Classic Stories

The first ‘recorded’ encounter in Washington State took place the middle of July in 1924. Five prospectors were working a gold mine on the east slopes of Mt. St. Helens, in the Lewis River area.

Finding huge footprints around their cabin one morning had the miners unnerved. The footprints looked human with five toes, yet they were a foot and a half long by eight inches wide. Some of the prints sunk an inch or more into the soft dirt, indicating a creature of great weight.

They were also unnerved by the strange whistling and thumping sounds coming from the nearby ridges, heard both day and night.

Then it happened that during the day time, while gathering water from a spring, two of the men encountered a huge, hairy creature about 7 ft. tall with blackish-brown hair. It was about a hundred yards away, standing by a pine tree. One of the men raised his rifle and shot at the creature as it quickly dodged behind the tree.

Moments later, it poked its head out from the side of the tree, then took off running upright and fast down a little canyon while the other man shot at it three times until it disappeared from view. (NOTE: There are varying stories as to whether the men actually hit the creature or not).

Returning to the cabin, they informed the rest of their party. They agreed to leave first thing in the morning, but decided to stay the night rather than venture out into the darkness as night had fallen. They had their supper and soon fell asleep.

Around midnight they were awakened by a tremendous thud on the side of the cabin. There were no windows in the cabin, however, peeking through a hole in the wall they saw a grouping of three of the creatures, although there may have been more. The miners had built the pine cabin themselves and thankfully it was very sturdy as the creatures began to hurl rocks at the cabin.

Continually pelting the walls as well as the roof, the creatures ripped pieces of wood from the outside walls of the cabin and tried to bash in the door. The miners had to brace the hewed-logged door with a long pole from one of the bunk beds, and watched as the whole door vibrated from the impacts. The miners knocked chinks out between the logs and fired their rifles into the darkness, the cabin became filled with smoke and it became hard to breath.

The creatures continued to terrorize the miners the entire night until daybreak. As soon as the sun rose, the creatures disappeared. The miners abandoned both the cabin and mine, never to return.

Footnote: After the incident this area of Mt. St. Helens appropriately became known as Ape Canyon. Newspaper reporters and curiosity seekers who later visited the area continued to tell of finding giant footprints for years. Unfortunately, if the creatures did live in the area, the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens buried any evidence in a deep layer of ash.

I, W. Roe of the City of Edmonton, in the province of Alberta make oath and say,

(1) That the exhibit A attached to this, my affidavit, is absolutely true and correct in all details.

Sworn before me in the City of Edmonton, Province of Alberta, this 26th day of August, A.D. 1957.

(Signed) William Roe

(Signed) by W.H. Clark

Assistant Claims Agent

Number D.D. 2822

EXHIBIT A.

Ever since I was a small boy back in the forest of Michigan, I have studied the lives and habits of wild animals. Later, when I supported my family in Northern Alberta by hunting and trapping, I spent many hours just observing the wild things. They fascinated me. But the most incredible experience I ever had with a wild creature occurred near a little town called Tete Jaune Cache, British Columbia, about eighty miles west of Jasper, Alberta.

I had been working on the highway near Tete Jaune Cache for about two years. In October, 1955, I decided to climb five miles up Mica Mountain to an old deserted mine, just for something to do. I came in sight of the mine about three o'clock in the afternoon after an easy climb. I had just come out of a patch of low brush into a clearing, when I saw what I thought was a grizzly bear, in the bush on the other side. I had shot a grizzly near that spot the year before. This one was only about 75 yards away, but I didn't want to shoot it, for I had no way of getting it out. So I sat down on a small rock and watched, my rifle in my hands.

I could see part of the animal's head and the top of one shoulder. A moment later, it raised up and stepped out into the opening. Then I saw it was not a bear.

This, to the best of my recollection, is what the creature looked like and how it acted as it came across the clearing directly toward me. My first impression was of a huge man, about six feet tall, almost three feet wide, and probably weighing somewhere near three hundred pounds. It was covered from head to foot with dark brown silver-tipped hair. But as it came closer, I saw by its breasts that it was female.

And yet, its torso was not curved like a female's. Its broad frame was straight from shoulder to hip. Its arms were much thicker than a man's arms, and longer, reaching almost to its knees. Its feet were broader proportionately than a man's, about five inches wide at the front and tapering to much thinner heels. When it walked, it placed the heel of its foot down first, and I could see the grey-brown skin or hide on the soles of its feet.

It came to the edge of the bush I was hiding in, within twenty feet of me, and squatted down on its haunches. Reaching out its hands, it pulled the branches of bushes toward it and stripped the leaves with its teeth. Its lips curled flexibly around the leaves as it ate. I was close enough to see that its teeth were white and even.

The shape of this creature's head somewhat resembled a Negro's. The head was higher at the back than at the front. The nose was broad and flat. The lips and chin protruded farther than its nose. But the hair that covered it, leaving bare only the parts of its face around the mouth, nose and ears, made it resemble an animal as much as a human. None of this hair, even on the back of its head, was longer than an inch, and that on its face was much shorter. Its ears were shaped like a human's ears. But its eyes were small and black like a bear's. And its neck also was unhuman. Thicker and shorter than any man's I had ever seen.

As I watched this creature, I wondered if some movie company was making a film at this place and that what I saw was an actor, made up to look partly human and partly animal. But as I observed it more, I decided it would be impossible to fake such a specimen. Anyway, I learned later there was no such company near that area. Nor, in fact, did anyone live up Mica Mountain, according to the people who lived in Tete Jaune Cache.

Finally the wild thing must have got my scent, for it looked directly at me through an opening in the brush. A look of amazement crossed its face. It looked so comical at the moment I had to grin. Still in a crouched position, it backed up three or four short steps, then straightened up to its full height and started to walk rapidly back the way it had come. For a moment, it watched me over its shoulder as it went, not exactly afraid, but as though it wanted no contact with anything strange.

The thought came to me that if I shot it, I would possibly have a specimen of great interest to scientists the world over. I had heard stories of the Sasquatch, the giant hairy Indians that live in the legends of British Columbia Indians, and also many claim, are still in fact alive today. Maybe this was a Sasquatch, I told myself.

I leveled my rifle. The creature was still walking rapidly away, again turning its head to look in my direction. I lowered the rifle. Although I have called the creature "it", I felt now that it was a human being and I knew I would never forgive myself if I killed it.

Just as it came to the other patch of brush, it threw its head back and made a peculiar noise that seemed to be half laugh and half language, and which I can only describe as a kind of a whinny. Then it walked from the small brush into a stand of lodgepole pine.

I stepped out into the opening and looked across a small ridge just beyond the pine to see if I could see it again. It came out on the ridge a couple of hundred yards away from me, tipped its head back again, and again emitted the only sound I had heard it make, but what this half- laugh, half-language was meant to convey, I do not know. It disappeared then, and I never saw it again.

I wanted to find out if it lived on vegetation entirely or ate meat as well, so I went down and looked for signs. I found it in five different places, and although I examined it thoroughly, could find no hair or shells of bugs or insects. So I believe it was strictly a vegetarian.

I found one place where it had slept for a couple of nights under a tree. Now, the nights were cool up the mountain, at this time of year especially, and yet it had not used a fire. I found no sign that it possessed even the simplest of tools. Nor a single companion while in this place.

Whether this was a Sasquatch I do not know. It will always remain a mystery to me, unless another one is found.

I hereby declare the above statement to be in every part true, to the best of my powers of observation and recollection.

(Signed) William Roe