I met Johnson some years ago, we were both young men ready to face the world. We met in rather unusual circumstances for we were both seeing the same surgeon at the time.

Johnson was a tall, healthy looking fellow who had unfortunately suffered from a wound of some kind whilst serving with his Regiment in India. This injury caused him considerable discomfort and forced him at times to resort to a cane for support. He never discussed his exploits in India nor seemed to take much pleasure in regaling me with stories of his Regiment, its customs and history as was common among many of the younger Officers.

As I grew to know him we made it a habit to meet on the odd occasion to discuss our varied plans for the future and discuss our experiences of the world, though Johnson was particular in avoiding his time with the Regiment.

He was a pleasant fellow, had it not been for his physical handicap, he could have taken on the world.

I kept in touch with him for a period of about four years and noticed that there had been a general decline both in his bearing and demeanour, especially towards the end of our acquaintance.

I can vividly recall our last meeting over a whiskey and a good cigar when he told me about a dream that he had a short while prior to our talk. I do now recall that he looked rather drawn, a little thin, a man that had kept many late hours in search of some illusive substance.

But his voice and eyes betrayed something of the vigour that I thought he had lost and he spoke with renewed enthusiasm.

Johnson told me that had a dream which had been as close to reality as possible, in which is intercourse with the world, his dream world was as real to him as you or I might have whilst taking a rejuvenating walk in the country. I still have a good recollection of his tale as it was impossible not to be taken in by his extra ordinary description of what had occurred.

“ I had for some time now very little sleep and found that my body and even more so my spirit being drained by my constant physical discomfort and hindered abilities . Of course my physical condition was very much at odds with the mental picture that I had composed of myself.

Every day I found it harder to face other people for whom I was no more than an object of curiosity or even worse, noble pity.

Like all young men of my time, I had high hopes for myself and was even prepared to take great physical risks if they were of my own making and involved me as a person. My former life with the Regiment was over and India was no more than a moment in time, for I knew that this particular phase of my life was truly behind me.

Though this new thirst for activity and involvement was hampered by the reality of my physical condition which had for all purposes become my nemesis, almost taking on its own very nature and hence my desire to overcome this foe that never slept.

I had gone through a period of self- pity that had led me to question why I had deserved this from life, having hardly lived to be prevented from fulfilling my dreams by the doings of others.

I became withdrawn and sullen, seeking comfort in what medical science could offer me for the relief from the physical and mental anguish. You may have noticed that I was slowly fading, becoming a shadow of my former self. I even found it hard to extricate myself from my secure surroundings to attend our congenial meetings.

I had met a young lady who seemed to have some genuine affection for me as a man , but soon found to my dismay that I was of more use as an ornament and device to gain her both recognition for her female companions and rather tedious mother for there was not one moment where this young lady made it a point of personal honour to indicate to her fellows what a jolly good soul she was for caring for a former ‘ warrior ‘ of that class which is seen as acceptable in society .

This entire matter was very distasteful to me personally, for I have little faith in people that seek attachment to others in the vain hope of acquiring some status of personal virtue. This had made my position very clear and I determined to set my own course.

Yet recently things have changed (his eyes glowing with excitement and the old Johnson I had known was back in fine form then).

You see, I had this dream that to me became a reality and now I question whether I am not a sleeper is some convalescent home, having succumbed for the most part to that shell which exploded whilst I was in India. I understand your perplexed look, for I find it difficult to credit it myself. Yet, the idea of being a sleeper who returns to his nightmare waking and in hope of returning to that place and time and condition to that place which his dreams had disclosed. I hardly have words to describe this process for it seems to very different to that reality that we are both accustomed to , though my experiences there being so vivid as any physical experience could be for it rouses the emotions and is remembered in exquisite detail . You may tilt your head in disbelief but I am now convinced that there is a higher, if not very different state of existence to which a man may aspire if he can only find his way there.”

Johnson seemed very rational to me, though is personal fancies were rather strange to me at the time I was determined to hear him out. So there in the comfort of our Club, nursing a whiskey and being somewhat isolated from the every- day clutter or ordinary life Johnson continued ….

“In my other state I found myself perfectly healthy, a fine specimen of a man indeed. I felt exceedingly fine through and through. My body responded to all my commands. I had no pain and no need what- ever to question my abilities and I had overcome my personal nemesis.

I found myself in the luxurious undergrowth of what was a huge forest; I can hardly compare its magnificents with anything here on our little Isle. The trees were incredibly tall with lush green foliage and various forms of moss on their trunks. Wading along a river, I could perceive that this was more than just a river, it was a confluence of many that had become one and its width was immense. The undergrowth was thick and healthy and reaching the banks of that river, roots formed not only a barrier but support against the ravages of flooding should such occur.

On occasion I could see the very soil and observed that it was rich and dark and the very scent in the air smelled of life, moisture and it was so very warm.

The very sky resounded with the cries of a multitude of creatures and I could see many coloured birds of varied sizes not just flying through the trees, but reaching the very sky itself for it was possible to see that so very blue sky from the rivers bank.

Standing quietly for a while I could feel eyes watching me form the trees , not with malice but more with a sense of mutual interest and a keen sense of observation for I was obviously a stranger to these parts . I now believe these to have been some form of monkey and I am annoyed with myself for not being able to name them.

Many an insect made its way along the ground , hurrying the way that insects do with some purpose yet to be understood and the butterflies , yes those butterflies . Their colours and numbers were immense and most spectacular in all their forms, and there is nothing here in old England that could possibly compare to the variety and beauty they exhibited.

The air was moist and very warm, I perspired much and found droplets forming themselves on my brow. Once again I mention this life giving river, for it was clear and refreshing and so very clean as if Paradise itself had formed itself here.

Walking along the bank between this expanse of river and this immense green growth, I suddenly perceived a wonderful and very personal experience. This very place in time gave me a sense of comfort and marvellous peace, such I had not known before. I was doing that for which I now feel that I was created for. Sitting here now with you I know myself to be some form of explorer , a traveller that has returned after some prolonged absence with a great longing to return to the very place that to me has become to very real .”

Johnson went on a great length to explain in detail much of what had occurred to him, drawing maps and indicating distances, a skill which he had acquired as an Officer. And had I not known him previously and had not listened to his explanatory introduction I would have had no doubt what so ever as to his having been there. He was a new man, expecting to resume his quest the moment the opportunity arose.

I lost touch with Johnson about ten years ago, not out neglect on my part but the withdrawal from ordinary society on his.

In fact much of his story told that night had quietly lingered in my memory and only recently I had cause to recall the times we spoke and in particular that very night.

I had been reading the Court Reports in the Times as was my custom and noticed an article having been placed there on behalf of the Coroner of the City of London , requesting public assistance in a rather unusual matter now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police and the Officers of the Coroner .

The article in the paper requested readers to turn their minds to a retired Officer of the British Army in India whose body had been found in what was described as unusual circumstances.

Thus I find myself writing these recollections of my time with Johnson not for the pleasure of it, but to assist in those inquiries that have apparently not just involved the Coroner but has had some impact on his former regiment and the Home Office.

It was stated that Johnson had died in his home, having been found in bed. He had not been socially active and had refrained from intercourse with society except when he was seen buying small items of food and at times very specialised tools for the making of maps and other such items. These activities having been dismissed as eccentricities on his part and always meeting his financial obligations to the tradesmen and others of their class kept the more curious at bay.

He had become a recluse from this world of men , sharing his life with no one and his large house contained all manner of books and artefacts’ that one might reasonably find in the home of any one that had travelled further from our shores then crossing the Channel .

Those that had come into contact with him described him as having the bearing of a man with worldly experience little affected by any impairment.

I have been informed by Inspector Thompson that I should be totally frank in my observations to the Coroner, for now that the Home Office was involved and his Army Records were to be made available to the Coroners Officers, there had been a level of unease felt by certain members of the establishment and bearing this in mind the Coroner himself had come under considerable pressure to see this matter dealt with in the most appropriate manner.

There will be some manner of Inquest into the ‘Death of Johnson’, as the law demands this but the Coroner does have some discretion as to what the media may learn in its turn.

Johnson had been found in bed, as I mentioned. Medical examination of his body showed clear signs of accidental drowning and yet the examination of the water found in his lungs have left the Royal Society somewhat perplexed, for the water having been analysed could not have come from our fair British Isles, being far too pure and giving other hints to those ‘Scientific’ minds attuned to the nature of water. Then, as Inspector Thompson has indicated and shown me a serious of photo graphs of ‘Johnsons’ body. Yes, it was he, the very face I remembered.

As for the number of apparent scars, healed injuries and a more recent wound to his thigh, I am unable to assist either the Police or the Coroner. The Army Medical Records having been provided have been of little service, for it is patently obvious that none of those injuries were acquired during his military career or any other publicly known activities prior to his death. This of course leaves the Coroner at some- what of a loss , as I am not a medical man myself I can only make assumptions as to the very nature of the causes that scarred his body so and as for his drowning ; that is clear and beyond dispute . How he happen to find himself in bed during that process will be open to conjecture.

I personally believe that he returned to his dream and fulfilled whatever ambition he had, returning only to his nightmare when his body demanded it. I recently chanced up a very old map of the ‘ Amazonian Basin ‘, some part of Brazil yet to be fully explored and there in this vast expanse of green coloured areas are lines of blue that indicate the presence of river courses that had been discovered by then . There was also a list of names appended there too and dates of discovery, though I have been told that many earlier names have been changed to appease local political sentiment.

There in the middle of a confusing number of rivers and streams is a little marked river bearing some unpronounceable Portuguese name , which upon inquiry had previously been known as ‘ Johnsons River ‘ , in honour of some alleged English ‘ Captain ‘ ( that term was widely used for those in command ) who had travelled into those regions many years before accompanied by both Portuguese and Spanish Soldiers of fortune who had decided to bury the religious hatched imposed on them by the ‘Pope’ concerning the New World.

Signed ……………..

Witnessed by Inspector Alfred Thompson ………………..

Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police

London SW 1

St. James

Assisting the Coroner, The City of London in the year 1901.

© AKSL