Devereux] MOHAVE ETHNOPSYCHIATRY AND SUICIDE 67 



hypersthenic type and clear throughout. Heart is negative. Abdomen obese. 

 No findings of interest. Extremities — there is diffused discoloration of the left 

 lower leg with several scars present, the result of previous ulcers. On the left 

 thigh are multiple scars where pinch graphs have been taken. 



'Neurological examination: 



Essentially negative in all respects. 

 Recommendation: 4-11-35 : 



To be discharged. 

 Z)isc7iarfl'ed; April 1935. (Name) 



M. D. 



Information frotn interpreter Hama: Utce: (Data e) : 



Apen Ismalyk is a shamau. He sings and talks at funerals and it gives me 

 the creeps. I thought at first that it did not mean anything, but found out 

 that in reality he speaks of very old things, which the old-time Indians would 

 have understood. Then he starts talking of God and of Christ, and prays. I 

 like to listen to him, but I am scared all the same. Once he had a big bow and 

 an arrow and I was afraid that he might shoot. Once I even took him to Yuma. 

 He was here in the hospital, but the children were afraid of him, so they put 

 him in the Yuma jail, for questioning before a Court of Commitment. He went 

 out of his head, and the sheriff wanted to send him to the State Hospital for 

 the Insane. When he is excited he mutters abruptly in English, "Go West, and 

 go West, and to the East, with a pick and shovel, over 2,000, over 2,000,000 (re- 

 peats the numbers)." He talks to no one except my husband. My father-in-law 

 thinks that, at some time or other, Apen Ismalyk had killed a white man — 

 maybe a prospector — and worries over it. One day, when he was in the hospital, 

 the practical nurse brought him a pair of pajamas to put on, and he flung them 

 back at her. Then the practical nurse asked my husband, Sumuramura, to help 

 her get Apen Ismalyk into his pajamas. My husband took him to the lavatory 

 and made him put them on. Quite often Apen Ismalyk just stares. Often 

 he just lies on the ground with his legs crossed, his arms under his head, and 

 says the things I told you about just now. He clenches his right fist in front of 

 his belly and briskly strikes out sideways [demonstration]. Once he "preached" 

 in front of the Harvey House at Needles. Another time he was lying with his 

 head to the North and his face turned to the East, and said, "There is gold right 

 there — someone gets it — I'll get it." Then my husband asked : "Who told you 

 about it?" but Apen Ismalyk would not answer his question. He now lives 

 at (near) Needles. He was released from the State Hospital after 3 months. 

 Not until he went crazy did people know he was a shaman, but now that he 

 practices, he is better. He cures colds, pneumonia, and the flu. He began 

 practicing about a year ago, when he was released from the asylum. [In reply 

 to a non-leading question, Hama : Utce : added that Apen Ismalyk also used 

 to say, "I am dead."] 



Interview with Apen Ismalyk (interpreter, Sumuramura (Data /) ) : 



I used to live just where the old schoolhouse is now, and was raised around 

 there. Then, in 1901, I went away to school, to Fort Mohave. I was about 

 14 years old at that time. I stayed in school for 7 years, and then left because 

 of illness. My heart was bad. Next, I worked off and on for the Santa Fe 

 Railroad shops. After that, I quit for good at the Santa Fe, and when they 

 started to build a levee — probably in 1911 — I worked there as a laborer and as 

 a teamster. I drove a team. After that was over, I stayed at Parker for a 

 while and then went on to Yuma. Then I left Yuma and went to Blythe and 



