BRAZIL: Die If Necessary

Up the Rio das Mortes (River of Death), in the Matto Grosso, to the country of the Chavante Indians last month journeyed a seven-man peace commission, sent by Brazil's Indian Bureau. Such commissions have made peace with most of the distrustful tribes of the hinterlands by following the bureau's inflexible rule: "Die if necessary, but never kill."

But of all the Indians living in the jungles of the Matto Grosso, the fiercest and most unpredictable are the Chavantes. For centuries they have fought a guerrilla war with what they believe is one great tribe of white men.

At a Chavante village, Dr....

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