<Begin Segment 63>

TY: [Jpn.] By the way, I understand that there were scorpions at Tule Lake. There were many scorpions and snakes, weren't there?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. There were all kinds of things.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] You know a thing called tick?

TY: [Jpn.] Huh.

MK: [Jpn.] Don't you know? Tick? It attaches itself on your head or any part of your body and sucks blood...

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] After it sucks a lot of blood, it falls off.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] It sucks blood till it becomes fully round and then falls off by itself.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Donald had that once, Donald had it attached on his head.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] The best thing to do is... a smoker's... if you put cigarette on it, it will fall off right away.

TY: [Jpn.] Oh, I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Because it is hot.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] So if you use a cigarette, if you are a smoker, it will come off right away.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Nobody in my family smokes.

TY: [Jpn.] Then what did you do?

MK: [Jpn.] Oh, I had somebody else do it.

TY: [Jpn.] Did you look for a smoker?

MK: [Eng.] Yeah. [Laughs]

TY: [Jpn.] Don't you get burnt?

MK: [Jpn.] That one doesn't hurt at all. Yeah. So probably he didn't even know it. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Then what happens? After it sucks your blood? Does it swell?

MK: [Jpn.] No. You don't feel any. Uh-huh. Because it is so small.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Like this. This tiny thing.

TY: [Jpn.] Were they everywhere?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. They were this tiny. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] So there were many ticks and other bugs at Heart Mountain, weren't there?

MK: [Jpn.] It's because children walk everywhere. Do you know what sagebrush is?

TY: [Jpn.] Oh, was there a lot?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. There was sagebrush everywhere.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] And there were are all kinds of creatures in such a place. And children walk around everywhere. So they get those. But it wasn't that bad. I don't think there were any really bad things there. Uh-huh.

TY: [Jpn.] And at Tule Lake, if you get stung by "sasori," it would be a real problem, wouldn't it?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] "Sasori" means "scorpion."

MK: [Jpn.] Oh, scorpion.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. Yeah. There were scorpions. Yeah. That was a problem. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] But I don't hear that many people were bitten by those.

TY: [Jpn.] Yeah. But you must have been worried about them if you are living there.

MK: [Jpn.] You mean scorpions.

TY: [Jpn.] Yeah. You must have been concerned.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. It must be way far back somewhere. We stayed inside the camp. We lived inside the camp and didn't go out toward the either end.

TY: [Jpn.] I see.

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Okay. And Heart Mountain was in Wyoming...

MK: [Jpn.] Other people fished. Those who loved fishing went to Shoshobaker... [Ed. note: narrator is referring to the Shoshone River, Wyoming]

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] Was it Shosho Bay? There is a big river there.

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] They went fishing there. Fishing. What they caught were... what was it? What do you catch in a river?

TY: [Jpn.] Was it a trout or something like a trout?

MK: [Jpn.] Yeah. What do you call that? The one you catch in a river... you know, a small slender one like a trout...

TY: [Jpn.] Yes.

MK: [Jpn.] They caught those often. Uh-huh. And those who love fishing won't come home till late at night. There is a lot of time since [inaudible]. So their wives worry. So we all go out to look for them. Then we see them walking leisurely in the dark toward us. They love fishing that much. So they went fishing as often as they could. Yeah. There were people like that. So their wives were worried because the husbands wouldn't come home till late at night.

TY: [Jpn.] Of course they were.

MK: [Eng.] Uh-huh. Yeah.

TY: [Jpn.] Well, after you moved to Heart Mountain in Wyoming...

MK: [Eng.] Yeah.

<End Segment 63> - Copyright © 2000 Densho. All Rights Reserved.