While all of the Amazon stories I’ve read thus far are
amazing, none are more extraordinary than that of one Isabel Maria de Jesus
Grameson Godin de Odonais. Born to the Peruvian governor of Otalvo (just south
of Quito in present day Ecuador), Isabel was a bright young woman, who spoke
her native Spanish, French, Portuguese and Quechua, the indigenous language of
Peru. At the age of 13, when most women of her class were already married, she
fell in love with a visiting Frenchman, Jean Godin. Over the protests of her
parents, they were married a year later and she gave birth to her first of 9
children, none of whom would survive to adulthood. Just as they were planning
to return to France, Smallpox hit the Quito area hard and the Godins lost their
first child and moved far south of the city to Riobamba. For 7 long years,
their dream of returning to France was shattered by a series of births and
childhood deaths, exacerbated by failing finances.
In 1748, they received word that Jean’s father had died and
he elected to return to France, settle his father’s estate and return for
Isabel, who was again pregnant. Rather than go the normal route – up the coast
and across Panama, he elected to go straight east, crossing the Andes and
travelling down the Amazon to the Portuguese coast. Miraculously, he made the
trip safely in just 13 months and settled the estate as planned. Unfortunately,
the European powers were headed towards the Seven Year War and he was not able
to secure permissions for the return trip up the Amazon. Why he didn’t just
take the Panama route back to Peru (or why he didn’t consider birth control)
remain a mystery. He did manage to make it to French Guianna, where he waited 15
years for the war to end and international relations to settle. At long last, he resumed his trip to fetch
Isabel, who had been waiting (childless) with her parents in Quito.
Once again, fate intervened, and Jean was struck ill. Unable
to continue, he dispatched his friend Tristan D’Oreasaval to go in his place and
return with his wife. Jean’s private boat carried D’Oreasaval up the Amazon to
Loreto (present day Iquitos, Peru). Instead of making the difficult journey up-river
and across the Andes, D’Oreasaval gave the papers and some of the funds to a
Jesuit priest, who was headed to Quito, and stayed in Loreto to party and start
his own trading business. As any good Frenchman would do. The Jesuit was never
heard from again, but word reached Isabel in Quito that a boat was waiting for
her on the Amazon to take her to Jean. On the basis of this flimsy evidence,
Isabel, now 42 years old, would begin a most extraordinary odyssey of survival
to reunite with her husband, absent almost 20 years.
Isabel sold all possessions and organized a party that
included her two brothers, a French doctor and some 40 guides and servants to
carry her across the Andes and down the Amazon. The journey began well, as
Isabel was carried on the backs of servants across the mountains. But, when
they reached a river outpost on the eastern slope, where canoes and rafts were
supposed to be waiting, they found just a smoldering village – burned by its
inhabitants to stop the spread of a smallpox outbreak. The next day, the party
awoke to find that all of the guides and servants had fled, fearful of the Pox,
leaving just Isabel, her brothers, 3 Frenchmen and 2 loyal servants to ponder
their situation. They located a few of the returning villagers, who disclosed a
raft and canoe, and hired them to travel with them down river. The next day,
the villagers took off with their pay, once again causing thought of returning
to Quito. But, Isabel was not to be deterred from her marital reunion after 20
years and convinced the group to press on. Besides, there was a mission just a
few days down river where they could resupply and hire more help.
Their over-confidence was typical of most Amazon travelers,
as their raft and canoe quickly overturned in some rapids and they lost almost all
their supplies but managed to reach shore safely. The canoe was recovered and
two of the Frenchmen proposed that they travel to the mission and send back
help. Never trust a Frenchman, let alone two. After waiting over 3 weeks and
using up almost all their remaining supplies, Isabel decided (correctly) that the
Frenchies were not coming back and directed the construction of a raft. Sadly,
her determination far exceeded her ship-building skills. This flimsy craft
shortly hit a log and broke apart, stranding the group once again, but this time
with zero supplies and creating a desperate situation. She then decided they
should abandon the river and set out on foot through the jungle for the
mission. They wandered through the rainforest for 2 weeks, living of what bits
of food they could find, until collapsing from fever, hunger and thirst. Isabel
watched in horror as, one by one, her brothers, nephew and friends died. When
the last of her comrades died, she set out alone, wearing her brother’s boots,
still determined to reunite with her husband.
Eight days after she left her dead party, two natives were
stunned to see a small tattered white woman emerge from the jungle as they were
about to head down river. They were further shocked when she spoke in their
Quechua language, begging for assistance. They took her to the mission, where
she recovered for the next 6 weeks. In
the 5 weeks since her party boarded the raft and canoe, she had travelled only
about 20 miles. The director of the mission was quite surprised to see her, as
the Frenchmen had reported them all dead and continued down river. Her
continued travel down the Amazon was heralded in advance with some fanfare. She
had become quite the heroine and gained the friendship and assistance of all
she met. Along the way, she ran into one of the Frenchmen who had abandoned her,
as well as the traitorous D’Oreasaval, who actually had the nerve to sue the
Godin’s for wages while he lived in Loreto. I would have loved to have been
there to see either of those meetings.
And so it was that Isabel and Jean Godin were finally back
in each other’s arms, after almost 21 years apart. They stayed in French Guiana
for a few years, recovering their health before returning to France. And living
happily ever after.
Two morals to the tale:
11.
Love can conquer all.
22.
Never trust a Frenchman. Especially in the
jungle.
No comments:
Post a Comment