Basic HTML Version
26
The
PLAIN TRUTH
Aprii-May, 1970
of school; tell the folks good-bye; cut
all ties. Either fly to Brazil or boat com–
mercially to the Amazon River; at
Belém transfer to one of the few river
boats which ply the great Amazon Sea–
river. Say "good-bye" to civilization!
Opening up a Jungle
Do you begin to understand the tre–
mendous sacrifice involved? Why so few
are willing pioneers? Why Amazonia
will be a long time in opening up? The
difficulties of your imaginary venture
are not yet over; they are just beginning.
If
you are going to be a pioneer in
the Amazon, you might as well begin
getting used to
it.
You
will
not have a
rad io at all unless you bring a battery–
powered shortwave set. And in the
dampness of the Amazon basin, it won't
last long. There will be no newspapers,
no magazines, no books.
There will be no government ser–
vices, no policemen, no postmen, no
firemen, and no school. You will be
lucky if there is a doctor or nurse
within 100 miles. The only way to
reach him (her) will be by boat.
How much money will you need ?
' Luckily, not much. In the Amazon
jungles there is very little to buy.
(Maybe at last you could lose a little
excess weight, or break the cigarette
habit: life here is hard work, diet is
limited, and cigarettes are expensive.)
There are, however, a few things you
had bet ter bring with you when you
come to Amazonia: an ax, shovel,
machete, saw, hammer and sorne nails;
a first-aid k it, snake-bite kit, and a
good raincoat. Because of the ever–
present danger of attack from wild
animals and snakes, you had better take
a good rifle with plenty of ammunit ion.
One more thiog: Check with the
Brazilian Iodian Protection Service. You
don't want to locate too near a hostile
or headhunting tribe.
At last you have the plot picked out.
Now prepare for months of drenching,
near-monsoon rains in winter, near
drought in summer. Prepare for stifling,
blistering heat. Prepare
fpr
dull, monot–
onous green, green, green. Prepare your
King
teopold
Photo
A BRAZIL-NUT TREE -
one of
the giants of the jungle.