1 00:00:01,340 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,370 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frey. 3 00:00:14,730 --> 00:00:18,470 Speaker 1: And I'm Tracy V. Wilson. Oh, we have a two-parter 4 00:00:18,510 --> 00:00:22,509 Speaker 1: coming at you. Yep. Over the course of about 18 5 00:00:22,510 --> 00:00:26,550 Speaker 1: years in the early 20th century, Percy Fawcett ventured out 6 00:00:26,970 --> 00:00:32,580 Speaker 1: on seven expeditions to explore the Amazon Basin. He disappeared 7 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: on the 7th, and historians, archaeologists, and even occultists have 8 00:00:37,340 --> 00:00:40,370 Speaker 1: been trying to piece together what happened to him ever since. 9 00:00:41,190 --> 00:00:44,950 Speaker 1: And Fawcett's life is one that has invited a lot 10 00:00:44,990 --> 00:00:48,770 Speaker 1: of speculation and some controversy because he was a very 11 00:00:48,830 --> 00:00:51,989 Speaker 1: accomplished man who did a mix of very great and 12 00:00:52,510 --> 00:00:55,390 Speaker 1: arguably some shady things. And he may have been drawn 13 00:00:55,470 --> 00:00:59,890 Speaker 1: into like a mystical quest thanks to a document that 14 00:00:59,910 --> 00:01:03,210 Speaker 1: he became somewhat obsessed with. that might very well be 15 00:01:03,250 --> 00:01:06,730 Speaker 1: a fraud. We're going to talk about all of that. Also, 16 00:01:07,050 --> 00:01:10,490 Speaker 1: I swear, I did not know this when I selected him, 17 00:01:11,020 --> 00:01:18,990 Speaker 1: but the 2026 Rubber Series continues. Because... because we're not 18 00:01:19,030 --> 00:01:20,830 Speaker 1: going to talk a lot about it, but we have 19 00:01:20,850 --> 00:01:24,280 Speaker 1: to talk about it some, certainly not related to inventions, 20 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:28,660 Speaker 1: but the rubber boom was an economic driver that created 21 00:01:28,740 --> 00:01:32,399 Speaker 1: some problems for Percy Fawcett and certainly for the indigenous 22 00:01:32,440 --> 00:01:37,320 Speaker 1: peoples in the areas he was exploring. Fawcett was drawn 23 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,930 Speaker 1: to exploration and particularly South American exploration to a degree 24 00:01:42,030 --> 00:01:47,740 Speaker 1: that some people might consider feverish, or even so intense 25 00:01:47,780 --> 00:01:51,780 Speaker 1: that he maybe wasn't always using logic and reason. His 26 00:01:51,860 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: writing about his travels informed the work of Arthur Conan Doyle, 27 00:01:55,220 --> 00:01:59,420 Speaker 1: who drew from Fawcett's accounts of his early adventure for 28 00:01:59,470 --> 00:02:04,930 Speaker 1: his 1912 book, The Lost World. But he started all 29 00:02:04,950 --> 00:02:08,810 Speaker 1: of this exploring as a cartographer, and his cartography work 30 00:02:08,990 --> 00:02:12,430 Speaker 1: to develop borders that would be agreed upon among South 31 00:02:12,470 --> 00:02:15,570 Speaker 1: American countries that were in conflict at the time actually 32 00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:19,410 Speaker 1: still stands today. A lot of subsequent cartographers that have 33 00:02:19,450 --> 00:02:21,970 Speaker 1: gone back and looked at his maps actually note how 34 00:02:22,010 --> 00:02:25,160 Speaker 1: incredibly thorough he was and how well he did that job. 35 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:29,560 Speaker 1: And his passion for exploration has led to claims that 36 00:02:29,600 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: he was one of the inspirations for Indiana Jones. So 37 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: he has a lot to talk about. There are a 38 00:02:35,220 --> 00:02:37,250 Speaker 1: lot of other factors that we're going to talk about 39 00:02:37,470 --> 00:02:40,370 Speaker 1: in his life, and it's going to take us two 40 00:02:40,430 --> 00:02:45,109 Speaker 1: episodes to do it all. It's true. I feel like 41 00:02:45,130 --> 00:02:48,030 Speaker 1: of all the things that you just said, we could 42 00:02:48,070 --> 00:02:50,230 Speaker 1: not cover all of them, even in just two. We 43 00:02:50,250 --> 00:02:53,450 Speaker 1: would need a whole life of episodes about Percy Fawcett. 44 00:02:54,470 --> 00:02:57,060 Speaker 1: Just his writings, and I'll talk about that behind the scenes, 45 00:02:57,100 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: but his writings made the last week of my life intense. 46 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: Percy Harrison Fawcett was born in 1867 in the town 47 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:13,609 Speaker 1: of Torquay in the county of Devon, England. Technically, the 48 00:03:13,650 --> 00:03:18,410 Speaker 1: Fawcetts were members of the aristocracy, but Percy's father, Edward Fawcett, 49 00:03:18,450 --> 00:03:23,060 Speaker 1: had lost all his money. Edward was a personal assistant 50 00:03:23,130 --> 00:03:27,060 Speaker 1: to Queen Victoria's son Edward, known as Bertie, to the family, 51 00:03:27,240 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: who would go on to become King Edward VII. Fawcett 52 00:03:31,660 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: didn't feel like he had a great childhood, especially in 53 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,610 Speaker 1: terms of his relationships with his parents. He later wrote, quote, 54 00:03:38,690 --> 00:03:41,250 Speaker 1: perhaps it was all for the best that my childhood 55 00:03:41,350 --> 00:03:44,720 Speaker 1: in Torquay was so devoid of parental affection that it 56 00:03:44,780 --> 00:03:48,839 Speaker 1: turned me in upon myself. Although with my elder brothers 57 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: and sisters, I had some grand times. So according to 58 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,910 Speaker 1: his siblings, and particularly an account that was given by 59 00:03:55,940 --> 00:04:00,190 Speaker 1: his sister many years later, when Percy was still a boy, 60 00:04:00,210 --> 00:04:03,570 Speaker 1: he had discovered a well full of Roman pottery at 61 00:04:03,610 --> 00:04:07,640 Speaker 1: Halden Moors. And after pulling away the overgrowth that covered it, 62 00:04:07,730 --> 00:04:11,190 Speaker 1: he got his siblings to help drop him down into 63 00:04:11,230 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 1: that well, and he brought out numerous treasures from it, 64 00:04:14,940 --> 00:04:18,900 Speaker 1: which he then brought to a museum. She didn't say 65 00:04:18,980 --> 00:04:21,440 Speaker 1: which museum in this. I looked a lot at the 66 00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:24,540 Speaker 1: Torquay Museum's website, and they have some stuff of his, 67 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:26,770 Speaker 1: but none of it seems to be this. So I 68 00:04:26,890 --> 00:04:29,089 Speaker 1: don't know about the veracity of this, but it does 69 00:04:29,150 --> 00:04:30,849 Speaker 1: kind of set up who he was as a kid. 70 00:04:31,670 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: It does sound very dangerous also. Fawcett attended Newton Abbott 71 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:40,500 Speaker 1: College as a teenager, and then when he was 17, 72 00:04:40,500 --> 00:04:45,210 Speaker 1: he was sent to military school. In 1886, after he graduated, 73 00:04:45,250 --> 00:04:48,690 Speaker 1: he joined the military and became part of the Royal Artillery, 74 00:04:48,790 --> 00:04:52,020 Speaker 1: serving as a lieutenant. As a young man of 19, 75 00:04:52,020 --> 00:04:56,589 Speaker 1: this gave him his first real taste of travel. In 1888, 76 00:04:56,589 --> 00:05:00,430 Speaker 1: he was sent to Ceylon in modern-day Sri Lanka, and 77 00:05:00,550 --> 00:05:04,539 Speaker 1: he wrote of this experience with a lot of fondness. Quote, 78 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,339 Speaker 1: life in Ceylon was as pleasant as army life can be. 79 00:05:09,180 --> 00:05:12,659 Speaker 1: There was interesting work to do, plenty of sport, especially 80 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:18,690 Speaker 1: yachting in the incomparable harbor, and not too much restriction. Actually, 81 00:05:18,770 --> 00:05:21,550 Speaker 1: I could have enjoyed a longer period of service in 82 00:05:21,589 --> 00:05:25,779 Speaker 1: that most beautiful of all islands. While he was on Ceylon, 83 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,220 Speaker 1: he also met a young woman who was the daughter 84 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:33,860 Speaker 1: of Scottish colonial magistrate Judge George Watson Patterson. So Nina 85 00:05:34,020 --> 00:05:37,539 Speaker 1: Agnes Patterson was born there in Ceylon, and when she 86 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:41,089 Speaker 1: and Fawcett met, the two fell very much in love. 87 00:05:41,490 --> 00:05:46,470 Speaker 1: But Nina actually married somebody else. That was Captain Herbert Pritchard. 88 00:05:47,110 --> 00:05:50,070 Speaker 1: And the why of this situation definitely comes with some 89 00:05:50,150 --> 00:05:54,780 Speaker 1: family drama, because apparently Fawcett's family... was not particularly fond 90 00:05:54,820 --> 00:05:59,420 Speaker 1: of Nina. Allegedly, Percy proposed to Nina and she accepted, 91 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:02,620 Speaker 1: but members of his family who were opposed to the 92 00:06:02,660 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: marriage made up a story about Nina claiming that she 93 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: was not a virgin. Percy Fawcett would become known as 94 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:14,130 Speaker 1: this fearless man who would walk into danger seemingly without 95 00:06:14,170 --> 00:06:17,850 Speaker 1: a second thought, but he was also really tight-laced in 96 00:06:17,890 --> 00:06:20,729 Speaker 1: a number of ways. He would not drink alcohol and 97 00:06:20,770 --> 00:06:24,600 Speaker 1: he had very strong opinions about premarital sex. So the 98 00:06:24,630 --> 00:06:28,200 Speaker 1: possibility that Nina had any kind of reputation was simply 99 00:06:28,260 --> 00:06:31,020 Speaker 1: too much for him, and he broke off the engagement. 100 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:36,360 Speaker 1: After Nina and Herbert Pritchard were married in June of 1897, 101 00:06:36,350 --> 00:06:40,150 Speaker 1: they moved to Alexandria, Egypt. But this was a short marriage. 102 00:06:40,610 --> 00:06:44,270 Speaker 1: Herbert contracted anthrax not long after they moved, and it 103 00:06:44,350 --> 00:06:49,450 Speaker 1: caused an embolism which killed him. According to the family lore, 104 00:06:49,529 --> 00:06:53,870 Speaker 1: Pritchard's last words to Nina were, go and marry Fawcett. 105 00:06:54,210 --> 00:06:57,050 Speaker 1: He is the real man for you. Whether or not 106 00:06:57,110 --> 00:07:00,190 Speaker 1: Pritchard really said that, once Fawcett learned that she had 107 00:07:00,230 --> 00:07:03,409 Speaker 1: been widowed and found out that his family had lied 108 00:07:03,450 --> 00:07:07,570 Speaker 1: to him, he reconnected with Nina. He begged her forgiveness 109 00:07:07,630 --> 00:07:11,620 Speaker 1: for his having doubted her and believing his family. The 110 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: two of them got married in 1901 and were really 111 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:19,330 Speaker 1: devoted to one another. Percy called Nina Cheeky, allegedly because 112 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:22,290 Speaker 1: she always had to have the last word. Their son 113 00:07:22,370 --> 00:07:25,630 Speaker 1: Brian later said that it was a fitting nickname because, quote, 114 00:07:25,710 --> 00:07:29,460 Speaker 1: she was not only attractive but distinctly spoilt by local 115 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:34,860 Speaker 1: society in consequence. She called Percy Puggy, and the two 116 00:07:34,920 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: of them welcomed their first son, Jack, in 1903. That year, 117 00:07:39,220 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: Fawcett was sent to Spike Island, which is on the 118 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,290 Speaker 1: southern coast of Ireland. He had already done a lot 119 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,470 Speaker 1: of traveling, often doing surveying work for the military at 120 00:07:48,510 --> 00:07:51,510 Speaker 1: that point. And he at one point was working for 121 00:07:51,530 --> 00:07:54,910 Speaker 1: the British Secret Service in Northern Africa during the scramble 122 00:07:54,930 --> 00:08:00,830 Speaker 1: for Africa, ostensibly surveying, but also collecting intelligence. His work 123 00:08:00,870 --> 00:08:03,810 Speaker 1: had taken him to Morocco and Malta and as far 124 00:08:03,850 --> 00:08:06,880 Speaker 1: away as Hong Kong, as well as other places. So 125 00:08:07,310 --> 00:08:10,060 Speaker 1: Ireland was a very tame place to be stationed in 126 00:08:10,100 --> 00:08:13,750 Speaker 1: his estimation. The assignment in Ireland was also a lot 127 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:16,940 Speaker 1: cushier than any that Fawcett had had up to that point, 128 00:08:17,060 --> 00:08:19,380 Speaker 1: and that was good for him and Nina to settle 129 00:08:19,420 --> 00:08:23,380 Speaker 1: down into their family life together with Jack. According to 130 00:08:23,420 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: the Spike Island write-up of Fawcett, he used his spare 131 00:08:26,700 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: time to host seances while he was there. Percy was 132 00:08:30,940 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: indeed interested in mysticism, something his son Brian wrote about 133 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:39,950 Speaker 1: in the 1930s, stating, quote, Fawcett, the mystic, an accusation 134 00:08:40,010 --> 00:08:43,730 Speaker 1: perhaps or a subtle suggestion of eccentricity to explain the 135 00:08:43,790 --> 00:08:47,170 Speaker 1: tenacity with which he followed what many considered to be 136 00:08:47,250 --> 00:08:51,610 Speaker 1: nothing but a fantasy. But any man risks being termed 137 00:08:51,750 --> 00:08:55,750 Speaker 1: mystic who seeks knowledge beyond the material. He made no 138 00:08:55,830 --> 00:08:58,210 Speaker 1: secret of his interest in the occult, and it has 139 00:08:58,250 --> 00:09:02,730 Speaker 1: been quoted in his disfavor, the insinuation being that anyone 140 00:09:02,830 --> 00:09:06,980 Speaker 1: so credulous as to believe in psychic hocus-pocus must not 141 00:09:07,030 --> 00:09:11,390 Speaker 1: be taken seriously. There are respected people in the worlds 142 00:09:11,410 --> 00:09:16,330 Speaker 1: of science and letters who might be similarly condemned. After all, 143 00:09:16,410 --> 00:09:19,530 Speaker 1: he was an explorer, a man of inquiring turn of 144 00:09:19,630 --> 00:09:23,350 Speaker 1: mind whose desire for knowledge led him to explore more 145 00:09:23,429 --> 00:09:27,130 Speaker 1: channels than one. So even if his mysticism had raised 146 00:09:27,170 --> 00:09:30,820 Speaker 1: some eyebrows, it did not seem to hinder his career progression. 147 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,680 Speaker 1: He had been promoted to captain in 1897, the same 148 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:38,130 Speaker 1: year he and Nina broke off their engagement. During their 149 00:09:38,150 --> 00:09:41,830 Speaker 1: time on Spike Island in 1905, he was promoted to major. 150 00:09:41,850 --> 00:09:46,040 Speaker 1: Fawcett's eagerness for adventure was about to be met with 151 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,140 Speaker 1: a perfect opportunity, and we'll talk about it after we 152 00:09:49,160 --> 00:10:02,320 Speaker 1: pause for a sponsor break. The same year that Percy 153 00:10:02,420 --> 00:10:06,500 Speaker 1: and Nina were married, Fawcett had joined the Royal Geographical Society, 154 00:10:06,980 --> 00:10:09,340 Speaker 1: and the intent was that doing so would lead him 155 00:10:09,420 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: to additional exploration activities. He took this very seriously, and 156 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:19,500 Speaker 1: he completed specialized training with the RGS in the and 157 00:10:19,590 --> 00:10:22,890 Speaker 1: his standing in the eyes of the society's leadership. And 158 00:10:23,110 --> 00:10:27,189 Speaker 1: it surely did. The president of RGS, Sir George Goldie, 159 00:10:27,250 --> 00:10:30,370 Speaker 1: called a meeting with Fawcett in 1906, at which he 160 00:10:30,530 --> 00:10:34,290 Speaker 1: asked him what Fawcett knew about Bolivia, and then explained 161 00:10:34,309 --> 00:10:37,929 Speaker 1: that there was a dispute about the territory where Brazil, Peru, 162 00:10:38,010 --> 00:10:41,390 Speaker 1: and Bolivia all met, which had escalated because the rubber 163 00:10:41,429 --> 00:10:46,130 Speaker 1: trade made that land extremely valuable. According to Fawcett's account 164 00:10:46,190 --> 00:10:49,630 Speaker 1: of this meeting, the society's president explained to him, quote, 165 00:10:50,170 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: the countries concerned in the dispute about the frontiers are 166 00:10:53,429 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 1: not prepared to accept a demarcation made by interested parties. 167 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: It has become necessary to call in the services of 168 00:11:01,300 --> 00:11:04,990 Speaker 1: another country, which can be relied on to act without bias. 169 00:11:05,740 --> 00:11:09,300 Speaker 1: For that reason, the government of Bolivia, through its diplomatic 170 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,400 Speaker 1: representative here in London, has requested the Royal Geographical Society 171 00:11:13,460 --> 00:11:17,380 Speaker 1: to act as referee and to recommend an experienced army 172 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: officer for the work on Bolivia's behalf. As you completed 173 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:26,089 Speaker 1: our course in boundary delimitation work with outstanding success, I 174 00:11:26,130 --> 00:11:29,010 Speaker 1: thought of you at once. Would you be interested in 175 00:11:29,050 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: taking it on? And Fawcett, of course, enthusiastically agreed to 176 00:11:33,300 --> 00:11:36,700 Speaker 1: this assignment, describing it as, quote, the chance to escape 177 00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:41,510 Speaker 1: from the monotonous life of an artillery officer in home stations. 178 00:11:42,370 --> 00:11:45,330 Speaker 1: Fawcett was 39 when this happened. His wife Nina was 179 00:11:45,429 --> 00:11:47,730 Speaker 1: pregnant at the time, and this job would take him 180 00:11:47,790 --> 00:11:50,830 Speaker 1: away from her before the baby was born. And this 181 00:11:50,870 --> 00:11:53,970 Speaker 1: job also took a little finagling to get Fawcett released 182 00:11:53,990 --> 00:11:56,620 Speaker 1: from his primary duties with the military so he could 183 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:59,450 Speaker 1: go do it. But it worked out, and he then 184 00:11:59,530 --> 00:12:03,770 Speaker 1: boarded the steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der Große in May 1906, 185 00:12:03,770 --> 00:12:06,110 Speaker 1: which would take him to New York. And he wrote 186 00:12:06,130 --> 00:12:08,270 Speaker 1: of that leg of the journey, quote, this ship was 187 00:12:08,410 --> 00:12:11,820 Speaker 1: at that time the last word in luxury liners. But 188 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,359 Speaker 1: as travel of this sort had little appeal for me, 189 00:12:14,380 --> 00:12:18,520 Speaker 1: I was bored and quite indifferent to the overfed passengers 190 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,040 Speaker 1: who sprawled about the decks. There were gales and fog. 191 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:25,559 Speaker 1: We nearly collided with a roving iceberg, invisible till it 192 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: was almost too late to avoid it. A high-pressure cylinder 193 00:12:29,260 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: burst and left us rolling for hours in the troughs 194 00:12:31,940 --> 00:12:34,740 Speaker 1: of a terrific sea. But it all happened in a 195 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: brief space of a week, and soon we were in 196 00:12:37,460 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: New York. The energy and bustle were things I had 197 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:44,750 Speaker 1: never known before. Accustomed to the calm deliberation of the 198 00:12:44,870 --> 00:12:48,510 Speaker 1: English and the solemn dignity of the East, America at 199 00:12:48,610 --> 00:12:52,550 Speaker 1: first shocked me. This passage really tickles me a little 200 00:12:52,570 --> 00:12:55,130 Speaker 1: bit because he writes himself that he never really went 201 00:12:55,190 --> 00:12:57,770 Speaker 1: into the city... He was only in the area of 202 00:12:57,809 --> 00:13:00,650 Speaker 1: the docks because he quickly transferred to another ship. And 203 00:13:00,690 --> 00:13:06,429 Speaker 1: I'm like, the docks scared you? Like, oh, oh, my brother, 204 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 1: if you had gone into Manhattan, I don't know what 205 00:13:08,140 --> 00:13:12,820 Speaker 1: would have happened. The trip after that point was not 206 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:16,260 Speaker 1: on luxury liners. And looking at Fawcett's writing gives us 207 00:13:16,340 --> 00:13:18,839 Speaker 1: a sense of who he was and how he perceived 208 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,910 Speaker 1: new places. Quote, For us, Latin America began in Panama City. 209 00:13:24,530 --> 00:13:29,090 Speaker 1: There was little attempt at sanitation. The smells were almost overpowering, 210 00:13:29,270 --> 00:13:32,380 Speaker 1: yet the narrow streets and overhanging balconies were not without 211 00:13:32,410 --> 00:13:36,079 Speaker 1: their charm. In the plaza was the Grand Hotel. It 212 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: was always grand, royal, or imperial, however humble. And what 213 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:44,439 Speaker 1: it lacks in status, it makes up in grandiose title. 214 00:13:45,190 --> 00:13:48,190 Speaker 1: This one turned out to be an insect paradise, and 215 00:13:48,230 --> 00:13:51,310 Speaker 1: the proprietor was greatly annoyed when I pointed out that 216 00:13:51,330 --> 00:13:54,829 Speaker 1: the bed linen in my room was overdue for the laundry. 217 00:13:55,950 --> 00:13:59,870 Speaker 1: He found Lima to be much more delightful and even 218 00:13:59,970 --> 00:14:03,100 Speaker 1: praised the hotel that they stayed in there. While he 219 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:06,140 Speaker 1: was in Lima, Fawcett received a cable telling him that 220 00:14:06,220 --> 00:14:09,859 Speaker 1: Nina had given birth to their second son, Brian. This 221 00:14:09,980 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: expedition was really eye-opening, and it seems that it kind 222 00:14:13,470 --> 00:14:16,210 Speaker 1: of set the stage for the way that Fawcett perceived 223 00:14:16,250 --> 00:14:20,380 Speaker 1: Indigenous peoples of South America. Because before he ever got there, 224 00:14:20,580 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: the rubber industry had, and the situation was not good. 225 00:14:25,260 --> 00:14:29,000 Speaker 1: As rubber products were becoming increasingly popular in North America 226 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: and Europe, thanks to the inventors that we have been 227 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:35,400 Speaker 1: talking about lately, more sources of rubber were always being 228 00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:38,900 Speaker 1: sought to keep up with demand. And when South America's 229 00:14:38,990 --> 00:14:41,810 Speaker 1: wealth of rubber trees was discovered, it was not long 230 00:14:41,890 --> 00:14:46,310 Speaker 1: before Europeans moved in and seized lands from the indigenous populations. 231 00:14:47,190 --> 00:14:50,990 Speaker 1: The rubber barons had caused so much destruction and chaos 232 00:14:51,110 --> 00:14:53,590 Speaker 1: and hardship for the people who had already been living 233 00:14:53,610 --> 00:14:57,150 Speaker 1: there that the indigenous population just came to perceive any 234 00:14:57,290 --> 00:15:01,140 Speaker 1: European as a threat, which, of course, included Percy Fawcett. 235 00:15:01,620 --> 00:15:04,660 Speaker 1: And that was, of course, valid. But the actual numbers 236 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: regarding the way that indigenous peoples were impacted by European 237 00:15:08,780 --> 00:15:14,229 Speaker 1: encroachment are harrowing. It's estimated that before Europeans arrived in 238 00:15:14,250 --> 00:15:17,410 Speaker 1: the area of South America that makes up modern-day Brazil, 239 00:15:17,650 --> 00:15:21,870 Speaker 1: there were at least 2,000 indigenous tribes with a combined 240 00:15:21,990 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: total population of roughly 11 million people. Within the first 241 00:15:26,700 --> 00:15:32,620 Speaker 1: hundred years from the time that colonists arrived in the 1500s, 90% 242 00:15:32,620 --> 00:15:36,680 Speaker 1: of the indigenous population had died through disease or genocide. 243 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: Survivors were often enslaved for the rubber trade. This conflict, 244 00:15:42,420 --> 00:15:45,770 Speaker 1: in some ways, gave Fawcett a sort of negative take 245 00:15:45,890 --> 00:15:48,630 Speaker 1: on the peoples of South America, although it is very 246 00:15:48,690 --> 00:15:52,130 Speaker 1: doubtful he would have seen it that way. He wrote 247 00:15:52,190 --> 00:15:55,410 Speaker 1: about these people in incredibly racist ways, but he also 248 00:15:55,750 --> 00:15:59,790 Speaker 1: believed he was trying to understand their culture. And even today, 249 00:15:59,930 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: people often describe his great respect for Indigenous people, but 250 00:16:04,180 --> 00:16:08,740 Speaker 1: that's really an oversimplification. He did generally try to find 251 00:16:08,790 --> 00:16:13,210 Speaker 1: ways to de-escalate violent situations. Some of those are quite funny, 252 00:16:13,230 --> 00:16:15,290 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about one in a bit. He would 253 00:16:15,330 --> 00:16:18,690 Speaker 1: do this often by disarming and ordering everyone else in 254 00:16:18,730 --> 00:16:21,170 Speaker 1: his party to do so. He always tried to make clear, 255 00:16:21,470 --> 00:16:23,170 Speaker 1: we are not a threat, we're not here to hurt you. 256 00:16:23,190 --> 00:16:26,340 Speaker 1: And in direct interactions with people, he does seem to 257 00:16:26,380 --> 00:16:29,660 Speaker 1: have been pretty respectful in how he behaved with the 258 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,020 Speaker 1: Indigenous people he encountered. He did make efforts to learn 259 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: the languages of the various peoples he met in order 260 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,490 Speaker 1: to communicate with and to understand them. He also definitely 261 00:16:39,570 --> 00:16:43,070 Speaker 1: placed blame on colonialists who had moved in and thoughtlessly 262 00:16:43,130 --> 00:16:47,350 Speaker 1: taken over for creating an ongoing problem in relations between 263 00:16:47,530 --> 00:16:51,910 Speaker 1: Europeans and the indigenous population. This assessment was based on 264 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,380 Speaker 1: accounts he heard from people he encountered in Brazil. They 265 00:16:55,420 --> 00:16:59,520 Speaker 1: described Europeans murdering people and diseases running rampant in their 266 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: tribes after those diseases were introduced by Europeans to people 267 00:17:03,940 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 1: who had no natural immunity to them. And in towns 268 00:17:07,940 --> 00:17:12,220 Speaker 1: that developed around the rubber industry, as many as 40% 269 00:17:12,220 --> 00:17:16,090 Speaker 1: of the people died each year because of illness or brutality. 270 00:17:17,050 --> 00:17:20,410 Speaker 1: Fawcett did write a lot of condemnation of the way 271 00:17:20,450 --> 00:17:24,110 Speaker 1: that Europeans who had preceded him had handled the situation 272 00:17:24,150 --> 00:17:28,450 Speaker 1: in Brazil. But he also wrote a lot about his 273 00:17:28,710 --> 00:17:32,250 Speaker 1: expeditions and his interactions with indigenous peoples. And a whole 274 00:17:32,290 --> 00:17:35,770 Speaker 1: lot of that is really awful. It's racist and condescending. 275 00:17:36,980 --> 00:17:41,210 Speaker 1: He does sometimes write complementary things about the cultures he encountered, 276 00:17:41,290 --> 00:17:46,210 Speaker 1: particularly in instances where their structure was matriarchal or where 277 00:17:46,290 --> 00:17:49,530 Speaker 1: he's able to communicate with people. So it's definitely a 278 00:17:49,570 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: mixed bag. It's not worse than his contemporaries. In a 279 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,699 Speaker 1: lot of cases, it's better, but that's a really low 280 00:17:57,780 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: bar when it comes to how European explorers talked about 281 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: Indigenous people and Indigenous cultures. Yeah, I kept trying to 282 00:18:05,700 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: pour through his writings, of which there is a huge volume, 283 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,109 Speaker 1: to try to find an example that was not too gross, 284 00:18:12,180 --> 00:18:15,130 Speaker 1: just to, like, give an idea of what I'm talking about. 285 00:18:15,230 --> 00:18:19,330 Speaker 1: But it's all so gross, I was not comfortable including it. 286 00:18:19,470 --> 00:18:21,590 Speaker 1: It was like, nobody needs to hear these words. What 287 00:18:21,609 --> 00:18:23,990 Speaker 1: you said just to me before we started recording of 288 00:18:24,050 --> 00:18:25,810 Speaker 1: some of the examples, I was like, yeah, we don't 289 00:18:25,850 --> 00:18:28,370 Speaker 1: need to repeat that. I don't want to say that stuff. 290 00:18:28,490 --> 00:18:33,420 Speaker 1: It's gross. And to be clear... Percy Fawcett was attacked 291 00:18:33,580 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: by people who lived in the forests on his first 292 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:40,859 Speaker 1: and on subsequent expeditions. He and his companions that traveled 293 00:18:40,900 --> 00:18:44,220 Speaker 1: with him relayed stories of arrows flying at them as 294 00:18:44,260 --> 00:18:47,040 Speaker 1: they tried to make their way down the waterways, sometimes 295 00:18:47,100 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 1: flying fast enough that they stuck in boat hulls. That 296 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,150 Speaker 1: indicates they were moving with a lot of force. Some 297 00:18:54,190 --> 00:18:57,330 Speaker 1: of the people that they encountered had stolen shotguns from 298 00:18:57,590 --> 00:19:01,050 Speaker 1: the rubber workers, so they were armed with firearms as well. 299 00:19:02,060 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: And Fawcett came up with some very creative ways of 300 00:19:04,900 --> 00:19:07,300 Speaker 1: trying to prove that his party was not a threat. 301 00:19:08,020 --> 00:19:11,520 Speaker 1: He wrote of one such encounter, quote, My peace overtures 302 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:14,760 Speaker 1: having proved unsuccessful, we moved the canoes to a safer 303 00:19:14,780 --> 00:19:18,780 Speaker 1: position without any casualties. And then Todd was directed to 304 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,200 Speaker 1: sit on a log in the middle of the sandbar, 305 00:19:21,660 --> 00:19:26,340 Speaker 1: just beyond dangerous range, and play his accordion. He was 306 00:19:26,380 --> 00:19:28,580 Speaker 1: an expert with the accordion, which was one of our 307 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: principal reasons for bringing him And as he sat there, 308 00:19:31,900 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: squeezing out tune after tune, as calmly as though passing 309 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:38,830 Speaker 1: a jolly hour in an English pub, the scene must 310 00:19:38,869 --> 00:19:42,669 Speaker 1: have been ludicrous. Here we were, dodging arrows and singing 311 00:19:42,710 --> 00:19:45,210 Speaker 1: at the tops of our voices, while Todd played away 312 00:19:45,270 --> 00:19:48,970 Speaker 1: and stamped the time with both feet. Anyone coming on 313 00:19:49,010 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: this scene would have said we were all roaring drunk. 314 00:19:52,220 --> 00:19:54,590 Speaker 1: How long we kept this up, I don't know, but 315 00:19:54,630 --> 00:19:58,169 Speaker 1: it seemed an age. We even forgot about the arrows 316 00:19:58,250 --> 00:20:01,850 Speaker 1: in time, until all of a sudden, I.J. noticed that Koston, 317 00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:06,109 Speaker 1: still in full song, was voicing, They've all stopped shooting 318 00:20:06,470 --> 00:20:11,149 Speaker 1: at us, over and over again. He was right. arrows 319 00:20:11,190 --> 00:20:14,980 Speaker 1: were no longer zipping past us. In fact, a dark face, 320 00:20:15,300 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 1: eyes rounded in amazement, was peering at us over the 321 00:20:18,580 --> 00:20:22,180 Speaker 1: top of a low bush. And from that moment, where 322 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,660 Speaker 1: they seemed to have shown, no, we're just goofy ding-dongs, 323 00:20:24,700 --> 00:20:28,060 Speaker 1: we're not dangerous, Fawcett and his men were able to 324 00:20:28,140 --> 00:20:32,270 Speaker 1: establish a friendly rapport with their attackers. They got welcomed 325 00:20:32,330 --> 00:20:36,110 Speaker 1: into the village and helped along their way. The fact 326 00:20:36,150 --> 00:20:39,650 Speaker 1: that it was an accordion just delights me so much. 327 00:20:39,690 --> 00:20:42,440 Speaker 1: The best. The best. There's an additional story he tells 328 00:20:42,530 --> 00:20:45,970 Speaker 1: about one of those villagers playing with the accordion and 329 00:20:46,010 --> 00:20:47,970 Speaker 1: the noise it makes scares him so bad he falls 330 00:20:48,030 --> 00:20:52,130 Speaker 1: over backwards while everyone points and laughs at him. That 331 00:20:52,190 --> 00:20:54,109 Speaker 1: sounds like kind of a fun day if you got 332 00:20:54,130 --> 00:20:57,350 Speaker 1: to be out in the middle of nowhere, but it worked. 333 00:20:57,510 --> 00:21:00,590 Speaker 1: I'll give him credit. So coming up, we'll talk about 334 00:21:00,650 --> 00:21:04,199 Speaker 1: some wild accounts Fawcett brought back from the jungle. But 335 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,280 Speaker 1: before we do that, we'll hear from the sponsors that 336 00:21:07,300 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: keep Stuff You Missed in History class going. After that 337 00:21:19,619 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: first 1906 expedition, Fawcett returned home with all kinds of stories. 338 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:28,740 Speaker 1: In addition to his detailed accounts of the levels of 339 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:33,080 Speaker 1: hospitality and lack thereof he encountered, he made some additional 340 00:21:33,140 --> 00:21:37,400 Speaker 1: claims that people found literally unbelievable. And the first was 341 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,810 Speaker 1: about a snake. He wrote, quote, we were drifting easily 342 00:21:40,890 --> 00:21:44,060 Speaker 1: along on the sluggish current not far below the confluence 343 00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:47,460 Speaker 1: of the Rio Negro when almost under the bow there 344 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: appeared a triangular head and several feet of undulating body. 345 00:21:52,260 --> 00:21:56,360 Speaker 1: It was a giant anaconda. I sprang for my rifle 346 00:21:56,460 --> 00:21:58,439 Speaker 1: as the creature began to make its way up the 347 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:02,639 Speaker 1: bank and hardly waiting to aim, slashed a. 44 soft-nose 348 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,350 Speaker 1: bullet into its spine 10 feet below the wicked head. 349 00:22:07,380 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: At once, there was a flurry of foam and several 350 00:22:10,100 --> 00:22:13,450 Speaker 1: heavy thumps against the boat's keel, shaking us as though 351 00:22:13,490 --> 00:22:16,609 Speaker 1: we had run on a snag. We stepped ashore and 352 00:22:16,650 --> 00:22:20,229 Speaker 1: approached the reptile with caution. It was out of action, 353 00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:22,970 Speaker 1: but shivers ran up and down the body like puffs 354 00:22:23,010 --> 00:22:26,359 Speaker 1: of wind on a mountain tarn. As far as it 355 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,520 Speaker 1: was possible to measure, a length of 45 feet lay 356 00:22:30,660 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 1: out of the water and 17 feet in it, making 357 00:22:34,080 --> 00:22:39,360 Speaker 1: a total length of 62 feet. Less sensational, he made 358 00:22:39,380 --> 00:22:41,480 Speaker 1: a claim that he and his men had seen some 359 00:22:41,540 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: exceptionally large peanuts. He claimed that, quote, the nuts in 360 00:22:45,840 --> 00:22:49,340 Speaker 1: their pods were between three and four inches long. The taste, 361 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:52,060 Speaker 1: as well as the nutritive value, was excellent, and it 362 00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:54,659 Speaker 1: would be hard to find a more convenient food to 363 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:59,090 Speaker 1: carry on a journey. He also described, quote, a large 364 00:22:59,290 --> 00:23:03,330 Speaker 1: Apizauca spider, sort of a black tarantula so large that 365 00:23:03,390 --> 00:23:07,390 Speaker 1: a plate would scarcely cover it. apologies if you don't 366 00:23:07,750 --> 00:23:11,510 Speaker 1: like spiders. I was looking this up. I think he 367 00:23:11,550 --> 00:23:13,990 Speaker 1: might have been talking about a bird-eating spider. It's a 368 00:23:14,020 --> 00:23:18,540 Speaker 1: real thing. Yes. Some of these things were real, some not. 369 00:23:18,780 --> 00:23:22,780 Speaker 1: This may be not quite as gargantuan as he was describing. Yeah. 370 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:26,200 Speaker 1: He also described a dog with two noses, and he wrote, quote, 371 00:23:26,330 --> 00:23:30,310 Speaker 1: there are snakes and insects unknown to scientists. And in 372 00:23:30,350 --> 00:23:34,169 Speaker 1: the forests of the Medidi, some mysterious and enormous beast 373 00:23:34,210 --> 00:23:38,730 Speaker 1: has frequently been disturbed in the swamps, possibly a primeval 374 00:23:38,850 --> 00:23:42,190 Speaker 1: monster like those reported in other parts of the continent. 375 00:23:42,930 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 1: Certainly tracks have been found belonging to no known animal. 376 00:23:47,100 --> 00:23:50,280 Speaker 1: Huge tracks, far greater than could have been made by 377 00:23:50,380 --> 00:23:54,659 Speaker 1: any species we know. And when he brought all of 378 00:23:54,700 --> 00:23:57,010 Speaker 1: these reports back to Europe, a lot of people just 379 00:23:57,090 --> 00:23:59,689 Speaker 1: did not believe him. Looking at the way he was 380 00:23:59,750 --> 00:24:02,330 Speaker 1: written about at the time, it seems like there started 381 00:24:02,369 --> 00:24:06,110 Speaker 1: to be two camps in terms of how people perceived 382 00:24:06,650 --> 00:24:09,290 Speaker 1: Percy Fawcett. There were the ones who thought he was 383 00:24:09,350 --> 00:24:12,490 Speaker 1: an incredible adventurer, who had seen things that no one 384 00:24:12,510 --> 00:24:15,410 Speaker 1: else had, and then there were the people who thought 385 00:24:15,450 --> 00:24:20,180 Speaker 1: he was exaggerating or just plain lying. Also on that 386 00:24:20,220 --> 00:24:24,419 Speaker 1: dog with two noses thing, there is a dog that 387 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,139 Speaker 1: is called a two nose dog in that area. It 388 00:24:27,180 --> 00:24:29,870 Speaker 1: doesn't have two noses, but its nose is split down 389 00:24:29,910 --> 00:24:32,050 Speaker 1: the middle in a way that I could see where 390 00:24:32,090 --> 00:24:34,510 Speaker 1: somebody who was not familiar with canines would be like, 391 00:24:34,530 --> 00:24:36,969 Speaker 1: that dog has two noses. So some of these are 392 00:24:37,050 --> 00:24:40,070 Speaker 1: grounded in reality, although apparently snake experts have done a 393 00:24:40,109 --> 00:24:42,990 Speaker 1: lot of like, running the numbers on the physics of 394 00:24:43,030 --> 00:24:45,210 Speaker 1: how a snake works. And they're like, there's just no way. 395 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:49,260 Speaker 1: There's just no way. Over the course of all of 396 00:24:49,320 --> 00:24:53,820 Speaker 1: these map-making trips to South America, which Fawcett completed ably 397 00:24:54,300 --> 00:24:56,859 Speaker 1: and in far less time than most people thought possible, 398 00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: he also became progressively more fixated on the idea that 399 00:25:01,300 --> 00:25:04,369 Speaker 1: there was a lot more than cartography to explore there. 400 00:25:05,310 --> 00:25:07,550 Speaker 1: As he had prepared for his trips and studied the 401 00:25:07,630 --> 00:25:10,580 Speaker 1: histories of the areas he was to work in, He 402 00:25:10,619 --> 00:25:13,200 Speaker 1: had read a number of accounts that indicated that there 403 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,679 Speaker 1: were lost cities in the jungle, and he really wanted 404 00:25:16,740 --> 00:25:20,689 Speaker 1: to find those lost places. One that he was particularly 405 00:25:20,770 --> 00:25:24,010 Speaker 1: interested in was a city he called Zed. So that's 406 00:25:24,390 --> 00:25:26,470 Speaker 1: the letter Z if you're looking at it in print, 407 00:25:27,070 --> 00:25:29,740 Speaker 1: but the English way of saying it. He believed this 408 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,420 Speaker 1: city was in the Mato Grosso area, which is a 409 00:25:32,460 --> 00:25:39,050 Speaker 1: roughly 900,000 square kilometer non-coastal state in central Brazil. That 410 00:25:39,109 --> 00:25:42,840 Speaker 1: name means great woods, which makes sense because this is 411 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: an intensely dense rainforest. While it has had population growth 412 00:25:48,359 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: in the last hundred years, there are still huge swaths 413 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:53,580 Speaker 1: of it that are not really developed. It is the 414 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,179 Speaker 1: least densely populated area of Brazil today. So in the 415 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:03,140 Speaker 1: early 1900s, there were indigenous populations there, and very few 416 00:26:03,290 --> 00:26:07,490 Speaker 1: Europeans had ventured into the area outside of people pursuing 417 00:26:07,570 --> 00:26:10,830 Speaker 1: rubber interests. And it was in this area that Fawcett 418 00:26:10,850 --> 00:26:16,330 Speaker 1: believed held one or more secret hidden cities. Fawcett's obsession 419 00:26:16,410 --> 00:26:18,810 Speaker 1: with hidden cities had to be put on hold due 420 00:26:18,850 --> 00:26:23,149 Speaker 1: to global events, however. When World War I began, Percy 421 00:26:23,170 --> 00:26:26,060 Speaker 1: had to return to Europe. He fought in the war 422 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:28,740 Speaker 1: on the front, even though he was in his 50s 423 00:26:28,800 --> 00:26:31,859 Speaker 1: at that point. He was given command of a field 424 00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,899 Speaker 1: artillery brigade, and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 425 00:26:34,900 --> 00:26:39,990 Speaker 1: 1916 and commanded more than 700 men. He found the 426 00:26:40,030 --> 00:26:43,690 Speaker 1: war to be far more horrifying and difficult to understand 427 00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:47,090 Speaker 1: than anything the cultures of the Amazon offered. And he 428 00:26:47,190 --> 00:26:50,810 Speaker 1: even expressed the opinion that cannibalism made more sense to 429 00:26:50,869 --> 00:26:56,909 Speaker 1: him than so-called civilized warfare. He was actually gassed in 1917, 430 00:26:56,910 --> 00:27:01,180 Speaker 1: but continued fighting. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order 431 00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:04,570 Speaker 1: for all of his work during the war. And during 432 00:27:04,630 --> 00:27:08,280 Speaker 1: this time, he also indulged in his mystical interests by 433 00:27:08,340 --> 00:27:11,520 Speaker 1: conducting a seance to try to reach the spirits of 434 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,419 Speaker 1: South America's dead. By the time the conflict ended, he 435 00:27:15,460 --> 00:27:19,419 Speaker 1: was more interested in spiritualism than ever. After the war, 436 00:27:19,500 --> 00:27:23,270 Speaker 1: he took his absolute first opportunity to go back to Brazil. 437 00:27:24,170 --> 00:27:26,729 Speaker 1: He had been worried the entire time the war was 438 00:27:26,790 --> 00:27:30,860 Speaker 1: playing out that someone else might find the buried secrets 439 00:27:30,890 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: of the Brazilian forest while he was tied up in 440 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,560 Speaker 1: this military conflict. And he clearly loved his family, but 441 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:41,720 Speaker 1: also found European life just paled in comparison to the 442 00:27:41,780 --> 00:27:44,340 Speaker 1: time that he spent in South America. He said so 443 00:27:44,460 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: in his journals. He wrote of a stretch of time 444 00:27:47,820 --> 00:27:50,629 Speaker 1: that he spent in Rio de Janeiro, for example, quote,' 445 00:27:50,580 --> 00:27:53,890 Speaker 1: The time I spent in Rio lengthened out to six months,' 446 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: but on the whole, it was a delightful experience in 447 00:27:57,010 --> 00:28:00,550 Speaker 1: spite of my anxieties. From the embassy roof, there was 448 00:28:00,590 --> 00:28:03,770 Speaker 1: a perfect view in all directions, and when it comes 449 00:28:03,869 --> 00:28:09,310 Speaker 1: to views, Rio is incomparable. Below, the wonderful Biramar Avenue 450 00:28:09,430 --> 00:28:13,710 Speaker 1: passed under the ridge and entered the suburb of Copacabana, 451 00:28:14,290 --> 00:28:19,210 Speaker 1: beyond which it extended through suburb after suburb along 12 452 00:28:19,210 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 1: miles of exquisite coastline. In the evenings, we often motored 453 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,869 Speaker 1: along this highway to return after dark when one of 454 00:28:26,950 --> 00:28:30,870 Speaker 1: the most wonderful city lighting systems in the world suddenly 455 00:28:30,950 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: flashed into full glory, throwing a carpet of shimmering reflections 456 00:28:35,450 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 1: over the still waters of the bay. How drab and 457 00:28:38,940 --> 00:28:43,260 Speaker 1: gloomy our worn-out English cities appear after such beauty as this. 458 00:28:44,100 --> 00:28:48,080 Speaker 1: One could not be bored here. During this second period 459 00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: of exploration after the war, Fawcett continued to study a 460 00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:55,000 Speaker 1: lot of old documents about the area, many of which 461 00:28:55,060 --> 00:28:58,040 Speaker 1: had been written by Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the 462 00:28:58,870 --> 00:29:03,730 Speaker 1: 1500s and 1600s. And they referred to things that intrigued Fawcett, 463 00:29:03,970 --> 00:29:08,810 Speaker 1: particularly large-scale cities that sounded very advanced compared to what 464 00:29:08,870 --> 00:29:11,490 Speaker 1: he had seen in his travels. And one of the 465 00:29:11,530 --> 00:29:15,630 Speaker 1: documents that has become closely associated with Fawcett's fascination with 466 00:29:15,690 --> 00:29:18,800 Speaker 1: lost cities is and which he was studying even before 467 00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:24,900 Speaker 1: the war, is Manuscript 512. Manuscript 512 was and still 468 00:29:25,020 --> 00:29:28,020 Speaker 1: is housed in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro. 469 00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:31,450 Speaker 1: It's an account of a Portuguese adventurer in the Amazon 470 00:29:31,590 --> 00:29:36,690 Speaker 1: describing a series of events in 1753. That adventurer is 471 00:29:36,770 --> 00:29:39,970 Speaker 1: believed by some to have been explorer João de Silvestre, 472 00:29:40,410 --> 00:29:44,800 Speaker 1: de Moraes. Fawcett gave the writer a fictitious name to 473 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:46,940 Speaker 1: have some way of referring to him. He went with 474 00:29:47,020 --> 00:29:51,360 Speaker 1: Francisco Raposo, and of this manuscript, he wrote, quote, if 475 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,100 Speaker 1: you are romantically minded, and most of us are, I think, 476 00:29:54,810 --> 00:29:57,590 Speaker 1: You have in the foregoing the background for a story 477 00:29:57,670 --> 00:30:01,750 Speaker 1: so fascinating that I know none to compare. I myself 478 00:30:01,870 --> 00:30:05,120 Speaker 1: came upon it in an old document still preserved at 479 00:30:05,150 --> 00:30:08,680 Speaker 1: Rio de Janeiro and in the light of evidence gleaned 480 00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:12,740 Speaker 1: from many quarters believe it implicitly. I am not going 481 00:30:12,780 --> 00:30:15,960 Speaker 1: to offer a literal translation of the strange account given 482 00:30:15,980 --> 00:30:19,940 Speaker 1: in the document. The crabbed Portuguese script is broken in 483 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:25,300 Speaker 1: several places. But the story begins in 1753, when a 484 00:30:25,420 --> 00:30:30,050 Speaker 1: native of Mina-Jeraish, whose name has not been preserved, decided 485 00:30:30,090 --> 00:30:33,290 Speaker 1: to make a search for the lost mines of Mirabeca. 486 00:30:34,090 --> 00:30:36,690 Speaker 1: And we are going to get into Manuscript 512 in 487 00:30:36,730 --> 00:30:39,970 Speaker 1: more detail and Fawcett's quest to find his lost city, 488 00:30:39,990 --> 00:30:42,930 Speaker 1: but we're going to do it next time. But right 489 00:30:42,970 --> 00:30:46,290 Speaker 1: now I have listener mail. Hooray. The listener mail this 490 00:30:46,330 --> 00:30:50,070 Speaker 1: week involves favorite things. Oh, good. This is from our listener, Rebecca, 491 00:30:50,130 --> 00:30:52,770 Speaker 1: who writes, Dear Holly and Tracy, thank you for the 492 00:30:52,830 --> 00:30:55,450 Speaker 1: joyful review of sneakers, which I listened to this week. 493 00:30:55,930 --> 00:31:00,040 Speaker 1: I always enjoy your podcasts, which touch on Australia, the E.M.I. War, 494 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:03,820 Speaker 1: Dame Nellie Melba, and Annette Kellerman's Spring to Mind. I 495 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:07,200 Speaker 1: moved from the U.S. to Sydney, Australia in 2005 and 496 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:10,700 Speaker 1: have joined the many thousands running up Heartbreak Hill in 497 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 1: the annual City to Surf Fun Run in Sydney, Australia. 498 00:31:15,020 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: One year, we made Smurf caps with cheap white cloth 499 00:31:17,740 --> 00:31:20,530 Speaker 1: and stitched those together with dental floss, then ran the 500 00:31:20,610 --> 00:31:23,570 Speaker 1: event covered in blues ink and face paint. I don't 501 00:31:23,610 --> 00:31:27,969 Speaker 1: recommend it, but costumes are popular. I finally have photos 502 00:31:28,030 --> 00:31:30,920 Speaker 1: to offer as pet tags. We recently moved to a 503 00:31:30,980 --> 00:31:33,960 Speaker 1: farm in northern New South Wales and finally had enough 504 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:37,640 Speaker 1: land to have an active dog. We found our one-year-old 505 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 1: moose through a Facebook page called Failed Working Dogs Rehomed. 506 00:31:43,740 --> 00:31:46,969 Speaker 1: Because he's afraid to work around sheep and cattle. Who 507 00:31:47,010 --> 00:31:49,810 Speaker 1: doesn't work if they don't have to, right? His DNA 508 00:31:49,830 --> 00:31:53,830 Speaker 1: test says he's 80% border collie and 20% kelpie. And 509 00:31:53,870 --> 00:31:57,400 Speaker 1: I'm just going to say he's 100% adorable. Moose greets 510 00:31:57,460 --> 00:31:59,860 Speaker 1: us in the morning with a kind wholesomeness. It is 511 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:02,050 Speaker 1: turning me into a morning person because how do you 512 00:32:02,090 --> 00:32:04,510 Speaker 1: say no to that face? He is a high energy 513 00:32:04,550 --> 00:32:07,150 Speaker 1: dog and has decided his mission is to keep birds 514 00:32:07,210 --> 00:32:09,850 Speaker 1: off of the paddocks where we are growing winter bollage 515 00:32:09,950 --> 00:32:13,220 Speaker 1: and sugar cane. He doesn't catch them. They seem to 516 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: enjoy the game too, staying just above his head. He 517 00:32:16,700 --> 00:32:19,860 Speaker 1: can run 20 kilometers in this self-appointed task and is 518 00:32:19,900 --> 00:32:23,360 Speaker 1: a joy to watch run full tilt. Moose dislikes his 519 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:26,540 Speaker 1: evening paw wash, but puts up with this prerequisite to 520 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:29,640 Speaker 1: sleep next to our bed. These photos capture his early 521 00:32:29,680 --> 00:32:34,010 Speaker 1: morning greeting, regal pose, and muddy, glorious best. And then 522 00:32:34,530 --> 00:32:39,590 Speaker 1: there are suggestions for some interesting Australian topics, which I'm 523 00:32:39,610 --> 00:32:42,000 Speaker 1: going to make notes of. And then it concludes with, 524 00:32:42,040 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 1: thanks again for your wonderful show. You seem to find 525 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,990 Speaker 1: the delicate balance to treat challenging topics with grace. And 526 00:32:48,030 --> 00:32:51,230 Speaker 1: then it's pictures of moose. I want to kiss this 527 00:32:51,270 --> 00:32:54,210 Speaker 1: dog so bad. No. I want to fly to Australia 528 00:32:54,230 --> 00:32:57,650 Speaker 1: just to kiss this dog. He's really cute. And I 529 00:32:57,690 --> 00:32:59,110 Speaker 1: believe that that would make you want to get up 530 00:32:59,170 --> 00:33:01,580 Speaker 1: early just so you can watch him have the best 531 00:33:01,690 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: morning ever, every day. He's really adorable, and I have 532 00:33:05,380 --> 00:33:08,420 Speaker 1: no doubt that he brings a great deal of joy. So, Rebecca, 533 00:33:08,500 --> 00:33:10,840 Speaker 1: thank you so much for this, because it's darling. And 534 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:13,420 Speaker 1: since we mentioned dogs in this episode, I'm like, thematic. 535 00:33:14,180 --> 00:33:17,280 Speaker 1: Sort of. If you would like to send us pictures 536 00:33:17,460 --> 00:33:20,600 Speaker 1: of your adorable pets... talk about anything you wish that 537 00:33:20,620 --> 00:33:22,980 Speaker 1: we've talked about or not, you can do that at 538 00:33:23,020 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 1: historypodcast at iheartradio.com. You can also find show notes for 539 00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:31,720 Speaker 1: any of the shows that we've done, including today's. They're 540 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:37,240 Speaker 1: right there in the show page at missedinhistory.com. And if 541 00:33:37,270 --> 00:33:39,670 Speaker 1: you haven't subscribed to the show and you would like to, 542 00:33:39,690 --> 00:33:41,810 Speaker 1: I promise you it's the easiest thing in the world. 543 00:33:42,130 --> 00:33:44,370 Speaker 1: You can do that on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere 544 00:33:44,390 --> 00:33:52,300 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. Stuff You Missed in 545 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:56,040 Speaker 1: History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts 546 00:33:56,080 --> 00:34:00,229 Speaker 1: from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 547 00:34:00,290 --> 00:34:01,690 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.