Killing Dr. da Cunha - The Scramble for the Amazon and the Lost Paradise of Euclides da Cunha - page 371

Figure 22.4. Solon and Euclides II after the death of their father.
ThecorpseofdaCunhawastakeninapolicecoachtothemorgue.Reportersand“the
curious” as well as intimates waited for the autopsy, and among the last visitors to the
da Cunha remains was the Baron Rio Branco. Afrânio Peixoto, as the chief medical of-
ficer, performed the autopsy of his friend, eviscerating the body of the most prominent
writer of his day. As part of the necrology, da Cunha's brain was removed and carefully
studied, just as Antonio Conselheiro's had been. But while Conselheiro's brain autopsy
revealed no morphological abnormalities that could explain his behaviors, that of da
Cunha revealed some brain lesions, which, given the frequency of his malarial relapses
and history of tuberculosis, are not surprising. These lesions, according to a review of
the autopsy report by Dr. Walter Guerra, 79 perhaps explain the virulence of his temper,
the sudden shifts in mood, the hallucinations, the paranoia. His body lay in state at the
National Academy. The country mourned his death and was dismayed by the means of
it, although the scandal sold many newspapers.
Da Cunha's brain was placed in formalin and deposited for viewing at the National
Museum (eventually it was removed to the town of his birth, and then buried in 1988).
Dilermando de Assis's trial pivoted on whether after the wounded da Cunha had fired
all his bullets, he was fleeing the scene and no longer posed a threat but was being pur-
sued. De Assis fired the lethal shots that pierced the lung and clavicle and killed da
Cunhafromthevantage oftheporch.Evaristo deMoraes,deAssis'slawyer,maintained
that in the commotion of the moment, the confusion over whether da Cunha might con-
tinue his attack justified de Assis's actions. In the case of “crimes of passion” (which
were also crimes of honor), Brazilian jurisprudence seldom condemned. De Assis also
had powerful protectors in his military faction.
The fates were not quite done with da Cunha/de Assis households; the sons especially
livedinastrangeoedipalanguish.Thephototakenofthemwithajournalistshortlyafter
Euclides's death surely reveals profound torment (see fig. 22.4 ).