The Modesto Bee from Modesto, California • 8
- Publication:
- The Modesto Beei
- Location:
- Modesto, California
- Issue Date:
- Page:
- 8
Extracted Article Text (OCR)
A-8 Toe Nov 28 1978 The Modesto Bee Gruesome aftermath Rainfall fails to erase stench of death where hundreds died at Jonestown Johnson said there had been some looting Piles of clothing and scattered lipsticks eyeglasses and other personal articles still Uttered the cleared site The major said he had no idea what would be done with the camp A government spokesman in Georgetown said the government will not let the jungle overcome the site and said it may be used again but under Guyanese control The government Information Ministry said the area would be sealed off effective today The jungle rises like an irregular wall around the cleared area a roughly circular patch of some 900 acres 150 miles from the capital of Georgetown three-room home isolated from most camp dwall-ings by 100 yards of lawn and peanut patches has been rifled Magazines and books littered the floor of the beamed house and on the floor of its partially screened porch in was next to a copy of Time magazine and an edition of the Manchester Guardian Flies buzzed over dark pools on the floor in the bedroom and front room and maggots crawled on stains on a bunk bed in the front room where possessions of children were scattered A safe and file cabinet stood open and empty Great quantities of medical equipment and drugs filled shelves and cabinets in the dwelling perhaps backing reports Jones was ill A 4-foot-high white oxygen tank stood next to mosquito net-draped bed A small refrigerator at the end of the bed held a large supply of medications from vitamins to ginseng root extract At the assemby hall flies circled signs extolling love God and brotherhood The ground is littered with rubber surgical gloves discarded by US miUtary troops who removed the rotting bodies A sewing center stands on a small platform on the far end of the hall from where Jones made his final exhortations before he reportedly fird a pistol shot into his brain Large spools of thread hung on walls Stacks of cloth stood ready for the hand The sewing machines lie tumbled to the floor A large stuffed doll resembling the early versions of Mickey Mouse lie on the platform They were manufactured hero JuJt outside the pavilion a row of baby blankets lie soaking in the mud There were some survivors here 20-30 exotic tropical fish a kitten and some parrots JONESTOWN Guyana (AP) The bodies are gone but the rain falls as though heaven were shedding tears on the Peoples Temple colony where about 900 Americans perished in a bizarre mass suicide-slaying ritual Nov 18 The only noises Monday were made by wildlife in the nearby rain forest and by workmen driving home nails on shuttered windows and doors of cottages The blows reverberated sounding like a wooden coffin was being sealed Tropical showers have left puddles in open areas of the former religious settlement but have not washed away the stench of death where rotting bodies lay for a week before being transported back to the United States Dark puddles teeming with maggots in cult leader Jim house and in the open air meeting hall marked the places where people fell convulsed and died apparently of cyanide poisoning Most of the cult's fanatical members took the brew willingly survivors said urged by their leader to hurry in their incredible ritual of death Others reportedly had poison forced into their throats Maj Ronald Johnson of the Guyana Defense Force said his troops have full control of the colony Government soldiers in fatigues and a few policemen in light blue shirts patrolled Troopers standing guard in the meeting hall held their hats over their noses against the smell Cat prowls near drug-filled refrigerator found in Jones' House at Jonestown Guyana begins own investigation of cult AP Loserphoto Tim Carter left his brother Mike right and Michael Prokes back to camera are hauled in police van for questioning in deaths of Congressman Leo Ryan and 4 others at the headquarters in Georgetown remained under heavy guard One of the 46 has been charged with murder in the deaths of Rep Leo Ryan D-Calif and four other Americans another was charged with the murder of a mother and her three children at the headquarters More answers to the mystery of Jones' last hours of decision were pieced together from statements from the few survivors including Tim Carter who carried the suitcase of money which contained a letter to the Soviet Embassy in Georgetown In Washington the State Department Monday declined to comment on any aspects of the investigations surrounding the Jonestown massacre including alleged plans for the cult to go to the Soviet Union and other issues regarding this matter "lam not going to be able to comment on that while all those matters are under said spokesman Hodding Carter in answer to questions including one on whether the department is looking into alleged political ties between Jones and the Guyana government Cult survivors begin looking to fresh start NOTE: Robert Baze-more an 11-year veteran on The Bee is in Guyana covering the aftermath of the mass suicides and killings at the Peoples Temple commune in Jonestown By Robert Bazemore Bet staff writer 1978 The Modesto Bee GEORGETOWN Guyana Today may bring a new start for most survivors of the dream-turned-nightmare that was Jonestown The government of Guyana is expected to decide sometime today which of the 78 Americans still being detained here in the capital will be allowed to return immediately to the United States It seems likely that unless needed as witnesses by Guyanese police the 29 defectors from the cult those who either tried to leave with slain Congressman Leo Ryan or fled from the mass suicide at the jungle compound will be returned home in the military airlift to Charleston Air Force Base SC They probably will be joined by 46 other loyal members of the cult who happened to be housed at the Georgetown headquarters on that fateful Nov 18 The fate of Modestan Michael Prokes and two other aides Tim and Mike Carter is less certain hoping we'll be allowed to go said Prokes Monday night hoping no charges will be Since Saturday when they were released from jail the three have shared quarters in the Park Hotel with the 29 cult defectors After an GEORGETOWN Guyana (UPI) -The government of Guyana began its own investigation into the Jonestown mass suicide Monday ordering troops into the jungle commune to seek documents and any other clues to the deaths of more than 900 members of a California religious cult There was growing evidence that the Rev Jim Jones had ordered the ritual suicide in a fit of despondency over fears that a US congressman's investigation could mean the end of the cult before he could make arrangements to transfer it to Cuba or the Soviet Union Jones who turned increasingly Marxist in recent months spoke frequently in his sermons of taking his believers to one of the Communist countries and one of his legacies was a suitcase containing $500000 in cash and instructions to take it to the Soviet Embassy to further his plans But the mass suicide began before the money could be delivered by three members of the cult Tim Carter 28 of Boise Idaho his brother Mike 20 and Michael Prokes 32 of Modesto Calif They stashed the suitcase in a chicken coop and were picked up by Guyanese authorities Guyana later confiscated the money The 32 survivors of the suicide sat around their seedy hotel rooms Monday or napped while waiting transportation to the United States Another 46 tions of the temple but defectors insist they were trusted aides that Prokes was his know if going to have to go back for more questioning Prokes said know if going to let us He does know that if they are returned to the United States have to face the same questions all over again this time from FBI agents expected to be awaiting the Jonestown group in Charleston While Guyanese police are deciding which Americans will be detained either as suspects or witnesses the Guyanese cabinet will meet today to discuss the future of Jonestown closed Monday after 48 members of the international press corps were given a long-sought look at the compound As the visitors departed and dusk settled on the jungle clearing where some 900 men women and children had labored and then died Guyanese Army troops sealed off the cisco group opposing the temple Carter thinks had told police he instigated the mass suicides a Carter said explaining he thinks police are suspicious because he while on home leave a month ago helped arrange visit Carter returned to Jonestown just three days before Ryan was scheduled to arrive and he said tried to convince the Peoples Temple leader the Rev Jim Jones that the visit was not a threat I told Jim was that they (temple opponents) are expecting you to overreact I told Jim not to overreact to let them come said Carter adding it do any The three who were ordered out of Jonestown during the mass suicide given guns and a suitcase of money to be delivered to the Soviet embassy and then turned themselves in to officials sure if their answers satisfied Guyanese police They disclaim knowledge of the inside opera Initial confrontation brought about by fears on both sides an was reached by Prokes and Dale Parks spokesman for the defectors And after 25 hours of living on the hotel veranda Prokes and the Carters were assigned a room in the hotel They were in that room Monday night sprawled on the bed stripped down to their undershorts in the heat of the tropical night still talking still trying to understand what had happened to their vision of Utopia All three were tired Tim Carter who fell asleep during the interview especially so At 1 pm the three had been taken back to the police station for additional interrogation by assistant police commissioner Cecil A Roberts Prokes said they concentrated a lot on For four hours while his companions waited in the hallway the elder Carter brother was questioned about his role in the Peoples Temple Someone perhaps a member of a San Fran 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