Attack of the Jungle Women

During construction of the Pan-American Highway, which is planned to transverse the Western Hemisphere from Alaska to the tip of South America, work has stopped in the Panamanian jungle, home to the Cuna and Choco Indians. To address the problem, American William Phillips, a noted ethnologist from the San Diego Museum of Man, is asked by the project sponsors to help negotiate permission to build the highway from the Choco, while Tom Guardia is assigned the task of negotiating with the Cuna. After a visit to Hill 205, the triangulation point of the stopped construction, Bill, accompanied by Paul Lemon, the local liaison, visits the Panamanian national museum to learn more about the Choco. He then sets sail for Choco territory with his wife Eve and their poodle, "Jolly Roger." Bill keeps a daily log, which describes the entire journey. After stopping at a village on the Turea River, Bill speaks with Mr. Dick, an American who has been in the area for more than thirty years. Bill and Eve then go to the nearby Choco settlement, where they learn that the tribe is suffering from a mysterious illness that is most seriously affecting the children. Meanwhile, in another part of the jungle, Guardia and his two companions are entering Cuna territory. Although the Cuna wear Western clothes, unlike the Choco who wear little clothing, they are a more warlike people, and Guardia's mission is a dangerous one. Because Bill has ventured uninvited into Cuna territory, he has no choice but to accompany them to their village. At the Choco village, Bill discerns that the mysterious illness is amoebic dysentery, the result of the tribe taking water from stagnant pools that developed during a recent drought. Bill discusses the new highway with Matugo, a local chief, and promises to rid the village of the illness. With medicine that Bill has brought and the arrival of long overdue rains that eliminate the stagnant pools, the children are cured, even the gravely ill child of local guide Milan. The Choco prepare a large feast in celebration of the health of the village, at which Bill and Eve are honored guests. Bill asks Milan to guide him to Cuna country so that he can reach his rendezvous point with Guardia, but Milan is fearful and refuses. The day after the feast, when all are feeling the effects of the strong alcoholic drink made for the celebration, Milan tells Bill that he has changed his mind and will guide him to Cuna territory. Bill and Milan leave the next day so that Bill will not be late for the rendezvous with Guardia, while Eve travels back to Panama City. As Bill and Milan go upriver in a native canoe, Guardia and his men are in the Cuna Village, fearful for their lives. Soon Bill and Milan encounter rapids, then are mired in an impassable section of the river. Bill decides to go on foot to the village where they are to meet Guardia, an uninhabited place called the Village of the Damned because all of the native inhabitants have died or fled. Bill and Milan leave the river and proceed on foot, low on supplies and concerned that they will not reach the destination point, even though they are following Guardia's trail. At the same time, Guardia and his men have left the Cuna Village and arrived at the Village of the Damned, unaware that Bill and Milan are nearby but traveling in circles. Meanwhile, in Panama City, Lemon is worried that he has not heard from Bill or Guardia and calls the United States Rescue Service to organize a search operation. As three helicopters transverse the jungles toward the Village of the Damned, Guardia and his men are surrounded by the Cuna. After the Cuna women flog and torture Guardia and his companions, the Cuna men decapitate them and leave the bodies. A short time later, Lemon sees a campfire from his helicopter and the two others are summoned. Once on the ground, Lemon finds Guardia's diary, which contains extensive notes and maps for the planning of an alternative, safer route for the highway. Moments later, the remains of Guardia and the others are found. Not far away, Bill and Milan, whose supplies have been depleted, hear the two advancing helicopters just as one of the pilots sees them. Bill and Milan are rescued, after which Bill sets sail for San Diego, saddened by the death of Guardia and his men, but happy that, through Guardia's efforts, the highway can now be completed.