In yesterday's writing I put forward the names of two personalities who have at some time been considered as the real life influence behind the fictional movie character of Indiana Jones.
There are, I accept, many more candidates and some may champion their particular favourite and be able to put forward a good and convincing case.
Over the next two blogs I will document the life and times of my two choices and leave it to you to make up your mind.
If you are a firm believer that Indiana is just a pure concoction of the fertile mind and consciousness of George Lucas solely, then just leave the room and go and make a cup of tea or have a lie down until we are finished.
Bring forward Percy Fawcett, or using his British Army Rank, Colonel Percy Fawcett.
He was born in 1867 in Devon, England and then, in 1925, whilst on an expedition in South America, vanished without a trace.
His fate remains an enduring mystery.
Fawcett's first experience of the continent where he would later disappear was in 1906 when the President of the Royal Geographical Society requested that he took on a neutral role to map the national borders in South America. Nations emerging from colonial influence towards self determination in the new century were becoming aware of the potential wealth of their natural resources from timber to rubber, minerals to precious metals,oil and livestock rearing.
The lack of well defined borders could be a catalyst to all out conflict between neighbouring countries and only a third party with no apparent vested interests could be trusted with the job of providing accurate and definitive mapping. Large tracts of land were blank on what passed for existing maps because there had been no compulsion for exploration and recording the landscape.
The landlocked Bolivia shared an expansive stretch of its eastern periphery with the vast Brazil in which there were equally extensive forests of rubber trees. Upscaling of motor car production in the United States and Europe created a massive demand for rubber and a previously low output and largely local market for the natural material suddenly became a major growth industry.
The risk of a war over the rubber plantations would impact on the commercial operations in the richer nations and could not be allowed to happen.
What were Fawcett's qualities that brought him to the attention of the Royal Geographical Society?
Aged 19 he served in the Royal Artillery including in what is now Sri Lanka before undertaking secret service work in North Africa. He became bored however with the military life although the discipline and skills in that period will have served him well in future roles, in particular his retraining as a cartographical surveyor.
Bolivia was a major test for Fawcett with adverse climate, terrain, environment, oxygen depletion at altitude ,risk of disease and elements of hostile inhabitants. In the central mountainous region of Bolivia life was hard and up to fifty percent of the population succumbed to a premature death from disease and also alcohol abuse from depression inducing surroundings and prospects. Lawlessness was another contributing factor to the hardships with many similarities with the American Wild West from some 50 or so years earlier.
Fawcett was appalled by the treatment of the native Indian tribes. Slavery was illegal but the owners of the rubber plantations, mainly of European descent, would regularly make raids and capture indians for their operations. There was an understandable undercurrent of mistrust and hatred for such outsiders, a category that Fawcett, unwittingly found himself.
He was determined to act with compassion and understanding although he was warned about becoming a victim to hostile actions. Army experience gave him the confidence to continue on his mapping commission in spite of the element of danger. A week up the Heath River saw Fawcett and his canoe expedition fired upon with arrows and conventional verbal overtures of peaceful intentions were ignored. Amidst the obvious peril one of Fawcett's group started to play his accordion and was accompanied by the singing of "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do" and "Onward Christian Soldiers" which brought about a cessation of the aggression. Gifts were exchanged on that occasion but there would be a bit of a stand off because of the deep rooted animosity held by the Indians for foreigners. One of Fawcett's group was found on a later expedition riddled with 42 arrows.
The wilderness was not only rich in resources but also wildlife, largely unrestrained by development or harmful human influence. Fawcett himself escaped death when a large, poisonous spider climbed into his sleeping bag in a jungle camp. Vampire bats called for protective nets over sleeping hammocks but did not give full protection from bites and bloodsucking.
One story of the bravery of the Colonel was when under attack by a rogue wild bull. Separated from the safety of his party and unarmed, Fawcett was reputed to have stared the animal into a hypnotic trance before escaping.
Snakes were also a constant hazard from venomous bites and constriction such as from an anaconda. One example of that species was killed after attacking the river party and was found to measure over sixty feet long and with a girth of one foot. A tobacco pouch carried by one of Fawcett's companions saved his life when it absorbed the cerration of snake fangs rather than break the skin and cause a long agonising death.
The terrain threw up high peaks, deep valleys and white water rapids. Caution was essential in making a river crossing not only from the strong currents but also the attention of flesh eating piranha fish. Even the act of washing hands in the shallows risked a danger of fingers being severed by razor sharp jaws.
Precipitous waterfalls could loom up around an as yet uncharted bend in a river and one such feature caught Fawcett's raft by surprise with much equipment being lost but all of the group surviving miraculously.
On another expedition up the Rio Verde river Fawcett was forced to abandon his boats and progress on foot. In stripping out excess weight it was necessary to leave and bury equipment and his war-chest of 60 gold sovereigns , then worth about £300 but in todays money inflated to over £32,000.
This trove was reported to have been found many years later and called the Verde Treasure and such was the rumour and speculation surrounding the discovery that the buried money was now reported at a modern day equivalent of £32 million pounds. Fawcett however must have been much amused as he himself had returned and retrieved the coins soon after burying them.
That trek on foot with reduced food and supplies nearly caused starvation and death and Fawcett had to find the quickest route out of the wilderness to find food. This involved traversing a hill range of strange flat topped forested plateau completely cut off from the jungle. When later described to the author Conan Doyle this phenomena was used in his novel The Lost World (published 1912).
It took twenty days without food before Fawcett drew again on his military training and with a freakishly impossible long range rifle shot he killed a deer which was greedily consumed giving strength to endure a further six days walk to civilisation.
After serving in the 1914-1918 war the Colonel did raise finance through newspaper and commercial sponsorship to return to South America with a renewed interest in the Archaeology of the continent.
He became convinced of the existence of a Lost City which he named "Z" in the Brazilian hinterlands and made careful plans for a small scale expedition including his son, Jack.
Even in the mid 1920's there was a menacing danger in what remained as uncharted territory and Fawcett gave instructions that if he failed to return then no rescue mission to endanger others should be arranged.
Perhaps that was an inkling of fate.
After sending news of starting into unknown territory the group disappeared, never to be seen again.
Rescue expeditions were mounted but with no trace found.
Intriguing reports of sightings flourished in the usual conspiracy theory climate when a celebrity goes missing including his living as chief of a tribe of cannibals. It was as though the jungle had closed in to suffocate or protect Fawcett.
In 1996 a search with modern technology set out to find out what had happened but hostile native indians detained and threatened the investigators and when released they were deprived of $30,000 of equipment.
Whether the Indians did this out of a legendary respect for Fawcett or as a highly opportunistic money making venture is another aspect of the mystery.
(Source document; Virtual Exploration Society 1998)
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