Before the white man conquered the American Northwest, tales of Bigfoot had been told among the natives for thousands of years. Bigfoot is just the fancy name that a local Californian newspaper nicknamed the cryptid in 1958.
In 1856, American geologist and ethnologist George Gibbs wrote about “another race of beings” who roamed the forest and known to Native Americans as the Tsiatko. These creatures, he wrote, are supposed to infest the earth. Although most tribes believe in these peculiar giants, each tribe describes them in a different way.
“By some, the Tsiatko are described as of gigantic size, their feet eighteen inches long, and shaped like a bear’s. They wore no clothes, but the body is covered with hair like that of a dog, only not so thick. They are said to live in the mountains, in holes underground, and to smell badly. They come down chiefly in the fishing season, at which time the Indians are excessively afraid of them. They are visible only at night, at which time they approach the houses, steal salmon, carry off young girls and smother children.”
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