Dead Horse Camp

Dead Horse Camp, or Fawcett’s camp, which is one of the major camps that Colonel Percy Fawcett made on his journey to discover the mythical Lost City of Z. This encampment was his last known location.^[1]

Last letter

From Dead Horse Camp, Fawcett wrote to his wife about the hardships that he and his companions had faced, his coordinates, his doubts in Raleigh Rimmel, and of his plans for the near future. He concludes his message with, “You need have no fear of any failure...”^[1]

While this letter is the last of the physical evidence of his existence, the Kalapalo Indians have passed down an oral story of the arrival of three explorers which states that the three went east, and after five days the Kalapalo noticed that the group no longer made camp fires. The Kalapalo say that a very violent tribe most likely killed them.

Coordinates

One question remaining about Dead Horse Camp concerns a discrepancy in the coordinates Fawcett gave for the camp. In the letter to his wife, he wrote: "Here we are at Dead Horse Camp, latitude 11 degrees 43' South and longitude 54 degrees 35' West, the spot where my horse died in 1920".(11°43′S 54°35′W / 11.717°S 54.583°W / -11.717; -54.583) However, in report to the North American Newspapers Alliance he gave the coordinates as 13°43′S 54°35′W / 13.717°S 54.583°W / -13.717; -54.583.^[2]

The discrepancy may have been a typographical error. However, he may have intentionally concealed the location to prevent others from using his notes to find the lost city.^[3] It may have also been an attempt to dissuade any rescue attempts; Fawcett had stated that if he disappeared, no rescue party should be sent because the danger was too great.^[2]

See also

• The Lost City of Z (book)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Colonel Fawcett's Last Words". Colonel Percy Fawcett's Search For the Lost city of Z. http://colonel-percy-fawcett.blog.co.uk/2010/02/26/colonel-fawcett-s-last-words-8079122/. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Dead Horse Camp (Fawcett's Camp)". The Great Web of Percy Harrison Fawcett. http://www.phfawcettsweb.org/dehocamp.htm. Retrieved 9 June 2011. 
3. ^ "The Continuing Chronicles of Colonel Fawcett". http://www.catchpenny.org/fawcett.html. Retrieved 9 June 2011.