109 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean 4 letters “Mermoz” (one) and “Ton Jean,” Casablanca, November–December 1926, to his “Dearest Mom”; 9 pages, in-4 format, in blue ink (one edge slightly torn on the 3rd page). Regarding the massacre of his comrades Henri Érable and Eugène Gourp by the Moors. November 20: “We’re having very little luck in Dakar right now. We’ve lost two good comrades. After their plane broke down, they ran into about ten Moorish raiders who shot them down before they could climb into the second aircraft that had just landed to pick them up—and which, in turn, remained stranded there. My co-pilot [Éloi Ville] and I set out to search for them a few hours later, but he, too, suffered engine failure 30 km from where the other two had been. I was able to land quickly and rescue him right under the noses of the Moors who were closing in. Two days later, another comrade suffered a mechanical failure... Pursued by the Moors, he fortunately managed to reach the second aircraft, which had landed two kilometers away, and return to Juby. So things are pretty rough right now. But don’t worry. As luck would have it, all the breakdowns happened in the same spot where Moorish bandits were hiding; now, hunted down by the others, they’re fleeing at full speed into the interior, where we never go”…. December 3. He returns to “the murder of our two comrades from Dakar […] On the same day, having set out to search for them in the south with my teammate Ville—and with Ville in turn breaking down 10 km from where the other two were—I was able to land not far from him and take him right under the noses of the Moors who were closing in. Gourp was handed over to us in Juby in exchange for 5,000 pesetas; he had a horrific wound on his left thigh and his leg was gangrenous up to the knee after spending 10 days tied to a camel; we went to pick him up by plane 80 km from Juby, where he was dying. He’s doing better now; we think we’ll be able to save his leg, and he was awarded the Legion of Honor yesterday, of course. The other two remained 50 meters from the burned-out aircraft; I asked the Spanish governor of Juby to go fetch them with a taxi and a Moor in our pay, but he refused, claiming it would be a pointless folly; so, unfortunately, their final resting place at this moment is nothing other than the bellies of the hyenas and jackals that abound in this region. There or elsewhere!! […] They had the misfortune of running into marauding bandits who had just carried out a raid in the Port-Étienne region. Had it not been for that, I have no doubt they would have returned just as we did... But we all have our own destinies. What if I told you that I was the one who was supposed to take that mail north with Gourp! Érable was supposed to come to Casa in my place—he had suits to have made—and I was supposed to go down to Dakar. I would have come back up with that very mail! When we arrived in Juby, he asked me to postpone this plan until next time. That saved me. You see, when it’s meant to be!... Ville, my teammate—who has a bounty on his head—and Lassalle, the Dakar driver, are dropping out of the race. Guillaumet—you know, the one who was supposed to do the rally with me—is heading to Dakar. As for me, I’m staying on until February or March, first out of a sense of resignation and then because, by that time, the transatlantic route will be about to open, and I’ve been designated as one of the first to fly it. Otherwise, I’ll be leaving the company for good around that time. I never stop. We’re short on pilots—or rather, good pilots. When I get back from Juby or Dakar, I head straight to Spain or Toulouse. I spend about five days a month in Casablanca. […] I’m hanging in there and hope to keep it up for a long time, because, you know, I feel more like a migratory bird than ever before”… December 18. “I can’t believe I’m already twenty-five, and yet I feel myself getting older, older… how brief life is!… We don’t have much time to truly be young!… Tomorrow, I’m heading back to Juby. I’ll be back—at least I hope so—on Christmas Eve”… December 31. “I got back from Juby yesterday morning, a little too late for my New Year’s wishes to reach you tomorrow. But you know full well that on that day I’ll be with you in spirit, and the wishes I make for you with all my heart are simply an expression of the deep affection I have for you. […] I returned on the 24th, Christmas Eve; we celebrated Christmas Eve with my comrades. It wasn’t anything special, though. I didn’t leave again until Monday. […] I took a minister from Bolivia (South America) to Dakar. Having read about me in the newspapers, he offered me a position in Bolivia as both a flight instructor and an airline pilot. I could earn 5,000 to 6,000 pesos a month, that is, at the current exchange rate