Letter signed by Marechal Rondon (1952)

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In 1952, Marechal Rondon, explorer and hero of the Indians of Brazil, laments his memory problems.

Letter written and signed by Marechal Rondon to Miguel Salasar Mendes de Moraes, also known as Miguel Salazar Mendes de Morais. In Portuguese. One page. 22 cm x 29.5 cm. No location information, 7/X/1952. On the front, some rust stains from clips, but in excellent condition. On the back are pasted some press articles - not of great interest - relating to Marechal Rondon. Single piece.

I regret that my natuaris (natural) memory deficiencies did not allow me to remember many episodes of the intense life that characterized the activity of the always remembered companion (Thaumaturgo de Azevedo).

Marechal Rondon (1865 - 1958) was the first to organize expeditions to the west of the country and to make friendly and permanent contact with the indigenous populations, of which he became a defender. In 1910, he created the Indian Protection Service (SPI). In these rudimentary journeys, in addition to discovering rivers and registering territories, he implemented the telegraph in totally isolated regions of the Midwest and North, this “inland Brazil”, totally forgotten and unknown.

In recognition of his peacemaking work, a state, Rondônia, and a terrestrial meridian, number 52, were named after him. Rondon was also twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, one of which was nominated by physicist Prof. Albert Einstein. About Marechal Rondon, former US President Theodore Roosevelt said:

America can present two cyclopean achievements to the world: to the north, the Panama Canal ; to the south, the work of Rondon, scientific, practical, humanitarian.

In this letter, he responds to Miguel Salazar Mendes de Morais, a military man, who asks for remembrances about Gregorio Thaumaturgo de Azevedo, his wife's grandfather and the first charismatic and controversial head of the Brazil-Bolivia joint commission, in charge of demarcating the border between these countries. Unfortunately, Marechal Rondon, already elderly, regrets his memory problems and seems unable to help his interlocutor much.

This letter is interesting for the heading "Ministry of Agriculture, National Council for the Protection of Indians", for the large and beautiful signature of Marechal Rondon and for the information it contains. Written a year before receiving the title of Marshal, Rondon was already widely recognized nationally and internationally for his actions.