 The world's greatest wild animal trainer, Clyde Beatty, with another exciting story from his brilliant career. This master of the big cats captures ferocious jungle beasts and trains them to perform under the big top in the circus, where there are always thrills, action and danger. Hundreds of dramatic behind the scenes adventures are all part of the Clyde Beatty story. Here is the story of Amazon Adventure. Africa has long been known as the Dark Continent, but I often wonder if it deserves that title more than South America. Or at least the part of South America my wife Harriet and I visited a few years ago. It was mid-winter when we arrived at the port of Belém at the mouth of the mighty Amazon River in northern Brazil. After passing through customs, we headed from the docks straight toward the American consulate. This is the place, senor. Well, thanks, driver. We'll only be a few minutes. Maybe you'd better wait so you can take us on to our hotel. As you wish, senor. Coming, Harriet. Right behind you, dear. Oh, there's the flag. You know, Clyde, I always get a thrill out of seeing our stars and stripes when we're so far from home. Oh, so do I, honey. It's comforting to know that whatever country we may be in, there's a little bit of the United States nearby. Isn't her my proud beauty? Thank you, kind sir. Well, hello. Come in. Thank you. May I help you? Uh, we just wanted to check in before going to the interior. Bady's my name. This is Mrs. Bady. Oh, I'm Gordon Craig, vice consul here. Welcome to Belém. Thank you, Mr. Craig. Uh, I understand you to say you're going to the interior. That's right. We're going to Manaus. Manaus? That's almost 900 miles up the Amazon. It's hardly a tourist attraction once you're there for that matter. Well, we're not exactly a run-of-the-mill tourist, Mr. Craig. We're interested in getting some wild animals and also in getting some good film of native jungle and animal life. Oh, I see. Of course, you're Clyde Bady there. I'm sorry, I didn't recognize her. That's quite understandable, Mr. Craig. Well, I think our passports are in order. We're going to spend the night in Belém and leave on the river steamer in the morning from Manaus. In the morning? Well, I'm afraid you're mistaken. There's no steamer going upriver in the morning. But we were told one left on the first and 15th of each month. And today's the 14th? I'm sorry, but evidently whoever gave you that information hadn't been advised with a change in schedule. The boat leaves on the 10th and 25th of each month now. Oh, that's just great. Clyde, what are we going to do? We can't waste 10 days here, Mr. Craig. We haven't enough time. Oh, I see. Well, had you considered chartering a plane and flying it? Oh, I thought of it, but I figured Manaus was so far away from the coast there wouldn't be any landing field. Is there a field in that territory, Mr. Craig? Yes, a field was built near Manaus just last year. Well, that's the answer then. That is, if we can find a plane. Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Would you like me to call the airport and see what's available? I hate to put you at all this trouble or no trouble at all. Glad to be of service. Well, we certainly appreciate it. What about coming along? We'd enjoy your company as well as your health. No, thank you. I'm not one to go out of my way looking for trouble better. What do you mean, Mr. Craig? I mean that much of the territory you'll be going through is virtually unexplored. It may prove to be a very interesting and dangerous experience. And now back to Clyde Lady and Amazon Adventure. The man at the airport is getting the information. Oh, hello! Hello! Yes, that's correct. No, just the two people in the party. Mr. and Mrs. Bezier. Just a moment. I'll ask them. He must know if you'll be wanting the plane to wait while you're there, or if you're coming back on the river steamer. Oh, we'll come back on the steamer. Hello! No, they'll not want the plane to wait. I see. That's right. They'd like to leave in the morning. Oh, well, just hold the line. Any idea how much your baggage and equipment will weigh? Oh, I'd say seven, maybe 800 pounds. Mr. Beatty says their gear weighs seven or 800 pounds. That's right. Have you a good ship and a pilot for such a flight? Just a moment. He says they have a twin-engine, six-passenger cabin plane and an experienced pilot. Oh, that's wonderful. It's made to order. Tell them we'll take it. Hello! Mr. Beatty says that'll be fine. Who's that? Carlos Gracida. All right, I'll tell them. You can expect them in the morning. Thank you very much. Goodbye. Sounds as if we're in luck, Mr. Craig. You are indeed. The plane will be ready to leave at eight in the morning. And your pilot's name is Carlos Gracida. Oh, fine. Ah, Carlos Gracida. Hmm, sounds fascinating. Hey, now wait a minute, senora. Remember me? Hmm, si, senora. As you can see, Mr. Craig, my wife speaks Spanish. Two words of it, to be exact. Well, that's a good start anyway, Mrs. Beatty. I'm afraid we've already taken too much of your time, Craig. Oh, not at all. We'd better be getting to our hotel. I hope you'll stop in and return from the house. I'd like to hear about your experiences upriver. We'll make a point of stopping by, Mr. Craig. We sure will. And thanks again for all your help. Glad to do it. I wish you didn't have to leave so soon. So do I, but we'd better get rested up if we're going to be ready to leave at eight in the morning. I guess all our stuff's aboard now, honey. Where'd Carlos go? Oh, he said he went to get a clearance or something. He'll be here in a minute. They put a lot of things aboard that certainly don't belong to us. I know. They took all but two of the seats out of the cabin to make room for cargo. Oh, I don't understand. They're trying to fill the ship up with payloads. Stuff they know will be welcome at Manaus. Things the natives need and want. Well, I'm glad they left seats for us anyway. Oh, here comes Carlos. I guess we're all set to take off. Oh, right on schedule. It's just eight o'clock. You people are already? You may take off at once. Good. Let's get going then. Bueno, the weather report says we will have to find weather all the way. I will myself much enjoy this flight for a change. Oh, you don't fly to the interior very often, then? Almost never, senora. Mostly up and down the coastline of Brazil. I don't suppose we'll be making any stops along the way, huh? Indeed, no. It is no place we could stop even if we wanted to. The only landing field west of Belém is our destination, Manaus. Well, we're ready whenever you are. See, we go. Pleased to get aboard. How you doing, honey? Oh, I'm about to doze off. Things as if we've been flying for hours and hours. Well, we're about three-fourths of the way now, I think. And do you still have the extra map Carlos gave you? Yeah. Here it is. Don't ask me where we are. Oh, I'm glad I'm disappointed in you. I thought after all the years you'd been flying, you'd know where we were every minute. This isn't quite the same as flying in the States, honey. No iron compass. No iron compass? Yeah, no railroad tracks to follow. Oh. Nothing but jungle and the Amazon River in sight. Half the time I can't tell whether it's the Amazon or one of its branches. Well, we should worry. As long as Carlos knows his way, I guess we're all right. He knows what he's doing all right. Carlos. See, Senor. How much longer before we arrive at Manaus? It would be perhaps an hour, an hour and a half. We have the headwind. Thanks. Might as well relax, honey. I guess we're still a couple hundred miles away. Oh, this beats five days on a river steamer, so I'm not complaining. I'm glad now the steamer had already left. I wouldn't even have... Clyde. Steady, baby. But what's the matter? Well, the engines is acting up. What's the trouble, Carlos? The car doesn't be sure, Senor. I think it may be the fuel pump. It's just dandy. It stopped completely now. Relax, honey. We still got another one that's working. I just hope it keeps on working. That jungle below looks awfully close. We've got a couple of thousand feet. Senor, baby. What is it, Carlos? We are losing altitude, Senor. You mean the good engine won't take us on in? It should, but they must have loaded us too heavily. We will never maintain altitude with this load. Oh, Clyde. Maybe I can jettison some of this cargo. That is our only chance, Senor. You must try and hurry. Okay. Harriet, I'll get the cabin door open. Get ready to help me shove this stuff overboard. How are we doing now, Carlos? Not enough. We are still losing the altitude. You must hurry, Senor. I'm working as fast as I can. Well, I'd say these boxes are too heavy for me to move. I know. I've got hardly but some of them myself. I've already thrown out most of our equipment. Clyde, the trees are just beneath us now. It is of no use, Senor, baby. Are you sure? We are going to crash, Senor. Harriet, back to your seat and fasten your safety belt. Sinch it up tight. But... Do as I say and hurry. I'll get those air mattresses to wedge in front of you. You have only a few moments to prepare. Here. This might help a little, honey. Let me get my safety belt fastened too. Clyde, I'm afraid. So am I. If that's any consolation, honey. All we can do now is pray for the best. I will stall into the treetops as slowly as possible. Cover your hands with your arms. All right, Carlos. Good luck. Clyde, if we don't... Don't say it, honey. We'll make it. Brace yourselves. We are going into the trees. Thank you, Evan. Oh, Clyde, your shoulder. You're bleeding. It'll be all right. Better see how Carlos made out. Poor devil. Oh, maybe I can help. Carlos. Carlos. Is he dead? No, his heart's still beating all right. Looks like he took a bad bump on the head though. May have a concussion. How will we ever get help for him, Clyde? I don't know. Let's get him out of the seat here and back to the floor of the cabin. Oh, all right. Just a second. No. Oh, here, Clyde. Put him down right here, gently. I saw a first aid kit just behind one of the seats. I'll get it. All right. I'm afraid there isn't much we can do for him, though. Maybe put a bandage on his head. That's about all. Oh, here's the kit. And Carlos' map was on the floor beside his seat. I'm afraid a map won't be much help where we are now, honey. Oh, look. He marks an X right here on it. Do you suppose he did that just before we crashed to mark our position? Let's see. Yeah, it's just what he did. This is about where we should be, I think. But... Nothing. We're looking at what's printed on the map near the mark. Xivaro territory. What does that mean? You've never heard of the Xivaro's? No. Well, let's see about that bandage for Carlos, shall we? Clyde, you're hiding something. What about the Xivaro's? Harriet, Carlos is regaining consciousness. Oh, thank goodness he's going to be all right. I hope so. Take it easy, fella. What a dears. We're alive. Thanks to your skill, yes. Oh, I remember now. The trees, they were reaching for us. They got us, too. Oh, here, Carlos. Here's some water. Gracias, senor. That's it. Take this one out. Gracias. Listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you, senor. I made a mark on my map just before we crashed. It will show you our position now. Yeah, we saw the mark, Carlos. The river is only three or four miles to the north. You must go quickly to the river. Make a raft upon which you may flow downstream to the village of Hureti. Hureti? See, it is perhaps fifteen or twenty miles down the river. There you will be safe until the steamer comes. Well, that's good news if I ever heard it. Harriet and I can carry you as far as the river. No, no, no. You must not waste time with me, senor. You must leave at once and get to the river as soon as possible. For Carlos, we wouldn't think of leaving you here. You must do as I say, senora. Quickly, before the Xivaro's discover you. That name again, Xivaro's. Who are the Xivaro's? Senora, the Xivaro's are the most feared tribe of natives in the Amazon. They are headhunters. Now back to Clyde Beatty and Amazon Adventure. Clyde and Harriet Beatty with their South American pilot were on a flight into the Amazon interior. Before reaching their destination, the plane developed engine trouble and the pilot was forced to crash land in the jungle. A short time later when Carlos regained consciousness, he informed the Beatty's that they had crashed in the territory of the Xivaro's, a savage tribe of headhunters. He's lost consciousness again, Clyde. Maybe it's just as well. I got the door open, honey. We're only about four feet from the ground. We'd better get Carlos down and try to get to the river, as he said. Right. Help me get him in the doorway where I can lift him after I jump down. Oh, all right. Good. A little more. That's it. I can get him from here, all right. Give me a second now. All right. Here we go, Carlos. Can you make it all right? Yeah. I got him. I'll just put him down right here for now. Here's your rifle, Clyde. Thanks. And don't forget the canteen and the map, honey. I've got him. Let me give you a hand down now. Okay. Yeah, thank you. Looks like there's a game trail just through the trees here. Chances are at least to the river. I hate to have to move, Carlos, but there's no choice. Are you going to make a letter to carry him on? No, there isn't time. We want to get out of here right now. Well, I can help carry him, Clyde. I think I can manage by myself, honey. You carry the rifle and the canteen and leave the way. All right. You ready? Yep. Let's go. Watch for snakes, honey. I will. Oh, you were right. There is an arrow trail here. Good. Head to the left, then. If Carlos was right, that's the direction of the river. We must have covered a couple of miles by now, Clyde. You'll more like we've covered ten. Carlos is no lightweight. Are you sure we're heading for the Amazon? I'm not sure of anything, honey. Except that we've seen enough of this jungle to last a lifetime. Oh, Carlos is coming too again. You're... Clyde, maybe you'd better put him down for a minute. You need a rest anyway. Maybe you're right. We'll stop for a minute. There we are. Senior baby, you should not have wasted the time with me. Don't be silly, Carlos. You should have gone on by yourself. And leave you to die or be captured. Better it should be me than all of us. Stop talking that way, Carlos. We should be about halfway to the river by now. We'll make it all right. Listen. Listen, señor. Voices. They're all around us, Harriet. Give me that right. No, señor. Do not shoot. Oh, I guess you're right. There's too many of them. Clyde, what can we do? Just sit tight, honey. The next moves up to them. We were surrounded by some 15 or 20 Givaro warriors. All were armed with blowguns from which they shot small dart-like arrows. Arrows whose tips had been dipped in poison. Savages looked us over with curiosity. Then motioned for us to proceed up the trail. Two of them carried Carlos, and in a short while we arrived at their village. The Givaros marched us straight to their chief, an old wrinkled man with a fierce appearance who sat cross-legged in front of his grass-roofed mud hut. Can you make him understand that we're not their enemy? I don't know. None of those who brought us here seem to understand anything I said. What, señor? He's holding up their hand for silence. White man, what you do, Givaro land. Oh, thank heaven he speaks some English. We crash in airplane. We do not wish to cause the Givaros trouble. We are friends. Nobody friend to Givaros. Nobody friend to Givaros. We are friends, chief. We cause no trouble. We wish only to get to river. Go to Huriti. Oh, Huriti. We wish to go Huriti. We need your help. Uh, Huriti, long way. Givaros, not like go Huriti. Chief, we only want to go... God, the others are motioning for us to come with them. It doesn't look like the chief's too friendly. It is of no use to argue, señor. We are helpless. Chief, if you will just let us... I guess we'd better do as they say. They seem to want us to go into the hut across the way. What are they going to do? They've got to let us go. Steady, honey, it won't help to lose our heads. Collide. I mean, let's try to keep calm. The three of us were taken to another mud hut and shoved in through the low doorway. We sat on the dirt floor and, gradually, our eyes became accustomed to the darkness of our crude prison. Suddenly, I noticed Harriet staring at the other side of the hut. Collide. Yeah, honey? Over there. They look like... Oh, no. Heads. Shrunken human heads. Collide, no. If they can't be, they're not real. They are real, señor. Carlos is right. Those are prize examples of the Givaros' handiwork I'm afraid. I can't believe it. This can't be happening to us. It's a horrible nightmare. Easy, honey, easy, easy. Listen. What is that? From the corner, señor. There is a native there. Yeah, I see him now. He's tired, handed him forth. See? He is a captive also. Do you suppose he's from an enemy tribe or one of the Givaros? I do not know, señor. Wait. Someone is coming. It's the chief. I have talk with my people, white man. Yes, chief. I'll decide. Let you go. Help you get Uriti. Oh, thank goodness. Our prayers have been heard. Oh, it is too good to be true. Then we can go today? No. Go tomorrow. But can't your men take us now? Tomorrow. Go. Tonight my people see sacrifice. Sacrifice. Kill enemy of Givaros tonight. You mean that man in the corner there? Tonight we kill, take head. Wait. You can't do a thing like that. Quiet, honey. Quiet. Don't say anything. Tomorrow take you in boat to Uriti. Well, thank you, chief. Tomorrow will be fine. You stay here. Have food brought you. Clive, they're going to kill that poor man. Not if we can help it, they won't. Senor, if you value your life, do not attempt to interfere. We can't stand by. Let that fellow be murdered, Carlos. Senor, he's only a native. That's no reason for us to look the other way if we can help him. If we can help him, Senora, but what can we do? Apparently, they're not too concerned with us. They didn't tie us up, didn't even take my rifle. I see. Well, if we turned the native loose, then they would kill us instead of helping us. Probably. If we turned him loose, we'd have to make a break for it ourselves. Well, how could we, Clive? We don't know which way to go. And Carlos isn't in any shape to make a run for him. I'm all right now, Senora. If it is necessary, I will manage. Good boy, Carlos. Unless I'm badly mistaken, we're not more than a mile or so from the river. By following the same trail we were on, we should hit it. See? And then? They're bound to have some boats around where we can find one. But how could we get away from the village without their knowing? That's a problem. But if they're like other natives I've seen in the jungle, we may have a chance. I do not understand, Senor Baby. It's mid-afternoon now. In an hour or so, they'll be eating their big meal. While they're at it, we might be able to sneak into the jungle and back to the trail. See, it is possible. But if we are discovered... We'll just have to make sure we're not discovered. Just out of luck. Is he still outside the door, Harriet? Yes. Do you think he was sent to guard us? I don't know. I thought after he left the food he'd go back with the others. Everybody else in the village seems to be over at the other side of the clearing. They're all eating now. We haven't much time, Carlos. Take my knife. Go untie that native. See, Senor? What about the guards outside? You leave it to me. Harriet, get back from the doorway a little more and call that joker in. But how? You're a woman. Turn out a charm, honey. All right. I'll stand just to the side where he won't see me until it's too late, at least. Go ahead, honey. Make him stick his knob through the doorway. Oh, mister, come here a moment, will you? That's it. Right this way. Oh, that's fine. Well, sleep tight, pal. Carlos, how you doing? I have just finished. He is on tight now. Come on, then. Let's get moving. Out the doorway and around the back of the hut. Hurry. How much farther can it be? It shouldn't be far. We've got to keep going fast, though. Senor, the river. She is just ahead. Oh. Oh, the native guy. He's pointing at something. He's pointing at the bank over to the left. He's found a couple of boats. We're in luck. They are war canoes. The Queen Mary couldn't look better right now. Come on, honey. All right. Jump in here. Carlos, you. Come on, fella. You get aboard, too. Listen. Grab those paddles while I shove off, you know. All right, keep paddling. Faster. There they are. Look, they are getting into the other boat. Cut. How far can those blowguns shoot? Not this far, I don't think. There must be a dozen of them. The four of us cannot hope to out-distance them for long, Senor. I know. They're gaining on us already. Oh, I'd do something. Hurry. Hand me my rifle. Shoot, Senor. They are getting closer. Your aim is not good, Senor. You're only hitting the water in front of their boat. But, Senor, what is the matter? I'm not trying to hit the men, Carlos. Not right? Of course. Oh, they've stopped paddling. Look at them. The boat's sinking. I hope they know how to swim, but keep paddling, friends. I won't feel safe until we're all the way back to Belém. Well, you folks were gone quite a while, baby, but I'm glad you made good your promise to stop at the consulate before returning to the States. Tell me, did you have an interesting time of it? Oh, yes. Yes. Very interesting, Mr. Crane. Oh, it's fine. Reynolds, the consul, was a bit anxious about you when I told him where you'd gone. Anxious about her? Indeed he was. He was afraid you might run into trouble of some sort. But I assured him there was nothing to worry about. That your husband here seemed to have a good head on his shoulders. Well, thanks, Crane. But I found out that in the Amazon, having a good head on your shoulders is only half the battle. It's keeping it there that counts. And now, here is Cliberti. You know, some people think that all the advantages are with the trainer battling the big cats in the steel arena. This is far from true. Actually, only superior intelligence and skill are on the side of the trainer. You see, the beasts may make any number of mistakes, but one error, a slip, a speck is sawed us in an eye, faulty judgment, or just a sign of nervousness, and the trainers carried away to the hospital or a mortuary. Some years ago, my career was very nearly ended by a huge lion named Nero. It was many months before the victor was determined in what became a personal battle between us. You'll hear all the details in a dramatic story entitled Brush with Death. All stories are based upon incidents in the career of the world-famous Cliberti and the Cliberti Circus. The Cliberti show is produced by Shirley Thomas. Amazon Adventure was written by Robert T. Smith and Frank Clark Taussig. All names used were fictional, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a Commodore production.