I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
BY
Dr. Percy Collett
_____
ALL SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS ARE TAKEN FROM THE
KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE
_____
ALL SCRIPTURE QUOTATIONS ARE TAKEN FROM
THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE.
I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
TXU 251 960
COPYRIGHT - Dr. Percy Collett
Author - Dr. Percy Collett
Co.-Author - Connie Lorena
Published by:
Joy of Heaven Bible Institute
P.O. Box 16297
Panama City, Florida 32406 U.S.A.
Printed in the United States of America.
All rights reserved under International
Copyright Law. Contents and/or cover may
not be reproduced in whole or in part in
any form without the express written
consent of the Publisher.
_____
PREFACE.
This book is a true account of my walk in Heaven with Jesus.
I saw the City Foursquare, the Throne of God, the River of Life, the Brazen Altar, and many Archangels, the Mansions, the Banqueting House, the Seats of Authority, the Eyes of Jesus which light up Heaven, Eternity, the Mother of Jesus, the Apostle Paul, Abraham, Elijah and other prophets.
The journey to Heaven took six hours; five and one half days inside Heaven, and six hours
back. I saw under the Altar the Martyred Saints, looked into the Lamb's Book of Life and saw
all the Creation of GOD in the New Heaven, much as Paul was caught up into the Third Heaven.
Dr. Percy Collett.
_____
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface.
Chapter Page
1. The Spectacular Journey To Heaven............................1
2. Mansions Of The Great Soul Winners.........................8
3. Joy In Heaven.............................................................15
4. The Temple Of GOD..................................................18
5. The Sea Of Glass, The Crystal Sea.............................24
6. The River Of Life.......................................................34
7. The New Jerusalem....................................................38
8. The Great Throne Of GOD........................................43
9. The Wedding Garment...............................................53
10. Records In Heaven...................................................56
11. The Banqueting House.............................................58
12. Eternity, And Where Is It?.......................................64
13. The Book Of Life.....................................................68
14. The Coming Of The Lord Is At Hand......................71
_____
15. Jesus Is My Lord......................................................80
Part II: My Early Childhood And Growing Up In England.
16. Percy Sees An Angel................................................92
17. My Mother Went To Heaven..................................108
18. I Was A Teenager At The Farm.............................116
19. Landing In New York.............................................139
20. My First Pastor.......................................................148
21. Bellingham Meeting...............................................157
22. The Big Top........................................................... 170
Part III: My Journeys Among The Indians In South America.
23. The Indian And The Amazon..................................195
24. The Sadists of The Interior......................................206
25. The Worm Eating Indians.......................................220
26. Worship Among The Macambas............................229
27. The Influence Of Religious Beliefs........................235
_____
28. The Wedding In The Jungles..................................241
29. Giving Gives Heavenly Blessing In Return............283
Part V: Suggested Reading For Daily Christian Walk.
Introduction To My Grandmother's Prayer Book...........301
30. My Grandmother's Prayer Book..............................310
31. Testimonies Of Rejoice...........................................522
_____
PART III: Chapter 23 SECTION DIVIDE
PART III
My Journeys Among The Indians In South America.
_____
PAGE195: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
The Amazon Basin is known, also, as the Green Hell for many explorers and Missionaries and others have given their Lives by Exhaustion, Malaria, Diseases and Killings; It all makes this area unusual. From sunshine to rain, daylight to dark, the Traveller is still excited by the Atmosphere. The Loneliness of the Interior will make you think within your Heart and Soul that a Supreme Being must have have had a hand in it all.
Among all this loneliness are the beautiful Flowers, the gorgeous Trees and Plants of all kinds that would make a Nurseryman's Heart jump with joy to see it all. Orchids by the
Thousands, Water Lilies ten feet across them, Vines of Flowers hanging from trees with Thousands of Blooms glistening through the sunlight filtering through the trees.
_____
PAGE196: Chapter 23 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
All this will make one stand in awe and gaze in wonder at this great sight.
The Indians that originally numbered in the millions became an easy prey to the cruelty and greed of the early Conqueror. The first Settlers were greeted by the Indians, given provisions and helped in many ways. The use of weapons to kill Indians made them very dangerous and unfriendly .
The Pueblo Indians have penetrated into all walks of life and today they have a part in Business, in Churches and in Governments. There are millions of mixed breed, predominately with Aboriginal Blood. There are two types of Indians living in the Amazon Basin today, the Ancient and the Modern.
In the past, the way of life among the mixed Indians was enough to eat and drink, sex and the production of children. Today, there is a tremendous change for "the mixed people. It is common to see
_____
PAGE197: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
pretty girls with the beautiful Bodies of the Indian with Blue Eyes and Blond Hair. And Red Heads with Auburn Hair mixed hanging in Curly Locks down their backs and some with deep Brown Eyes and Bodies of all Shades and Colors.
There are two types of Indians back in the Interior away from the Amazon. The very Primitive who through Demoralization became Sadists once had a Civilization of their own and then there are the Indians with a very high Moral Thinking, who have not been touched by Western culture and who in their Tribal Laws advocate Death if Sex is used other than for Reproducing or with another one's partner.
Then, there are the sick and afflicted Indians whose life span is less than Thirty Years, their Bodies being afflicted with Jungle Rot, Parasites and Leprosy. With all these differences in health and customs many of the Tribes are strangers to one another. Going back into the Interior among the various Tribes of Indians, you
_____
PAGE198: Chapter 23 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
can realize the great variety. However, all of them have one thing in common; To hunt, fish and live off the land. I had traveled in an Indian canoe with one of the Tribes to the Head Waters of the River. I walked with them then for several days into the Interior, there these Nomad Indians were living in a large encampment.
There were about Thirty Huts in all, A thatch-type building on clay ground about Thirty feet long and Twenty feet wide. Each end of this Hut was open to create a draft.
These Huts were built directly on the ground, much different from the ones that are built on stilts. As it is the custom of many Tribes, the men and women separate themselves at night and place the children in the center and have no relations between them during their sleeping hours.
My first experience with this kind
_____
PAGE199: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
of Tribe as to learning the Indian way of life and their reproduction came at this time. I discovered after living with these Indians awhile that there was a certain time for this. It was a time during the Hunting and Fishing to get provisions when this took place.
After several days of preparations, we started on a hunting trip. I, also, learned that there was a fruit in the Jungle in which the women were very much interested. And by eating of this fruit, the women would become pregnant and have strong babies.
A hunting trip has to last until the woman is sure that she is pregnant and a baby is certainly on the way. If it is a boy, he must become a hunter. And if it is a girl, she must labor for the Tribe, get married and produce more children.
After traveling for several days on Jungle trails and crossing rivers and
_____
PAGE200: Chapter 23 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
climbing up steep hills and coming into deep valleys hunting as we went and obtaining our daily food from the Jungles such as frogs, fish and birds. We came across a large cluster of trees loaded with fruit.
The women prepared our meal as usual, in a very primitive way, cooking on open fires and boiling in clay pots.
The women ate none of it, though, instead they ate of the fruit on that large cluster of trees and the shoots and vegetables of the Jungles. The custom was that by eating the fruit of those particular trees, she would become pregnant much sooner. This same fruit was been analyzed and the drug in it does cause conception.
They gathered around the tree almost as in divine reverence as they began to gather the fruit. Their faces portrayed sincerity and a belief in the order and and tradition of the Tribe. That faith in that tree is what this Tribe had known
_____
PAGE201: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
always. As they began to eat, they rubbed their breasts, their bodies and their stomachs. Each one would massage the other. This was supposed to make the fruit have quicker action.
Their one purpose in coming to this place was to be fruitful to their men. The ones whom they adored, the ones in whom they had faith and the ones to whom they would be servant. For it is the custom for the wife to wait on her man, to please him as he is her hunter. They would hand him his dart already poisoned, keep his hunting gear clean and wash and bathe him like a baby.
Each day the men would proceed out from this area, bring the food in to camp. And there were double hammocks made; The men and women were now sleeping together. But as soon as the sun went down, they would immediately separate and go to single hammocks. As the reproductive period is taking place, the men and women sing their own religious songs, for this is
_____
PAGE202: Chapter 23 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
a very sacred time for the only purpose of the sexual contact was to replenish the Tribe and not for pleasure. There was certainly no animal type action to this as it was carried on within the Laws and the Customs of the Tribe. A very unusual thing happened; There were no barren women and every man was quite proud of his responsibility for reproduction of the Tribe.
And then the return journey started. During the time of pregnancy the woman does not go near the man. When the Baby is about to be born, the woman prepares for herself a hammock by the river. In the bottom of the hammock a hole is left. And when the first pains are felt, the woman climbs into the hammock, and with the rhythm and relaxation of the hammock swinging back and forward, the baby is born. The woman cuts the cord, washes the baby, cleans herself and carries the baby back into the camp and presents the baby to her husband who is quite proud to see his offspring.
_____
PAGE203: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
If it is a male child, He must become a hunter. He is taught to hunt by his father. He teaches him to use a knife and how to throw it, to use the bow and shoot an arrow, to gig fish and to use the blowgun with the poisonous darts.
After several years of this kind of training, He is sent out into the Jungles alone. He must bring back so many paws of wild animals and meat for supplies. He will stay in the Jungles by himself until He has accomplished this. To come back without his prey would be disgraced and thrown out of the Tribe to die alone after his body has been disfigured and burned by hot rocks.
That way He is known and marked for life. I have never seen this happen, but it must be a terrible feeling. So, naturally, the young hunter will stay in the Jungle until He gets his quota of animal paws and meat. And then there Is a great time of celebration when he
_____
PAGE204: Chapter 23 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
is taken into the Tribe as a full-fledged hunter. His body is marked, the face is crossed with a type of cross. The sign of the hunter is inscribed upon his chest and upon his back is put the sign of the Tribe. This is why it is very hard to get in among some of these Tribes and be accepted by them.
It is hard to go among the Tribes with a party or a Safari. The only one that they may eventually accept is one person traveling alone. There was a German explorer who went with his wife and young baby among the Javaries. They captured the baby and killed the Mother and Father.
The explorer's brother lived in Manaus, Brazil and He often wondered what had become of his brother. Everyone thought that all three, the Father, Mother and baby had been killed. Eighteen years later back in the Interior by the Yavari River, this young girl was found, the baby who had been captured now a grown woman. She was perfectly satisfied to
_____
PAGE205: Chapter 23 THE INDIAN AND THE AMAZON.
stay with the Tribe; She knew nothing beside life with the Indians. She was wearing animal skin clothing and was actually enjoying the status of a Queen in the Tribe. Her uncle left Manaus and journeyed into the jungles to see his niece. However, he could not convince her to leave the Tribe. And as far as I know, she is still with them to this day.
Some Missionaries had penetrated this area and had made friends with some of the Indians. They then told the Missionaries the whole story of the capture of the girl.
_____
PAGE206: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
Going up the Yavari River on a Thirteen Day Journey by Boat, We were told about a Tribe of Indians who lived about Fifty Kilometers back from the river and who were Drug Users and practiced Sadist Actions.
Our party consisted of the Commissioner for Peru of the Amazon Region, a Kafani Indian, an American from Cuba by the name of McCoy, a Peruvian Policeman, Two other Indians from another Tribe and myself.
After traveling into the Interior for several days, We left our quite large boat on the river and proceeded on foot. Our boat had rubber sides built on it to protect us from the poisonous darts from the Indian Tribes we passed.
Finally, we came to an abandoned Indian Village, still looking for this
_____
PAGE207: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
Tribe of Drug Users. Leaving the abandoned Village, we traveled several more days through the Swamps and crossing rivers, following our Indian Guide to search out the Sadists and visit with them.
It was almost sundown when we heard a Blood Curdling Noise in the distance. Our Indian Guide, who spoke Spanish, told us that we were nearing the Village of the Sadists.
We did not know whether we would encounter a vicious or a friendly people. It so happened we arrived right in the middle of one of their Feasts and Ceremonies. It had become dark and the moon came up very bright. You could very clearly see the people moving about and see some lying on the ground.
We decided to make camp for the night as our guide told us that they would be so full of Drugs, the Indians would not attack us. We understood, after studying this Tribe, that they had once belonged
_____
PAGE208: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
to a very Moral Tribe and had practiced a family life in good order. But, through the use of Drugs, with its influence, they had left their main Tribe and gathered followers out of over Thirty other Tribes and had come into this area to grow Drugs and develop them to practice Sadism.
This group was so under the influence of the Drugs, they had become helpless in their actions as far as having any power to attack us. There were several hundred of them: Men, Women and Children.
We soon learned that their ways of demonstrating their love for one another was through cruel action and torture. It was a horrible sight to see the men torturing the women and the women torturing the men. After some of them would die through overdose of Drugs and actual torture of one another, these people would crawl away from the Dead bodies leaving them to be devoured by the wild animals.
We were able to walk among them and
_____
PAGE209: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
see first hand exactly what was going on and what effect the Drugs were having over these
people. There were several grouped around a pot that was hung over a fire. Roots were being placed into this pot and boiled. And all of them would drink from the pot as soon as the substance became cool enough to drink. They offered us some, but we didn't join in the drinking of the brew.
We noticed that they had all kinds of images of naked human beings in various sexual actions. You find these same kinds of relics in some of the homes and museums of South America. I believe that these relics had the same effect on them as the pornography and nude pictures do upon the brains and actions of many in America today. It is just another age we live in.
The mixture of these different Tribes of Indians have established among themselves a Drug-Using, Sadist-Practicing Society. They had all become Homosexuals, Lesbians and Sexual Perverts. In the study of
_____
PAGE210: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
these Indians, we found that more males were born to them than females - about five to one. These Drug Feasts would last from new moon to new moon. The Indians seemed to have been influenced by the moon through the years. And at the full moon, which it was at the time of our visit, it was the safest time for us to go there.
Our Indian Guide told us that we must as soon as the moon would wane because then their celebration would come to an end.
In a few days they would stop using Drugs and become very dangerous and would no doubt attempt to kill us.
The sight of these people lying in all kinds of positions, the men, women and children, was horrible. We watched several die through torture. They would twist one another's arms and legs and pull out hair, squeeze one another's throats, burn each other with hot sticks form the
_____
PAGE211: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
fires. It was almost too horrendous to watch. Some of the people who advocate that persons should try Marijuana should investigate and visit these people because they start out in the celebration by smoking Marijuana before going on to the more hard drugs.
In their gatherings and drug feasts there is absolutely no reasoning in their sex life. These people know their Jungle drugs. There is a drug that is taken from a fly. It is a greenish juice. This is placed in water and drunk in excess. This has a tremendous effect upon the organs of the body until they are with Satanic action. But, during these periods, the females do become pregnant. That is, if they are not killed in the action.
During these gatherings faces are bleeding, bodies are cut and some are left to die. Then, there is the drug that causes the individual to have great hallucinations, very much like the use of LSD. Along with several Doctors, I
_____
PAGE212: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
visited one of these Sadist Groups. Their Leader was able to speak Spanish and He explained the effects of the drug from the Juquanie Plant. This Plant, when boiled in water, has a good use as well as bad. When put on an open sore or a cut, it will readily kill the germs and has a great healing effect.
However, when swallowed, it causes the person to ride on clouds, swim over miles of water, push over trees and fight with animals and conquer them. It does, however, kill the parasites in the stomach.
But, the effect upon the human brain is very damaging and will cause death after a few years of use. The drug may only be taken for three or four days. But recurring of the effects of this drug will last for weeks.
These same Indians have drugs that cause pregnancy and some that will prevent pregnancy. And they have some drugs that will make the user simply intoxicated.
_____
PAGE213: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
These drug users are very sickly looking, very weak in body and migrate very seldom into New Areas. They stay in small location, eat little food and just exist.
They start giving birth to babies at eleven and twelve years of age. The babies are very small at birth. The Adults reach a height of less than five feet. They become immune to some diseases such as Malaria and immune to some parasites because the drugs they take kill the parasite in their bodies.
They crave smoking very much using some weed much stronger than Marijuana. When they kill themselves with drugs, It is known among them as a happy ending. It is a terrible life while it lasts.
There is no difference between men and women in things like toiletry. The sex is open, without shame, for their brains cannot comprehend the action. The area where the Sadists live is far
_____
PAGE214: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
Inland from the great waters of the Amazon, you may encounter the Puma, the Ocelot of which there are six species. Also, there are different kinds of Deer and the Coati, the Tapir, the Ant Eater and a variety of Rodents. One variety is sheep size. The World's Largest Rodent. Bats without number haunt you at night. The dangerous Bushmaster is seven feet long and there is the Fer-de-lance which I have seen with a length of Twenty Five Feet and can swallow a small deer. Also, the Cayman, the Great Valley's Alligator which can switch its tail that can send you whirling. The Alligators hide themselves at the River's edge so trees are felled in order to cross the rivers.
The sense of smell is of great value to the Indian. They can identify almost anything around them by smell. Their sense of smell is so acute and developed
_____
PAGE215: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
that they can stop Dead on a Jungle Trail and call out and tell you what is close by.
Some of the rivers in South America contain the Freshwater, voraciously tooth Piranha about twelve inches long and is fatal to man and animal when encountered in a school. A feast of this fish makes a wonderful meal in the Jungles.
The Manatee or Seacow, a large, aquatic, Herbivorous Mammal is harmless and is man's best friend on the river. There are several species of Dolphins and they are master of all fish of the river.
The sharks, the Swordfish and the Sawfish, also, the tremendous Catfish weighing up to eight hundred pounds penetrate hundreds of miles up the great Amazon. But, I have great admiration for the Dolphin. One majestically escorted me to shore when our boat capsized, heavily loaded, in the middle of the river. Any animal of the Jungle, even the wild pigs, respect
_____
PAGE216: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
the Dolphin. The Dolphin is to my estimation the most clever of all fish of the great Amazon Basin.
There is, also, the Insect Kingdom, whose populations are in uncountable numbers and which inject poison into the Jungle Traveler. One British Naturalist collected eight thousand insect species in the Interior of the Amazon Basin.
Stinging Gnats, Mosquitoes innumerable including the Anopheles, haunt the interior river banks in clouds. Ants and Termites will eat shoes, shirts, socks, hats and even the Bible. I put my Jungle bag on a log and forgot to protect it by hanging it up. The next morning, all that was left of it was the metal. During the night three shirts, four suits or underwear, several pairs of socks and a whole pad of notes had been devoured.
Army ants eat other insects. The Big Jungle Rats eat the Lizards and the Snakes. The Great Amazon Basin was never
_____
PAGE217: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
conquered in the early invasion of the Orientals or the Spanish or the Portuguese.
However, today with modern machinery and insecticides, the Jungles are being penetrated and settled rapidly. The real true infiltration into the depth of the Great Amazon Basin among the Indians is by the Christian Missionary who has become like the Indian, living with them, listening to them and learning how to survive.
The determination with Christ in his or her heart to win these precious souls to Christ, is what has given the Missionary a desire to Sacrifice and live among them.
The most terrifying sight that I witnessed was a horde of Denaponera Giganti, the World's largest ant, whose jaws are so powerful they actually make large wounds in the flesh. There is the Monstrous Titanus Giganteus, a six inch beetle whose pinchers can slash a finger to the bone. Grasshoppers the size of sparrows and
____
PAGE218: Chapter 24 THE SADISTS OF THE INTERIOR.
There is the Tarantula Fly which can sting through the clothing and deposits its eggs under the skin which causes open ulcers. The Spider Wasp with a two and one half inch body, a four inch wing spread packing a stinger one half inch long and carrying poisonous venom is rampant, too.
The Bees of the Amazon are stingless and swarm by the thousands to land a perspiring body. You knock them off, Immediately. Then, there are the tiny Midgets which can penetrate through the finest Mosquito netting. Caterpillars, a half foot long, can destroy anything around you in a few hours.
Yet, among all of this, there is the most wonderful beauty imaginative. The Butterflies maneuver around you with expert skill, loop the loop and put on a real demonstration for you.
In these three million square miles of Jungle territory, the mixed Indian Breeds cluster
in the River Pueblos.
_____
PAGE219: Chapter 24 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
There are two hundred forty Tribes that have been penetrated by the Missionaries and they have at least thirty seven distinct languages.
The Indians have told me of the many terrible oppressions of the early Settlers who used discipline, physical punishment, torture and murder. In twelve years in one small area, seven thousand Indians were murdered.
So, in order to make a friend of the Indian among the isolated Tribes. You must go alone or with other Indians, carry no guns and become one of them. Once they have confidence in you and trust you, their trust is unshakable. The Indian of the Primitive has a sense that tells him whether you are his friend or not.
_____
PAGE220: Chapter 25 THE WORM EATING INDIANS.
While in the city of Manaus, Brazil, I was talking to a gentleman by the name of Kirk Gluck. Kirk had left Germany at the end of the war in order to escape the onslaught of trouble and had come to the United States under the name of Waggoner. After spending some time in New York, he hitchhiked to Canada and stayed there for awhile. Then finally, hitchhiking all through the western part of the United States and down through Central America, Panama and Colombia, Kirk Gluck came to the Ecuadorian Border on the Pan-American Highway. He ended up in Peru and married a Peruvian lady. He lived in Peru for a year and then came to Manaus, took back his rightful name of Kirk Gluck, received a German Passport and became a resident and citizen of Brazil.
Kirk has a lovely family and told
_____
PAGE221: Chapter 25 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
me that he never killed anyone in the war, that He was a mechanic fixing trucks for Hitler's Blitzkrieg.
Kirk Gluck now takes Safaris into the Interior of the Great Amazon Basin. He was the one who first told me about some Indians living in the northern part of Brazil almost at the Venezuelan Border. He said that these Indians did not wash or bathe and ate worms for food.
I decided to visit these Indians. Kirk said that he had only gone to the outer perimeter where these Indians live and could see some of them in the distance.
After a few days of preparation, I decided to start on this Journey alone to go among these Indians. It is very common knowledge to the seasoned traveler in the Amazon Basin that if one goes alone to an Indian Tribe, he is not as apt to be killed than if he goes with a party. I had just read a report in a Brazilian Newspaper where a Catholic Priest along
_____
PAGE222: Chapter 25 THE WORM EATING INDIANS.
with several explorers were massacred by the Indians. Their bodies were found by the Military.
Some had their skulls cracked; Others had their heads severed. Kirk told me it would be very dangerous if we both went together. The Indians fear if more than one comes to them, feeling it is an invasion and an intrusion on their way of life.
I was able to obtain a ride on a Military Plane. The Military of Brazil is very friendly to the Missionaries cooperating in every way possible in the development and well-being of the Indians.
I was let off on an airstrip, not too far from the Venezuelan Border. The Pilot of the plane instructed me that when I was ready to leave to come back to the airstrip and light three fires in triangle shape. They would check the airstrip daily. I encountered some Indians that same afternoon. They seemed to be very friendly and not in any way hostile toward me. Three of them had blowguns in their
_____
PAGE223: Chapter 25 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
hands and several of them were armed with bows and arrows. I walked among them on a Jungle Trail for about a mile. They were talking in Guarauno, and unclassified language. There are many unclassified Indian languages.
As the sun was going down, I found myself among about four or five hundred Indians, rather larger than most Tribes, with powerful muscles. The Indian women were not squatty, but quite tall and, also, muscular. Everyone was naked. Their bodies were the color of Blue Slate and their skin like Silk which glittered in the dark as if fluorescent.
They were so friendly and indicated I was to eat with them. The truth about going alone among the Indians, that it was more safe to do this, had been proven again. And it is better to take nothing with you. A camera is out of the question at first as the Indians can, mistakenly, think that it is some gadget to destroy or hurt them.
_____
PAGE224: Chapter 25 THE WORM EATING INDIANS.
The Indian women had gathered hundreds of worms or grubs out of the grass and from the leaves of trees. These worms look something like a caterpillar, only many times larger. They started to clean them by taking off the hairy fuzz. After this is done, the worm look something like an Oyster.
They were boiled in water along with spices and plantenos to thicken them; They tasted quite palatable and a little like an Oyster, but in this slippery sauce. I had not eaten anything since early morning which no doubt allowed me to think they were palatable, but it was necessary to chew them up good as the meat was gristly.
After eating this meal with the Indians, they took me about another mile in the dark to an area where the entire ground was on fire. The side of this mountain had been burning for a long time. It had left a slate colored ash. The Indians sat down in the ashes, rubbed themselves with the ashes all over their bodies.
_____
PAGE225: Chapter 25 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
The operation was a type of cleanliness. With this Ash they removed the dirt and sweat from their bodies. The ground was quite warm which made you feel not so cold in the mountain Air so sleeping was comfortable in the warmth of the Ashes.
I learned that these Indians lived to be very old and that there was no disease among them such as Malaria, Tuberculosis, or Kidney trouble.
One Indian woman gave birth to a baby that night. The newborn baby was rubbed with ashes in the same way the adults used the ashes on themselves. This Tribe of Indians doesn't wash with water and yet they are very healthy. They have no cavities in their teeth and their hair on both the men and the women hangs down on their backs in a long black silken effect.
They go out hunting on the slopes of the mountain sides. And what animals they bring back are placed in the hot
_____
PAGE226: Chapter 25 THE WORM EATING INDIANS.
Ashes until the meat was done like a barbecue of jerked meat.
They had a drink which was made form a fruit about ten times the size of a grape. After being crushed into an earthen bowl, it was dipped into smaller bowls for drinking.
This Tribe of Indians did not gorge themselves with food. Not one of them had large stomachs. They were very active. They did not grow anything themselves such as vegetables, but depended wholly on worms, wild animals, herbs and fruits and shoots from the trees.
Like some of the other Tribes, the women would sleep down at one end in the Ashes on the ground and the men at the other end. The babies and children slept at the feet of both men and women.
I noticed one of the little boys about six years old was very strong and could pick up a very heavy weight. Their
_____
PAGE227: Chapter 25 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
games consisted of expert wrestling between both men and women. The children would walk on their hands and stand on their heads, do push-ups, side sways, hop, skip and jump for hours without exhaustion. When one of the children would get out of line, instead of pulling them by the hand, the mothers would catch hold of their long black hair and pull them along on their bottoms until the little ones would say something to their mothers and then they would let them go. The pulling of hair did not seem to bother them very much. It was the pulling along on the rough rocks which seemed to disturb them.
After spending some time with these Indians, I came back to Manaus and found a Missionary from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, who was praying that the Lord would make him a Missionary among these Indians. Missionary Wiley had never been married and had worked in the Jungles of South America for quite a few years. In His final prayer before leaving to minister
_____
PAGE228: Chapter 25 THE WORM EATING INDIANS.
to this Tribe, he said: "Dear Lord, Help Me Win These People For Jesus Christ. But, Please Don't Ask Me To Eat Worms."
After Missionary Wiley spent some time with these people, he learned to eat the worms and grubs just like the rest of the Tribe.
_____
PAGE229: Chapter 26 WORSHIP AMONG THE MACAMBAS
The Indians of the Amazon Basin, the high Andes Mountains and the Coastal Areas lived in these lands long before the European settlers came. There were Indian Groups who were very Religious hundreds of years previous to the appearance of any outsider.
They built great Temples, constructed buildings which amazed the Archaeologists and these are still being uncovered. The Sun Worshipers had a Divine Order; Many of the early Religious influences exist today among the Indians.
There are the Witch Doctors who obtain power through fear and believe in evil spirits and good spirits and they still have a great influence over some of the Tribes. Their dances and drum beating have not changed through the Ages. One
_____
PAGE230: Chapter 26 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
of the Tribes that I know really well prayed to a Heavenly God long before the Missionaries went there.
The influence of the Catholic Church has been more predominant in the Villages and Cities that have been constructed by the early settlers than back in the Interior where many thousands of Indians live. The Catholic Church established numbers of congregations through South America, built beautiful buildings and was the prominent religious power until recent years.
A great revival of the Spirit has taken place. The Indians were always very spiritual. And it is no trouble to get an Indian to believe in a spirit.
The Catholic Church type of worship, believing in the Shed Blood of Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary and the Power of the Priest to Officiate, established a tremendous control over the people. The Church penetrated into all walks of life, the
_____
PAGE231: Chapter 26 WORSHIP AMONG THE MACAMBAS
Military, the Governments and the People.
The Catholic Missionaries came to South America to establish the religion of Spain and Portugal. Many of the early Catholic Priests gave their lives on the Mission Field. There was one stipulation and law set forth by the Catholic Church; That all commerce and business of the early settlers should be taxed twenty percent. This is how many of the great Cathedrals of South America were built. These beautiful buildings stand today as a testimony of the genius and know-how of the early builders.
During all of this great invasion of the early settlers and the establishment of the Catholic Religion and the Killings of the Indians, many of the Tribes fled far into the Interior. And there, they have remained untouched and without contact with anyone else since that time except for the Missionaries. History tells us that several millions Indians were killed during the early invasion of the settlers.
_____
PAGE232: Chapter 26 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS
This caused the Indians to mistrust the European, while in the earlier days of the European, it was not unusual for the Indian to stand in awe on the river banks and supply the early settlers with food and welcome them into their midst in trust. However, greed for wealth and domination executed in sometimes destruction for the Indian.
Many of the Europeans died in the struggle for domination of this great land. Spain, especially, had her part. This Spanish American Empire fell as other Empires have fallen.
Now, We have different Countries of South America, Brazil being the largest, settled and established by the Portuguese. Today, Brazil is forging forward with a cooperative plan of all its mixed races. Thousands of Indians still live there and the Indian Blood runs through the veins of many Brazilians to such an extent that it has become a Beautiful part of the Human Race.
_____
PAGE233: Chapter 26 WORSHIP AMONG THE MACAMBAS
The Indians living in the Interior have their various ways of Worship. One Tribe, the Macambas, has its own special style with primitive Indian and African mixture combined together.
During the week, you may see a flag flying by a river. This will give a message to the passer-by that there will be a Macamba Worship. This is a Ghastly sight to watch.
These services are held under large trees. Any kinds of animals or fowls such as chickens are carried up into the trees alive with their legs tied together and their heads hanging down.
After the setting of the sun, fires are lit around the encampment and the women begin to dance in writhing, Satanic movements. They twist their bodies into contortions sometimes while on their feet and sometimes when lying on the ground. After working themselves into a feverish pitch of some sort of spirit, men in the trees will cut the throats of the animals and chickens
_____
PAGE234: Chapter 26 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
and let the hot blood run down on the dancers. The smell of this blood on hot perspiring bodies will make the dancers go into more satanic actions. The men will then begin to dance with the women until the whole demonstration of so-called spiritual power ends up in complete loss of strength and exhaustion at daylight. They, then, go to the river and bathe and return to their places of abode until the next time of worship is announced by the flying of the flag.
_____
PAGE235: Chapter 27 THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
The Witch Doctor with his power of influence over families will claim healing magic. One of the Mountain Tribes who still have their Witch Doctors, believe in them because some of their cures do work. Some of the Witch Doctors are handlers of Drugs and they use these Drugs for cures. Along with these Drugs, Symbols are used such as sticks, roots, leaves, bugs and elics made out of clay.
If a patient dies, a wife, a husband or any member of a family, the Witch Doctor will never say that his treatment has failed.
He will always claim: "There is a spirit in the midst that has caused the Death." And that spirit is in one of the members of the family. It could be a baby, or a grandmother, a sister or
_____
PAGE236: Chapter 27 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
a brother, or a young girl. The Witch Doctor will look around at all the members of the family and choose the one who must die to appease this spirit.
And this way, the price will be paid. A large fire is made with wood that is full of a liquid that burns very fast and hot. After the fire reaches an intense heat, the one designated for death is thrown into the fire and burned alive to pay the debt.
This, naturally, gives the Witch Doctor power over life and death. Some Witch Doctors will have so many followers who will hunt and search out the enemy and pursue him until he is killed with poisonous darts. It is a great victory when one of these Witch Doctors is converted and will follow the teachings of Jesus Christ .
Demons and Devils and good spirits have been a part of the Indian life for hundreds of years. The Europeans brought
_____
PAGE237: Chapter 27 THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
with them, also, the belief in Devils and Demons which is one school of thought that the Europeans and the Indians had in common together.
The Indians believe that in their conversations to Christ all Demons and Devils leave them; For they really know their Demons and Devils. They call them by name and they are well acquainted with evil spirits.
One young girl in the explanation of her conversion testified like this: "I was entangled around my body with many creeping vines. The roots were penetrating my very inward being. I could not move by myself; I was so entangled. My thoughts were always evil. Devils were always before my eyes. I had to worship them and bow down to them night and day. The Witch Doctor made me do many things. I had to do all the evil things that he told me to do. If he would have told me to cut my throat, I would have done it. If he would have said to slash open
_____
PAGE238: Chapter 27 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
my stomach, I would have done it. If he would have said to gouge out my eyes, I would have done it. If he would have said to burn my own hair, I would have done it. I would have done anything that the Witch Doctor said. If I had not, the vines would have become tighter around my body and the pain would have been greater than that of torturing my own body. Now, I am converted as well as the Witch Doctor. Many of us now worship Jesus Christ; We have no more desire to worship the Devil or to hurt ourselves. The Demons are all gone."
The Indians believe that in the Worship of Christ, there is complete deliverance from the Devil and his actions. They believe that when Christ has come into their hearts, the Devil is gone with all of his Satanic power and they, themselves,have power to keep the Demons and Devils from them through the Power of the Blood of Jesus Christ. It would be difficult to convince an Indian who has been converted to Christ that any sickness of the body
_____
PAGE239: Chapter 27 THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
is caused by a Demon because they believe that the Demons have all gone.
It would be a good idea for some of the Exorcists to go to an Indian Tribe that still have their Witch Doctors and their worship of Demons and cast out the Demons from them. They would have a lot of work to do. I know that as a Missionary who has traveled among Christ comes into their lives and the Blood of Jesus is applied, all Demons flee.
On the Amazon River in Colombia there is a congregation of ex-head hunters. Christ took power over the head hunters. Head hunting is a Religion, also, and not a wild and unorganized action. The plan of the head hunter is to take the head of another; shrink the head so that the spirit of the body of the shrunken head may live on in their midst. They feel they do the person a favor by cutting off his head and shrinking it and making the spirit live on this Earth
as long
_____
PAGE240: Chapter 27 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
as the head is preserved. The Head Hunter, too, worships spirits. And the spirits they worship are to them very divine and powerful. They believe that all spirits eventually will go into another world. talk and converse with one another and live forever. The shrunken head is their contact with the spirits in this world and the world to come.
The conversion of the Head Hunter to Jesus Christ makes him believe that the contact with the next world is through Jesus Christ, Himself. They, too, affirm that all Demons and Devils are gone. They bury the shrunken head in Reverence and Worship GOD.
The Spirit of GOD is moving with such Gigantic Power in Brazil and the Great Amazon Basin that thousands are being converted and won to Christ yearly.
_____
PAGE241: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
Once a year for thirty days is Wedding time for the Indians in the Jungles according to the position of the moon. After gaining the confidence of the Indians, I was allowed to attend an Indian wedding taking place far deep it the Jungles.
Preparation for this spectacular event took weeks. The girls had been already assigned to the ones they should marry a few days after birth. And the man had been assigned to his marriage partner two years after his birth. They would play together, eat together with absolutely no intimate relations until after the wedding.
I felt I was going to go on one of the most interesting journeys of my whole life. You could feel excitement among the Indians as they talked among themselves
_____
PAGE242: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
preparing for this great wedding ceremony and for a great hunting and fishing trip. These Indians were a powerful lot. Hunting, fishing, wedding ceremonies were a time to be enjoyed by any Indian Tribe that followed the customs which originated back centuries ago. From the
high, icy mountains to the deepest jungles below, the Indians still practiced their original customs.
The fishing, hunting, wedding party consisted of around one hundred fifty people, all of them Indians except me. At sunup the full preparation of this Jungle Journey was ready. The women with their packs on their backs, the hunters with their blowguns, the fishermen with their nets and the girls who were about to be married to their hunter husbands; All were ready.
Kettles of Monkey already had been devoured and with everyone's stomach full, we commenced our journey. Walking single file, the women leading to clear the path,
_____
PAGE243: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
using their knives to cut anything that is in the way, the journey started.
There is a peculiar feeling within one's self to know that you are going to penetrate deep into the jungles among a people who had a civilization dating back long before our present day American civilization was even though of. The screeching of the birds, the noise of the Jungle, the rustling of the trees, the sunlight breaking through from above; It all seemed to be in partnership with everything. Everyone had bathed and all seemed refreshed after a good night's rest.
We walked until around three o'clock in the afternoon using as a thirst quencher juice from Jungle fruit and herbs. The rest periods would last ten minutes. Then, we would get up again and walk at a steady pace. When we would come to a stream or river, there would be a group who had run ahead of us to cut down poles on which to cross the water. There were
_____
PAGE244: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
no shoes on anyone's feet except mine. I had noticed that one of the Indian women was carrying and extra blowgun. I soon learned that it was intended for me. After the first rest period, it was placed into my hand for me to carry. This brought a little fear to me. I might miss a target and maybe I would be taken back and burned with a stone in disgrace. The blowgun is called Boka by this Tribe, the Dart, Borra and the Knife, Chujo. Each article has its own name.
It is quite a technique to cross a stream that is full of Alligators in places. I soon learned that shoes were more of a nuisance than an asset. Crossing the first stream on a pole which was bending from the weight of those crossing with a heavy load on their backs, I slipped and almost fell into the water below.
There was an Indian woman behind me and an Indian man in front of me, leaning on to my blowgun using it as a kind of a hook on the side of the pole,
_____
PAGE245: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
I was hanging on for dear life. My high boots had dipped down into the water. But in a flash, with a heavy load and a baby on her back, this Indian woman, the wife of the hunter before me, grabbed my arm close to my shoulder and with sheer strength and the grip of her feet on the pole pulled me back up until I was sitting straddling the pole.
The Indians looked at me and laughed which they very seldom do. For an Indian to laugh at you means you have done something wrong. They pointed to my shoes. Realizing that this was my trouble, I unlaced the shoes and let them drop into the river and crossed the pole with my bare feet. I found this to be much easier although my feet were a lot more tender than the Indians' who were used to walking through the jungles with bare feet.
At three o'clock according to my watch that I still had, the Indians only looking at the sun's position to determine the time of day, the women began to make
_____
PAGE246: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
camp for a night's rest. The men beckoned for me to come with my blowgun to venture on a little side trip for food which the women would prepare for our meal. The Indians know their jungles well and the habits of the wildlife.
After walking a few minutes we came to a clearing on the side of a hill where the sun was still shining bright. I saw that the tremendously tall trees along the side of the clearing were full of birds. Expertly, the Indians placed their darts into their blowguns After wrapping the end of the dart with a material that looks very much like cotton taken off the vines in the jungle. The first shots were made into the tall trees. In about a minute after the darts had entered the tops of the trees, birds came flopping down, flapping their wings until they reached the ground. An Indian loaded my blowgun for me, placed it to my mouth and held it for me for he realized that I was no expert hunter.
_____
PAGE247: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
I filled my lungs full of air, built up a terrific pressure in the mouth piece as the Indian was nodding to me in response that everything was alright. In a few seconds the dart left the blowgun penetrating into the tree and a bird came falling down. I was not ready yet to be called a full-fledged Indian hunter; I was only being trained as a little child would be. I realized that this was no contest and that the Indians were teaching me how to hunt. That realization made me feel a lot better.
The Indian girls to be married were being cared for by the older women. Bathing is a must for everyone night and morning during a hunting trip. A good rub down with a liquid made form the bark of a tree is more soothing than a rub down with any lotion you may buy in a Drugstore. This special preparation penetrates your muscles and feet and feels soothing taking away any soreness and stiffness.
The women had gathered what looked
_____
PAGE248: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
very much like small tomatoes to me, but quite sweet. For dinner that night we had barbecued bird, jungle fruit, juice from the bark of a tree.
And now beds were being prepared. No good hunter carries his own bed. You have fresh, new ones every night. The women rip off the bark of the trees and quickly weave them together around the poles that have been strapped to trees. And soon we were all in bed for a night's sleep in the Jungles.
Not a mosquito bit me although there were plenty around us. I suffered no bites of any kind, not even from poisonous ants. The smell of a certain jungle preparation kept them away form me.
The friendliness of the Indians was so wonderful that I felt that I had a special protection. Men have died trying to penetrate these jungles alone. This is impossible; One cannot survive in such
_____
PAGE249: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
a place for very long without the help of the Indians.
After a good night's sleep we were awakened by a heavy rain; The sun was not shining that day and the hot rainwater splashed down off the leaves of the trees. But, It seemed to make no difference; In a few moments the fire was burning brightly, breakfast was prepared and things were being made ready for another day's journey.
The Bronze bodies of the Indians seemed to glitter and sparkle as they became wet from the rain. I found it more pleasant and comfortable to throw my shirt away and be more like an Indian than to leave it on. However, one of the Indian women picked it up and slung it across her shoulder thinking no doubt that I might need it later when it became dry again.
I pulled my watch out to look at it from the front pocket of my pants which were wringing wet and found that it was still running, a big, old fashioned, heavy,
_____
PAGE250: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
silver Waltham watch. And right on the dot of eight we started on our journey; It is interesting how the Indians know their time. You can set your watch by their accuracy. I would soon learn that animals were good time keepers, also, and even the birds have certain hours of the day for their habits.
The first stream that we came to on this day was as clear as crystal. You could see the rocks on the bottom of the river. Some of the men had walked out in the stream which was running rapidly, coming down from the mountains. We had gained quite a little altitude because for the last few hours we had been climbing a steep grade. We were to go to an area in the foot hills of the mountains.
The air was fresher and cooler, but not cold enough yet to feel chilly. The fishermen were standing in the clear water with nets, but there was not a fish to be seen anywhere. It had stopped raining. The clouds were breaking up in the sky
_____
PAGE251: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
and the sun began to peep through and shine on this portion of the river.
And here came some of he women with poles, poking at the rocks on the bottom of the river and to my surprise hundreds of fish came out from under the rocks and were then expertly caught in the nets that the Indians held all the way across the river, making a trap for them into which to swim. Each net was loaded, I knew then that we were going to have fish for our meal. And sure enough, they were going to boil it; I knew that this would be a much healthier way to eat it.
After the Indians had brought their heavy catch from the river, other fish were at the bottom of the river now holding on to rocks with their mouths. I learned that these fish do not bite, but suck their prey into their mouths. They can, also, hold onto the rocks with this sucking action as this had been their sleeping time. The Fishermen knew where they would be just at the right time to catch them.
_____
PAGE252: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
Again, at three o'clock this fishing day, the Indians prepared camp. The water in the clear river was much cooler and refreshing. While meal was being prepared from the catch of fish we started out again to hunt. This time it was a herd of wild pigs some of the most ferocious animals of the jungles. One had to learn to be a quick and good tree climber when hunting wild pigs. Instead of a blowgun, it is now the powerful bow and arrow that will be used to kill the wild pig.
This time I decided it was better to climb a tree and watch. Being no expert with bow and arrow among such animals can mean sudden death. However, one of the men beckoned me to come down and stand between two of them. As they pulled back their bows, the arrows found their marks in the side of the wild pig. It was amazing to see how expertly the arrows had found the hearts of the pigs as they cut up the pigs, I saw where the arrow penetrated into the vicinity of the heart. We were the next morning on our way to the place where
_____
PAGE253: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES.
the great wedding ceremonial should take place after a night's rest and pig for that morning's breakfast. The young girls, who looked to be about fifteen to seventeen years old and who were all virgins, had been washed and bathed by the older women.
Their hair was clean and hanging down below their ears, cut all the way around, not with scissors as a barber would use, but cut with sharpened stones which had been split after being taken from the bottom of the river.
The Muscles of these young women displayed the perfect specimens of the Humans they were. The hard work that they had done during their childhood had made them strong and powerful and able to lift heavy loads several times their own weight.
But, this was not to be a time of work for these young women, but a time of the great wedding ceremony. The older women were treating them all like Queens.
_____
PAGE254: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
I felt like an intruder and waited for the Indians to take me back to the main camp. However, they convinced me that I must not go back; I was welcome and I must go with them.
After several days of traveling, hunting and fishing, I learned how to use the blowgun. It is one of the greatest natural protectors for the Indians in their way of life. It is different than a rifle, a shotgun or a pistol for there is no noise with a blowgun and the enemy cannot tell from where the dart comes. The birds can be shot from the trees and not disturb any other birds that may be around. Whereas, with a regular gun, one blast and the prey is gone. The Indians became quite pleased with my marksmanship and they danced with joy around me and initiated me as a full-fledged hunter.
After two weeks of travel, coming close to the place where the ceremonial should be celebrated, I used seven darts and got seven birds. They were picked up
_____
PAGE255: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
by the women and carried back to the camp which had been prepared for that night; The Indians singing and shouting happily, surrounding me one by one, giving me bear hugs. I could feel a real closeness in the friendship and admiration that they had for me.
After three more days of travel, we came to the spot on the mountain side where the great wedding was to be officiated. It was one of the most beautiful spots that I had ever seen. It was like an oasis with waterfalls and even hot springs. It caused a steam to penetrate into the air one hundred feet. And when the sun shone upon it all, everything glittered like many precious stones. Flowers were growing everywhere with vines hanging down form the top of the trees with blooms all colors of the rainbow.
The Indian women began to prepare a massive camp for the entire party of one hundred fifty persons to make a home during the celebration of the wedding
_____
PAGE256: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
days. The older women kept watch over the young Brides-To-Be and rubbed their skin with Jungle manufactured juice from the flowers. It more than compared with the finest of French perfumes.
The next morning all arose at daybreak. Breakfast consisted of Tinto, Yucca and Bananas. The young girls were given their breakfasts on large leaves as they sat around the waterfalls in their beauty and graceful positions.
The older women began to prepare for the great affair. Men with their long, sharp, wicked-looking knives were cutting bark from the trees to prepare the beds for the spectacular wedding ceremony. To see this whole operation in action made you realize that you are about to witness in a few days a tradition which had been carried on for many years.
A pile of sharpened stakes were lying in a heap. One stake had been trimmed of its bark and markings were on it.
_____
PAGE257: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
The sun beamed through the next morning from the East; It shone on a rock which glistened like a diamond.
And Indian man, who seemed to be the director of it all, carried the hewn stake in his hand. Three men, each having three pieces of hardened limbs with a knot on the ends of them, drove the stake into the ground to a mark on the stake. The top of the stake was not damaged in any way. There was a ring cut around the top of the stake and a palmetto cord could be fastened on it with a swivel action, stretching the palmetto cord directly into the sun.
My watch told me that it was exactly nine o'clock. With expert accuracy, two men stood facing the sun on either side of the stake. The left arm of one man to the North, the other with his right arm to the South. Two more stakes were driven to the North and to the South. A stake was driven the same distance to the end of the palmetto cord to the East.
_____
PAGE258: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
The rest of the stakes were driven in a perfect half circle, marking the ground area for the Jungle huts to be built.
Behind the half circle to the West, a row of individual huts were ready to be constructed. After four days of feverish work, all the huts were finished. Facing the West were twenty four huts, each one having its own door made from flowers and woven branches like work.
The Palmetto Roofs shone bright and new in the noon day sun overhead. Each hut in the entire complex was at least three feet from the ground. Protruding from each doorway was a pole with steps hewn into it. One has to know how to walk on those to get into the hut.
The huts facing the West were the Bridal Suites. The Huts in the half circle were for the rest of the party. In the center of the half circle was the place of the wedding ceremony and the celebration. Directly west of the Bridal Suites, the
_____
PAGE259: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
ground was cleared back at least thirty feet and covered with thousands of leaves and blooms of flowers. The fragrance of this combination of leaves and blooms in the cool of the evening was as if the air had become almost Celestial. After the whole task was completed, the hunters went out to get the food and brought in birds, pigs, frogs and fish for the big celebration.
Early the next morning, always the time of bathing, the Indian maidens sat on the warm rocks and bathed in the hot springs. The men were in another part bathing in one of the other hot springs. The next day we passed away resting, talking while the women were preparing the great feast which was to take place in the cool of the evening.
In the center of the half circle a large kitchen had been built. The bed of the fire was on the top of clay and dirt about three feet from the ground. The fire had been burning for about three
_____
PAGE260: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
hours in the late afternoon. Hanging over the fire from the rafters of the kitchen-like structure were monkey, fish, the birds and frogs. The flames at times would reach up and singe the meat.
Two men stood by to throw water on the flames so that only the heat of the fire would penetrate the meat to cook it and give it a flavor, something like our barbecue at home, The difference beings, it had been seasoned with jungle herbs that the Indians know so well.
Each bride that night had gone to the huts facing the West to sleep. The future husbands were still with the crowd in the compound after we all had our fill of food. It soon would be bedtime for all. The next day would be the Wedding Day, an all Day Affair!
There were the usual morning baths for everybody; The brides being prepared by the older women for the great wedding. Their hair was full of flowers, their bodies were covered with a fragrance
_____
PAGE261: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
of the petals. The actual wedding ceremony would start at twelve o'clock sharp. It was an all afternoon ritual. The bowing of the young girls to their future husbands, ceremonial walks and exercises, each older woman watching over the young brides-to-be at every moment.
For a moment I, again, felt like an intruder. When on the other hand, I could sense the welcome everybody was affording me. Several different kinds of feelings came over me, wondering every moment what was going to happen next. I realized that this observance was going to be one of the greatest honors and trusts that could be bestowed upon a friend. The first outsider to witness this ceremony among the Indians.
I, also, realized that this was their custom and tradition, a way of life, that the Indians had practiced for hundreds of years. Little did I realize that I should have a part in the actual wedding. At exactly twelve o'clock noon I was led
_____
PAGE262: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
by one of the men to a place of prominence. I was told that I should stand between the Priests who would perform the wedding ceremony. Slowly, we walked to stand at certain degrees around the outside of the Half Circle.
It was a beautiful day, the air was clear and the sense of smell from the fragrant jungle flowers penetrated your nostrils. Monkeys were in the trees swinging from branch to branch as if they, too, sense the importance of the occasion.
It was life of the jungles in action; It was the day of expectancy coming to pass for the young maidens. It was the time that she should be joined to her pledged hunter-husband and it was the time which would start the bearing of offspring to the Tribe.
These Indians at this wedding ceremony used absolutely no drugs, only for repelling diseases, not for over-indulgence. Marriage ceremonies had taken place in this very
_____
PAGE263: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
spot for centuries. So, the operation and ceremonial procedures went along with surprising ease and accuracy. Timing was of the moment, for moment by moment each part of the ceremony should come to pass.
The sun will go down around six o'clock and everyone goes to bed a little after sundown in the jungles so I knew that the Ritual would not be over six hours long. It was emotionally interesting to be a part of this affair that I did not feel even one bit of tiredness or fatigue. My whole thought was to win everyone for Christ and turn this celebrated occasion into a Heavenly Blessing.
I learned from conversations that the wife must provide the husband with a child or she would be a disgrace forever and she would become only a sort of servant or a slave for the other women for the rest of her life. She would no longer be allowed to come near her husband or even to touch him.
_____
PAGE264: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
During the ceremonial walks and the exercises, the older women watched over the young future brides every moment. There had been no kissing or hugging. She is Pure, Clean, A Virgin, A Gift of GOD to the man.
Every moment something different was happening. A special ceremonial welcome was now being held for me. For I was to have part in giving away one of the maidens. I realized that this was a great honor. Me, the first outsider, a stranger of a different race, yet being able to participate in this great ceremony. Taking part in a tradition, a way of life which has been practiced for hundreds of years, made me feel blessed with enrichment for my being.
Even the weather was favorable to us as there was no rain today, a very unusual happening in a Rain Forest.
The brides-to-be were sitting on logs that had been placed in a row in
_____
PAGE265: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
the back of the rock. Behind them stood the older women caring for their needs. At the extreme back end of the compound stood the intended bridegrooms. Each one was examined by word of mouth and had to answer questions put to them by the leader of the Tribe. After they had answered the questions, they received the initiation, the ceremonial order of obedience to the Tribe which had been spoken and given down through the years.
Each hunter, who should give the young girl away and escort her to the hut must now prepare to carry out the function. We, too, sat in front of the intended bridegroom as we handed over our authority of the bride-to-be into the hands of the future bridegroom.
There were singing and talking; Yet It was a serious affair. Each destined bridegroom then walked and stood directly behind each hunter who should give the young girl away. The older women had their hands upon the heads of the girls;
_____
PAGE266: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
slowly, they walked toward us. Each girl was passed into our hands. We all caught hold of hands in a chain fashion as the male marriage partner stood before us. The older women then left their positions and stood hand in hand in a chain form between them. The ceremony was about to take place.
The elders and leaders of the party stepped forward; Each had a lighted wood in his hand and holding them between us they began to speak the words of the marriage ceremony. "We Unite You Together Forever. And Your Children Shall Be A Part Of Us Forever." There is nowhere in their ceremony anything that says, "Until Death Do Us Part." Altogether, the wording lasted for about a half an hour.
The elders of the Tribe walked behind each bride and bridegroom, laying their hands on them and saying words in their own language which have been said many times before. In the tradition of the Tribe a male guest is allowed to accompany
_____
PAGE267: Chapter 28 THE WEDDING IN THE JUNGLES
them to their place of abode where they will live. Being one of the guests and being welcomed into a place of prominence, I was invited to accompany one of the couples to the hut on the west side of the encampment.
When the ceremony was almost finished, the brides and bridegrooms joined hands. Each male guest held the right hand of the bride. A line was formed by the brides, bridegrooms and the accompanying male guests. We slowly walked seven times around the entire encampment, finally standing in front of the individual hut where the bride and the bridegroom would live for the next three months.
The sun was going down over the great Andes Mountains. The rays were penetrating into the doorways of each hut, lighting up the flowers and the inside of the hut. We walked very slowly to the entrance of each hut, the bridegroom and each guest holding the hands of each bride. Gracefully she walked up the hewed-out poles into
_____
PAGE268: Chapter 28 I WALKED IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.
the doorway, turning herself around to face the west, her bronze body lit up in the fading sunlight.
As I quickly glanced to my right and to my left, I saw each bride standing in her doorway looking beautiful, Happy and contented. Then, up the poles walked her hunter husband; The door was closed, the ceremony was over.
The next day was to be a day of joyful celebration for the rest of the Tribe. The Great Event had been accomplished.
_____
PAGE269: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA.
GETTING JUNGLE CART READY FOR TRIP
INTO THE JUNGLES
_____
PAGE270: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
WITCH DOCTOR, AMAZON BASIN .
_____
PAGE271: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
YOUNG INDIAN CONVERTS
OF THE AMAZON BASIN JUNGLES.
_____
PAGE272: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
1962 .
ALONG A BRAZILIAN RIVER;
I HAVE TRAVELED MANY
OF THESE RIVERS.
_____
PAGE273: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
PRAYING FOR THE SICK
IN THE INTERIOR.
_____
PAGE274: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
DURING MISSIONARY WORK IN THE
AMAZON BASIN DURING
THE EARLY SIXTIES
WHILE JOURNEYING THROUGH THESE
TERRITORIES I SAW LIFE AS IT HAD
BEEN LIVED HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO.
PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN A WAY
THAT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO US NOW.
_____
PAGE275: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
BOATS READY FOR TRAVEL
ON THE AMAZON.
WHEN YOU GET TO THE JUNGLE'S
PRIMITIVE AREAS, YOU MUST EITHER
TAKE A SMALL BOAT AND TRAVEL ON THE
RIVERS, OR YOU MUST RIDE A HORSE,
OR YOU CAN WALK THROUGH JUNGLE
TRAILS TO FULFILL THE MISSION
OF YOUR CALLING.
_____
PAGE276: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
A POOR FAMILY WON TO JESUS IN
CENTRAL AMERICA 50 YEARS AGO.
_____
PAGE277: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
WALKING DOWN A VILLAGE STREET ALONG
THE PUTUMAYO RIVER .
THROUGHOUT THE YEARS I FOUND MYSELF
MANY TIMES IN VILLAGES TYPICAL
OF THE ABOVE WHEN PREPARING A TRIP
INTO THE JUNGLES.
_____
PAGE278: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
BUS RIDE THROUGH THE
ANDES MOUNTAINS.
_____
PAGE279: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
1964.
LETICIA, COLOMBIA, SOUTH AMERICA.
_____
PAGE280: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
OUR SON FRED, DOING HIS BEST DURING
THE WAR YEARS TO KEEP TRUCKS AND
AND EQUIPMENT GOING TO BE USED IN
MEETINGS .
_____
PAGE281: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
IN MY TRAVELS IN SOUTH AMERICA
I MET MANY INDIANS SIMILAR
TO THESE.
BORN INTO A WORLD OF
PRIMITIVENESS WHERE THEIR FUTURE
COULD ONLY OFFER THEM THE SAME KIND
OF LIFE THAT THEIR ANCESTORS HAD
"LIVED FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
BRINGING THEM TO CHRIST MADE THE
DIFFERENCE.
_____
PAGE282: Chapter 28 PICTURE PART
TYPICAL RIVER SCENE IN
SOUTH AMERICA; NATIVES IN
SMALL BOATS UTILIZING THE RIVER TO
CARRY FOODSTUFFS AND SUPPLIES
AND MISSIONARIES USING THE RIVER
FOR THEIR TRAVEL.
IN SOME PLACES, IT IS THE ONLY
MODE OF TRAVEL.
_____
Next Chapter:
29. Giving Gives Heavenly Blessing In Return............283