CHAPTER 1
As 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 2
TEN YEARS EARLIER
Dr. 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.
