Among the Headhunters Read online

  Donovan, William “Wild Bill,” 71, 228

  Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, 32

  Dorman-Smith, Reginald, 19–20

  downed aircraft, finding, 162–163. See also Blackie’s Gang

  Downie, Don, 3

  Dumbastapur, origin of name, 5

  Dwyer, J. J., 191

  East India Company (EIC). See British East India Company

  education programs, current, 232

  Edward VIII’s abdication, 126, 139, 153–154

  Eifler, Carl, 67–68, 70–71

  Eighteenth (Chrysanthemum) Division (Japan), 27–28, 33

  elephants and tigers, 207

  Emlong, 191, 197, 211

  Ercolani, Lucien, 30–32

  ethnological and anthropological studies, 104. See also individual anthropologists

  evangelizing missions. See Christian missionaries

  feast given by Nagas at survivor camp, 184–185

  Felix, Charles, 2, 175, 178, 187

  ferry pilots, 4–5, 12–15

  First Anglo-Burmese War, 85

  Fisher, Herbert, 12

  fitness of crash survivors, 202–203

  Flickinger, Don

  camp activities organization, 188

  difficult first day’s march toward Chabua, 198

  as forerunner of volunteer medic parachuters, 217

  gift from Mongsen, 195, 205

  as leader for survival group, 177–178

  life after rescue, 229

  maintaining equilibrium between Nagas and survivors, 179

  medical treatment of villagers, 174, 183

  parachuting in to survivor group, 170–172

  preparations for Japanese attacks, 188

  visit to Sangbah’s home, 201

  as wing surgeon, 170

  Flight 12420

  attempted emergency route to Jorhat, 36

  bail-out, 37–42

  crash site, 160

  engine problems, 15, 35–36

  oil pressure gauge problem, 35–36

  passengers, 5–6

  preflight checklists, 1–2, 8

  weight concern, 11

  Flying Tigers, 19

  Forsdike, Eric, 8

  Fort Hertz, Burma, 9

  France, Sevareid’s coverage in, 60–62

  Fuller, Joseph Bampfylde, 83–85

  Fürer-Haimendorf, Christof von

  on crossbows with poisoned arrows, 115

  on danger of solo travel in Naga Hills, 107–108

  donation of heads to Naga sepoys, 154–155

  Emlong photographs with heads, 211

  expedition photographs, 116

  on friendliness of Panso, 146

  life after rescue, 225–226

  on Mills’s approach to Nagas, 101

  on Pangsha emissaries at Chimgmei, 140–141

  on punitive expedition to Pangsha, 110–111

  search for Wenshoyl, 133

  study of Nagas, 98, 103

  study of Noklat, 136

  on views from Helipong, 117–118

  visits to uncontacted villages, 115

  Gallagher, O. D., 22, 29–31

  gaonbura (village headman appointed by British), 181

  gaonbura system of Naga government, 91–92

  gasoline air transports to China, 2–3

  Gauss, Clarence, 71

  Geneva Conventions of 1929, 32

  Germany, 60–62

  Gerty, Bernard, 156

  Gibb, Isabella “Ishbel,” 64

  gift exchange in Ponyo, 78–79

  Giguere, Joseph “Jiggs,” 58, 74, 179, 203

  Gilbert, Henry, 22

  Giota, Anthony, 191

  Girly (slave), 144, 150

  goat sacrifice, 80

  Great Awakening, 88

  guns, 220, 223. See also Lee-Enfield rifles

  Gurkhas

  as Assam Rifles, 121, 226

  Burmese Army recruitment from, 22

  as Gurkha Rifles, 157

  J. Cross as, 28

  kukri (fighting knife), 38

  subdued Chinglong, 97

  Ham, Peter van, 99, 105

  Hamilton (Captain), 94

  Harman, Carter, 217

  head-hunting

  in Control Area, 221

  as cultural dissonance problem, 104–106

  heads confiscated at Yimpang, 125

  Inner Line System increases, 105

  as Naga practice, 83–84

  occasionally sanctioned, 223

  Pangsha and Yimpang rampage, 108–109

  prohibition, beneficial effects of, 210

  raids by tribes in nonadministered areas, 93–94

  Raj and missionary opposition to, 89

  helicopters for search-and-rescue, 217

  heliograph apparatus, 118

  Helipong village, 117, 204

  Helland, Edward, 58

  Heppner, Richard, 67

  hill country tribes as pro-British, 21

  History of the Areas Bordering on Assam from 1883–1941 (Reid), 82, 84

  Hobbes, Thomas, 210

  Hobhouse Commission, 98

  Holongba village, 115

  hostel for distant-living school children, 232–234

  Hukawng Valley, Burma, 9

  Hull, Cordell, 22

  human sacrifice, 108, 109, 142, 149, 210

  Hump (Assam-to-Yunnan air-ferry route), 2, 10, 43

  Hutton, John Henry “J. H.,” 83, 97–100, 150

  Hydari, Akbar, 226

  iced wings, 10

  ICS. See Indian Civil Service

  Imperial Japanese Army. See Japanese military

  India. See Shillong, India

  Indian Civil Service (ICS), 97–98

  Indian workers in Burma, 21

  Inner Line System, 105

  intelligence concerns, 65–69. See also Office of Strategic Services

  Intourist tours to Russia, 64

  Japanese military

  attacks and invasion of Burma, 19–22, 29, 33

  fighting ability and commitment of, 27–29

  Japanese Zero fighter planes, 9, 10, 187–188, 218

  Pearl Harbor and Asian attacks, 19, 29

  Porter attacked ground positions, 218

  protection of Burma, 33

  rapes of nurses, 24

  “Regulations for Punishment of Enemy Air Crews,” 32

  ruthlessness and brutality of, 29–31

  as threat to crash survivors, 186, 188

  Japan’s Last Bid for Victory (Lyman), 79, 192

  jettisoned baggage retrieved, 183–184

  John Company. See British East India Company

  Johnstone, James, 87, 91

  Jones, Craig, 206

  Jorhat, Assam

  as air base, 4

  survivors arrive at, 213

  Kachin tribe

  as British-led rebels, 33

  as Burmese hill country tribe, 16, 21, 33

  Detachment 101, working with, 67–68, 70

  as pro-British, 34

  Kalyo Kengyu Naga tribe, 107–108, 156, 164–166

  Kaolikung Range, Burma, 9

  Karen tribe, 21, 33, 34

  Katzman, George, 162

  Kempetai (Japanese military police), 32

  kepruo (plane), 78

  Kesiezie, Pfelie, 233

  khel headmen of Pangsha, 108

  khels (village divisions), 132–133

  Khonoma village, 78, 86–87, 90, 91

  Khruomo, Noumvüo, 78

  Kittleson, Glen, 58, 178

  Knight, Richard, 162

  Kohima Educational Society (KES), 232, 234

  Kohima Educational Trust (KET), 232–234

  Kohima village, 87, 90–91, 99–100, 225

  Konyak Naga tribe, 103, 191–192

  The Konyak Nagas (Fürer-Haimendorf), 103

  Kramer, Joe, 217

  Kukis, as Burmese hill country tribe, 33

  kukri (fighting knife), 38, 195


  Kunming, China, 5

  Kuomintang, 44–45, 56–57, 67, 226–227. See also Chiang Kai-shek

  Kuthurr village, 119, 202

  Kwoh Li, 74, 198, 203

  LaBonte, Andrew “Buddy,” 184, 191, 229

  lambu (sacrosanct ambassador), 141

  Langnyu River Valley

  defenses built, 128, 130

  men missing from stockade, 133

  Noklak village on, 136

  planned pretend camp after Pangsha-Wenshoyl attack, 131

  protective party at, 181, 186

  latitude/longitude of crash site, 163

  Lee, Duncan C. “Koch”

  in charge of supply tent, 179

  on Eifler’s SI reports, 70

  encounter with tiger, 212

  fitness level on march, 203

  as Flight 12420 passenger, 5–6, 15, 58

  life after rescue, 227–229

  parachuted from Flight 12420, 74

  proposed meeting with Dai Li, 228

  as Soviet spy in OSS, 6, 62–65, 228–229

  tasked by Donovan re Detachment 101, 69–70

  tasked by Donovan re SACO, 65–69, 67

  Lee, Roland, 58, 212

  Lee-Enfield rifle, 112, 116, 121, 134–135

  Lemmon, Basil, 58, 175, 185

  lend-lease material to China, 18, 45, 47, 71–72, 230

  Lewis guns, 130, 132

  The Lhota Nagas (Mills), 102

  LIFE magazine

  on C-46 problems, 11–12

  on ferry pilots, 4–5

  Liresu village, 117

  Loksan village, 151–152

  Longmatrare, Nagaland, 222

  Longmisa village, 153–154

  Longon, P., 233

  Ltu, Khrienuo, 92

  Lunt, James, 29

  Lushai, as Burmese hill country tribe, 33

  Lyman, Robert, 79

  M1 carbines for survivors, 177–178

  MACR. See missing air crew reports

  Maddock, Thomas, 88

  Manipur, India

  army to Khonoma siege, 91

  in Treaty of Yandabo, 85

  march from Mokokchung to Jorhat airfield, 211–212

  Mark I Eyeball, 162

  Martin, Neil G., 22

  Mason, Gerry, 5

  Matche, 107–108, 140

  May, Rob and Sylvia, 233–234

  McKelway, St. Clair, 169, 171

  McKenzie, William, 171–172, 178, 229

  McKie, Ronald, 10, 54–55

  Merrill, Frank, 73

  Merritt, Joe, 191

  Miles, Milton “Mary,” 65–69, 227–228

  military codes of conduct, ignored by Japanese, 29, 31

  Miller, Ned, 3, 36–37, 159

  Mills, Geraldine, 100

  Mills, James, 231–232

  Mills, Pamela, 114

  Mills, Philip “J.P.”

  Chang territory visit, 107

  on changes in Naga culture, 105

  as colonial administrator and anthropologist, 97–98, 100–102

  on death by Naga poison, 121

  on Edward VIII’s abdication, 139

  first Pangsha encounter, 129–130

  hope for nonviolent resolution in Pangsha, 112–113

  journey to uncharted areas, 110

  life after rescue, 225

  overtures to neighboring villages to Pangsha, 122–123

  perceptions of Nagas, 209–210

  search for Wenshoyl, 133

  on semi-independence for Naga Hills, 231–232

  study of Noklat, 136

  terms for peace with Pangsha, 140–141

  visits to uncontacted villages, 115

  See also punitive expeditions

  missing air crew reports (MACRs), 162

  mithan cows, 132, 149, 151, 184

  The Modern Traveller (Belloc), 121

  Mokokchung village

  anthropological studies in, 99–100

  as British administrative site, 93–94

  march to, 208

  Mills at, 100

  Pangsha expedition launch from, 111–113

  returning Pangsha expedition, 153

  Mongoloid races, Nagas as, 82–83

  Mongsen

  arrested in 1939, 158

  child treated by Flickinger, 188–189

  as emissary to Chingmei, 140

  first encounter in punitive expedition, 129–130

  gift to Flickinger, 195, 205

  imagined response to KET work, 235

  injured foot treated by Vierya, 141–142

  as khel headman of Pangsha, 108

  perceptions of white men, 189–190

  in Wenshoyl with crash survivors, 174

  Mongu, 108, 158

  monsoons, 30, 96, 116, 175, 187

  morungs (village dormitories), 136, 167

  Mount Yakko, 143–144

  Mozema village, 86, 90

  Murrow, Edward, 59–61

  Myanmar. See Burma

  Myitkyina, Burma, 10, 16, 50–51

  Naga expedition (1879–1880), 85–86

  Naga Hills

  British surveying expeditions, 90

  danger of solo travel in, 107–108

  establishing peace, problems with, 85–86

  as Savage Mountains (Chinese), 17

  sought independence from India, 231

  Naga Hills Military Police, 95

  Naga Labour Corps, 115–116

  Naga tribes

  in administered vs. unadministered zones, 105–106

  attempts to convert and civilize, 88–89

  as Burmese hill country tribe, 21

  came to Pangsha to observe crash survivors, 199

  changes near civilization, 207

  continued quest for independent Nagaland, 232

  cultural dissonance problems, 104–106

  dance celebration, 146–147

  different languages among, 111–112

  ethnological and anthropological studies of, 98–103

  exposure to foreigners, 9

  fighting methods, 119–121

  first contact with crash survivors, 164–166

  gaonbura system and British rule, 92

  history and culture, 82

  internecine struggles for local power, 89–90

  Mills’s description, 102–103

  offered tribute for British protection, 90

  playful natures of, 99

  as porters for Pangsha expedition, 111–112

  power by fear, 84, 127, 129, 143, 146, 209–210, 221

  retribution for Raj attacks, 87

  visitors restricted by British, 9

  war, enjoyment of, 84–85

  See also Raj; slavery among Nagas; individual tribes and villages

  Nagaland, 232–235

  The Naked Nagas (Fürer-Haimendorf), 103

  Nakhu, 140

  Nanking Massacre, 32

  Nazi Germany Means War (Stowe), 19

  Neilao, 78

  Neveu, Harry

  on bail-out, 39–42

  in charge of guard roster, 179

  collapse on trail, 212

  as Commando pilot, 1

  engine problems, 35–36

  fear of Japanese capture, 30–32

  leg sore on march, 204

  life after rescue, 229

  preflight checklists, 1–2, 8

  responsibility for crash, 160–161

  reunited with Sevareid group, 159

  route from Chabua, 14–15

  weight concern for Flight 12420, 11

  Ngully, Phyobemo, 234

  Nian village, 158

  Nlamo, 111, 133

  Nokhu village, 144, 156–157

  Noklak village, 125, 127, 136–137, 142, 197–200

  Noklu village, 143, 144–145, 148

  Nokluk village, 219

  Not So Wild a Dream (Sevareid), 227

  “Note on the Future of the Hills Tribes of Assam and the Adjoining Hills in as Self-
Governing India” (Mills), 231–232

  Nye, A. R., 157

  Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 6, 34, 62–65, 67–68

  Olson, Lynne, 59, 227

  Oropeza, Frank, 191

  Oswalt, Walter

  bamboo chair for return hike, 194, 199

  in Blackie’s Gang, 216

  as camp radio operator, 179

  died with Porter, 229

  emergency distress signals sent, 37

  helped to village, 167

  leg broken in crash, 161

  preflight checklist, 2

  reunited with Sevareid group, 159

  worsening leg condition, 170

  Ozukum, Bendang, 233

  P-40 fighter planes, 5

  P-43 fighter planes, 5

  palisades against Naga attacks, 119, 121

  Pangsau Pass, 24

  Pangsha village

  as allies of Ponyo, 79–80

  attack on Law Nawkum, 219

  attacking other villages, 108–109

  attempts to get firearms, 178

  at Chingmei, 140

  counterattack at Wenshoyl, 133–134

  feared by other villages, 97

  mocking of military expedition, 119–120

  Noklak khel elders to see crash survivors, 199

  now in Myanmar, 231

  peace terms agreed to, 141–142

  personalities of residents, 188–189

  reported casualties, 135–136

  return to violent behavior, 157, 218–219

  slaves relinquished, 123–124

  treatment of survivors, 194–195

  urge for Control Area to include, 220–221

  See also punitive expeditions

  Pangti expedition (1875), 94

  panji traps, 96, 120, 127–128, 138, 149, 151

  Panso village, 122–123, 143, 145–148, 157

  parachutes, 1, 3, 37–39, 162, 163

  Passey, Richard, 171–172, 178, 188, 201–203

  Patkai Ranges. See Patkoi Hills

  Patkoi Hills (now Patkai Ranges)

  Flickinger parachuted into, 171

  on Flight 12420 route, 15–16

  geography of Burma, 16

  head-hunting and raiding in, 220

  Law Nawkum attacked, 219

  Mills’s eagerness to explore, 110, 118

  Mt. Saramati in, 118

  Raj rule in, 97, 129, 153

  as remote to white men, 107

  renamed Patkai Ranges, 232

  route to China over, 9

  search planes over, 168–170

  USAAF watch stations in, 219

  villages on Burmese side attacked, 108

  Pawsey, Charles

  in Battle of Kohima, 225–226

  as colonial administrator and anthropologist, 98

  concern for Control Area, 219–222

  on illegal behavior in remote villages, 156–157

  against independence for Naga Hills, 231

  perceptions of Nagas, 209–210

  push to outlaw head-hunting in Control Area, 224

  request for punitive expedition on Ukha denied, 223–224

  unable to enforce authority in Patkoi Hills during war, 219

  Pesu village, 157