Page 376 "My name's Emmanuel."

Clockwise from top left: Devil's Island cells; inmates of Devil's Island; another view of the cells; Devil's Island from the air; the three Isles du Salut, off the coast of French Guiana [i.e., Devil's Island is one of the three Isles du Salut]; a book on Captain Dreyfus, one of the more "celebrated" Devil's Island inmates; the movie poster for "Papillon" from the book by Henri Charriere (1906-1973).  I read Charriere's book when I was 16, back in 1971, at the recommendation of our neighbor (a close friend of my father's youngest sister). It made a robust impression on me. It is not a book for the squeamish, or the faint of heart.  And because I liked it so much, he gave me "Portnoy's Complaint" to carry on. 

 From page 376 of the book:  “Who are you?” Revenant stood close to him, taking in the dark skin, the black tousled hair, unshaven face, and broken teeth. His clothes were made of a hearty fabric from a foreign mill. His bare feet revealed the infestation of sand fleas having burrowed into his toenails.
“My name’s Emmanuel.”
“And what are you doing here?”
“I’m from the Isles du Salut.”
“Yes, I thought I could smell the prison steps on you,” Revenant stared.
Emmanuel smiled. “You’ve found my dinner I see.”
“I found a young girl named Oyami. Did you kill her?”
The man from Devil’s Island looked up into Revenant’s eyes and nodded.



Page 375 "I honestly felt the presence of God with every whiff of nectar..."

Top: Astrocaryum palm; bottom: awarra and a detail drawing of one of the stingers from the Astrocaryum

From page 375 of the book:  “My limbs were shaking,” he explained, “since I was so stupid as to walk out into the darkness unassisted.  I had no gun.  Foolish man, I know but I honestly felt the presence of God with every whiff of nectar from the red blooms of the manil tree; I felt his presence in the poisonous spines of the Astrocaryum palm and the Bactris.  You rub up against them and you’re as good as a dead man because of their stingers.”



Page 374 "...along the Approuague River..."

Fishing on the Approuague River.

From page 374 of the book: In remote villages along the Approuague River, he shared the communal lands with an unbounded natural museum of rare and exotic birds, unusual plants, brilliant colored amphibians, and bizarre insect species, as well as with mountain lions, squirrel monkeys, giant otters, tapirs, and white-tail deer.

The Approuague River

[Photos Copyright by Robert Hardin]

Page 374 "Yes, I was there, in French Guiana, decades ago."

Table mountains of the northern part of South America; "they called them Tepuis"

Another view of the tepuis

The forest canopy of French Guiana

From page 374 of the book:  "Yes, I was there, in French Guiana, decades ago.”
“You must’ve pissed somebody off to get sent there.”
“No, no, I requested it, after Vietnam. But, Christ! The sun there was like a razor blade against my skin. I lived between the river forests and the table mountains, they called them the Tepuis, with my very simple people, the Javanese, the Creole French, and the Arawak Indians, and all kinds of strange creatures.”

"...with my very simple people, ...the Arawak Indians,..."

"...and all kinds of strange creatures.”

Top: two views of a tapir; bottom:  squirrel monkeys







Page 372 "...the freezing glimpse into the nameless Eternal."

Caravaggio's "Salome with the  Head of John the Baptist" (1607)

From page 372 of the book:  Owen was exhausted by the time he finished his confession, like the executioner who delivered the Baptist's head to Salomé.  Owen carried the broken tablets, the freezing glimpse into the nameless Eternal.

Jean Benner's "Salome" (1899)

Pierre Bonnaud's "Salome" (1865)

Movie poster for Al Pacino's film "Wilde  Salome" (2011)

Caravaggio, "Salome with the Head of John the Baptist" (1609)