Savage Harvest Part 14

107 an investigation of the Strickland-Purari patrol: Schieffelin and Crittenden, Like People You See in a Dream, pp. 23132.

108 All of Asmat was based on reciprocation: For Asmat culture and cosmology, see Schneebaum, Where the Spirits Dwell; Knauft, South Coast New Guinea Cultures; Zegwaard, "Headhunting Practices of the Asmat of Netherlands New Guinea"; Eyde, "Cultural Correlates of Warfare Among the Asmat of South-West New Guinea"; Trenkenschuh, ed., An Asmat Sketchbook Nos. 1 and 2; van Kessel, "My Stay and Personal Experiences in Asmat"; and Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller.

108 Van de Waal showed Michael and Wa.s.sing around: Author's interview with Wim van de Waal, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, December 2011.

109 Van Kessel, he wrote Goldwater a few days later: Michael Rockefeller, letter (undated) to Robert Goldwater, MMA Archives.

109 "There has been something mysterious about my arrival": Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

110 But with the help of Gerbrands and Eyde: Ibid.

111 Michael was in ecstasy as hundreds of warriors: Ibid.

111 They left two days later at three p.m.: Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 107.

111 "First there was the quiet, leisurely departure": Ibid.

111 "I only wish I could have somehow recorded": Ibid., p. 111.

112 After seven hours, they arrived at a bivouac: Wa.s.sing, "Report from the Journey to the Asmat Region," National Archive of the Netherlands.

112 And when he asked to see carvings: Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

113 "This was one kind of object that": Ibid.

113 Certain songs are so powerful: Author's interview with Vince Cole, Agats, Papua, March 2012.

114 "There is no magic involved and no offering": Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

114 "an elusive personality": Ibid.

115 "This was an old, beautiful one of a kind": Ibid.

116 In the tangled knot of Asmat allegiances: Ibid; Wa.s.sing, "Report from the Journey to the Asmat Region," National Archive of the Netherlands.

117 he had given a daughter to Dombai: Author's interview with Kosmos Kokai, Basim and Pirien Village, Papua, February 2012.

117 "It was a marvelous paddle upstream": Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 127.

117 The river twisted and turned and narrowed: Wa.s.sing, "Report from the Journey to the Asmat Region," National Archive of the Netherlands.

117 Tatsji let out a long, melodious yell: Ibid.

118 "Now this is wild and somehow more remote country": Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 128.

118 Michael continued on in the morning: Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

118 found seventeen bisj poles: Ibid.; Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 141.

119 Michael noted that the poles seemed to have been carved: Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

119 In exchange for tobacco: Wa.s.sing, "Report from the Journey to the Asmat Region," National Archive of the Netherlands.

119 Michael gave them a partial down payment: Ibid.; Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 142.

120 "On our way to Biwar we had to cross": Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

120 Three days later, they arrived at the rendezvous: Ibid.; Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 142.

12. MARCH 2012.

126 Tobias Schneebaum romanticized the Amazonian: Schneebaum, Keep the River on Your Right, pp. 100110.

13. SEPTEMBER 1961.

136 "What time is it and where am I": Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 44.

136 "I think I can report with some confidence": Michael Rockefeller, letter to Robert Goldwater, July 9, 1961, MMA Archives.

137 "He arrived in Otsjanep and was immediately stabbed/shot": Hubertus von Peij, letter to Herman Tillemans, February 3, 1962, OSC Archives.

138 was "unique" for the United States: Michael Rockefeller, letter to Robert Goldwater, July 9, 1961, MMA Archives.

138 Goldwater wrote van Kessel: Ibid.

138 "Mr. Rockefeller is, as you know": Robert Goldwater, letter to Cornelius van Kessel, July 27, 1961, MMA Archives.

138 "for its lack of acculturation": Michael Rockefeller, letter to Robert Goldwater, July 9, 1961, MMA Archives.

139 Although Gaisseau was able to get the village: Tony Saulnier, The Headhunters of Papua (New York: Crown, 1963), pp. 6992.

139 "with equally as talented sculptors": Michael Rockefeller, letter to Cornelius van Kessel, June 10, 1961, MMA Archives.

139 "I will not exclude Otsjanep": Cornelius van Kessel, letter to Michael Rockefeller, August 1961, MMA Archives.

139 "objectives; themes of investigation": Michael C. Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

140 After a few days in Hollandia: Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 44.

140 "The key to my fascination with the Asmat": Ibid.

141 "Nights here are really the most fun": Ibid.

141 There was a single government vessel: Author's interview with Wim van de Waal, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, December 2011.

141 The catamaran was great on the rivers: Ibid.

141 "The sideboards were only ten": Ibid.

142 "He was stuck, flabbergasted": Ibid.

142 "I came in my own catamaran": Ibid.

142 "Will you sell it to me": Ibid.

142 He wanted to have a forty-five-horsepower outboard: Ibid.

142 At the local Chinese general store: Accounts of M. C. Rockefeller, MMA Archives.

143 "Both Rene Wa.s.sing and I": Michael Rockefeller, letter to Cornelius van Kessel, October 7, 1961, MMA Archives.

143 They made a quick swing south first: Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

144 "The evening was crystal clear": Ibid.

144 "The Asmat has a special shout": Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 45.

144 Over the next three weeks, he and Wa.s.sing: Ibid., p. 46.

144 He made intricate drawings of designs: Michael Rockefeller, field notes, MMA Archives.

144 "The only difference between Mark Twain and us": Gerbrands, ed., The Asmat: The Journal of Michael Clark Rockefeller, p. 46.

145 "making use of the Sisters' major contribution": Ibid.

145 "The Asmat is like a huge puzzle": Ibid.

147 Father von Peij got wind that two boys: Author's interview with Hubertus von Peij, Tilburg, Netherlands, December 2011.

148 On Wednesday, November 15, at five p.m.: Ibid.

148 They sipped their tea and sat in chairs: Ibid.

148 "I'm leaving for Atsj on Friday": Ibid.

148 "I have to go to Per first": Ibid.

15. NOVEMBER 1961.

157 The catamaran was fully loaded: Interview with Rene Wa.s.sing, as recounted in Morgan, Beginning with the End, pp. 2224; Accounts of M. C. Rockefeller, MMA Archives.

158 They spent the night: Author's interview with Hubertus von Peij, Tilburg, Netherlands, December 2011.

159 Wa.s.sing took the throttle: Morgan, Beginning with the End, p. 22.

159 Wa.s.sing throttled back: Ibid.

160 If we get swept out to sea, no one will find us: Ibid.

160 They weren't afraid: Ibid., pp. 2224.

160 Michael and Wa.s.sing gathered what they could: Ibid.

160 It wasn't long until a wave: Ibid.

160 They salvaged what they could: Ibid.

160 they reached Agats at ten-thirty p.m.: Dutch Navy, telex to patrol s.h.i.+p Snellius, National Archive of the Netherlands.

160 the radio was buzzing: Dutch Navy, telex to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 20, 1961, National Archive of the Netherlands.

160 Dutch authorities in Agats scrambled the government vessel: Ibid.

161 But the boat had been inspected the day before: Author's interview with Hubertus von Peij, Tilburg, Netherlands, December 2011.

161 And it had no operating radio: Dutch Navy, telex to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 20, 1961, National Archive of the Netherlands.

161 They pried a couple of boards: Morgan, Beginning with the End, p. 23.

161 Michael with the motor's empty fuel tank: Ibid.

161 Wa.s.sing thought they were three miles off the coast: Reuters report, dossier 39666, Ministerie Van Binnenlandse Zaken, National Archive of the Netherlands.

161 "Let's try to paddle again": Morgan, Beginning with the End, p. 23.

162 "If you can make it, I don't do it": Ibid.

162 Michael had the one fuel tank already strapped: Ibid.

162 It was eight a.m. on November 19: Dutch Navy, telex to Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 20, 1961, National Archive of the Netherlands.

162 He was swimming against the outflowing tide: Tide tables for Dutch New Guinea.

162 "I think I can make it": Reuters report, dossier 39666, Ministerie Van Binnenlandse Zaken, National Archive of the Netherlands; Morgan, Beginning with the End, p. 23.

162 until he became a dim form, three dots: Ibid.

16. NOVEMBER 1961.

164 So it was that, on the evening of November 18: Van Kessel, report to Tillemans, January 23, 1962.

164 Ajim, a short, powerfully built man: Cornelius van Kessel, photo, OSC Archives.

164 He wore six-inch-wide rattan bracelets: Ibid.

164 There were Fin and Pep and Dombai: Van Kessel, report to Tillemans, January 23, 1962.

164 They paddled down the Ewta at slack tide: Tide tables for Dutch New Guinea.