Raymond Maufrais

Raymond Maufrais was born in Toulon, an only child. His parents were forced frequently to send the boy away from a young age, starting when he was nine. With two comrades he climbed the wall of the children's home they lived in in the Var department; the police spent three days looking for them. He attended Rouvière school in Toulon in October 1939, where he showed promise in French and classical literature. By 1940 his father was a prisoner in Germany.^[3]

In 1942, having listened to the BBC broadcasts, he decided to flee to England but an accident in Dieppe prevented his flight and by August had returned to Toulon. He played a minor part in the French resistance, distributing newspapers, writing graffiti, and reporting troop movements. His father had, in fact, joined the resistance in June 1942, leading a group of the Armée secrète. He later joined the maquis in Périgord and worked with his father preparing landings in Provence; he was awarded the Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (with bronze star) and the Medal of French Gratitude, before he even turned 18. After liberation he joined the army, first as a war correspondent and then as a paratrooper, but finished his service before being called up. He then worked as a correspondent in Corsica, Italy, and along the Côte d’Azur.^[3]

In July 1946 Maufrais left for Brazil. While in Rio de Janeiro he made a bet with an editor of the Brazilia Herald that he would go and investigate some unexplored area in the heart of Brazil. He met an Italian countess who managed to get him signed on to a "pacification" mission to the Xavante people who live in Mato Grosso and were, reportedly, very hostile toward strangers. Having traveled 2700 kilometers and found the remains of another expedition, the group was forced to retreat after being attacked by the natives.^[3]

En 1947, Maufrais regresó a Francia para editar el manuscrito en el que había estado trabajando, para un libro que se llamaría Aventures au Matto-Grosso , que no se publicó hasta después de su muerte, y dio conferencias públicas en Toulon y otros lugares. También anunció un nuevo proyecto: viajar desde la Guayana Francesa hasta Brasil a través de las (remotas e inaccesibles) montañas Tumuk Humak , y luego descender el río Jari hasta Belém , solo y a pie. ^{[ 3 ]} Su objetivo, como declaró más tarde en sus diarios, era encontrar tres tribus de caníbales y supervivientes de 51 tribus de las que no se había tenido noticia en sesenta años. En ese momento, en Cayena existía la firme creencia de que las partes meridionales de la Guayana Francesa, fronterizas con Brasil, albergaban muchas tribus desconocidas; investigaciones posteriores demostraron que la zona estaba deshabitada. ^{[ 4 ]} Maufrais tenía la intención de investigar. Se marchó en junio de 1949, tras haber recibido un anticipo de la revista Sciences et Voyages por escribir crónicas de viajes. ^{[ 3 ]}

Desembarcó en Cayena y escribió artículos sobre temas como la colonia de leprosos de Acarouany , los antiguos trabajadores de los bagnes , el pueblo costero Kalina y los buscadores de oro. En septiembre se unió a una expedición geológica y se adentró en el interior, remontando el río Mana . Durante ese viaje, Maufrais saltó al agua tras un caimán herido y lo mató con un cuchillo. Llegó a Maripasoula el 25 de octubre, donde las lluvias lo retuvieron durante tres semanas. ^{[ 3 ]}

En Grigel le dieron una canoa abandonada que resultó ser inservible. Sin dinero, no compró provisiones, pensando que podría vivir de lo que cazara. Empezó a caminar acompañado de su perro Bobby, con una mochila tan pesada que la dividió por la mitad y caminaba un kilómetro con una mitad, luego la dejaba y volvía por la otra. Escribió un diario que narra sus penurias: se perdía con frecuencia, prácticamente no encontraba nada que comer, sufría de disentería y luchaba constantemente contra un bosque hostil. Se vio obligado a comer lagartijas, caracoles, pájaros y semillas. El 1 de enero de 1950, completamente exhausto e incapaz incluso de disparar su arma, llegó a Tamouri y al pequeño asentamiento de Claude, donde solo encontró edificios abandonados. Delirando, finalmente mató a Bobby y se lo comió. ^{[ 3 ]}

He was forced to accept that he could not stick to his original travel plan and set off downriver for the closest village, the creole village of Bienvenue, at 70 kilometers.^[5] An attempt to build a raft failed (it fell apart, waterlogged),^[6] so instead he intended to wade downstream and then, after being rested and re-equipped, to return upstream and continue his journey. On 13 January, he left all his notes and photo equipment in a bag in a hut, keeping only a little bag with necessities and his machete. He got into the water and disappeared in the rapids, never to be seen again.^[3] Evidence found later suggested he managed to travel another thirty-five miles.^[6]

At the end of February or the beginning of March, a man from the Emerillon people traveled on the river Tampok, and passed through the Claude settlement where he found Maufrais's belongings. It was not until 6 July that the press agency of Suriname reported the news of Maufrais's disappearance. The news was picked up by the French press, and the affaire Maufrais was started, fed by a stream of articles, hypotheses, and controversies.^[3]

Maufrais' father, Edgar, began looking for his son in 1952; he left his wife behind in Toulon. He traveled twelve thousand kilometers in twelve years.^[7] He paid for his search by publishing his son's diaries^[6] (he also published his own book, À la recherche de mon fils, published by Éditions Julliard^[3]). By chance, a television crew from Réseau Outre-Mer 1re found him in Maripasoula in 1961, nine years into his fruitless search, and interviewed him. Afterward they also interviewed his wife back in Toulon. He returned to Toulon in June 1964, exhausted; he died ten years later. His wife slowly lost her mind and died in an asylum in Toulon in 1984.^[7]

• Bonaccorsi, Robert (2006). A propósito de Raymond Maufrais . Toulon: Bleu outre-mers. ISBN 2-9523571-9-6.
• Caballero, Jacques (1996). Aventures au cœur de la Guyane: Un homenaje a Raymond Maufrais . Escritura. ISBN 978-2910870058.
• Chapelle, Richard (1969). J'ai vécu l'enfer de Raymond Maufrais . París: Flammarion.
• Crunelle, Geoffroi (1989). Raymond Maufrais: La llamada de la aventura . París: éditions Caribéennes .
• Crunelle, Geoffroi (2015). Raymond Maufrais: La verdadera historia de los héroes del cine La vida pura . Jouaville: Scripta.
• Crunelle, Geoffroi (2006). Raymond Maufrais: Aventures au Brésil et en Guyane . Lanrodec: Scripta.
• Joffroy, Pierre (1956). Dévorante Amazonie: la grande aventure des Maufrais . París: A. Fayard.^{[ 10 ]}
• Maufrais, Edgar (1956). À la recherche de mon fils . París: R. Julliard.
• Renoux, Jean-André; Ricatte, René. La Vérité sur la mort de Raymond Maufrais . París: Éditions France-Empire.
• Tomás, Pablo (2012). À la poursuite de l'impossible (2  ed.). Escritura. ISBN 9782910870270.
• No lo hagas, Daniel (2010). Amazonie, l'enfer en partage: il ya soixante ans, la tragédie des Maufrais . Tolón: les Presses du Midi. ISBN 978-2-8127-0170-2.

• Viaje au bout de la vie , dir. Philippe Jamain; Les Films de la vallée, 1994, 26 min
• Raymond el intrépide. El destino trágico de los Maufrais , dir. Christian Filiberto ; Producción VBC, 2000, 52 min
• Au nom du fils , dir. Philippe Jamain; Aber imágenes, Les Films de la vallée, 2003, 52 min
• La vie pure , dir. Jérémy Banster , 2015.

• Gimlette, John (2011). Costa salvaje . Knopf Doubleday. ISBN 9780307596659.