The Smiles

 

This is a picture of Michael Rockefeller. In case his first name doesn't ring a bell, his last name certainly will. Michael's great-grandfather was John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in the world. Michael's father was Nelson Rockefeller, Vice President of the United States. His uncle, Winthrop Rockefeller, was the governor of Arkansas, and his cousin, Jay Rockefeller, was the governor of West Virginia.

Power was a given for every Rockefeller. For Michael, who had just graduated from Harvard with honors, power was a logical next step. But as is customary for most aristocrats, there is a certain quest for adventure to be experienced before settling into life in a governor's residence or the Capitol. Michael decided to study and collect works of art from the people of New Guinea, one of the islands of Indonesia.

Five kilometers from the coast, his 13-meter canoe began to capsize. His two guides swam out to find help.

After two days of waiting, Michael decided to brave the waters by swimming. He jumped out of the canoe, in which a Dutch anthropologist was also present, and began to swim.

The photo above appears to be the last one of Michael. He has disappeared.

Hundreds of journalists traveled to Papua New Guinea to find out what happened. Private detectives were hired. Planes, helicopters, boats, and thousands of Guineans scoured the island and the sea hoping to find something...nothing.

The rumors spread like wildfire.

Fifty-seven years later, the most terrible rumor was confirmed by a team of National Geographic investigators. Two missionaries who had lived with the indigenous people and spoke their language came forward to tell the story, a version corroborated by several indigenous people. Dutch colonizers had killed four indigenous people in 1958. Revenge was deemed necessary.

Michael survived the swim. Captured on the shore, his body was pierced with spears. He was decapitated, and his brain was eaten raw. The remains of his body were cooked in a pot before being consumed by the natives in a communal meal. His thigh bones were used to make fighting knives, and his leg bones were used as spears for fishing.

The smiles of the three natives in the photo seem to anticipate Michael's fatal fate.