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Wind in the Pass: The True Story
Behind the Haunting of the Pacheco Pass by David D. Allee CreateSpace
book review by Barbara Deming
"The Pass belongs to the spirit."
In 1805, the California Yokuts are found by strangers—strangers with silver breastplates, sharp cutting tools—men carrying death to many villagers in the form of measles. These Spaniards are followed by priests and soldiers seeking to make Christians out of the savages, slaves of the men, and sexual vessels of the women.
In 1815, the young warrior Kul-kit is disturbed by life at the Mission. While hunting in the Pacheco Pass, he has a paranormal experiencea vision of the tribe's victorious defeat of their masters. After the beating of his lover, Paw-Mee, he gathers all those willing to leave; they are pursued by Father Arroyo's military, which is ordered to avenge Kul-kit's murder of the abusive Friar Montez.
It is this run for freedom that brings the warriors face-to-face with innocents—the Butterfield Stage driver, Nathanial Cole, and passengers Rebecca Doak accompanied by daughter, Rachel. The result for these travelers, Kul-kit, and others is disastrous. The survival of a child carries this story into the future.
In the introduction, David D. Allee shares his own bizarre paranormal experience in Pacheco Pass. He promised the Indian warrior who appeared he would write the Yohut's story. This book flows in the documented river of California history. It is true to what is known about the treatment of indigenous people by Spaniards. However in this telling, Allee ties all the pieces together, offering readers a complete picture of this incident in time in a fascinating and very satisfactory way.