It's nothing less than a modern day X-file. The elusive creature which we know as the Sasquatch, or Bigfoot, has been called thumquas by the Cowichan tribe in British Columbia, Canada. The Salish Indians, who are also natives of the Pacific Northwest region, have the word sasqac which has no exact translation but is described as half man, half beast and possessing an evil spirit. Sightings of this beast go back many years and the reports of its physical description are eerily similar in all accounts.
Covered with thick brown hair and much taller than an ordinary man, about seven to ten feet in height, the Sasquatch leaves behind massive footprints sometimes sixteen inches long and six inches wide. The area surrounding the Fraser Valley in British Columbia is a hotbed for Sasquatch sightings, and many others have been reported in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario.
Could the Sasquatch Be Real?
John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club is a firm believer in the existence of the Sasquatch. According to a story in the Vancouver Sun in September 1999, Kirk found two large footprints fourteen inches long and six inches wide in the Seymour Forest near Vancouver. He also noticed an unpleasant odour which believers claim is clear indication that the creature has been in the vicinity. According to Kirk, "It smelled like a combination of skunk and rotten eggs."
Blaine McMillan, an investigator for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, talked to some people who were on a camping trip in an isolated area near Harrison Lake, British Columbia in February, 1996. They had a big visitor and it terrified them. According to McMillan's report, a woman and her husband were asleep in their bed in the camper above the cab of their Chevy pickup, and through the small window she could hear deep sniffing sounds. The window was more than eight feet above the ground. McMillan found out grizzly bears would have been hibernating at that time of year. The witnesses vowed never to return to that area. McMillan also pointed out that an adult bear cannot stand on its hind legs for an extended period of time. What kind of animal could have been tall enough?
Compelling Evidence
Convincing proof of the existence of the Sasquatch was found in northern Saskatchewan in December 2006. Quoted as "the find of the century," a woman named Shaylane Beatty was driving from Deschambault Lake and saw a creature that was tall and covered with thick brown hair. Returning to the area the following day, she and two others found footprints 50 centimetres in length. Tom Biscardi, a Sasquatch hunter, was convinced the beast was living in close proximity to Torch Lake where the sighting took place the day before.
Even as far east as Ontario sightings have been reported as recently as last year and as far back as 1906 near Cobalt. In the summer of 1979, a family vacationing near Otter Lake, Ontario, received a nasty shock when they found a huge footprint near their cottage. BFRO investigator Onil Das Gupta spoke to the witness who is 39 years old now. Although this happened a long time ago, he "still gets the chills" when he thinks about it.
Skeptics would argue it's ridiculous that such a bizarre creature could exist for so long without being captured or at least studied up close. But at the same time, it's equally hard to believe that all the people who claim to have seen a Sasquatch could be lying, hallucinating or just telling wild stories to gain attention.
Look at the evidence and draw your own conclusions.
