Beyond The Andes (1950s)

[Music] a few moments ago we boarded a panagra plane at Miami destination the rainforests of the Amazon the grand panau east of the perubian Andes one of the world's last unconquered Frontiers once I read about the Spanish conquistador they were the first of a stream of Fortune Hunters who ever since 1532 have sought The Riches of gold diamonds Rubber and oil I suppose in a sense we're modern conquistadores we're going into the unknown armed well armed with light tackle to see to experience to know but not to conquer the excitement of the trip has hit us hard Millan and I are going to the Peruvian jungles for the same reasons we went to Alaska to catch King Sam not only to battle the king salmon but also for the thrill of going to a new place sure I caught a salmon but I'll never forget the mysterious Northern life now we're out to get the deadliest fish swimming the Waters of the Earth piranna the question will these maneaters of the Amazon yield to The Lure of modern tackle there's only one way to find out and by gosh we aim to find out first stop Lima Peru we're about to enter a world different from anything we've ever known Peru land of contrasts the home of the great atala and his Incan people who fought pizaro's conquistadores and lost Peru land of the Towering Andes cradle of the 4,000 M Amazon home of the weird flae headed Indians and of the naked Compass the crude airport and the Dy Runway remind us that this is the last outpost of civilization next point of destination the jungle People Are People pushing around through this crowd makes me feel as though it's just another County Fair only south of the Equator here on the shores of the Yuki Al is the perfect example of a town living from its River it doesn't seem to matter much to the locals that their drinking water is a happy mixture of Turned Up Mud the washing of clothes and swimming of the kids all add to the flavor of this Unforgettable drinking H2 all visiting farman that's what we are or at least the young fry make us feel that way I wonder what kind of an escort pizaro had history sure is a funny thing every page of it written just because some man wanted to go somewhere or do something all the arrangements for a guide have been made one's our man I should really say boy he's only 18 but he's a seasoned guide who has penetrated some of the most remote parts of the Amazon forests forbidden to most men this 120° heat feels like the back draft of a blast furnace but it doesn't seem to be bothering one me I'm from the states can't do much with fancy lingo so by pointing and grunning I've tried to get across the ideas that we have about taking primitive game fish with modern tackle 1,000 Miles by hand paddling is too much to think about why not match the dependability of machine against the savagery of the Jungle this outboard motor is no play thing in this kind of country it might well mean the difference between life and death Senor sisly to the rescue maybe he can get the details across to one one is wondering how we can possibly expect to challenge the many moves of these Waters I guess you never know what to expect shallow Waters Savage Waters sticks and jungle rubble a few words from senior sisle and it looks like everything is straightened out for one up at dawn to make the final changes on our Dugout canoe all we're going to do with the hard way talk about contrasts a modern outboard motor on a type boat probably as ancient as man's early history and the pilot Juan of course [Music] from paddle to outboard in one easy lesson and Juan is trying not to show The Strain finally we're on our way I'm looking pretty hard at the pukala skyline who knows when we'll see it [Music] again so far it look like a good River this Uki Al Broad deep calm friendly but Juan wasn't kidding when he talked about its changing moods sparkling blue one minute and next muddy Brown filled with skeletons of dead Timber projecting from the water what are these jaws of menacing wood that cap at us as if in sudden anger The Waters tugg at us though to turn us back from our Quest small whirl pools that D water seem to follow us and now Peaceful Waters again with friendly freshwater porpuses rolling playfully alongside up to this point there's been one question in my mind where do you catch fish in a strange country do you look in the middle of the river the shoreline where fact of the matter is I'm not even certain as to the kind of fish we're looking for that's the problem we're looking for something but don't know exactly what Juan says there might be shanira schooling near these rfts to Cedar you know we came here to find out so let's find out [Music] there's something Vaguely Familiar about the way this character is acting [Music] Shan bar our first score against the river after taxes and with a lower jaw straight out of a nightmare even with those 2in fangs he's still a sucker for a surface lur after that opening Skirmish we decided to hit Shore for a look around if onean can do it I can too why I used to be the town's Champion fence Walker after all what's the difference between the pole and the [Music] [Applause] fence must be the Heat [Music] the jungle is a vast gallery of Spectators all watching The Big Show as we go deeper into the interior I have a feeling we're the main attraction we know that the really primitive Indian tribes live just by for 6 miles Inland we're sticking close to the river it's the closest thing to civilization in this territory Juan has been muttering something all day long about Head Hunters the lired compass Head Hunters of South America now I know why Juan has been so uneasy it's of life and death importance we remember this jungle is deadly these head Huns wouldn't hesitate to chop off our heads shrink them to the size of a baseball the heat is hit about 120° and the insects are making life miserable poisonous Bor Shooters Devils that sting through your clothes we've entered the home of the 10-ft cannibal tiger fish freshwater sharks 3,000 mi from the salty ocean ants whose single bite will cause blindness we've stepped into the middle of Hell three men alone on this narrow Tippy Dugout canoe and our very livars rest in the hands of this 18-year-old Peruvian boy [Music] Juan we're approaching a village of Chamas Indians a matriarchy which Juan claims is friendly I sure hope he's right these gals rule the roost around here Amazon's in every sense of the word often after a big battle it's these innocent looking women who mutilate the Fallen most of the killing it's done is because these women keep nagging at their husbands to get more slaves these gals have a system all their own if the husband gets too frisky a taste of flop Pondo plant juice turns into a kind of walking zombie with neither will nor wit nice kid I know one thing sure we don't aim to put any strain on their Hospitality there's only one thing we want information about fish her face seems friendly enough but I wonder what she's thinking actually our one real aim is to find the pirania our general destination is an obscure Inland lake called IM Maria but our friend keeps saying something about the Pichi according to this native fishing for Pichi is a complicated Affair first the men form a cage with poles beat the water vigorously to drive the fish have the spear ready to throw when you spot it heave and finish it off with a knife these pichy often are 9 ft long weigh up to 400 lb the meat resembles ve with little or any fish flavor funny thing about this fish is that it has the tail of our bofin like a cow it has more than one stomach its head and behavior is similar to a Musky but it has no teeth there's a combination for you is this really the 20th century or has some Twist of nature thrown us back into the prehistoric past the sight of this Patron's home is a welcome relief after the miles of bewildering jungle behind us if our mosquito Nets aren't up by sundown will'll be eaten alive by the clouds of insects looking for warm flesh our Nets are not perfect protection against the buzzing swarms of blood hungry mosquitoes this first night I can think only of the deadly nigh hunting snakes big around as a man's thigh which stalks and Strikes without stopping until the victim is dead pleasant thoughts for dreaming we've reached the junction point of the r bomo Tamaya and Yuki Al this morning we're trying de running lures bills and business [Music] what the is that a large mouth bass or a baby [Music] Tar corbina I was right it does look like a large mouth bass and tail walks across the water like a good old Florida [Music] Tarpon so help me one looks completely Buffalo our bright hunks of metal just don't add up to him [Music] [Music] that crazy fool fish surfaces pauses and then does a tow dance [Music] yeah and he has a lateral stripe like a snook fast hard-hitting fighter despite the warm temperature of these Waters we've left the Yuki Al and have cut off to the Taya heading west towards the Andes jungle is pressing in ever closer I have a crazy feeling that even this narrow shallow River bitterly resents our presence with the lyric poetry of the Latin peruvians have named this worst jungle region in the entire Amazon basin lasa the forest the water is a dirty Brown has a stagnant stench the TRS look kind of hungry a few more swipes like that and they'll flip this dugout [Music] [Music] the stream Narrows and the jungle reaches down to Claw at us the shamba finds form a network of living traps the jungle odors of rot and Decay are sickening the eyes of the Jungle are on us the Indian tribes speak of prehistoric monsters is still surviving and roaming these forests notes of the Explorer Colonel pH faucet have been found describing an 80t reptile weighing 25 tons fet thought it might have been a dipod doas a dinosaur thought by scientists to have disappeared from the face of the Earth millions of years ago in 1925 fet and his party went back into the bush and disappeared forever no trace of them was ever [Music] found our search for lakei Maria and the cannibal piran has alerted every living creature in the bush [Music] somewhere up ahead lost in the jungle is IM Maria called by the Indians Lake of [Music] Mystery suddenly we've broken from the brush into a lake so immense it staggers the imagination Lake IM Maria it must be this place has a brooding silence not a sign of Life anywhere this must be the home of the Tana it's a relief to be out in the open again the air smells fresh almost sweet Bill's asleep already Juan is at the fire maintaining his nightly vigil tomorrow morning we go after the fish spawned in Hell a name which freezes the blood of the fiercest tribes papaya breakfast jungle style It's a beautiful morning with all the jungle around us in a friendly mood we hope one thinks there might be a chamus tribe living near here [Music] he was right a village of Chamas out here in this vast nothingness they dress in colorful bar cloth similar to the South Sea Island tapa the Braves wear a silver piece in the no at least we have one thing in common they're fishermen and so are we one thing I've learned never leave the boat until after your G is made certain everything is all right be generous with gifts a machete to the chief small mirrors and comb to the others Savages are like children any show of weakness or desired harm might be fatal [Music] [Music] in reply to my questions of our pirania the chief has brought us to the pitiful spectacle of this woman keeping constant vigil over the grave of her husband killed and eaten by the pirania all that remained were a few shreds of cloth and over these she [Music] Grieves there's now no doubt in our minds about the friendliness of these people they're fishermen who want to lead peaceful lives but only a few miles back in the brush are the head hunting campus tribes killers of the Jungle the women's more pleasant Pastime consists of making beer their chewing and spitting probably contributes to the flavor with this delicious beverage as a stimulant raiding parties are planned and young Cham women provide perfect victims Savage compass on one side and panny on the other which is worse the chief says two Americans on a scientific Expedition were here 3 years ago they witnessed the incredible savagery of the pirania an animal unlucky enough to fall in the water drives the pania mad with lust the water becomes a boiling cauldron as thousands of these Devils attack and in in the matter of seconds all that remain are a few Bones the homicidal Fury of their attack defies imagination we've heard enough to realize the best thing to do with these Devils is use wire leader in metal lures apparently the pirania can chew blocks of wood into splinters [Music] who would think that such beauty could Harbor such Horrors I still don't believe [Music] it it's impossible two strikes right off the [Music] bat devilfish this why so help me they looked like plain old blue s now how could a little old Sunfish like this eat a man in seconds coca leaves that's what these Indians been chewing well it was a long trip getting here so we might as well try for a few more devil fish huh all the same they sure kick up one heck of a rumpus the way bill is yanking and tugging you think he had a Musky on the line funny thing is and no other fish around [Music] [Music] I'm convinced if one can do that what can a school of 10,000 do this is no myth no wonder there are no other fish around here these Devils have killed and eaten everything else in the lake you might call these Pras Wolves of the water they travel in packs at one object kill and devour [Music] [Music] from now on I intend treating these cookies with a heap of [Music] respect the word piranna means toothed fish with that Dental structure it's well named and it has lips like a human being [Music] the scourge of the Amazon a chunk of diabolical muscle this trip hasn't been any picnic but it's been worth it completely beautiful The Greatest Adventure of Our Lives how can I ever forget the suddenness of the am was on night burning orange one minute and jet black the [Music] next the bloodthirsty swarms of humming mosquitoes and insects the ghostly hiss of the Anaconda the 12-ft bushmaster stalking death these are sounds of the Jungle night I'll never forget I know we've seen things beyond our wildest expectations but gnawing at the back of my mind is the thought what haven't we seen only the mind of that 18-year-old boy maintaining constant vigil at the fire knows this jungle in all her moods only he knows both the beauty and Terrors of these rain forests meanwhile the endless activity of millions of years continues the Jaguar still screams in the night and out in the bush death lurks waiting for her victims the snake slithers over the floor of the Jungle the aines eat their meat raw our coming has been but a mere