Legends of Bigfoot

[Carol Anne Kincaid~Paradis]

Legends of Bigfoot

Phillip Martin, a 79-year-old Quinault tribal elder, recalled a fishing trip over fifty years past. once an ape like bushy homnid referred to as C'iatqo (Bigfoot) threw a rock at his canoe. "There was a colossal splash, and there are no cliffs solely flat lands. I said, 'Well, the only real issue I might take into account was 'C'iatqo.' Bigfoot is the one around here that creates everyone to easily wish they was out of here."

C'iatqo is one of the various words Native Americans throughout the country use to talk about the creature that allegedly inhabits the geographic regions of North America. Martin, beside several other Quinault Indians, as well as members of various completely different Olympic penninsula tribes were interviewed regarding the creature and its influence on Native culture for a show on the A&E channel.

Harvest Moon a Quinault woman works as a storyteller at the Lake Quinault Lodge is familiar with several native legends regarding the unexplained creature, Sasquatch. She tells the story of the "Glue-Keek," a monster frightens tribal} group members and prevents them from hunting for and gathering food" "His legs were as immense as tree trunks. His skin was as powerful as animal hide and his eyes had a mesmerizing glow to them. The monster started chasing the women through the berry patch. He took his immense, big feet, kicking over every basket of berries, squashing them into the dirt."

According to the legend, warriors from varied tribes gathered and created plans to kill the monster. They dug an oversized hole, tricked Glue-Keek into falling into it and burned him. As Glue-Keek perished, he swore he would return to drink the villagers' blood. As his ashes ascended into the air, they transformed into mosquitos.

Whether or not Bigfoot's existence are established by science does not concern Martin. He recalls an incident when his woman, who lives alone with her husband on the Lummi reservation, once shared. He said they detected a loud pounding noise outside their house: "Whatever was pounding on them had to be a minimum of six, or seven feet tall. It scared the crap out of them. They thought someone was throwing rocks in an unbroken repetition. By the time they got out there they failed to discover something. In a jiffy, they said, "must be the unexplained monster Bigfoot."

GOOD MORNING ..HAPPY TRAILS