Peoples Temple Collection; Box 25, Virtual Item 11, Q933- Jim Jones admonishes two teenagers for attempted escape

Digital Record

Identifier: ms-0183_25.11

Staff Only

Digital Object (mixed_materials)

Go to file

Dates

Digitized: November, 1977

Creator

Jones, Jim (Jones, James Warren) (Person)
Peoples Temple (Organization)

Summary Note

The tape consists of a portion of a meeting in Jonestown during which two young men – Tommy Bogue and Brian Davis – who made an unsuccessful escape attempt appear before the community to explain their actions and to learn what discipline they will face as a result. Neither the beginning nor the end of the meeting appear here, so there is no firm indication of what the community’s decision will bewhen the tape ends. (The boys’ voices are difficult to differentiate, and both are indicated on the accompanying transcript as "young man in trouble." Tommy and Brian had apparently left the Jonestown community under cover of darkness after having stolen several items such as flashlights and matches. They had made few plans beyond the escape itself, and weren’t even going to stay together: one had planned to go to Venezuela, and the other planned to live along a local river, catching fish to survive. Jim Jones is upset, in part, because he says he has had to involve the Guyana government in locating the young men, costing him good will and political capital; the community is upset, in part, because it lost a day of work searching for them. Full summary of the recording available at Alternative Considerations of Jonestown website, along with the tape transcript.

Rights Statement Note

The copyright interests in these materials have not been transferred to San Diego State University. Copyright resides with the creators of materials contained in the collection or their heirs. The nature of historical archival and manuscript collections is such that copyright status may be difficult or even impossible to determine. Requests for permission to publish must be submitted to the Head of Special Collections, San Diego State University, Library and Information Access. When granted, permission is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical item and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder(s), which must also be obtained in order to publish. Materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials.