likely location to rendezvous with a chalana going back to Guajará. Since stopping off places are few and far between, it is a likely spot to catch a ride. Even so, he might need to wait for days before one shows up. There is no schedule here in the basin.

After four days of battling hordes of mosquitos and leeches that were relentless, as well as an occasional anaconda hanging from an overhead limb eyeing them while slithering along from tree to tree. Finally it glided effortlessly into the river, only to again appear alongside the boat with only its nostrils above the surface.

But most alarming were the huge alligators and caiman that splashed into the water from the riverbank as the small boat passed by. All of the prehistoric monsters had that huge grin with teeth overlapping the lower jaw. Finally, Quito, the Portuguese guide, admitted that he was lost. His downfall was when they entered a lake and tried to pick up the same stream on the other side. The streams all looked alike, and he was very confused. His choice was wrong, evident when the stream turned into a swamp, and they could go no further. Their little boat had run aground in this dismal-looking swamp.

Quito and André jumped into the shallow water, and while Caroline gunned the motor, they pushed and soon were floating free. The men climbed back in the boat, and not all too soon. Swarming in a feeding frenzy around the boat in the water just vacated by the two men was a school of notorious flesh-eating, red-bellied piranha, an omnivorous fish known to attack livestock as well as humans.

That little foray cost them at least a day and a half. They silently backtracked to the lake with the impatient André stewing and grumbling. At the lake, they entered the mouth of another larger stream.

This looks more like it, interjected André.

Caroline gave him a back-off look.

He chuckled, but way down deep, he knew he should back off or risk a chastising that would rend the air.

It was when they were tied to a tree at a convenient spot, which was made necessary to relieve themselves, that Quito announced that they soon must turn back or run out of enough fuel for the return trip.

Caroline said, But we must find this tribe, Quito. Don’t you have the map or chart that you drew up?

"Yes, of course, senhora, but the map is very crude and not very accurate. It does not show the location of tribes except for a guess by the pantanieros. This tribe may even move when rainy season starts."

Caroline was morose and tried to convince Quito to go a little further.

André had stayed quiet but explained, We’ve come this far, Quito, and if necessary, I will help you row so we won’t waste fuel.

Quito was thoughtful and said, Let me pitch a tent, and we can spend the night here. I will sleep in the boat, and in the morning, I will explore, and then we’ll decide then what to do.

Thank you, Quito. I’ll pray on it. God will guide us, Caroline said.

Quito made a campfire and pitched the tent. It soon was dark, and after eating some of the few provisions, they turned in for the night.

The next morning dawned brightly, and Caroline felt renewed and refreshed. She bounced out of the tent even before André was awake.

She knew that it was going to be a good day. She dug in her pack and found the last bit of makings for cafezinho, the strong, sugary black coffee so popular in Brazil.

She called Quito, I have a reward for you, Quito, for being thoughtful and cooperative. Come have some coffee, and we can discuss our next move.

Thank you, senhora. You are very kind.

André emerged from the tent saying, I smell coffee.

Caroline laughed and responded, It’s brewing. Come and get some.

As they sat sipping on their coffee, the bushes slowly parted, and a young Indian boy wearing only a loin cloth materialized at the edge of their campsite.

No one moved. This was entirely unexpected, and prior thought of an Indian suddenly appearing out of the jungle was too far-fetched to consider.

The Indian boy was partially hidden by the thick brush and almost blended into the jungle. But Quito could see that he was fingering a long rod. He slowly raised the rod to his mouth… It was a blowgun. Quickly, Quito said in Portuguese, We are friends. Do you speak Portuguese?

The boy answered but in his native language. Who are you? What do you want? he said.

Quito smiled and said in the same broken native tongue My name is Quito. I bring missionary people to visit your village. We come in peace.

The confused boy lowered his blowgun pipe and took a step back.

Caroline stood and grabbed Quito’s arm.

Don’t let him leave, Quito. Ask him if he is of the Yano-Matis people.

Easy, senhora… easy… We don’t want to spook him.

She turned to the boy, imploring, Please, we are friends. Don’t be afraid.

The boy looked at her with no understanding.

He speaks only Yanam, senhora, which is a dialect of Yano-Matis, so I think we have found them.

Will he take us to the village?

Let me talk to him first. I think I know enough of the language to make him comfortable with us. Do you have a gift that I can offer him?

Yes, let me give him a cross like the one I wear.

She grabbed her rucksack and dug around until she found a cross on a metal chain. She offered it to him. He stared at it but didn’t take it. She fingered her own cross and lifted it away from her breast to show him how she wore it.

The boy looked confused and stepped back.

Wait, senhora, he doesn’t understand. It’s best to offer him some food.

She opened a tin of crackers, took one out, and took a bite. Then she got another one and offered it to him. This time, he slowly took the cracker and bit into it. He chewed, swallowed, and smiled broadly… Success… She then gave him another one, and he quickly ate it.

Can you take us to your village? asked Quito.

The boy answered, turned, and disappeared into the jungle.

Before Caroline could ask, Quito said, He’s going to get his father, who is one of the leaders. He’ll be back. All we can do is to wait. They’ll probably come with a group. I don’t think they get many visitors.

Caroline kneeled, took André’s hand after he knelt beside her, bowed her head, and prayed her thanks to God.

With some of the tension relieved, she and André dozed off in a deep, restful sleep.

***

When they awoke, the heat was oppressive and so humid. Caroline’s skin felt clammy. It was now well into the heat of the day. She was getting impatient.

It was hours before a group of men from the village along with the young boy reappeared quite suddenly with no warning or noise. They all wore a loin cloth, and all were armed with long spears or blowpipes that very obviously were not ceremonial.

The mature men were much more muscular than the boy they first encountered. All were short in stature, and all were about the same height. They could have been cut from the same mold. They had jet-black hair, thick but not long, a bronze skin tone and brown-stained teeth.

They had fanned out so that Caroline, André, and Quito were surrounded with their backs to the river. The leader stepped forward. He appeared to be the oldest of the group, which numbered about ten men.

He gestured with his spear, and in a guttural tone, he spewed out words in Yanam that they could not thoroughly understand. But they caught the very unfriendly meaning of them.

Quito answered as well as he could, but he was very nervous, and the words were not coming out right in this unfamiliar language.

The Yano-Matis tribesman leader apparently took affront to Quito and jabbed at him with his spear. Quito jumped back although the tribesman could have easily skewered him in these tight quarters if he wanted to, so it obviously was meant as a warning jab.

Quito regained his composure and again tried to explain in the native tongue, "We come in peace. I bring a holy lady and a healer who want to tell you