Lambaréné was a settlement in French Equatorial Africa, in the equatorial rain forest on the Ogooué River, 200 miles upriver from Port-Gentil.
History[]
In 1913, Albert Schweitzer and his wife came to Lambaréné and established a hospital there to tend to the medical needs of the residents of Gabon.[1]
In December 1916, Major Boucher and Captain Henri Defense (Indiana Jones) led an expedition from German East Africa across the Congo to Port-Gentil to retrieve a wayward arms shipment. While aboard the Collette, they were attacked by deserters and Sergeant Barthélèmy was shot. When the boat captain told Defense that they were approaching a hospital at Lambaréné, Defense ordered the boat to stop to have the sick and wounded treated. However, Major Boucher, weak from disease, and Barthelemy both disagreed, because the doctor was German. As they passed by the settlement, Defense caught a glimpse of the German doctor. Further downstream, Arnaud died of disease.[2]
On the return trip upriver with the arms, the entire expedition, now under Defense, grew ill from tropical disease and parasites. As they neared Lambaréné, Joseph boarded the Collette, prevented Defense from detonating the craft, and steered it toward the dock so that the sick could be treated in the hospital. When Jones regained consciousness, he focused on protecting his shipment and returned to guard the boat, even though he was still ill. Eventually, Dr. Schweitzer, Helene Schweitzer, and Joseph convinced him that his boat was in no danger. Jones became friends with the Schweitzers and his men recovered with the doctor's treatment (though Remy Baudouin lost two toes). While waiting for his men to recover, Jones provided the boat for the doctor to use for making an overnight house call to the Pahouin village. On the way, Jones and Schweitzer discussed Schweitzer's Reverence for Life philosophy. When they returned to Lambaréné the following night, Captain Emile Rostand had arrived in a French patrol ship to detain the Schweitzers and have them deported. Despite Jones and Baudouin's attempts to intervenve, the Schweitzers were taken into custody, and with no doctor, the patients left the hospital and began to return to their homes. Jones and Baudouin returned to Port-Gentil.[2]
With the hospital abandoned, the jungle slowly reclaimed the settlement.[3] After the end of the war, Schweitzer returned to Lambaréné and re-built and re-opened the hospital.[1]
Appearances[]
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "German East Africa, December 1916" → Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life
- German East Africa, December 1916 comic
- The River of Death
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Congo, January 1917" → Oganga, The Giver and Taker of Life
- Congo, January 1917 comic
- The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Special Delivery
Sources[]
- Schweitzer (Non-fiction source)
The Real Indiana Jones: Fear & Humility on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)
