{"id":29086,"date":"2013-06-16T00:17:27","date_gmt":"2013-06-16T00:17:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alternativejonestown.com\/?page_id=29086"},"modified":"2021-06-27T14:41:32","modified_gmt":"2021-06-27T21:41:32","slug":"lane","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/?page_id=29086","title":{"rendered":"Q042 Transcript, Mark Lane"},"content":{"rendered":"

To return to the Index of Transcripts of the “Death Tape,” click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The following partial transcript of the death tape appears in Mark Lane, The Strongest Poison<\/em><\/a> (New York: Hawthorn, 1982), pp. 199-206<\/p>\n

\n

Published here for the first time are substantial excerpts from the last minutes at Jonestown.<\/p>\n

The transcript is but a partial record of the event. The transcript is a stage of evidence once removed from the tape recording and is, therefore, less valuable. It is devoid of the screams of protest and anguish. Yet if the transcript is understood in the context of the events, it has some validity.<\/p>\n

The setting is the pavilion in the center of Jonestown. An audience, consisting to a large extent of black children, women, and elderly people, is surrounded by scores of guards armed with semiautomatic weapons, shotguns, pistols, and crossbows. Jones has control of the microphone. He knows that Christine Miller is probably one of the most despised members of the commune. During the months that she lived in Jonestown, she demonstrated lack of concern for the welfare of the other residents. Her antisocial behavior in a difficult pioneer setting earned for her the least enviable reputation in Jonestown. He calls upon her to speak for the opposition, thus attempting to solidify support for his position. Others, including Marceline Jones, who try to protest, are denied access to the microphone and must try to shout from the floor. Jones is supported in his decision by a voluble claque, especially huge Jim McElvane, who prevents dissenters from being heard. Jones silences Marceline, drowning out her protests with, “Mother, Mother, Mother.”<\/p>\n

JIM JONES:<\/b><\/b> It was said by the greatest of prophets in time immemorial \u2013 no
\nman takes my life from me, I lay my life down. So to sit here and wait for a
\ncatastrophe that’s gonna happen on that airplane, it’s gonna be a catastrophe.
\nIt almost happened here, a congressman was nearly killed here but you can’t
\nsteal peoples’ children; you can’t take peoples” children without expecting
\na violent reaction.<\/p>\n

What’s gonna happen in a few minutes is that one of the men on that plane is
\ngonna shoot the pilot; I know that; I didn’t plan it, but I know it’s gonna
\nhappen. They gonna shoot that pilot and down comes that plane under the jungle
\nand we had better not have any of our children left when it’s over cause they’ll
\nparachute here in on us. I’m praying just as plain as I know how to pray. I’ve
\nnever lied to you, never have lied to you. I know that’s what’s gonna happen.
\nThat’s what he intends to do and he will do it. He’ll do it.<\/p>\n

It oppresses on my brain seeing all these people behave so treasonous. It was
\njust too much for me to put together but I now know what he was telling me and
\nit will happen, if the plane gets in the air even. So, my opinion is that we
\nbe kind to children and be kind to seniors, and take the potion like they used
\nto take their infant [inaudible] and step over quietly because we are not committing
\nsuicide. It’s a revolutionary act. We can’t go back, they won’t leave us alone,
\nthey are now going back to tell more lies, which means more congressmen. There
\nis no way, no way we can survive….<\/p>\n

CHRISTINE MILLER:<\/b><\/b> Is it too late for Russia?<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Looks like it’s too late for Russia. They’ve killed. They’ve started
\nto kill. That’s why I think it’s too late for Russia, otherwise I’d say [inaudible]
\nthat you’re right but it’s too late. I can’t control these people. They are
\nout there. They are gone with the guns. It’s just too late. Once we kill anybody,
\nat least that’s the way I learned, I just put my lot with you. If one of my
\npeople do something, it’s me. I don’t have to take the blame for it but I don’t
\nlive that way. If they deliver up [inaudible] who tried to get the man back
\nthere. The guy whose mother has been lying on him and lying on him and trying
\nto break up his family and they’ve all agreed to kill us by any means necessary.
\nYou think I’m willing to let them get ya’ll? [crowd roars, “No!”] Not on your
\nlife. No, you’re not going, you’re not going. I can’t live that way. I cannot
\nlive that way. I’ve lived for all and I’ll die for all….<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> I’d say let’s make an airlift to Russia. That’s what I say. I don’t
\nthink nothing is impossible.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> HOW are you gonna airlift to Russia?<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> Well, I thought they said if we got in an emergency, they gave us a
\ncode and to let them know.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> No they didn’t. They gave us a code that they’d let us know \u2013 not us
\ncreating an issue for them. They said if they saw the country coming down, they’d
\ngive us a code. We can check on them and see if it’s on the code. Check with
\nRussia to see if they’ll take us immediately, otherwise we die; I don’t know
\nwhat else to say to these people. But to me, death is not a fearful thing. It’s
\nliving that catches it. I have never, never, never, never seen anything like
\nthis before in my life. I’ve never seen people take the law and do \u2013 in their
\nown hands \u2013 and provoke us and try to purposely agitate mother and children.
\nThere is just no future. It’s just not worth living like this….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> What’s gonna happen when they don’t leave? I hope that they could leave,
\nbut what’s gonna happen to us when they don’t leave, when they get on the plane
\nand plane goes down?<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> I don’t think they’d do that.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> YOU don’t think they’d go down? I wish I could tell you why but I’m right.
\nThere’s one man there who blames, and likely so, Debbie Blakey for the murder
\nof his mother and he will stop that pilot by any means necessary. He’ll do it.
\nThat plane will come out of the air. There is no way you can fly a plane without
\na pilot.<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> I wasn’t speaking about that plane. I was speaking about a plane for
\nus to go to Russia.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> To Russia? Do you think Russia’s gonna [inaudible] want us with all this
\nstigma? We had some value but now we don’t have any value.<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> But I don’t see it like that. I feel like that as long as there’s life,
\nthere’s hope. That’s my faith.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Why then is everybody dying? Some place that hope around God but everybody
\ndies. I haven’t seen anybody yet that didn’t die. And I’d like to choose my
\nown kind of death for a change. I’m tired of being tormented to hell, that’s
\nwhat I’m tired of. I’m tired of it….<\/p>\n

ANOTHER WOMAN:<\/b> Not that I’m afraid to die, by no means, but I look
\nat our babies and I think that they deserve to live \u2013 you know?<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I agree but also they deserve nothing more than to be at peace.<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> We also live for peace.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Have you had it?<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE:<\/b> NO!<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I tried to give it to you. I laid down my life practically. I’ve practically
\ndied every day to give you peace. And you’re still not having peace. You look
\nbetter than I’ve seen you in a long while but it’s still not the kind of peace
\nthat I want to give you. A person is a fool to continue to say that you’re winning
\nwhen you’re losing. Win one and lose two [inaudible]. No plane is taking off.
\nSuicide [inaudible] Stoen has done it. I’ve talked with San Francisco to see
\nthat Stoen does not get by with this infamy. That’s infamy. He had done the
\nthing that he wanted to do. To have us destroyed.<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> When you \u2013 when you \u2013 when we destroy ourselves, we’re defeated.
\nWe let them, the enemy defeat us….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I’m speaking to you not as your administrator; I’m speaking as a prophet
\ntoday. I wouldn’t have said these things and talked so serious if I didn’t know
\nwhat I was talking about. If anybody calls back \u2013 the immense amount of damage
\nthat’s gonna be done \u2013 but I cannot separate myself from the pain of my people.
\nYou can’t either, Christine, if you stop and think about it; you can’t separate
\nyourself; we’ve walked too long together.<\/p>\n

MILLER:<\/b> I, I know that, but I still say, as an individual, I have a right to
\nsay what I think, what I feel and I think we all have a right to our own destiny
\nas individuals and I think I have a right to choose and everybody else have
\na right to choose theirs. You know? I still have a right to my own opinion….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> If anybody else wants to speak \u2013 what did you say, Louise? You’ll regret
\nthis very day if you don’t die. You’ll regret it. You’ll regret it.<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> [Inaudible] so many people?<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I saved them, I saved them but I made my example, I made my confession,
\nI made my manifestation and the will was not ready \u2013 …<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I’m gonna lay down my burdens, down by the riverside. So we lay \u0152em down
\nhere in Guyana \u2013 what’s the difference? No man didn’t take our life by now .
\n. . but when they start parachuting out of the air, they’ll shoot some of our
\ninnocent babies. I’m not gonna, don’t want to see that \u2013 they gotta shoot me
\nto get through to some of these people. I’m not letting l them take you. Dorothy,
\nwill you let them take your child?<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE:<\/b> NO!<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> John John \u2013<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> What’s that?<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> You mean you want to see John, the little one \u2013<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I want to see \u2013<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE:<\/b> [much excitement]<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Please, please, please \u2013<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> [Inaudible] John’s life above others?<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> You think I put John’s life above others? If I put John’s life above
\nothers, I wouldn’t be standing here with you at all. I’d save John out and he
\ncould go out on the driveway tonight . .<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> [Inaudible] John [inaudible]<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> He’s just no different to me than any of these children here. He’s just
\none of my children. I don’t prefer one above another. I don’t prefer any of
\nyou above John. I can’t do that. I can’t separate myself from your actions or
\nhis actions. If you’d done something wrong, I’d stand with you. If they wanted
\nto come get you, they would have to take me….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> You’re just as precious as John and I don’t know what I’d do \u2013 wait and
\njudge the things I do. I’ve waited against all evidence….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Stay at ease, stay at ease, stay at ease. Take Dwyer on down to the East
\nHouse.<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> Everybody be quiet please.<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> We’ve got some respect for our lives……<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I’ve tried so very hard……<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Get Dwyer out of here before something happens to him. Dwyer? I’m not
\ntalkin’ \u0152bout you [inaudible] I said Dwyer. Ain’t nobody going to take your
\n[inaudible] I’m not letting them take your child. GET IN FOLKS, IT’S EASY, IT’S
\nEASY……<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> It’s all over \u2013 all over. What a legacy. What a legacy. The Red Brigade’s
\nonly ones made any sense anyway. They invaded our privacy, they came into our
\nhomes, they followed us six thousand miles away. The Red Brigade’s showed them
\njustice; the congressman’s dead.<\/p>\n

Please get us some medication. It’s simple, it’s simple, there’s no convulsions
\nwith it, it’s simple; just please get it before it’s too late, the GDF [Guyanese
\nDefense Force] will be here, I tell you, get moving, get moving, get moving.<\/p>\n

Don’t be afraid to die; we’re guilty if these people land out here, they’ll
\ntorture some of our children here. They’ll torture our people, they’ll torture
\nour seniors, we cannot have this.<\/p>\n

Are you gonna separate yourself from whoever shot the congressman? I don’t know
\nwho shot him. Speak of peace and those had a right to go and they had a right
\nto \u2013 how many are dead [inaudible] My God Almighty \u2013 God Almighty……<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I don’t know how in the world they’ll ever write about us. It’s just
\ntoo late, it’s too late. The congressman’s dead, the congressman’s [inaudible]
\ndead, many of our traitors are dead, they’re all laying out there dead.<\/p>\n

AUDIENCE: <\/b>[Inaudible]<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I didn’t but my people did, my people did. But \u2013 they’re my people, and
\nthey’ve been provoked too much. They’ve been provoked too much. What’s happened
\nhere has been an act of provocation….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Can we hasten, can we hasten with that medication, you don’t know what
\nyou’ve done. I tried. [applause] [inaudible] [music]. I guess they saw it happen
\nand ran in the bush and dropped the machine gun [inaudible] my life. But there’ll
\nbe more.<\/p>\n

You wanna get that medication here, you’ve got to move….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Give them a little rest, a little rest. I do hope that those attorneys
\nwill stay where they belong and don’t come up here. [inaudible] It’s hard only
\nat first. Only at first is it hard. It’s hard only at first. When you’re looking
\nat death, it’s \u2013 living is much, much more difficult; raising up every morning
\nand not knowing what the night’s bringing. It’s much more difficult. It’s much
\nmore difficult….<\/p>\n

WOMAN:<\/b> I’m looking at so many people crying. I wish you would not cry
\nand just step over. Just take it. …<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Please, for God’s sake, let’s get on with it. We’ve lived as no other
\npeople have lived and loved; we’ve had as much of this world as you’re gonna
\nget. Let’s just be done with it. Let’s be done with the agony of it. It’s a
\nlot harder to have to watch you everyday die slowly from the time you’re a child
\nto the time you get gray, you’re dying. It’s honest and I’m sure that they’ll
\npay for it. They’ll pay for it. This is a revolutionary suicide. It’s not a
\nself-destructive suicide, so they’ll pay for this. They’ve brought this upon
\nus and they’ll pay for that. I leave that destiny to them.<\/p>\n

Who wants to go with their child has a right to go with their child. I think
\nit’s humane. I want to see you go, though \u2013 they can take me and do what they
\nwant \u2013 whatever they want to. I want to see you go, I don’t want to see you
\ngo through this hell no more. No more, no more, no more.<\/p>\n

We’re trying. If everybody would relax. The best thing to do is relax and we’ll
\nhave no problem. You’ll have no problem with the thing if you just relax….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> It’s not to be feared. It’s not to be feared. It’s a friend. It’s a friend.
\nWhile you’re sitting there, show your love to one another.<\/p>\n

Let’s get gone, let’s get gone. There’s nothing we can do. We can’t separate
\nourselves from our own people. For twenty years, lay them in some old rotten
\nnursing home. They’ve taken us through all this [these] anguished years. They
\ntook us and put us in chains and that’s nothing. There’s no comparison to that,
\nto this. They’ve robbed us of our land and they’ve taken us and driven us and
\nwe tried to find ourselves we tried to find a new beginning but it’s too late.
\nYou can’t separate yourselves from your brother and your sister. No way I’m
\ngonna do it. I refuse. I don’t know who fired the shot. I don’t know who killed
\nthe congressman but as far as I’m concerned, I killed him. You understand what
\nI’m saying, I killed him. He had no business coming. I told him not to come.
\n[music] [pause] Die with respect \u2013 die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your
\nlife with dignity. Don’t lay it down with tears and agony. It’s nothing to death,
\nit’s like [inaudible] said \u2013 it’s like stepping over into another plane. Don’t
\nbe this way. Stop this hysterics. This is not the way for people who are socialistic
\ncommunists to die. No way for us to die and let’s die with some dignity, let’s
\ndie with some dignity. Then you’ll have no choice, now we have some choice.
\nYou think they are gonna allow this to be done and allow us to get by with this?
\nMust be insane. It’s just something to put to the rest \u2013 oh, God. Mother, Mother,
\nMother, please. Mother please, please, please, don’t do this. Don’t do this.
\nLay down your life with your child but don’t do this. Free at last. Keep your
\nemotions down, keep your emotions down. Children, it will not hurt if you’ll
\nbe quiet, if you’ll be quiet….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> I tell you I don’t care how many screams you hear, I don’t care how many
\nanguished cries, death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this
\nlife. If you knew what was ahead of you. If you knew what was ahead of you,
\nyou’d be glad that you’re stepping over tonight. Death, death, death is common
\nto people \u2013 the Eskimos, they take death in their stride. Let’s be dignified.
\nIf you’d quit telling them they’re dying \u2013 if you adults would stop some of
\nthis nonsense. Adults! Adults! Adults! I call on you to stop this nonsense.
\nI call on you to quit exciting your children when all you’re doing is going
\ninto a quiet rest. I call on you to stop this now if you have any respect at
\nall. Are we black, proud, and socialists or what are we? Now stop this nonsense;
\ndon’t carry this on anymore. You’re exciting your children. No, no sorrow \u2013
\nthat it’s all over. I’m glad it’s all over. Hurry, hurry, my children, hurry.
\nAll right, let’s not fall into the hands of the enemy. Hurry, my children, hurry.
\nThey’re seniors out here I’m concerned about. Hurry. I’m not leaving my seniors
\nto this mess. Quickly, quickly, quickly, quickly. [Inaudible] No more pain now.
\nNo more pain. I said no more pain. Jim Cobb is laying on the airfield dead at
\nthis moment. [cheers] That Oliver woman said she would come over and kill me
\nif her son wouldn’t stop her. These are people, the peddlers of hate. All we’re
\ndoing is laying down our life. We’re not letting them take our life, we’re laying
\ndown our lives….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Stop it all this nonsense. Stop this screaming. All we’re doing is taking
\na drink and going to sleep. That’s what death is \u2013 sleep. You can have it, I’m
\ntired of it all….<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> Where is the vat, the vat, the vat, with the green sea in it? The vat
\nwith the green sea in, please?<\/p>\n

Lay it here, so the adults can begin. Don’t follow my advice, you’ll be sorry.
\nYou’ll be sorry. Better we do it than they do it. Just trust me \u2013 you have to
\nstep across. You used to think this world, this world is not our home; well
\nit sure isn’t. As we were saying, it sure wasn’t.<\/p>\n

WOMAN: <\/b>[Inaudible]<\/p>\n

JONES:<\/b> [Inaudible] telling me [inaudible], sure [inaudible] some people are
\nsure these pilgrims, are for the [inaudible] of stepping over into the next
\nplane. But it set an example for others. We’ve set one thousand people \u2013 said
\nwe don’t like the way the world is . . . [inaudible] take our life from us.
\nWe laid it down, we got tired. We didn’t commit suicide, we committed an act
\nof revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an angry, mean world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To return to the Index of Transcripts of the “Death Tape,” click here. The following partial transcript of the death tape appears in Mark Lane, The Strongest Poison (New York: Hawthorn, 1982), pp. 199-206 Published here for the first time are substantial excerpts from the last minutes at Jonestown. The transcript is but a partial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"parent":29084,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29086","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29086"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":110400,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29086\/revisions\/110400"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonestown.sdsu.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}