A great deal of the material in the collection relates to the life, death, and faith of Peter Fleming. Folder 2-14 contains reminiscences about Fleming as a child and teenager from Evan Cochrane and another person, perhaps Ken Fleming, Peter’s brother. Additional reminiscences are in folder 2-2.  In a February 10, 1956, letter Ken Fleming wrote to Abraham Van Der Puy remembering his brother, apparently to help Van Der Puy with the book he was supposed to write about the life and deaths of the five missionaries.  Elisabeth Elliot eventually carried out this book project.  It was published as Through Gates of Splendor. Some of the papers Peter Fleming wrote as a university student are in folder 2-18, as well as the valedictorian address he gave in high school, an undated poem, and a list of Scripture verses dealing with “the fear of the Lord.” Especially interesting is a handwritten, much-corrected paper on Willis Shenk, a Youth for Christ worker who served as a mentor to him.

Folder 2-4 has several of Fleming’s letters. Those to Jim Elliot from 1951 discuss Fleming’s growing belief (developing in part out of his contacts with Elliot and Wilfred Tidmarsh) that he should go to Ecuador as a missionary and also indicating his interest in the people called Aucas (now known by their own name for themselves, the Waorani). Other letters trace his on-again, off-again courtship with Olive Ainslie and his conflict between his desire to marry her and his belief that he should be a single missionary in Ecuador. Folder 2-12 contains the prayer card printed for him (and fellow missionaries Jim Elliot and Bill and Irene Cathers). The file also contains his March 4, 1953 letter proposing to her and his December 5^th letter from the same year stating that he was returning briefly to the United States to marry her. A letter from 1955 from Peter and Olive to Jim and Elisabeth Elliot and Ed and Marilou McCully traces the Flemings’ activities in Quito, Ecuador, and elsewhere as they are preparing to work in the jungle and learning the Quichua language. Folder 2-13 contains Olive Fleming’s handmade Quichua dictionary, grammar, and hymnbook. There are also a couple of letters to Fred, Clara, and Jane Elliot (Fred and Clara were Jim Elliot’s parents and Jane was his sister), describing his work in Ecuador. The folder also contains one prayer letter to the Flemings’ supporters and Peter’s report on a short-term Bible institute for Quichua Indians in the fall of 1955. Folder 2-16 contains a page with some 1952 excerpts from Peter’s diary, which Olive apparently transcribed when she was writing his biography. Folder 2-15 contains a copy of the official report of his death from the American vice consul in Quito.

The collection also documents the deaths of the five male missionaries at the hands of Waorani Indians on January 8, 1956, and the immediate aftermath. Folder 2-16 contains reports, letters, statements, and transcripts about the deaths, the so-called Auca Incident. Most of these were written within days or weeks of the killings. Included are statements by Hobey Lowrence and Grady Parrot of Mission Aviation Fellowship; transcripts of excerpts from the diaries of Jim Elliot and Nate Saint; the written report of the search party; and statements from missionary radio station HCJB in Quito which, along with Life magazine, did the most to publish the story to the world.  The transcribed comments made about Waorani culture by Dayuma and the transcripts from 1958 and 1961 with Waorani about what actually happened on the day of the murders are especially interesting. Folder 2-9 contains excerpts of letters sent to HCJB from people who had heard their broadcasts about the Auca Incident. Folder 2-11 contains programs from memorial services for the men and poems written in their honor. Tape T1 contains the comments of the president and treasurer of Christian Missions in Many Lands after their visit to Ecuador immediately after the death of the men.

The two scrapbooks in the collection, described in detail elsewhere, contain newspaper and magazine clippings and photographs of the mission to Waorani, the search party that traveled to the site on Palm Beach to discover what happened, and the breaking of the news to the family and friends at Arajuno. There are additional newspaper and magazine stories in folders 1-1 and 1-4. These are predominantly American and Ecuadorian, but there are also others from other countries of South America and Europe. Life magazine played a major part in telling the story immediately to the world through the photojournalism of Cornell Capa. Folder 1-1 contains copies of the original story in the January 30, 1956 issue as well as the follow-up stories they did through 1961.

These same scrapbooks also document the immense interest in the story shown by the outside world, especially, but not limited to Protestants in the United States. Besides the material in the scrapbooks, clippings in folders 1-5 and 1-6 and the folder in oversize drawer 33 contain many of the articles that appeared in the publications of the Plymouth Brethren, The Sunday School Times, His (magazine of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship), and various secular Sunday magazines.

Much of the attention on the widows of the five men and on their children. For the next few years, they kept in fairly close touch with each other. The collection contains letters that Elisabeth Elliot, Marj Saint, and Marilou McCully wrote to one or more of the other widows. Sometimes one would write a letter to the other four simply addressed to “Girls” or “The Four.” Besides keeping each other aware of what was going on in their lives, they also discussed how they should respond to projects such as the attempt to write a book about the mission of the five men and their deaths (this eventually became Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, see folders 2-1, 2-2, 2-14) and the film that Mission Aviation Fellowship wanted to make. Marj Saint, a worker with MAF, returned to the United States in 1957 to work on this project; her consultations with the other widows about what was being done and what should be done can be found in folders 2-1, 2-3, 2-6 and 2-7. This became the film and filmstrip Mid-Century Martyrs (Tape 2, see also collection 136).

Olive Fleming and Marilou McCully also returned to the United States in 1957 for a time, spending time with family, recuperating, and speaking at churches and other venues. Scrapbook Liefeld I contains some of the newspaper coverage of these events, as do clippings in folder 1-6. Folders 2-3, 2-6, and 2-7 contain letters Fleming, McCully, and Saint exchanged keeping each other posted on what was happening in their lives. Olive Fleming and Marilou McCully returned together to Ecuador in later 1957, partly so Olive could help Marilou with her children during the trip. The back of photo album Liefeld II contains photos and other memorabilia that Olive preserved from the other four widows and their families into the mid-1960s.

Another project was to gather more information on the Waorani and to attempt to make contact again. Eventually this led to Elisabeth Elliot (with her daughter Valerie) and Rachel Saint, sister of Nate Saint, going to live among the Waorani. Eventually a Christian community grew out of these efforts. Folders 2-1 and 2-8 contain letters Elliot and Saint soon after they arrived in the Waorani village. Folders 1-1, 1-7 through 1-13, 2-1, 2-5, and 2-16 document the early beginnings of these efforts. Tape 3 contain Olive’s comments on the effort to reach the Waorani on the Dave Garroway’s radio program.

Documents found in folders 2-7 and 2-10 as well as in Photo Album Liefeld I tell of Olive Fleming’s efforts to come to terms with her husband’s death, the end of her missionary work in Ecuador, and the start of a new life in the United States. Folder 2-2 contains letter from her brother-in-law and sister-n-law Ken and Helena Fleming. The same letters also give news about the Flemings’ work as Plymouth Brethren missionaries among the Zulu people of South Africa. Later newspaper stories about her are in folders 1-8, 1-10, 1-11, 1-18.

Programs and other material from the ceremonies held at the twentieth, fortieth, and fiftieth anniversaries of the men’s deaths in folders 1-2 and 2-11 illustrate later developments in the missionary/Waorani story. So do other clippings are in folders 1-7 through 1-21.

Select List of People Referred to in the Documents in Collection 701

Cornell Capa. Professional photojournalist on assignment for Life magazine. His photos and coverage played a very large part in the international telling of the Waorani/missionary story.

Bill Cathers. Wheaton graduate (class of 1950) who, with Jim Elliot and Ed McCully, broadcast the evangelistic radio program The March of Truth from Chester, Illinois, in 1950-1951.

Dawa (Diwa). Waorani woman, wife of Kimo. Assisted Elisabeth Elliot with Wao language learning.

Jim Elliot. Husband of Elisabeth Elliot and Plymouth Brethren missionary to Ecuador. One of the five men killed on January 8, 1956, by Waorani tribesmen.

Elisabeth Elliot. Wife of Jim Elliot and Plymouth Brethren missionary of Ecuador. In 1958, she went with her daughter Valerie and Rachel Saint to live among the Waorani, which she did for periods until 1961. Returned to the United States where she became a writer, lecturer, and teacher.

Kenneth Fleming. Brother of Peter Fleming and missionary to the Zulu people in South Africa, later a professor at Emmaus Bible Institute in Iowa.

Peter Fleming. Husband of Olive Fleming and Plymouth Brethren missionary to Ecuador. One of the five men killed on January 8, 1956, by Waorani tribesmen.

Olive Fleming. Wife of Peter Fleming and Plymouth Brethren missionary to Ecuador. Eventually returned to the United States. Later married to Walter Liefeld.

Gami. Waorani woman, mother of Naenkiwi.

Gikita. Waorani man, leader of the group that killed the missionaries on Palm Beach. He later became a Christian and a leader in the Waorani church.

Gimari. Young Waorani woman, sister of Nampa and Dayuma, who was one of the three people from the tribe to make a friendly first-contact with the five missionaries on Palm Beach on January 6, 1956. The missionaries nicknamed her Delilah.

Jane Elliot Hawthorne. Jane was Jim Elliot’s sister. She and her husband Gerald Hawthorne lived in Wheaton, Illinois, where Gerald taught at Wheaton College.

David Howard. Brother of Elisabeth Elliot, brother-in-law and Wheaton College roommate of Jim Elliot. Howard traveled to Ecuador immediately after the killings to be with his sister.

Philip Howard, Sr. Father of Elisabeth Howard Elliot and editor of The Sunday School Times, which gave a great deal of coverage to the killing of the five missionaries and later development of Christianity among the Waorani.

Ipa (also Epa). A Waorani woman, the oldest wife of Naenkiwi.

Clarence W. Jones. Co-founder of the missionary short wave radio station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador. He was prominent in broadcasting the news about the deaths of the five men in 1956 and the continuing development of the story.

John Keenan. Pilot with Missionary Aviation Fellowship who worked closely with Nate Saint and the other four men in planning “Operation Auca.” After the murder of the missionaries, he flew over their camp, worried because they had not checked in at their regular time by radio.

Kimo. A Waorani man, brother of Mankamo. One of the men who attacked and killed the missionaries at Palm Beach. He was one of the first converts to Christianity among the Waorani. He traveled with Komi and Rachel Saint to Berlin, Germany, in 1966 to attend the World Congress on Evangelism and give his testimony.

Komi. A Waorani man, president of the village of Toñampade and husband of Dayuma. He attended the 1966 World Congress on Evangelism with Kimo and Rachel Saint.

Hobey E. Lowrence. One of the founders of Mission Aviation Fellowship and one of its leaders in the 1950s.

Ed McCully. Husband of Marilou McCully and Plymouth Brethren missionary to Ecuador. One of the five men killed on January 8, 1956, by Waorani tribesmen.

Marilou McCully. Wife of Ed McCully, mother of Steve, Mike and Matt, and Plymouth Brethren missionary to Ecuador. After Ed’s death, she ran a home for missionary children in Quito for several years before returning to the United States.

T. E. McCully, Sr. Father of Ed McCully.

Mankamo (also Mankamu, Mankimo). Wife of Gikita, sister of Kimo. She and Mintaka left the Waorani and lived in Arajuno, Ecuador, where she met Elisabeth Elliot. She and Mintaka went back to the Waorani in 1958 and played a major part in inviting Elisabeth Elliot to come and live among her people.

Minkaye (also Mincayi, Minkayani, Minkayi). A Waorani man, one of the men who attacked and killed the missionaries at Palm Beach. Later one of the killers of Naenkiwi. He later became a Christian.

Mintaka. Older Waorani woman, sister of Gikita. She was one of the three people from the tribe to make first contact with the five missionaries on Palm Beach on January 6, 1956. Later she and Mankamo left the Waorani and lived in Arajuno, Ecuador, where they met Elisabeth Elliot. She went back to the Waorani in 1958 and played a major part in inviting Elliot to come and live among her people.

Nampa. Waorani man, brother of Dayuma and Gimade. He was one of the six men who attacked the missionaries at Palm Beach. He was wounded in the attack and either died from that wound or died in a hunting accident a year later.

Naenkiwi. Waorani male. He was one of the three Waorani who visited the missionaries on January 6, 1956. He later falsely told a party of Waorani that the missionaries had attacked their visitors, and thus precipitated the killing of the five men. Other members of his tribal group later killed Naenkiwi.

Nimonka. (also Ninumga) A Waorani man, one of the men who attacked and killed the missionaries at Palm Beach. Later, one of the killers of Naenkiwi.

J. Grady Parrot. President of Mission Aviation Fellowship in 1956.

Marj Saint. Wife of Nate Saint, mother of Steve, and a Mission Aviation Fellowship worker. She later married Abe Van der Puy.

Nate Saint. Husband of Marj Saint and pilot with Mission Aviation Fellowship. One of the five men killed on January 8, 1956, by Waorani tribesmen.

Rachel Saint. Missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators, later independent. She was the sister of Nate Saint and established a bond with Dayuma in the mid-1950s, after Dayuma fled her tribe. She took Dayuma to the United States in 1957-1958. Later, she went with Elisabeth and Valerie Elliot to live with the Waorani in 1958 and continued to do so for the rest of her life. In 1966, she went with Kimo and Komi to the World Congress on Evangelism in Berlin, Germany. She did the first translation of the Gospel of Mark into Wao.

Samuel Saint. Brother of Nate Saint. He acted as the liaison and business agent of the five widows in the United States.

Robert Savage. Missionary to Ecuador who served as program director for the missionary short-wave station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador.

Wilfred Tidmarsh. Plymouth Brethren missionary in Ecuador who was somewhat a mentor to Jim Elliot, Ed McCully and Peter Fleming.

Umpurae (or Ompodae). Waorani woman, wife of Minkaye. Assisted Elisabeth Elliot with the Wao language.

Abe Van der Puy. Head of the Foreign Missionary Fellowship in Ecuador in 1956 and staff member of HCJB short wave radio station. He was deeply involved in broadcasting the story of the five men’s deaths immediately after the event. He was also credited with the article that appeared in Reader’s Digest in August 1956, although it was essentially written by a Digest editor. He later married Marj Saint.

Barbara Youderian. Wife of Roger Youderian and Gospel Missionary Union worker in Ecuador.

Roger Youderian. Husband of Barbara Youderian and Gospel Missionary Union worker in Ecuador. One of the five men killed on January 8, 1956, by Waorani tribesmen.

Yowe (also Yowi or Dyuwe). A Waorani man, one of the men who attacked and killed the missionaries at Palm Beach. Later one of the killers of Naenkiwi. He later became a Christian and a leader in the Waorani church.