The
Heavenly Howler...
Howler
monkeys of Central America are not particularly attractive creatures
~ certainly not how anyone would imagine an angel to be.
And
they are among the noisiest, most annoying creatures in the wilds,
capable of seemingly meaningless, earsplitting howling and
chattering. But to a french aviator and his wife whose small plane
crashed in the dense Panamanian jungle in 1935, the howler monkey
they encountered wasn't the least bit offensive of annoying.
In
fact, they owe their lives to the mysterious monkey who guided them
through a nerve~racking ordeal after they were totally lost in the
most dangerous of jungles.
A
MONKEY FROM HEAVEN?
Missionaries
Jacques and Jacqueline Deviers were convinced their jungle protector
was a guardian angle sent from heaven to lead them to food, water and
salvation.
The
full story of their amazing rescue was told in the Winter 1937 issue
of Missionaries and Miracles: A Journal for Christians Today, and it
has been reprinted many times since.
The
Deviers were flying Bibles, school books and medical supplies to a
remote missionary camp when the engine of their airplane sputtered
and stopped, started again, then permanently shut down.
Jacques,
who was piloting the plane, looked desperately for a clearing among
the thick canopy of green beneath them. But there were no meadow and
no rivers just an unbroken sea of tall trees.
Marie
reached for her husband's hand as they both said a quick prayer,
asking God to spare their lives so they could return to the 18 month
old daughter they had left at home.
A
TILT ON TREE CANOPY
Then
Jacques set the plane down as gently as he could gliding to a stop on
top of the canopy of trees.
The
impact of the crash knocked them out. They were unconscious as the
cabin of the airplane slammed through the trees.
What
seemed like a death plunge was halted a few feet from the forest
floor. the cabin came to rest on top of a second growth of thick
underbrush that cushioned the impact.
Jacques
was roused into consciousness by the gentle pressure of a tiny hand
patting and stroking his face.
As
he groaned, wiped at his bloody face, and opened his eyes, he may
have seen a flash of fur, but he wasn't sure. He was more concerned
with the agonizing pain that throbbed all over his body , his
injuries, and concern for his wife.
The
Deviers were in their 20's and in good shape, which probably saved
them from more serious injury. However,both were convinced that the
sure hand of God, responding to their last minute prayers, had
shielded them from certain death.
And
as a bonus, they were soon to believe that God had also sent an
unlikely guardian angel to watch over them.
Jacqueline
regained consciousness a few minutes after her husband. Like him, she
was a mass of cut and bruises. A broken right wrist was her most
serious injury. So the two were quite blessed and lucky.
TOTALLY
DISORIENTED
Left
with no food or water and no idea where they were, the young
missionaries were totally depressed and disoriented.
They
salvaged a couple of flares, a few bandages, iodine, salt tablets and
a few other helpful items from a medical kit in their wrecked plane
The
plane's compass was shattered beyond repair, so their only means of
determining directions in this thick forest was by the heavens.
But
the sky, however, was almost totally obscured by the thick canvas of
foliage of trees overhead. So it was hard to even use the sun as
direction. There was sometimes an exceptions for brief sunlit spots
here and there during the day, the forest floor was shrouded in a
permanent twilight.
All
they knew was that they were somewhere near the Colombian border. But
with no landmarks such as rivers or mountain near by from which they
could take bearings, it was impossible even to guess at their exact
whereabouts.
TREACHEROUS
JUNGLE
The
jungle around them was oppressively hot, teeming with dangerous
wildlife ranging from deadly scorpions to crocodiles and jaguars.
Despite
all those dangers, plus the lack of food and water, they decided they
might be able to survive if they were lucky enough to run across an
Indian native and enlist the help of local tribesmen.
But
where to go? They were debating which direction to set off in when
they first heard the howling. Hidden from sight high in the trees, a
howler monkey was creating a terrible din. As the couple listened,
the monkey moved off, still hidden in the foliage, but it continued
howling. A few minutes later it returned, stopping almost directly
overhead the lost couple. The monkey was difficult to spot through
the dense foliage, but they could certainly hear it. Again it let out
a few ungodly screeches, then it took off in the same direction it
had gone before.
"It
was so strange," Jacqueline Devier later recounted to the
magazine writer.
"Somehow
we knew the way we were going to survive was to follow a monkey that
we couldn't even see.
ANSWERED
PRAYERS
"My
husband and I didn't need to speak the words to each other. We both
knew that this strange jungle animal was sent by God to rescue us
from our desperate straits. It was His answer to our prayers."
The
Deviers grew increasingly hungry and thirsty as they followed their
unseen guardian angel through the jungle.
Their
clothing and bodies were soaked in sweat from the sticky prickly heat
that clung to them like a moist blanket.
Screeching
and howling, as if barking out directions, the monkey eventually led
the hungry couple to a tree, which was surrounded with rotting fruit.
They
ate the overripe fruit anyway. They stuffed their clothing with more
palatable fruit that their unseen protector showered down around them
from the branches before continuing on their way.
Later
that day, the howler monkey angel led them to a rocky area where
small pools of fresh water had collected.
There
they quenched a raging thirst. The couple spent the night settled
uncomfortably high in the crotch of a tall tree, safe from jungle
predator roving in the darkness far beneath them.
Early
the next morning, the Deviers were awakened by the shrieks of their
noisy friend. Again they set off through the jungle.
NO
DANGEROUS ENCOUNTERS
Halfway
through their second day of travel, it dawned on them that they
hadn't seen as much as a snake of any other obviously dangerous
animal during what should have been a more perilous trek.
"It
was as if Howler, the name we gave our angle , was clearing the way
of all danger in our path,"Jacqueline said,
"After
we realized he was the Lord's messenger, we were never afraid. We
know our prayers were being answered and we would see our little girl
again."
Late
that afternoon, the Deviers were found by two Indians armed with bows
and arrows.
Ironically,
they were hunting for monkey meat, and had been attracted by the
howls of the couple's personal guardian angel.
Incredibly
, the earsplitting screeches, which had become familiar and
comforting to the Deviers, stopped the moment the Indians firs loomed
out of the forest gloom.
Later,
after the two were transported from the riverside Indian settlement
in canoes for treatment at an American Army hospital in Balboa, they
meditated on their miraculous rescue.
Friends
found it hard to believe the important role played by their personal
protective howler monkey in saving their lives.
BELIEF
NEVER WAVERED
But
the Deviers never wavered over the years in their belief that the
screeching simian was a gift from God.
"We
never hard from Howler again," Jacqueline said, " But we
know he is our angel, assigned to us in heaven, and he is still
watching over us.
"He
will be there for us when we need him maybe not as a monkey, but in
whatever form is most appropriate."The
Howler Monkey.....
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