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The internet can be a wonderful place for any writer to thrive. Some of us are always looking for something of good taste to read or something fresh and different. This sample came from our friend Tamara Brown and famous writer in the Dallas area. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Avoiding the Pitfalls of Travel – if Rockefeller had only known. Thanks to the Internet, today’s travelers can avoid a good deal of the pain and disaster they might otherwise encounter when venturing far from home. Take 23 year-old Michael C. Rockefeller. If he had been privy to the information any novice user can gather on a pc today, he might not have disappeared in the wilds of Papua New Guinea in 1961. Rockefeller is presumed to have been the victim of some of the most dreaded headhunter-cannibals in the South Pacific.
Young Rockefeller was on expedition with Dutch anthropologist, Rene Wassing in a 40-foot dugout canoe when it capsized and plunged them into the muddy waters of a labyrinthine river. Their guides swam for shore, leaving Rockefeller and Wassing clinging to the upturned craft. But rather than remain adrift waiting for help to arrive, Rockefeller struck out for shore alone and was never seen again.
The disappearance of Nelson Rockefeller’s son and heir became front page news across the world. It was widely believed that Michael had been captured by the Asmat, a tribe of savages whose very name was a synonym for cannibalism. His father searched for 3 years but found not the slightest trace of his lost son.
Now imagine that the Internet had been available in 1960. Michael would most certainly have thoroughly researched his destination before setting out. He would have discovered in great detail the dangers of venturing into the province of headhunters. These people, after decapitating a victim, would scrape out the brains and eat them. (Some experts aver that this practice stems from the belief that a human head contains "soul matter" or life force, which can be transferred to the diner). The skull was then used as a head rest.  Healthy Canibals!
Rockefeller would have further discovered that 3 years before, on the very spot where he probably clambered ashore, Asmat village leaders had been murdered by Dutch soldiers. (In the late 1950s, colonial Dutch New Guinea was under dispute by Indonesia, and Dutch patrol units were in the jungles.) Rockefeller likely stumbled upon natives from that village with a thirst for revenge against any white man who crossed their path.
Not that the Asmat were indiscriminate headhunters, it’s just that vengeance was their lifestyle. And in 1961 the unfortunate adventurer was in all probability the victim of a revenge cycle begun by the Dutch. Some New Guinea tribes still practice ritual revenge killing in the 21st century.
His further Internet research would likely have revealed that although a Dutch government outpost had been established in 1953 for Roman Catholic missionaries engaged in working with the Asmat, it had limited success. The missionaries adapted and incorporated festivals such as the bisj and shield ceremonies into Catholic liturgy. (Ceremonial shields representing ancestors were used in headhunting rituals. The bisj ceremony involved the use of an ancestor pole in rituals connecting warfare, death, youth initiation and headhunting.) However, the Catholics had only been partially successful in halting headhunting and cannibalism among their converts.
On the Internet, Rockefeller may have availed himself of a book titled, “The Sky Above, The Mud Below”, documenting a 1958-1959 French-Dutch expedition into the Asmat region. He would have been forwarned.
Alas, it all happened half a century before the Internet became our oracle. A font of knowledge from which those of us who are connected may drink our fill. Yes, Internet research is a beautiful thing. We can instantly access information and learn how to save our lives. We can avoid catastrophy. For travelers, the Internet is beyond compare. If only Rockefeller had known.
TAMARA BROWN
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