
DAVE SHORT: An old Indian woman from the Pecwan (most likely Yurok) once told this story. Dave was taking her to town in the ambulance, asked if she'd ever seen bigfoot. Bigfoot? Yeah, Ohmah, Sasquatch. Oh, you mean Wildman! "He sings." What does he sing." My lady, my lady I'm coming for you, I'm coming for you." And then what? "And then," she says with a straight face, "he eats you!!!"

Edward Patrick, called "Ed" or "Patrick"--logging equipment was attacked up around Bluff Creek area, before 1970s. A certain man, up from LA, had some money to apply to Bigfoot hunting, was hiring local guys with jeeps to chain up the tires, driving as far as they could get up into the snow, then look for BF sign. Hair, scat, prints. "How many tracks/prints have you seen." The reply, "Well, ah, maybe 500." They were in fresh snow, no other tracks around, early in the morning, on roads where nobody else had been as seen by the undisturbed fresh snow fall. No one lived up there and no one could get up there. Up steep hills where humans could not have walked, long stride, esp. in snow. Never actually saw one.
These tendencies give rise to... Dave's summary assessment: they don't really trust people, could probably eat just about anything, don't need fire, don't need clothes, hence don't need people; hence it is understandable they are not seen. Just stay to themselves, if they see people they just stay put and watch. If they are omnivorous they could live and survive around here quite easily.
Dave has lived around here since 1978. He worked (until 1995) with local EMT Ambulance service; Fire Dept. volunteer, too, since he was a kid. He is not personally an outdoorsman, but he's heard from a lot who have seen them, LOTS of old Indians. He lived on the Hoopa Reservation, ran the ambulance there for 15 years. Most friends of his were on the older/elder side out there, with interesting stories to tell.
I asked Dave further about the other cryptid/mystery creatures spoken of around the Willow Creek and Hoopa area.... 

The Hupa people are "superstitious" about "INJUN DEVILS" and LITTLE PEOPLE. Don't really like to talk about them. East Fork Bridge near the campground, had its own Indian Devil... a family member had an encounter with one, caused his car to crash (like a Gremlin? Troll? or Ghost?) Not necessarily good luck, maybe bad. Hence the fear. None seemed to have actually seen one. More a "felt" thing. Are "Indian Devils" human, or are they Bigfoot-related? Anthropological sources relate the "Devils" to sorcery.
[Editorial note: another source, Bobo, says that the Yurok-Hupa Injun Devils were a tribal shamanic role practiced by some local natives (like the old Bear Shamans?). I have had local Natives confirm this. Lucy Thompson's TO THE AMERICAN INDIAN book says clearly that they were human, not bigfoots, and carried certain things like sticks and medicine bags, unlike sasquatches. Many BF researchers take any Native statement about "wild folk" or "devils" to be indicative of the sasquatch, but that is not necessarily so. There is no reason a human could not choose to leave the main tribe and live in a less socialized or wild state.]
SUGAR BOWL, out near Hoopa, the sacred Rain Rock is down there, a nature-calendar. LITTLE PEOPLE? Other reports have stated that there was no Native settlement made permanently down there, despite ideal natural conditions, due to the presence of the Little People. [It was THEIR turf, much like the upper headwaters of Bluff Creek were avoided as the home of the Mountain People or Ape-men.] What are these "Little People"? Some accounts depict them as furry little bigfoots, while others claim they are more like elves, pixies or brownies. We will be investigating this issue, but information is hard to come by, with sources reluctant to speak. Also... Willie Burgers ("boogers")? KAMOSS? Snake-like creature once reported: wider than the road! Also seen in the rivers, sometimes serpentine, other times more like a Loch Ness Monster.
And more news:
RECENT SIGHTING! Another one, the fifth report from that area we've heard in the last couple of years, was seen up on FRIDAY RIDGE ROAD. Local BFRO affiliate James Bobo Fay responded and investigated, driving the road, but no evidence was found. This road runs right back of Bigfoot Books' location, with its terminus at Brush Mountain Lookout (see image, below) being just a mile or so as the bird flies from the cabin of yours truly. See my own report in the begining of the article BIGFOOT IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY, linked to the right of this blog.

Bigfoot Books was blogged again, this time by a customer. She enjoyed getting her "Humboldt County Bookmark," found pressed between the pages of a dictionary, at no extra cost.
Image pilfered from Kristabel's blog, since she pilfered one from mine, that I pilfered (with permission) from Tom Yamarone's blog. Ah, the wonders of blogging!
Check out the CHOCOLATE COVERED XANAX blog article here: http://chocolatecoveredxanax.blogspot.com/2009/06/humboldt-county-bookmark.html
with an UPDATE here:
Back to work on deciphering the P-G FILM TIMELINE! Report coming sooner or later. Also, DUANE FLATMO is going to respond to our questions re. bigfoot and his ACE HARDWARE BIGFOOT MURAL. He has nearly finished the final touch-up and detail work. We'll have a full pictorial expose soon.
Thanks Steve - although I feel a little guilty about pilfering that picture now. I love your place (and the conversations I eavesdrop on) so much. I'll see you next time I'm in the Crick. xo
ReplyDeleteIsn't she fun?
ReplyDelete