Among the Headhunters

by Robert Lyman

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  ———. “Our Good Friends, the Headhunters.” Reader’s Digest (February 1944).

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  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This book would have been impossible without extensive use of the published and unpublished accounts of many of the participants, including Philip Mills, Eric Sevareid, Jack Davies, Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf, and Harry Neveu. One of these was the account in The Naked Nagas by Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf of the 1936 expedition and also his marvelous photographs, digitized in 2008. Who would have thought that such wonderful history could be viewed in black-and-white today? I am grateful to his son, Nick Haimendorf, for permission to quote so extensively from his father’s story and for permission to use some of the marvelous treasure trove of his father’s photographs. I am indebted to Mrs. Geraldine Hobson for allowing me to use the letters written by her father, Philip Mills, to his wife, Pamela—The Pangsha Letters of J. P. Mills—during the expedition and for introducing me to her father’s papers and photographs. I also wish to thank Suzanne St. Pierre Sevareid for permission to quote from Eric Sevareid’s beautifully written account of his adventures in Not So Wild a Dream. I acknowledge the pioneering work of Mark Bradley in uncovering the secret story of Duncan Lee in his excellent biography A Very Principled Boy (2014). None of my story could have been told without the richness of these sources. My take on Joe Stilwell was first developed in The Generals: From Defeat to Victory, Leadership in Asia 1941–45 (London: Constable, 2008), which owed much to my good friend David Rooney, author of Stilwell the Patriot (2005). A number of secondary sources have been invaluable in the telling of this story, all of which are listed, and gratefully acknowledged, in the bibliography. I am grateful also to the Japanese historian Dr. Kyoichi Tachikawa for information about the dispositions of the Eighteenth Division in northern Burma in 1943.

  Finally, and by no means least, I wish to acknowledge the support of Philip Grover, archivist at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford; Charles Chasie, author and member of the Kohima Educational Society, Kohima (and descendent of the Khonoma chief who killed G. H. Damant in 1879); Professor Alan Macfarlane; Robert Palmer; Khrienuo Ltu; the librarians of the Manuscript Division, Library of Congress; and Robert and Sylvia May for making this book possible.

  INDEX

  Naga names of individuals are indexed as single names. Names of Naga villages and tribes are identified as such.

  A Million Died (Wragg), 24

  Adams, Philip (sahib of Mokokchung)

  briefed McKelway on Naga situation, 169

  concern about Konyaks in rescue party, 193–194

  concern for survivor safety, 193

  convinced Mongsen to care for crash survivors, 189–190

  as ICS administrator and anthropologist, 98

  as leader of rescue party, 209

  letter from Pawsey about headhunting, 224

  life after rescue, 226

  magistrate duties in Noklak, 199

  Nagas told to help survivors, 164–165

  perceptions of Nagas, 209–210

  punitive expedition (1943), 157, 158

  as representative of British king, 192–193

 
; respect shown by Nagas, 192

  responsibility to Naga population, 103

  on semi-independence for Naga Hills, 231

  stopped Nagas fighting over survivors’ trash, 196–197

  unable to enforce authority in Patkoi Hills during war, 219

  visit to Sangbah’s home, 201

  Administered Area

  ambiguous rule enforcement, 222–223

  to be extended with consent of population, 222

  benefits of governance in, 210, 221

  bordering Dikhu River Valley, 152

  gaonburas in, 122

  lawlessness from outside, 93–94

  as only area of control, 93

  opposition to slavery, 156–158

  Agching village, 157

  air support for China decision, 43

  Air Transport Command (ATC)

  aircraft accidents, 12–13

  ATC members on Flight 12420, 5, 58

  in crisis at Chabua, 14

  search and rescue capacity in, 206, 215

  Sevareid on Hump pilots, 7

  White on, 11

  aircraft types at Chabua, 1

  Alexander, Edward, 170, 182, 188, 203

  Allies

  bomber crew tortured and beheaded by Japanese, 32

  Chennault’s push for air capability in China, 49

  Chinese Army training by Britain, 7

  forced out of Burma, 26

  Germany as second front, 65

  support of China, 43–44, 47–48, 51, 53–54, 56

  aluminum trail, 162

  American Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, 89

  American Society of Airplane-Haters, 13

  American Volunteer Group (AVG), 19

  Anangba village, 115

  Angami Naga tribe, 86–87, 90, 99

  Angami territory, first flights over, 78

  “Anthropology as a Hobby” (Mills), 101

  anti-British nationalists aiding Japanese, 33–34

  Ao Naga tribe, 91–92, 94, 153–154

  The Ao Nagas (Mills), 99, 102

  Arbuthnot, Glenn, 162

  Archer, Bill, 98, 99, 103, 226

  “Asia for the Asiatics” and Japanese militarism, 31

  Assam, 3–4, 85

  Assam Rifles

  firepower vs. local knowledge, 120

  as former Gurkha soldiers, 121

  formerly Naga Hills Military Police, 94

  on guard at Chingmei, 139

  protecting India from Japanese, 192

  punishment expedition against Pangsha, 110–113

  Shakespear as commandant, 82

  unavailability for rescue mission, 192

  as USAAF watch station guards, 219

  Assam tea, 85

  Assam-to-Yunnan air-ferry route (Hump route), 2, 10, 43

  ATC. See Air Transport Command

  Aung San, 33–34

  Aung San Suu Kyi, 34

  AVG. See American Volunteer Group

  B-25 Mitchells, 1

  bail-out advice, 3

  Baisden, Chuck, 20

  Balbahadur, Subedar, 131

  Barker, George, 85–86

  bashas (temporary shelter), 5, 181

  Bataan Death March, 30–32

  Battle of Kohima, 225, 232

  Belloc, Hilaire, 121

  Bennett, Elizabeth, 228

  Bert (slave), 144, 150

  Blackie’s Gang, 215–218

  Blah, Hari, 156

  Blainey, Geoffrey, 93

  Blitz, London, Sevareid’s coverage, 61

  blood chits, 1–2

  Blossom, Bill, 216–217

  Boatner, Haydon, 73

  Bootland, Alan and Beth, 24–25

  boots for return hike, 194, 197–198

  Bower, Ursula Graham, 101

  Bradley, Mark, 63–65

  Brahmaputra River Valley, 4, 43, 83, 142, 211

  Bren light machine guns, 218

  Britain. See East India Company; Raj

  British censorship of Burma situation, 22

  British East India Company (EIC), 4, 83–85, 88, 91–92, 98

  British Empire, Sevareid on, 208

  British imperialism and control of Nagas, 85

  British political agent, 176, 180

  British surveying expeditions, 90

  Brodie, T., 91

  Bronson, Miles, 88

  Brookes, Stephen, 23–25

  Brown, Anthony Cave, 70

  Burma

  British rule (1885–1942), 17

  ethnic and tribal frictions, 21

  exodus from, 20–25

  extended Control Area toward, 155–156

  geography of, 16–17

  hill country tribes, 21

  Indian workers in, 21

  Japanese invasion, 17–18

  ongoing civil war, 34

  population exodus after attack, 20–25

  Stowe’s reportage on, 19

  villages raided from Patkoi Hills villages, 220–221

  Burma Army, tribespeople recruited, 22

  Burma Independence Army, 34

  Burma Road, 17–18, 24, 45, 47, 50–51

  Burmese people, sided with Japan against colonial British, 21

  Bushido, 31

  C-46 Commandos, 1–2, 11–14

  C-47 Skytrains “Gooney Birds,” 1, 80, 161–162, 168

  C-54 Skymasters, 1

  C-87 Liberators, 1

  camp organization, 178–179, 181

  canned water, 183

  Carton de Wiart, Adrian, 55

  CBI (China-Burma-India) theater, 50

  “Celestial Catering Service.” See rescue packs

  Chabua USAAF air base (“Dumbastapur”), 1–2, 4, 217

  Chakhesang village, 78–79

  Chang expedition (1889), 94

  Chang Naga tribe, 99, 107, 117–118

  Chare village, 113–114, 206, 221

  Chasie, Charles, 233

  Chennault, Claire Lee, 5, 44, 49, 51–55, 230

  Chennault Plan, 53, 73, 230

  Chentang village, 119, 122, 144, 149–150

  Chiang Kai-shek

  demand for Allied resources, 56

  lobbied for American support against Japan, 43

  objectives and strategies, 46, 48

  promoted Chennault plan, 53–54

  refusal to meet Sevareid, 227

  relationship with Stillwell, 45, 48, 229–230

  Yoke Force, 51, 53

  See also Kuomintang

  Chiang-Chennault air offensive plan, 73

  Chicago Daily News, Stowe on Burma Road, 19

  children, visibility of in villages, 167–168

  China

  Allied policy of support, 43

  Chinese intelligence and SACO, 66

  honest with US, 44

  manipulation of American views, 72–73

  Mao’s defeat as goal, 44

  political sense per Davies, 71

  Trident Conference plans for, 55–56

  US airpower in, 49

  China National Aviation Corporation aircraft at Chabua, 1

  China-Burma-India (CBI) theater, 50

  Chinese Air Force, loan of P-43s, 5

  Chinese Army, 7, 71–72

  Chinglong village, 94–97

  Chingmak

  emotional leave-taking with Mills, 152

  fealty sworn to George V, 107, 138

  guide provided to expedition, 127

  as Mills’s friend, 123

  as protector of survivors, 180–181, 193

  Chingmei village

  as advanced base camp for punitive expedition, 123

  attack on Law Nawkum, 219

  enforcing Mokokchung’s injunctions, 223

  Matche sought sanctuary in, 107–108

  return after punitive expedition, 138

  stop on return march, 200–201

  Chingpoi village, 95

  Chins (Burmese hill country tribe), 21, 33

  Chirongchi, 116 />
  Chongtore village, 115–117, 205

  Christian missionaries, 87–89, 104, 209–210

  Chrysanthemum (Eighteenth) Division (Japan), 27–28, 33

  Church Parade, 187

  Clay, Joseph, 58

  Cloud, Stanley, 59, 227

  clouds’ effects on planes, 8

  Clow, Andrew, 102, 226, 231–232

  Cockpit Joe ballad, 4

  Coleman, Kenneth, 191

  Communism in China, predicted by Sevareid, 226–227

  Control Area

  bordering Dikhu River Valley, 152

  destabilizing effect of Pangsha’s actions, 108

  head-hunting in, 222–223

  life without government intervention, 210

  opposition to slavery, 156–158

  Pawsey’s concern, 219–222

  request to include Pangsha, 155–156

  Corsica Daily Sun (Texas) on Martin as MIA, 22

  Cross, John, 28

  crossbows with poisoned arrows, 114–115, 186, 193–195

  cultural anthropology, understanding Nagas, 99–100

  Curtis-Wright aircraft at Chabua, 1

  Dacca Military Police, 95

  dacoits (bandits), 24

  Dai Li, 6, 66–69, 227–228

  Damant, G. H., 82, 90–91

  daos (swords), 80, 96–97

  Davies, John Paton, Jr. (Jack)

  on bail-out decision, 38–39

  on beauty of country, 207

  as celebrity in survivor group, 206

  in charge of bartering with Nagas, 179

  on Dai Li and Miles, 66–69

  fitness level on march, 203

  as Flight 12420 passenger, 5, 15, 58

  on leaving Pangsha and Ponyo, 195

  on Lee, 6

  life after rescue, 227

  on lunch for survivors at Mokokchung, 211

  met native men after parachute jump, 75–76

  on Miles and SACO, 227–228

  under Naga observation, 183

  on Pangsha treatment of survivors, 194–195

  parachuted from Flight 12420, 74

  in party joining survivors in Wenshoyl, 175–176

  retrieval of rescue loads, 179

  and Stilwell, 43, 71–72, 73

  survivor camp description, 187

  Davies Papers, Truman Library, 76

  Dayak (Iban) headhunters, Borneo, 83

  DeChaine, John Lee, 191, 229

  Detachment 101 (OSS), 34, 67–71

  A Different Kind of War (Miles), 68

  Dikhu River, 113, 152–153

  diplomatic tour to Panso village, 143

  dissonance between civilized imperatives and native culture, 104

  dobashis (interpreters), 111, 132

  Donovan, Leisure, Newton & Irvine, 65–69