Mike Conley's Tales of the Weird: Man didn't shoot Sasquatch
Garrison Hilliard
nco...@mcdowellnews.com
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Ever since he was a boy, William Roe enjoyed spending time outdoors and
observing wild animals in their native habitat. He even helped support his
family by hunting and trapping wild game. But the most incredible
experience he ever had with a creature occurred in October 1955 in British
Columbia, Canada. Two years later, he would give a sworn statement to a
Canadian official about his weird encounter.
In 1955, Roe had found a job working on a highway near the town of Tete
Jaune Cache. On his day off, he decided to climb up Mica Mountain to an
old deserted mine, just for something to do, according to a Web site.
"I came in sight of the mine about three o'clock in the afternoon after an
easy climb," he said in his 1957 sworn affidavit. "I had just come out of
a patch of low brush into a clearing when I saw what I thought was a
grizzly bear, in the bush on the other side. I had shot a grizzly near
that spot the year before. This one was only about 75 yards away, but I
didn't want to shoot it, for I had no way of getting it out. So I sat down
on a small rock and watched, my rifle in my hands."
Roe could see part of the creature's head and the top of one shoulder. A
moment later, it raised itself up and stepped out into the opening. Roe
then could see that this was no bear. It stood about 6 feet tall and
probably weighed around 300 pounds. He could also tell that the upright
creature was a female because it had breasts.
"Its broad frame was straight from shoulder to hip," read Roe's statement.
"Its arms were much thicker than a man's arms, and longer, reaching almost
to its knees. Its feet were broader proportionately than a man's, about 5
inches wide at the front and tapering to much thinner heels. When it
walked, it placed the heel of its foot down first, and I could see the
grey-brown skin or hide on the soles of its feet."
Roe was able to get a good look at the creature. It came to within 20 feet
of him and squatted down on its haunches. Reaching out, the creature
pulled the branches of bushes toward it and stripped the leaves with its
teeth. The head was higher at the back than at the front and the nose was
broad and flat. Its ears were shaped like a human's ears but the eyes were
small and black like a bear's.
"As I watched this creature, I wondered if some movie company was making a
film at this place and that what I saw was an actor, made up to look
partly human and partly animal," read Roe's statement. "But as I observed
it more, I decided it would be impossible to fake such a specimen. Anyway,
I learned later there was no such company near that area. Nor, in fact,
did anyone live up Mica Mountain, according to the people who lived in
Tete Jaune Cache."
Finally, the creature noticed that Roe was hiding nearby for it looked
directly at him through an opening in the brush. "A look of amazement
crossed its face," read Roe's statement. "It looked so comical at the
moment I had to grin."
Still in the crouched position, the creature backed up three or four short
steps, then straightened up to its full height and started to quickly walk
away.
"The thought came to me that if I shot it, I would possibly have a
specimen of great interest to scientists the world over," read Roe's
statement.
He had heard tales about the Sasquatch and thought this might be one. Roe
aimed his rifle at the creature that was still walking away. But then he
realized this creature might be a human after all. He lowered his weapon.
"I knew I would never forgive myself if I killed it," he later said.
The creature then threw its head back and made a strange noise that seemed
to Roe to be a combination of a laugh and some weird kind of language.
"I stepped out into the opening and looked across a small ridge just
beyond the pine to see if I could see it again," read Roe's statement. "It
came out on the ridge a couple of hundred yards away from me, tipped its
head back again, and again emitted the only sound I had heard it make, but
what this half-laugh, half-language was meant to convey, I do not know. It
disappeared then, and I never saw it again."
Since that 1955 sighting and his statement two years later, Roe's account
has been regarded by Bigfoot researchers as one of the most important in
all of Sasquatch lore. It is remarkable for the amount of detail he
described and is considered one of the "classic" Bigfoot sightings.
His daughter even drew a detailed sketch of the creature, which included
the breasts.
"Whether this was a Sasquatch I do not know," Roe said in his sworn
affidavit. "It will always remain a mystery to me, unless another one is
found."