Читать книгу American Indian Ghost Stories of the West - Antonio Sr. Garcez - Страница 10

My interview with both Betty and Franklin took place one early afternoon within the reservation’s museum. The weather outside was definitely in the upper 90’s, so I was thankful to be in an air-conditioned building. We all sat at a table and because we were alone in the museum, it was obvious that Betty and Franklin felt very free to openly discuss their experiences without having to look over their shoulders. Given the historical nature of their reservation, this story in particular was a uniquely informative experience for me.

— Antonio

“I’m Nu Wu and I’ve lived at the reservation most of my life, except for a period of twenty-five years when I got married and lived in Los Angeles, California. Currently I’m the Director of the Colorado Indian Museum and I’ve held this position for eight years. Before I tell you about the ghostly activity in the area, I need to give a quick historical background of the area, which involved the internment of Japanese Americans at the beginning of World War II. Soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, an executive order enacted by then-president Franklin Delano Roosevelt stated that, beginning in the city of San Francisco and extending to El Paso, Texas, all Japanese Americans would be placed in several internment camps located throughout the southwest. Our reservation was chosen to be one of these sites.

A major task begun by the U.S. government at the time of the Japanese relocation, was to house thousands of people, and to construct needed shelter. Lumber in constructing these houses and barracks was needed in large quantities. Unfortunately, due to our hot desert climate, such large lumber-producing trees did not grow in the area. The necessary lumber was brought to the reservation by train. It so happened that both the lumber and Japanese were brought to the relocation camp by train. The Japanese were put into boxcars and taken to our reservation. There were in total between eighteen to twenty thousand Japanese who were relocated to three camps in this area, which were named Camp One, Camp Two and Camp Three. The U.S. Government made the Japanese build their own community structures from the lumber that was delivered by these same trains. They built single-family homes and long barracks that were designed to house about ten families. The uniqueness of their architecture was unmistakable. These houses were built in a distinct “pagoda” style. The roofline swung out and curved slightly upward, away from the outside walls, and there was a distinct space between where the roof and the ceiling came together. The Japanese grew vegetables in community gardens, built small ponds, built a movie theatre, and as much as we could tell, they kept up their own cultural traditions. Many babies were born in these camps and many elderly Japanese died at the camps. I heard that some of the dead were taken back to the towns where they were removed from, or shipped back to Japan. I personally am aware that several Japanese bodies were buried in the Parker cemetery, just a few miles north of here.

The relocation camps existed for approximately four years, from 1942 to 1946. When the Japanese were eventually relocated back to the larger society, the houses and barracks, which they had built, were given to the Colorado Indian Community. The barracks were cut into equal sections of about fifteen to twenty feet wide, by equal lengths long, and distributed to Indian families. A few of these old Japanese houses are still standing on the reservation. Some of these houses, which we Indians were given, were haunted. Spirits of those Japanese who lived and died within the walls of the houses they built with their own hands refused to move on. I know of one Indian family that moved into one of those Japanese houses, and they had strange things happen. The doors of the house would open and close on their own. A chair would move away from the table as if pushed by invisible pair of hands. As if someone was about to seat him or herself down for a meal, the chair would move away from the table, then it would move back against the table! Also, lights would go on and off at all hours. Other times, many times, Indian families talked about seeing the shadowy, ghostly outline of a person who walked in their houses, traveling from one room to the next. At times these ghosts would walk through a room, approach the front door and then pass through it and go outside.

Other incidents reported are the sound of ghostly footsteps on the wooden floors of these old houses at all hours of the day and night. Families would even hear the sound of rattling dishes in their kitchens, as if the ghosts were going through the daily task of washing dishes after a meal. Some families reported hearing very young babies crying. I know that the people were concerned about these ghosts, but for whatever reason, eventually they got accustomed to their “visitors.” They knew why the ghosts were occupying their houses, and about the Japanese sad history, so Indian families knew the ghosts would not hurt them. They just decided to live with them. Some families “smudged” their homes with sage smoke and offered prayers to the spirits. Not too long ago, a group of traditional Japanese people visited our reservation and performed religious ceremonies. It was sad to see because they would break down and cry and hug each other. There is so much sorrow and sadness associated with the relocation. The Japanese built a stone monument on our reservation to mark that part of their history.

Being a Nu Wu, I’ve been very accustomed to seeing things that non-Indians would regard as supernatural. I know that these things do exist so I have been raised to be very respectful and just to let them be. I can sense the presence of shadows and light, or auras that animals have. It’s something that comes natural to me. Many of our Native American people still practice our beautiful spirituality. I also know that there are “spiritual power sites” in the hills and mountains located in the reservation and in the surrounding area. There is a lot of very powerful energy here. I know that our medicine people know about these sacred areas and spiritual sites, but we don’t talk about these places to anyone. That’s just the way it is.”