Cold case

A review of "Sasquatch 1928: An Early Encounter" 

This is a very short story, written by one Samuel B, narrating a story told by his grandfather about an encounter with Bigfoot in “Mother Lode Country”, California at some point during the 1930's. Since the grandfather didn't tell his story until 1989, it's impossible to double check.

Bigfoot, or Schlitze as grandpa calls him after a popular “freak show” performer, is described as a mischievous but harmless ape-like creature which follows a group of lazy gold prospectors around in the woods. One of the prospectors is grandpa himself. The squatch steals food from the bums, but otherwise keeps his distance. Interestingly (if you believe in Sasquatch), the gold-diggers didn't encounter any bears during their stay in Mother Lode Country, Schlitze somehow scaring them away.

The story-teller claims that “the hairy man's” existence in the area was well-known, especially to the Natives, and that it wasn't seen as a big deal. The picture at the cover of the book is based on an illustration made by grandpa himself. It also turns out that the grandfather didn't dare tell his story for years for fear of ridicule.

Not the most exciting read around, and only 16 pages, but I suppose you could file it as cold case no 5147 in your bigfooting archive…