The Daily World has published a report about the Washington state Quinault Indians belief in the colossal, hairy, man-beast known to most Americans as BIGFOOT.
Phillip Martin, a 79-year-old Quinault tribal elder, recalled a fishing trip more than 50 years ago When an ape-like HAIRY-HOMINID known as C’iatqo threw a rock at his canoe:
“There’s this big ker-splash!… there are no cliffs and it was all flat bar. I said, ‘Well, the only thing I could think of was ‘Ol C’iatqo.’ He’s the only one around here that makes everyone want to just get out of here.”
C’iatqo is one of the many words Native Americans throughout the country use to describe the ape-like creature that allegedly inhabits the wilderness regions of North America. Martin, along with several Quinault Indians (as well as members of various other Olympic Peninsula tribes) were interviewed this spring about the creature and its influence on Native culture for an upcoming show on the A&E network.
Harvest Moon — a Quinault woman works as a storyteller at the Lake Quinault Lodge — is familiar with several native legends about Bigfoot. She tells the story of the “Glue-Keek,” a monster frightens tribal members and prevents them from hunting and gathering food”
“His legs were as big as tree trunks. His skin was as tough as leather and his eyes had a hypnotic glow to them. The monster started chasing the women through the berry patch. He took his huge, big feet, knocking over every basket of berries, wasting them on the ground.”
According to the legend, warriors from various tribes gathered and vowed to kill the monster. They dug a 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 can be proven by science doesn’t matter to Martin. He described an incident his daughter, who lives with her husband on the Lummi reservation, once shared. He said they heard a loud pounding noise outside their house:
“Whatever was pounding on them had to be at least six, seven feet tall. It scared the hell out of them. They thought someone was throwing rocks at first, but it kept repeating. … By the time they got out there they didn’t find anything. After a while, they said, I’ll bet it was a C’iatqo.”