Colorado Ghost Stories. Antonio Boone's Garcez

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СКАЧАТЬ but something real, and definitely not anything close to a living and breathing human at all! Eventually, I fell asleep and in the morning, I looked in the mirror and saw how swollen my face really was. After seeing a doctor in Montrose, I was given sedatives and had my two small cuts stitched up.

      The drive home was interesting in that, Bruce confided in me that he had stayed up most of the night, worried about me and oddly enough, confided to me that he had kept hearing the strange sound of what he thought sounded like a cross between a singing bird and a person’s laughter. It caught him off guard, and really frightened him. Bruce was not a man to frighten easily, but this unearthly sound really did frighten him.

      In the few months following my ghostly incident in the park, I’ve mentioned what I experienced to a few people, but everyone, without exception, stated that they felt compassion for what we went through but could not believe that it was anything that had to do with a ghost. I once attended a forestry workshop and met a Ute man. I mentioned my ghostly experience to him and he answered, “Sounds like something the Crow Indians of Montana would be experts in. They have a mythology within their tribe about the little people that inhabit the outlying hills surrounding their reservation. Their stories about the small spirits that live in those hills go back generations, and they tell about the discovery of a few, small, fully developed skeletons of human-like beings that have been found in shallow rock caves. I’d keep away from that area of the park. Something in your spiritual makeup is attractive to them. It’s a “medicine” that they might want to tap into. You might want to talk to a person of the Crow tribe, but I don’t think they would offer you much information because they do not talk openly about their traditions to outsiders. It’s rare for them to even hint at this subject at all.”

      Since that time, I have not ventured onto the north side of the canyon. I tend to stay within other areas of the park, but even then, not without a bit of trepidation. I know what I saw was real and not spiritually positive. I’ll keep the pleasant thoughts and memories I have regarding the good times I spent in the canyon with my husband. The others, I hope, one day will fade away with time.”

      Olivia Sagehorn’s Story

      Mrs. Sagehorn, who is 91 years old, and I discussed several things before her interview. She was very candid and direct about the experiences with spirits that both she and her family had had. On a personal level, what impressed me more was her insight into how society, so many years ago, dealt with such an issue as a person’s sexual orientation during Colorado’s frontier era.

      Clearly, not all communities handled such an issue in the same manner as Olivia’s, but I no doubt believe that there were many who tolerated, if not embraced, gay and lesbians of past generations. There is direct anthropological documentation that proves not only Native Americans, but also many other pre-industrial peoples throughout the world held gay individuals in high regard and with cherished respect.

      Olivia Sagehorn was a delight to speak with. I conducted the interview with her at a convalescent hospital in Grand Junction, within the facility’s garden courtyard. Her detailed memory was always on point. As of this writing, Mrs. Sagehorn is doing well and content with her life. In 2007 she celebrated her 92nd year. I hope she sees many more years to come.

      — Antonio

      “I must tell you that first of all, that I am one of a set of twin girls. My only brother Harold died In the late 1940’s after contracting polio. The disease quickly traveled from his legs, to his lungs and spine. Our family was immediately quarantined by the government thus, sparing us any further illness.

      We buried my brother on a hillside just north of Gunnison, in the town of Almont. The twenty acres of land where he lies buried belonged to my family. My great-grandfather, Walter McClain, along with his brother, William, homesteaded the land in 1877. Great-grandfather Walter married my great-grandmother Ophelia, who was from Orchard City, and together had two boys and one daughter. My grandmother, Catherine, was their only girl.

      The younger Ms. Sagehorn is seated while her sister Rosella stands beside her.

      In 1913, mother married and two years after gave birth to my eldest brother, Harold. Years later, mother gave birth to me and my twin sister, Rosella. So now that you have an idea of my family history, I’ll get on with my story.

      My older brother never married, but he did live with a man for most of his short life. His life partner’s name was Clayton. Both of them lived in Orchard City for a few years, they moved to Grand Junction until Harold got sick. Clayton moved in with us and he cared for my brother in a room Father had converted from a goat house into a bedroom. During Harold’s convalescence, Clayton also contracted polio, but he managed to survive the illness.

      Harold is seated while Clayton stands beside his partner.

      Homosexuality was not looked upon as negatively then, as it can be today. People knew about it, and just accepted such things as two women or two men living together as God’s plan. Back then we had other more important things to concern ourselves with like making a living from the land. It was unusual to see two men living together as a couple, but you know, I knew that there were other couples like my brother and Clayton who owned property in the area, because Clayton would tell us about them.

      Our family lived acres away from most of our neighbors, separated by hills, and even mountains, so we didn’t get to have much contact with each other. Our time was spent doing the usual chores that come with trying to make a living from the land. Most of us didn’t have the time to spend gossiping about other families.

      I remember when, before Harold got the polio, he and Clayton visited Denver for a few months. Clayton was an architect by trade, and helped design the Denver Club building in downtown Denver. With the money from this project they purchased a home in Grand Junction. After my brother’s death, Clayton returned to Grand Junction and eventually sold their house, then moved to Denver.

      During the time when my brother was ill in bed, I remember him telling us about the different people who he had seen standing by his bed. These people, he told us, were relatives of ours, who had past away years before. He would point out to us where in the room they were standing, what they were wearing and some- times, what they would be saying. My mother and father knew, but didn’t tell my sister and me until after my brother’s death, that seeing the dead was a sign that he himself was not going to survive for much longer.

      During his funeral, and after his burial, Clayton was very sad. Right before Clayton moved away, he gave my mother all of my brother’s belongings and presented my father with Harold’s rifle and belt buckle. A year after Clayton moved away to Denver, we received a few letters from Clayton, but eventually the letters stopped coming. I don’t know what ever happened to him.

      One day, while Rosella and I were outside washing clothes, Rosella came up to me and said, “Olivia, I heard Harold calling me last night.” I answered, “What do you mean?” Then she told me that she had been seeing our brother’s spirit walking about the bedroom, and once even saw him staring at the front door. She was too upset to tell anyone, but she decided to confide in me be- cause she felt it was time to do so.

      I was caught by surprise by my sister’s information and I told her that I believed what she was saying, but I didn’t think it was necessary for her to keep it to herself. She needed to tell our parents about this. That evening, while the two of us with our parents were seated at the dinner table, Rosella broke down and described СКАЧАТЬ