Q154 Summary

If you use this material, please credit The Jonestown Institute. Thank you.

To read the Tape Transcript, click here. To listen to MP3, click here.
To return to the Tape Index, click here.

FBI Catalogue            Unidentified Individuals Speaking

FBI preliminary tape identification note: Labeled in part “10/26/78 News & Comments”

Date cues on tape:            Tape contents consistent with tape label

People named:

Bible verses cited:             None

Summary:

(Note: This tape was transcribed, and the summary written, by Katherine Hill. The editors gratefully acknowledge her invaluable assistance.)

Speaking in a voice in a much higher register than usual – one that seems hampered by fatigue or illness – Jones gives instructions and issues warnings to the Jonestown community, starting with the observation that he is very much aware of what goes on around him, in part because “I will sneak up on you at any night, any hour.… I know I can stealthily get into your house and observe what you are doing and you won’t even hardly know I’m there until you see me.” He also chastises those in relationships who are not faithful to their partners, saying that they are not “a bunch of whore or whoremongers.”

A guest is due to arrive within a few days, and Jones has specific instructions for beautifying the community – trimming trees, cleaning bird excrement, putting up new drapes – but he is most insistent upon addressing a longtime bugaboo, that is of fly control.

The greatest concern that Jones spends the most time on in this tape is profligate spending. He admonishes those who travel on the boat around the Caribbean and pick up supplies to stay places other than hotels and not to waste money on showers and fancy meals. The Jonestown community doesn’t have money for that kind of luxury, never has and never will. Any Temple members who have family or friends in Trinidad should provide those contacts to people traveling on Temple business, and if the travelers cannot make friends in Trinidad who’ll provide them food and housing, there’s no reason they can’t just sleep on the boat.

Jones also chides people for talking about his health and for acting as if they think that he is incompetent or incapable. “Father’s health is in good shape,” he says. This stands in contrast to many other occasions in which Jones complains of ill health, and indeed, a moment later in the tape he admits to having a fever. Nevertheless, he assures his followers that he will be around for a long time, that his current fever is no cause for concern – although they will be giving him x-rays and there may be an operation – and he will “outrun you when some of you’ve fallen in the grave.” What Jonestown residents should be concerned about, he says, is following “Father’s regulations and rules.”

FBI Summary:

Date of transcription: 5/25/79

In connection with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the assassination of U.S. Congressman LEO J. RYAN at Port Kaituma, Guyana, South America, on November 18, 1978, a tape recording was obtained. This tape recording was located in Jonestown, Guyana, South America, and was turned over to U.S. Officials in Guyana and subsequently transported to the United States.

On May 24, 1979, Special Agent (name deleted) reviewed the tape numbered 1B68-3. This tape was found to contain the following:

An unidentified male individual talking about the living relationships between people, suggestions for improvements of living conditions, and frugality.

This tape was reviewed, and nothing was contained thereon which was considered to be of evidentiary nature or beneficial to the investigation of Congressman RYAN.

Differences with FBI Summary:

Other than the fact that the “unidentified speaker” is Jim Jones – a voice which, despite its higher register, would have been instantly recognized after three months of reviewing Jonestown tapes – the summary is accurate and meets the FBI’s purposes.

Tape originally posted June 2012