Читать книгу American Indian Ghost Stories of the West - Antonio Sr. Garcez - Страница 17

As I turned off the main highway unto the roughly paved road that led to the center of the reservation, I was surprised by the starkness of the area. Given the extreme hot weather, there were no visible people anywhere to be seen outdoors. Slowly maneuvering my car through the dirt roads, I past a few humble homes, and the carcass of a dead calf laying aside the road. It struck me that the poverty of the area should be a wake-up call to the governmental department that oversees this reservation and its honorable people. This being said, I eventually met with Henry whereas he provided me with a very personal interesting story of which I know you’ll appreciate.

— Antonio

“My mother died when I was two years old, and since that time, I’ve lived in San Carlos with my father. My experience was with two spirits. Everyone seems to think that ghosts only appear during the night, but in my case, I saw them during the day. These spirits didn’t harm me, but I still got pretty scared. My experience was a strange and powerful one that I know will stay with me for a long time.

One spring morning, when I was nineteen years old, a close friend and I decided to walk over to the nearby San Carlos River and fish for catfish. Before heading out, we found two metal beer can openers. We used two stones to pound them flat, and made them into spear points. We sharpened the metal points, grinding them against a large flat boulder. Then we wrapped each of these points with wire to the ends of long thin, but strong, poles. It was a primitive but effective tool in spearing fish. My friend and I went fishing like this many times before, so we were eager to catch a lot of fish. It was about 10 a.m. when we got to the river. We followed the riverbed until we found a spot with a few trees to shade us from the sun, and a pool of water that we hoped had some fish. We each sat on the sand at opposite sides of the pool.

Because the pool of water was a short distance from the main river, the water was still. In this still water, it was easy to spot the movement of swimming fish. We fished for a few hours, and caught five fish. We decided to head home and fry the fish for lunch. Most Apache I know don’t like to eat fish because of our traditional beliefs, but that is changing. My friend and I enjoy eating fish. After our catfish lunch, my friend went home to his house and I took a nap.

Around 6 p.m. I decided to walk back to the river, only this time I just wanted to walk and not fish. I followed the path back to the pool of water where my friend and I had been earlier. As I got closer, in the distance I heard a very strange sound. The sound was a humming or buzzing noise that I couldn’t identify. I decided to investigate by following the sounds up the riverbed ahead of me. The sun was starting to go down in the west, but there was still plenty of light. As I got closer, the noise seemed to change to something like the flapping wings of a large flock of birds. I decided to slow my pace in order not to surprise whatever might be making the noise.

I walked as carefully as I could through the trees and spiny weeds. I had a feeling that animals might be nearby, so when I thought I was close enough, I stopped and got behind a large tree branch to hide myself. Flies were buzzing around my head, but I didn’t want to make any noise by swatting them. I got down on my stomach and lay flat on the sand, so I wouldn’t be seen. In the distance, not far from me, I could see two large, dark shadow-like figures. They were about 70 yards away from me and I was unable to make out what they were. At first I thought they were two large dogs. They were about the same size as German shepherds. I strained my eyes to see the figures. Suddenly they changed into a shape that took on a human form! They were definitely not dogs, and I knew they were definitely not human either! As I said before, there was plenty of sunlight, so darkness was not a problem. Also, I noticed that something like a cloth, or maybe possibly animal skins, hung loose over their bodies. I couldn’t tell what this stuff was. The figures had arms and legs, hands and feet, and their faces were covered with this cloth like stuff. This covering made it impossible to a make out their faces. I saw them bent over on their hands and feet, walking just like a four-legged animal.

While I was watching all this take place, coming from the direction of the figures was the flapping wing noise that I had heard earlier. There were no birds anywhere and no wind blowing either! But I could hear the noise of what sounded to me like a tremendous flock of birds’ wings flapping! These mysterious figures stood up, bowed down, turned around, and slowly moved away from each other. Several times they got down on all fours, and for many minutes, turned in complete circles. It seemed like they were dancing. Something inside told me that these “things” were not normal, but in fact “spirits.” I was scared.

I tried my best to keep very still, but I was shaking all over. After a few minutes, the spirits changed their steps and began to move from side to side. I know this might sound crazy, but the figures changed from animal to human to animal and back again. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Suddenly, they did something that scared me even more: they stood upright on their feet, and leaped towards each other. I’m telling you, this really surprised me. I didn’t expect them to do this, or to be so fast. I felt that if I moved, even a finger, they would discover me. Who knows what they would have done to me. Because they were moving all around the riverbed so much, I was afraid they would eventually spot me.

I decided to keep lying flat on my stomach, hoping to camouflage, to blend into the background as much as possible. If they spotted me, I was ready to run for it. I kept quiet and watched them repeat their strange dance over and over again. A few times one of them would jump about ten feet into the air. It was terrifying and, at the same time, fascinating to watch.

I stayed hidden behind the branch for a few more minutes, until I felt a bug sting my leg. I felt it crawl into my pant leg and sting me on the ankle. It must have been a wasp because it hurt like heck! I didn’t want to make a sudden move, but knew I needed to get rid of it. I slowly sat up and stretched my arm over to scratch my leg. Through it all, I didn’t take my focus off the spirits. Luckily, they didn’t notice me. But when I turned my head, I hit it against a branch that was a few inches above me. The sound of the moving branch gave me away! I saw the spirits freeze and immediately they turned their heads in my direction! I saw them crouch down and instantly disappear into thin air! That was all I needed. I stood up and ran for my life, breaking branches as I ran through the bushes. Several times I lost my balance and fell to the ground. Each time I got up and ran back down the river retracing my steps, stumbling many more times before arriving at the road, which led back home. It’s difficult for me to describe how scared I was. I was shaking all over and a bit bloodied.

When I got home, my father saw me covered in sweat and dirt and asked me where I had been. I excitedly told him the story of what I had seen. He looked at me with a strange gaze that I had never seen before and shook his head saying, “Those were not things you should have been watching. You should not have been sneaking up on those spirits. They need to be left alone when they dance. You must not ever sneak up on spirits again.” He also told me: “The spirits come down from the mountains from time to time.” They have been doing this since Apaches first came to this area. The spirits live in the mountains and canyons. They follow the water because there is power in water. The river is like a big vein and water is the blood of life for spiritual beings. You need to go back there to where you saw the spirits, and leave them an offering.” I told my father that I would do as he said, but as of this day, I have not gone back to that spot.

I don’t want to see any more spirits. Knowing that the spirits did not wish to cause me any harm has changed my view of spiritual things, but I’m still not wanting to meet any more of them. I was raised with the stories of spirits that lived in the nearby mountains around our reservation, and was told of witches and ghosts that took many animal forms. Years ago it took my own personal experience with the dark, dancing spirits to prove to me that these were not just stories. I know these spirits are real because I have seen them.”