The medicine man further explained, “It is difficult to gain power without earning it in the correct manner. This woman has decided to seek the help of certain animal spirits instead of asking the Creator for direction, and doing what is right.” He also said, “You need to know that this woman wants to hurt your grandfather. Your grandfather refused to do what she demanded, so now she has taken revenge. She chose to make him ill, but she will not stop until he is dead.” My brother and I could not understand why this medicine woman would want to be so evil as to hurt our grandfather.
Our concern now was for our grandfather to be healed. The medicine man said that he would be ready to confront this woman’s witchcraft during grandfather’s Sing. The night of the ceremony came and we all gathered inside my grandfather’s hogan. We used kerosene lamps for light and a fire was started in the wood stove. Soon the medicine man arrived and the ceremony began. Grandfather was seated on top of a blanket, which was placed on the dirt floor.
In front of him the medicine man placed the items which would be used for the cleansing: a bowl of water, a leather bag of corn pollen, a basket with a beautiful eagle feather, and various other items. The medicine man began to drum and sing his songs, calling the positive forces of Mother Earth and the four directions. He sang towards the heavens and asked the Creator for vision, help, and power in defeating all evil. His singing continued for about an hour or so. He reached for the basket, which held the eagle feather and grabbed hold of the feather’s stem. Saying a prayer he passed the feather over grandfather’s head and body. Then the medicine man returned the feather to the basket and closed his eyes. All our eyes were focused on the medicine man’s face as it began to slowly change. His eyes closed tightly and his mouth began to display a severe expression of pain. His clenched teeth were very noticeable in the warm orange glow of the lanterns. I held on to my brother’s arm so strongly that knew I must have left bruise marks. I was scared from watching what was taking place before us. This small elderly old man seated on the ground before us was changing into something spiritual. A force had taken over him, and what we were seeing was scaring me. Grandfather was so weak with illness that I had to brace his body with one hand so he wouldn’t fall over. As grandfather closed his eyes and prayed to himself, he was unaware of the transformation, which was taking place with the medicine man.
With a quick motion, the medicine man turned over on all fours, and with the gestures of a determined dog or wolf, began to crawl around, sniffing the air and pawing at the ground. Then he crawled his way to a corner of the hogan, and began to dig vigorously with his bare hands at the dirt floor. His breathing became loud and filled with energy. He dug and dug with the force of a man much younger and stronger than he. I took a quick glance at my brother. His face showed that he was also in awe at what was taking place before us. I returned my eyes to the medicine man that had now dug a hole about a foot deep. Then he stopped his digging and seemed to recover from his trance.
In a dazed voice, the medicine man asked my brother to bring a lamp over to him, which he quickly did. Then the medicine man reached into the hole he had just dug, and to all our amazement, pulled out a soil-covered sweater, which belonged to my grandfather! The medicine man said, “Here is what the witch used for her evil medicine against your grandfather, but now I will use it against her. She used this sweater as her only way to witch him. She will no longer be able to have control over him!” After saying this, he sang a song while placing the eagle feather and corn pollen over the head and shoulders of my grandfather. My grandfather took a deep breath and fell to one side. My brother was ready to catch him as he fell. Grandfather said he was tired and wanted to sleep. We left him there in his hogan covered in warm wool blankets. The ceremony was over.
We followed the medicine man outside the hogan as he carried the sweater and placed it on the ground. He asked for a lamp, and emptied the kerosene from it over the sweater. He lit a match and tossed it on the sweater. The fire slowly began to burn and consume the sweater. Then, in the distance, we heard a piercing loud scream, a howl. We turned in the direction of the sound and spotted a ball of light, which rose up high into the sky, then bounced away and disappeared into the desert! The medicine man informed us that what we had just heard and seen was the witch. He said, “She will never be able to recover her strength, I found her power and she will be eaten up by her own evil.”
After that night, grandfather returned to his old self. I am convinced of the powers, which some bad people can use to harm others. So much jealously and evil exits in the world. However, it is good to know that in the end, the power of the Creator always wins. I have seen it.”
Town of Holbrook
Holbrook is on the banks of the Little Colorado River in northeastern Arizona’s Navajo County high plateau country. In 1881, railroad tracks were laid in northeastern Arizona, passing through an area known as Horsehead Crossing. The following year a railroad station was built at Horsehead Crossing and the community’s name was changed to Holbrook in honor of Henry Randolph Holbrook, first chief engineer of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. Holbrook, at an elevation of 5,080 feet, became the county seat of Navajo County in 1895 and was incorporated in 1917.
Holbrook is an important trade center for northeastern Arizona. Its location on historic Route 66 and on Interstate 40 at the junction of four major highways, between the Apache Sitgreaves National Forest to the south and the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservations to the north, makes tourism important to the local economy.
The Navajo County Courthouse
This historic courthouse is located at the northeast corner of Arizona Street and Navajo Boulevard. Currently it houses the Chamber of Commerce offices and the Historical Society Museum. In 1976, a new governmental center was established south of the city. All county offices were then moved from the courthouse to this new location. In 1981 the County Board of Supervisors requested that the Navajo County Historical Society open a museum in the old building. Local residents graciously donated furniture, keepsakes and other wonderful items along with written family histories to include in the displays, which are presently on view in the museum. Aside from the many notorious trials that were held in the courtroom, only one hanging took place in the courtyard on January 8, 1900, at 2 p.m. The name of the executed was George Smiley who was hung for the murder of T. J. McSweeney.
The following are reproduced invitations to the hanging of George Smiley, for murder, which occurred at Holbrook on January 8, 1900. Issued by F. J. Wattron, Sheriff of Navajo County.
This first invitation, the news of which was sent out by the Associated Press, brought a letter of condemnation from then President William McKinley to Governor Nathan Oakes Murphy, of the Territory of Arizona. Governor Murphy severely rebuked Sheriff Wattron, and issued a stay of execution, whereupon the Sheriff sent out the second sarcastic invitation.
The following is the deposition of T. J. McSweeney after being shot. Filed on October 4, 1899.
Question: What is your name?
Answer: T. J. McSweeney.
Question: Where do you reside?
Answer: Have been residing at Dennison.
Question: You are employed as section foreman of the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad Company at Dennison?
Answer: Yes, sir, at Dennison.
Question: What is the man’s name who did the shooting?
Answer: George Smiley.