Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-17
WIFE OF MISSING EXPLORER
=. BELIEVES HUSBAND IS CAPTIVE
Mrs. FaWcett Thinks Colonel
Held by Savage Tribes in
WiIds of Brazil.
Fears for Safety of "Boys''
on Mission to Find
,y Ancient City.
BY HAYDEN CHURCH.

Special Correspondence TO The. Star and
North American Newspaper Alliance.
ST. MALO, France. July 1s.-There
arrived here from Madeira recently a
middle-aged Englishwofl1an who for
more than two years has been waiting
vainly for news OK her husband and
eldest son.
Their bones may lie in the jungle
of unexplofed Brazil, they may be
prisoners in the hands Of savages, or
they may, any day now, emerge and
announce tremendous discoveries, tre-
n1endous adventures.
The woman who awaits them Is
Mrs. p. H. Fawcett. Her husband is
the distinguished British explorer,
Col. Fawcett, who in the hope of dis.
covering remains of what he believed
the worlds oldest civilization, plunged
into the unknown interior of Brazil
with only two companions in May,
1925, and has remained unheard Of
from that day.
One of Col. Fawcett's companions
was the elder or his sons, Jack Faw-
eett, who IL alive IL "a years old. The
other was another young Englishman,
Raleigh Rffnell, who had settled down
in the United States and came from
Los Angeles to New York to join the
expedition.
.. Sought Marvellous City.
Their main objective was a marvel.
Gus city Of the remote past which Col.
Faweett believed to exist in the heart
Of UNEMPLOYED Matte Crosse.
The explorer, when he left Rio de
Janeiro in January, 1925, declared It
might take two years to complete his
work, and said there would be no oc-
casion of anxiety il he failed to re-
appear for SO long.
On the other hand, he expected to
be able to get messages out from time
to time by native RUNNERS. But since
May 80. 1925. when the explorers en-.
tered what scientists consider one of
the most inaccessible and most dan.
gefous areas OF the globe, no word
from or about them has come to re,
lieve the anxiety or their relatives and
friends.
Are these three men alive or dead!
Have they been killed by the warlike
savages, some Of them carnibals, OF
are they held prisoner by them? Did
they perish In the rapids Of one OF
many dangerous rivers they would
have to cross in their 1.500smile jour
ney, or have they starved to death
in this all but foodless region? OF
are they, even now, on their way
back to civilization with news Of dis
coveries that viii stagger humanity!
Believes Husband Alive.
That Col. Fawcett, at least, Is alive
IL the firm belief Of his stout-hearted
wife. In an interview with me Mrs
Fawcett said she inclined to the be
lief that her husband was the pris
oner OF some tribe Of Indians, who
however, she was convinced. would
give him good treatment because oil
OF the South American aborigines
would enable him to exert over them
But she considered 1t equally possible
that he had reached his goal, and
was remaining on the spot as Ions
as possible to complete his studies OF
his finds. whatever they may have
been.
That Col. Fawcett will reappeal
sooner or later she has no doubt
whatever. About the safety Of the
| boys as she calls them. her sor
Jack, and his chum. Raleigh, she con
fesses she is much less easy in hel
mind.
Her fear is that one or both Of
them may have succumbed to hunger
or exhaustion. II do not like t.
think about the boys" she SAID
simply.
you think. then, that the mos
likely thing ID that Col. Fawcett i.
a prisoner" I asked.
Yes, but believe that he Is being
kindly treated. / know from previou:
experience that he would max,
friends with the savages ana do fol
them what they would consider aston
ishing things. They would look upor
him as a powerful chief and would
not wish to part with him."
HAS your husband ever been 4
prisoner Of the Indians before?"
mo, though he spent some TIM
with the Maragoshee tribe. Som'
time. in 1911, believe"
''And why your anxiety about thu
boys'?"
II feel anxious about them becaus'
I do not see how young men In thu
early eos. who need good food ant
are unused to hardships. are goinl
q. stand continuous prtyAttonS, NJ,