HA-A-A!!! HO-O!! HO-O!! { Sasquatch for: You'll Never Track Me to my Home Sweet Home!!}.

You are probably doubting that I speak fluent Sasquatch. You are, once again, demonstrating your intuitive wisdom, as I haven't a clue. BUT, the critter pictured above [the dreaded powerful Dzoonokwa] IS claimed by the Kwakiutl people to utter exactly that "phase" as a challenge to intruders, and as a statement of power. {Dzoonokwa is, by the way, a very big red-headed female, showing that there is no gender bias in the Kwakiutl Spirit World.}

Dzoonokwa has reminded me of two things:

1]. I haven't spent much time on this blog talking about ABSMs whether Yeti or Sasquatch. I think that some of the reason for that is that I have a very difficult time focussing on a satisfactory hypothesis for them. Modern America, as a nation filled with hunters, mountain hikers, nature campers, races right into the idea that these things are small populations of perhaps dying ape species --- the proper subjects for biology textbooks. Yet......

2]. Most of the time, in detailed reports, they certainly don't act that way. As I peruse [occasionally ... I am NO expert] the literature on these entities, I read a "hunter-oriented" shelf of claims and commentary, which assiduously dodges anything which makes the Meat-and-Juices theory unpalatable.

Well, maybe our Bigfoot-hunting crowd is correct, but we should at least note that the Native Americans did not think of these entities this way.

I'm not going to do a review of the Bigfoot literature --- I'm not qualified and have not earned an opinion. Instead, let's just dive into this business somewhere and see if there's anything to be seen on a random probe "into the wilderness".

This is a map of a Bigfoot cluster area. Linn County, Oregon --- home of Sweet Home, Oregon around which many witnesses would want to claim that Sasquatch hangs out. { I made the map from the data quickly scoopable from the internet --- don't take the exact locations of the dots too seriously; I've just dotted them in next to the locations listed. --- nevertheless, I rather like the looks of the thing, and it will be very unkind of you to criticize my lack of artistry... so depressing.}

The cases arrayed are from the 1960s all the way to the present day, with an old outlier from 1885. The cases are a typical bigfoot type mix of sightings of animal-forms, tracks only, occasionally other "markings". Very little detail in these reports typically; several reports by hunters, mainly hunting elk; most sightings by men, but women and children also report; two cases describing "glowing eyes".

A case: a grade school teacher was driving home to Sweet Home, OR in the late 1960s. It was at night, as she was returning from an evening class at Oregon State University. The road was empty, lined by trees and the Santiam River's south branch. She saw what she thought was a bear, but as her car got nearer, the thing proved to be a large black-haired anthropoid about seven-foot tall. It grasped the railing with one of its hands and stepped over it to the woods on the river side. As her car passed, she slowed to get a better look, and it turned to stare back at her. Now thoroughly frightened, she sped off and arrived at her home in an upset state well remembered by her family.

But why am I, sort of out of nowhere, writing about Bigfoot today??

Because, as most of you know, I've just purchased a large house into which I and three others folks will move to create a cooperative housing entity, I've had a few "activities" here in my present home getting ready for those days. One of these was the presence of two guys helping a buddy of mine move my "old book collection" [about 50 boxes worth] to the new location. Everytime, well almost without fail, when someone visits here, they want to know about one or the other of the unusual things they're seeing. When I told the one fellow about Ivan Sanderson and the things Ivan was interested in, he said: "I've seen Bigfoot; more than once."

Really??? Tell me more.

This fellow is about 50, I'd guess. He's Mexican-American, somewhat crude-spoken but actually articulate and intelligent, and the son of a former "hard-rock miner" who did most of his mining in the Rockies. His dad taught him all about blowing up rocks to get at the rubble, hunting and fishing, and camping to the point where being in the woods is just "natural" to him.

The events that he told me about happened in about the 1980s --- this fellow enthusiastically told this story when he found that he had a listener who wouldn't laugh at him. That enthusiasm plus the fact that he was supposed to be finishing loading his pick-up at that moment, truncated my ability to turn this into some sort of "proper field interview". We'll have to satisfy ourselves with the spontaneous here.

He and a buddy, who often hunted and camped together, were up in the woods of the Pacific Coast Rockies. Their alleged goal was hunting Elk, but as any hunters know, the main goal is to "get away" and rest in Nature. They set up their camp, and as usual for them, CREATED A DREAM CIRCLE, just up the slope from their location. Yes. That is exactly what he said.

A "Dream Circle???" Oh yes, he said. You always do that when you're deep in the woods. Uhh. Really?? He continued: it's a tradition. You build a Circle of Stones and other things. He made it sound as if it was for good luck... or maybe respect.

This made me think of the Native American Medicine Wheels [such as pictured above] and the now-culturally-popular "Dream Catchers", that many non-Native Americans own in hopes of catching a little Magickal good fortune. Again, I couldn't slow him down enough to ask him exactly why he did this --- just that it was a family tradition, and something "you just did".

In this series of Bigfoot encounters, the action began with many days where both he and his buddy could sense that the entity was right nearby, just on the other side of the bushes, but "wouldn't let me see him". This description reminded me so much of Diane Fossey's comments about not being able to contact the Mountain Gorillas, even though she could hear them rustling branches within feet of her, that I started to think: maybe this IS some "ordinary" biological ape afterall.

As the days went on, they began to catch glimpses of Sasquatch and things began to be left in their Dream Circle. They responded in kind by leaving things there themselves. As a climax to this "potlatch" give and take, one day a magnificent Eagle feather was found stuck standing straight up in the middle of the circle.

Subsequently, both my new-found informant and his friend both saw Sasquatch relatively nearby, but separately. The buddy once saw two together.

As the story wound down, my reporter grew a little more pensive. He finally said: I think [he was VERY hesitant going into this] that Bigfoot has some odd .... abilities.

Ummmm.... yes???

Well, he seems to be able to just disappear.

Really?

I was looking right at him once and then he just wasn't there anymore.

BOING goes the Brain.

This report at least is not Biology-textbook but rather Native American Legend. We're back to the Spirit World with that one. We're back to what the ancestors believed all along.

And it would give some meaning to the climactic gift of the Eagle Feather.

"In the beginning, the Creator gave to the animals and birds the wisdom and knowledge and the power to talk to men. He sent these creatures to tell man that He showed Himself through them. He would teach a chosen man sacred songs and dance, as well as much ritual and lore." 

..... sounds precisely Druidical. .... and harmonious with the Language of the Birds.

" In order to remember the lesson of life, look to the great Eagle, the favorite bird of the Creator.

The eagle feather is divided into two parts, part light, part dark. This represents daylight and darkness, summer and winter, peace and war, and life and death. So that you will always remember what I have told you, look well on the Eagle, for his feathers, too, tell the story of life." 

.... maybe "somebody" was acknowledging a couple of respectful hunters with a token of respect back.

As this fellow was turning away to get in his truck and go, I had to ask at least one field research-type question:

Where did all this happen?

"Sweet Home, Oregon".



Till next time, folks... when I can.

And may you receive the Eagle Feather of respect in all you do.