<Begin Segment 22>

[Translated from Japanese]

I2: You went to Jerome with Mr. Kai and others, correct?

TY: Yes.

I2: What did life in Jerome look like?

TY: It was very hot and humid. Is it tropical?

I1: Is it like a swamp.

TY: It was like a swamp. It was full of poisonous snakes. The facility was good there. It had the best buildings among the camps I have been to. Floors were elevated a little from the ground. Rooms were neatly constructed with wood. I found out later that those buildings were built for sick and wounded soldiers. Then...

I1: Were the buildings new?

TY: Yes. They were new. It rained a lot. There was a big ditch in each block. It rained that much. There were a lot of reddish crabs in those ditches. And also...

I1: Turtles. [Laughs]

TY: It was very cold in the winter. There was a coal burning stove in each room. The administration gave us one batch of coal at the beginning but nothing more after that. We told them that it was very cold. They told us to go out to the surrounding forest and cut down trees. "We can lend you tools." We went out there and realized it was full of snakes. Rattlesnakes. They made a bell like sound when we went close. They must have been about ten years old. There were also red and white snakes, king snakes, and watermark snakes that had camouflage pattern to blend in the water. We found these snakes in a coil at the entrance when we woke up in the morning. It would be an emergency if you got bitten by those. The hospital told us they would buy a snake for a dollar.

I1: Buy snakes?

TY: Yes. Those Okinawans were catching snakes to make money. They hollowed a bamboo stick and put a thread through it to hook a snake. Snakes coil up. They hooked up snakes and pulled them up. They had a snake wrapped around the stick and brought it over. That was one dollar.

I1: Amazing, Okinawans.

TY: Some people grilled and ate the snakes. They were delicious.

I1: Are they edible?

TY: It tastes like the Ajinomoto seasoning. It was pretty good. Some people grilled and ate them. Others sold grilled snakes. The administration had a plan. They were trying to have us clean up the place for a future army hospital.

I1: Is that why they brought Okinawans there?

TY: Firewood was cut... and all.

I1: They had you cut trees.

TY: They had us cut trees and catch poisonous snakes. They had us do all those things.

<End Segment 22> - Copyright (c) 2004 Densho. All Rights Reserved.