Read Me a Story, Ink logo

A Reading Resource for Kids, Parents, and Teachers

Spirits of the Railway

Story Stats

Rating: 4
Grade Level: 5
Page count: 5

Author

Paul
Yee

Appeared in

Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World.

Story Summary

When a terrible flood ruins their farm, Father Chu decides to immigrate to America. After some months pass and no word comes, his son decides to immigrate also to try and find his father. After a bitter winter in a railroad camp he comes upon his fathers ghost in a half-drilled tunnel. Since the white bosses simply through the bodies of the workers in the river, their souls could find no rest. Young Chu follows the burial ritual his father details so that they may finally rest in peace.