Victor Vincent was a Tlingit fisherman. During the years before his death he visited his niece Corliss Chotkin Sen more and more frequently. She was the daughter of his sister, Gertrude. He seemed to be very fond of his niece and especially their youngest daughter whom he believed to be the reincarnation of his sister Gertrude. In other words, the daughter was her own grandmother, who had been Victor Vincent’s sister.

 

About a year before his death Victor told his niece the following, “I will return as your next son. I hope I won’t be stuttering as much then as I do now. Your son will bear these scars. He lifted his shirt to reveal a scar on his back, which had remained visible years after having had an operation. There were also needle marks clearly visible around this scar. Then Victor pointed to another scar from an operation, which he had on his nose. He said that this too would identify him in his next life as her son. He also told his niece why he wants to be reborn to her. “I know that with you I will be well looked after. You won’t go off getting drunk.” Sadly there were many alcoholics among his relations for alcohol had become a curse among his people. In many ways modern living had separated them from their traditions or brought them into conflict with them. On my travels around the world I have experienced many such examples of devastation where modern influences have had disastrous effects on indigenous people.

 

Eighteen months after Victor’s death, Chotkin Sen gave birth to a boy, who was given his father’s name Corliss Chotkin junior. His parents were convinced that their son was Uncle Victor reborn, since he was born with exactly those scars he had shown them before his death, namely on his nose and back.

 

When he was 13 months old his mother tried to help him pronounce his name Corliss. The boy suddenly pointed to himself saying, “Me Kahkody!” This had been the name of Vincent’s tribe. Since he corrected every one who called him Corliss with the name Kahkody, this name finally stuck. When an aunt visited his mother and was told about Corliss being Vincent reborn, the woman said, “I knew it. After his death Victor appeared to me in a dream and said that he was now incarnating in your body so that he could be your son.” The mother had waited in vain for such a dream since it was very common among them for the souls seeking to reincarnate to announce their arrival in a dream.

 

When Corliss was two years old he travelled to the neighbouring seaside town with his mother. Unexpectedly they met a young woman, and before any words were exchanged the little boy called out her name. He was so happy he jumped with joy calling her by her Tlingit name. For this woman had been his stepdaughter in his previous life. A little later the boy caught sight of a man among the pedestrians, pointed at him and said to his mother, “There’s my son William.”

 

A year later Mrs. Chotkin took her son along to a big Tlingit gathering. Among the many people present he saw an elderly woman and said, “That’s the old dame. That’s my Rose.” This woman had been his previous wife, whom he used to call ‘old dame’ when he was Victor. In the years that followed Corliss recognised several of Victor’s relatives and friends, calling them not only by their Christian names, but also by the name of the tribe they belonged to.

 

Corliss once talked about something he had experienced as Victor. One day he had taken his fishing boat far out into one of the wide coves when his motor suddenly failed. He was tossed about in the waves having no control. When he saw a boat he put on a Salvation army uniform which he had on board since he thought that no one would take any notice of a waving Indian in a boat. To his amazement the boat came closer and took his boat in tow. Uncle Victor had told the story in the presence of Mrs. Chotkin a long time ago, but she was sure that no one could have told Corliss about it. Another time he said to his mother, “When the ‘old dame’ and me used to visit you we always slept in this room.” Saying this he pointed to a room which was now used for other purposes. This too was true.

 

Many such memories would surface in him unexpectedly. When he was nine his memories of his previous life began to disappear. When Stevenson interviewed Corliss at the age of 15, the boy claimed not to be able to remember anything from his past life. All too often the diligent investigator Stevenson has failed to meet children at an age when they still had direct access to memories of their past lives. Therefore in many cases he has had to rely on other people telling him things afterwards. Most of the children who remember past lives begin to talk about these when they are about two years old. But after the age of six the memories usually become less frequent, and by the age of nine are often completely gone.

 

Mrs. jockey Chotkin had always combed her son’s hair to the back. Corliss always combed it to the front just like his deceased great-uncle used to do. He also had a stutter like him, just as he had mentioned to his niece in his previous life. When he was ten years old he started having speech therapy. This seemed to have cured him because when Stevenson spoke with him he no longer stuttered. Victor had been a very religious man, which was why he had joined the Salvation army. Corliss also developed similar views on life, which became noticeable when he avidly started reading the Bible and later decided to look for a Bible school. Victor had been a keen fisherman. He used to say that he would be happy to spend all his life out at sea. He had also been very good at fixing boat engines and anything involving the use of his hands. He could not have inherited this from his father since he apparently had no such skills. Corliss was also left-handed just like Victor had been.

 

Stevenson always inspected extremely carefully the birthmarks that babies were born with. The mark on the base of Corliss’ nose was from a small operation that Victor had undergone in hospital in 1938. This mark was still visible after the operation, during which they had removed the right tear duct. But the larger mark on the back was not typical of a usual birthmark. It was about 2.5 centimetres long, dark in colour, slightly raised and about 0.5 centimetres wide. Stevenson writes, 8 “Along the edges of the main scar I could see small round marks on both sides. Four of these were in a straight line along one side like needle wounds received during surgery.” Corliss must have scratched the scar for it was often inflamed. Stevenson had the hospital send him a detailed account of Victor Vincent’s operation. Corliss’ scar on his back perfectly matched the one Victor had been left with after his surgical operation. This case presents us with clear evidence in favour of reincarnation.