I recently read something in an old book that I thought you might be interested in. The book is titled “Lost Mines and Treasures of the Pacific Northwest” by Ruby El Hult, 1st Ed. 1957.

The book is meant for “serious treasure hunters” and the author’s stated goal is to report on what’s been lost, the legends and facts surrounding them, and what progress has been made by others in finding them without any attempt to liven them up “even when the information is short or incomplete.”

This book is hardly the place one would expect to find a possible reference to Bigfoot but there, on page 43, is a story that sounds suspiciously like Bigfoot to me. Here is the relevant bit of the story:

Oregon Coast

Pirate Chest of Three Rocks Beach

(Begin quote)
In 1931, as E. G. Calkins cleared a summer camping site for the tourists at Three Rocks Beach on the Oregon Coast, his plowshare turned up yet another mystery –one to vie with, or perhaps to supplement, the many mysteries of Nehalm and Neahkahnie.

Three Rocks Beach lies at the mouth of the Salmon River in extreme northern Lincoln County. Coast Indians, camping there since time immemorial, have left many shell mounds or kitchen middens. Some of these are estimated to be from 400 to 3000 years old, though others, of course, are of much more recent origin.

Calkins, an old-timer in the Three Rocks Beach area and a former Lincoln County commissioner, was busy one day leveling such a mound. Behind him, as other workers plied spades and rakes, they discovered a whalebone war club, a crude stone pestle, and a broken iron kettle –but these were artifacts so common as to excite little comment. But when in the wake of the plow they came upon a long thigh bone, they took it to Calkins.

“Looks human,” he said, and was immediately curious, for he knew that the Indians of these parts never buried their dead in their refuse heaps.

Stopping the plow, he summoned his men with their shovels and ordered an excavation. Soon they unearthed the complete skeleton to which the thigh bone belonged, and probing a bit farther, discovered a second skeleton.

It was the first one which gave them pause. The skull was two-thirds of an inch thick and larger than that of an ordinary man. Cheek bones and forehead looked outsize. The teeth were big and still sound. The arm and leg bones were far longer than those of any man present.

What giant was this? Who had he and his companion been?

So curious was Calkins that he called in Dr. John Horner, prominent Oregon historian, and Dr. F. M. Carter, a physician who had long practiced among the Coast Indians. These two learned gentlemen put together the large skeleton and found it to be of a man eight feet tall. After studying the structure, they concluded the man had been Negro. Some of his bones were cracked or broken, suggesting he might have been tortured before death.

The smaller skull showed it had been pierced by an arrow and struck by a heavy object, perhaps a stone ax or war club.

Calkins wondered: Had he uncovered the remains of members of a pirate crew which may have brought treasure to the mouth of the Salmon?
(end quote)

The story continues but the above was the part that caught my eye. It’s a curious story, especially considering the date and context. The story was from 1931 and the book was written in 1957, which is relevant because that was before Bigfoot mania had begun.

Another interesting bit is that the large teeth were healthy. Who ever heard of a 17th century sailor with good teeth? Or for that matter, an eight-foot tall pirate? Surely such a man would be a well known legend. Was this giant and his companion a Bigfoot and his child? Were they perhaps killed by Coast Indians who then buried them under a pile of domestic rubbish?

As I said, I was not expecting to find this kind of tale in a treasure hunting book but as soon as I read it, I couldn’t help wondering if it was a possible reference to Bigfoot. I thought I would pass it on to you.


If you post it on your site, I would
prefer to remain anonymous.
Thanks, ELS
Story filed: October 26, 2010

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