Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Operation Auca
There’s been an Auca attack at Arajuno!” Jim told Betty as she hung out the laundry to dry. “Marj just sent word on the radio.”
Betty put down the clothespins and turned to face her husband. “What else did she say?”
“That they killed a Quichua mother and her two children and took off with a stolen canoe.”
The news of the attack had a chilling effect on the young missionary couples at Shandia. The men had been talking for weeks about strategies for making contact with the Aucas and reaching out to them with the gospel. The McCully family were in the final stages of preparing to move to Arajuno—the very place where the Aucas had killed a defenseless woman and her two children. No one said it, but it was easy to imagine Marilou and her two children in that same situation.
It was time for them all to seriously pray about the situation. Betty knew that everyone was aware that reaching out and making contact with the Aucas was a risky thing to do—foolhardy even—unless God specifically spoke to them and guided them forward.
After praying about the matter, the McCullys did finally move to Arajuno, but not before Nate had set up an electric fence around their new house that the family could use for protection at night. The Aucas had never encountered electricity, and an unexpected zap from the fence would surely deter them from coming any closer.
At the same time, Pete and his new bride, Olive, who had recently returned to the Oriente from the United States, decided to go and man the outpost at Puyupungu. The vision of Shandia being the hub in a wheel of mission outposts was becoming a reality.
Betty and Jim were busier than ever at Shandia running a school, church, and part-time medical clinic. In July 1955, Jim’s brother Bert and his wife, Colleen, came to visit from Peru. Jim and Betty took the opportunity to show Bert and Colleen all the things that had happened since they had moved to Shandia. They all stood and watched as fourteen people were baptized in the river, and Nate was able to fly them around to the mission outposts to encourage the missionaries there. On the trip they learned the McCullys had not encountered any hostile Aucas and that they had made many friends among the Quichua Indians in the area.
Still, at the back of everyone’s mind was the idea that one day—somehow—God was going to bring the gospel to “the neighbors,” as Ed liked to call the Aucas.
Things began to fall into place on September 15, 1955, when Nate and Ed were flying over the jungle. From the air Ed spotted a cultivated clearing ringed with thatched-roof huts. The men had found a group of elusive Aucas!
Two weeks later Jim and Betty learned that a second Auca village, only fifteen minutes from Arajuno, had been spotted from the air. It was astonishing to the Elliots that Auca settlements had been spotted twice in two weeks. Nate had spent seven years flying over the same jungle and had never seen any signs of them before. Was God trying to tell them something? Was He perhaps leading them to prepare for contact with this Stone Age tribe? Neither Betty nor Jim knew for sure, but they both were excited about the possibilities that lay ahead.
After the discovery of the two Auca villages, things began to move quickly. Ed and Nate continued to fly over the Auca settlements, even dropping gifts to the people below. To do this they used a unique spiral-line drop system that Nate had developed. This involved lowering a bucket on a line from a circling airplane. As the bucket neared the ground, its swinging motion would get smaller and smaller until the bucket was almost still while the plane circled above. This meant that gifts could be sent down to the Aucas, who in turn could place things in the bucket if they wanted to. It was a red-letter day when Nate sent word that the neighbors had sent up a parrot in the bucket!
The work at Shandia continued. Betty and Jim were in the process of discipling about twenty Quichua Christians, many of whom were now able to read for the first time. The Quichuas attended group Bible studies and one-on-one sessions with the Elliots to improve their skills. Jim and Betty hoped that soon these local Christians would be able to take over the work of preaching and teaching in the church. They realized that this was the fastest and best way to grow the local church. Also, a new building was taking shape at Shandia. A cement floor had just been poured for a new and permanent schoolhouse. In addition, keeping the airstrip in good repair was no easy task in the dense jungle.
In October, Jim made a four-hour trek to Hacienda Ila, where Dayuma, an Auca woman, lived. Betty would have loved to accompany him, but they did not want to raise suspicions about their possible efforts to make contact with the Aucas.
Ordinarily, Rachel Saint, Nate’s older sister, lived on the plantation at Hacienda Ila, where she was working with Dayuma to decode the Auca language. Nate had indicated that Rachel was away for a time, attending a conference in Quito. Rachel was a missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators. She had worked among the Shapra Indians in Peru for many years. When Ecuador’s president invited Wycliffe missionaries to come and work in his country, Rachel had made the move to Ecuador. She, too, had a deep desire to see the gospel spread among the Aucas. When she learned about an Auca woman named Dayuma living and working at Hacienda Ila, she came to live at the hacienda and learn all she could about the Auca language from Dayuma.
After much soul-searching, those involved in Operation Auca (as their plan to make contact with the Aucas was now called) agreed that it would be best to keep their plan secret. Anyone not immediately involved in it did not need to know what was going on, and that included Rachel Saint.
So with Rachel away, Jim made his trip to Hacienda Ila. He was very excited upon his return from his visit with Dayuma. He told Betty that Dayuma had fled the Auca tribe as a young child, and although she’d forgotten some Auca words, she was very helpful. Jim pulled out his black notebook and began reading to Betty a list of phrases Dayuma had taught him.
“Biti miti punimupa means ‘I like you. I want to be your friend.’ Biti winki pungi amupa means ‘I want to come near you’ or maybe ‘Let’s get together.’ I am not sure yet. And if I say Awum irimi, that means ‘What is your name?’”
Betty was fascinated by the first few words of this new language. She decided that if Jim visited Dayuma again, she would go with him. In her heart she knew that it was more a question of when than if. Jim had come back too excited to even eat dinner. All he could talk about was the way these simple phrases would help him and the other men reach the Aucas.
As December rolled around, Jim took some flights with Nate, and he was able to see the Aucas for himself. He even got to speak to the Aucas over a loudspeaker, repeating some of the phrases he’d learned from Dayuma. Betty watched as his eyes glistened when he told her about the experience.
One day Betty decided to ask her husband the question that had been haunting her for weeks now. “Jim, I understand that someone has to bring the gospel to the Aucas, but I need to ask you this: are you sure that you are supposed to go?”
“I am called,” Jim replied simply.
Betty nodded. That was all she needed to know. The mission was a dangerous one. There was no doubt that one or all of the men could lose their lives in the process. But if Jim knew beyond a doubt that he was called to go, Betty was sure she could live with whatever the outcome might be.
A few days later, Betty trekked to Hacienda Ila with Jim. She was delighted to meet Dayuma, whom she discovered also spoke fluent Quichua. Betty studied Dayuma, a short, dark woman with high cheekbones. The only thing that really marked Dayuma as different from the Quichua Indians working at Hacienda Ila was her earlobes. As young children, Aucas had their ears pierced, and small balsa wood plugs were inserted into the holes. Over time these balsa wood plugs were changed for larger plugs until by the time the children were teenagers, the holes in their earlobes were the size of a silver dollar. Dayuma’s earlobes were the same, except that she no longer wore plugs in her ears. As a result, her earlobes were loose and dangly.
Dayuma told Betty about fleeing from her tribe when another Auca killed her father. She said that she feared for her life in the bloody round of revenge killing that was sure to follow her father’s death. For the past eight years she had worked on the plantation at Hacienda Ila.
By the time Betty and Jim left the hacienda to trek back to Shandia, Jim had many more Auca phrases jotted down in his black notebook.
The Elliots spent Christmas 1955 with the McCullys and the Flemings at Arajuno. Most of the conversation during their stay centered around Operation Auca. Nate had reported to the men that he’d found a sandy beach on the Curaray River near one of the Auca settlements. He was confident that he could land his Piper Cruiser on the beach. The plan to venture into Auca territory and make first contact with the people was unfolding better than anyone could have imagined.
The plan called for Nate to fly the men to the beach, which they now referred to as Palm Beach, on the Curaray River. The men would build a house in a tree at the end of the beach in which they would sleep at night. During the day they would wait on the beach for the Aucas to come to them so that they could make contact with them. They hoped that the list of Auca phrases Jim had collected and practiced would help them communicate that they had come in peace and meant the Aucas no harm. In the evening Nate would fly back to Arajuno and sleep the night there, leaving the others to spend the night in the tree house on Palm Beach. Nate was concerned about leaving the airplane on the beach overnight. If it rained in the night, the river could flood and wash the aircraft away. Or under the cover of dark the Aucas could damage or destroy the plane.
The day after New Year’s Day, the men would gather at Arajuno, the staging ground for Operation Auca, and Nate would ferry them and their supplies to Palm Beach.
By now Nate had recruited another participant for Operation Auca, Roger Youderian. Roger and his wife, Barbara, were missionaries among the Jivaro Indians to the south. Roger had been a paratrooper in the Second World War, and Nate felt he would be a great addition to the team. This brought the number of men participating in Operation Auca to five. This created a problem, however. Jim had already prefabricated the tree house they would build in the tree at the end of the beach. But he had anticipated only three people sleeping in it at night and had designed it accordingly. The tree house would have no room for an extra person to sleep. It was decided that since Pete was the lightest of the men of Operation Auca, he would fly out with Nate each night and sleep over at Arajuno.
Betty joined in the conversation among the men whenever she could and spent the rest of the time helping with the meals and watching the children—ten-month-old Valerie, along with Stevie and Mike McCully.
After enjoying a delicious Christmas dinner prepared with supplies Nate had flown in especially for the occasion, the Elliots returned to Shandia to conduct the end-of-year Bible conference. The conference was a great success, and Betty marveled at the spiritual growth she saw in the lives of the young Quichua Christians who attended.
The Bible conference ended on New Year’s Day 1956. When everyone attending had departed, Betty turned her attention fully to Jim’s needs. January 2 was the day the five men were scheduled to meet at Arajuno. Operation Auca would begin the following day.
Coincidentally, Rachel Saint had been asking about how the missionary work at Shandia was progressing, and Betty had invited her to come and see for herself. Rachel had accepted the invitation and decided to visit Shandia at the same time Operation Auca was about to begin. This posed a problem, since Rachel had been told nothing about the operation. Because Jim wanted things to stay that way, he led Rachel to believe that he was off to run a weeklong series of meetings at Arajuno and that it would be a great idea for her to stay with Betty at Shandia while he was away.
Betty helped Jim pack a few clothes, along with anything she could think of that might interest and amuse the Aucas Jim and the men hoped to meet. Among the things she helped him pack were a harmonica, a View-Master with several different picture reels, and a yo-yo. She watched while Jim slid the last item into the pocket of his bag—a small pistol. Betty knew that the men had agonized over whether or not to take the weapon with them. After all, they were coming in peace to make contact with the Aucas, yet they also realized that the jungle was a dangerous place. Pumas, alligators, and snakes were sure to be lurking around Palm Beach, and the men needed some way to protect themselves. In the end they decided that they would take the gun for protection, but under no circumstances would they fire it at the Aucas if they were attacked. If it came to losing their own lives or taking the life of an Auca, the men all agreed that for the sake of the gospel they would choose to lay down their lives.
Finally everything was ready. Nate radioed that he and Rachel were ten minutes away in the plane. Betty’s heart beat hard at the news. She picked up Valerie and walked outside, turning just as Jim closed the door behind him. A chill ran down Betty’s spine. “Do you realize that you may never open that door again?” was what Betty wanted to say to her husband, but she kept silent. She knew that Jim did not need an emotionally distraught wife right now. His mind was totally settled on this course of action, and she determined to support him in it.
Jim and Betty walked to the airstrip just as the yellow MAF Piper Cruiser circled for a landing. Betty shifted Valerie from one hip to the other and waited. Soon the plane was on the ground and had taxied to a halt. Rachel and Nate climbed from the plane, and the four of them had a brief conversation. Then Jim kissed Betty, threw his bag into the back of the plane, and clambered into the right front seat. Nate cranked the engine back to life, and with a wave the men sped off down the airstrip. Betty watched the plane lift off and then bank in the direction of Arajuno.
As she escorted Rachel back to the house, Betty prayed for Operation Auca. “Have Your way, Lord, have Your way.”
The next few days were difficult for Betty, who had to continue as normal, since Rachel was with her and there was little radio contact because everything was kept secret. Marj did manage to keep Betty partially updated with a few coded messages. In one message she stated that Nate had spotted a “commission of ten” coming from “terminal city.” Betty knew that this meant that ten Aucas had been spotted coming toward the men from the nearby Auca settlement.
On Wednesday, January 4, 1956, Nate flew into Shandia and delivered a note from Jim to Betty that filled her in on what had happened so far. Betty quickly unfolded the note and read. Jim explained that things were going well at Palm Beach. Nate had ferried them and their things in flawlessly, and they had set to work building the tree house. The house was located thirty-five feet above the beach, and getting it up there had been quite a struggle. But now that it was up, it was comfortable and safe and well worth the effort. In the night they had heard the sound of a puma and discovered its tracks on the beach in the morning. It was also much hotter at Palm Beach than at Shandia, and Jim and the others were perspiring a lot. Jim ended his note by saying that they had seen no sign of the neighbors, but they were hopeful that they would show up. In fact, the men were about to descend to the beach with the gifts and novelty items Jim had brought along and wait to see whether any Aucas showed up. When Betty had read the note, Nate added that they were hoping for contact with the Aucas the next day.
On January 6, Rachel and Betty waited for the radio to beep—Rachel because she expected Marj to call and tell her that Nate was in the area and would soon be landing to pick her up and fly her back to Shell Mera, and Betty because she had not heard an update on the men since the day before.
Betty looked at the clock. She had expected a call around four o’clock in the afternoon, and now it was four thirty. Betty tried to shake off the feeling of gloom that engulfed her; surely she would hear from Marj soon. Valerie cried, and Betty got her up from her nap and fed her.
It was 4:45 pm when Betty decided that it was time to contact Marj herself. She went to the radio and spoke into the microphone. “Shell Mera, this is Shandia. Come in please.”
At first Betty heard nothing but static and crackle, and then she heard Marj’s voice. “I read you, Shandia.”
“Any news?” Betty asked, being careful not to say anything specific about Operation Auca.
After a second’s hesitation, Marj replied, “No news of the boys. Sorry I can’t tell you anything. Nate has not come back. Johnny Keenan, our reserve pilot, is going to fly over the Curaray at first light to see if he can spot anything. Over.”
Betty and Marj chatted for a couple more minutes, and then Betty put down the radio microphone. What had happened to the men? Perhaps the little yellow Piper Cruiser had become bogged down in the sand and they were all going to have to walk out from Palm Beach. Or perhaps something more sinister had happened. Betty explained to Rachel that the plane had been delayed, which was technically true.
Betty spent a fitful night tossing and turning in bed and praying for good news in the morning.