A Whistling Sasquatch by Jesse Glass
POSTED: 9 January 99
While searching through the newspaper morgues of the Carroll County
Historical Society in Westminster, Md., I found this article in the
August 19, 1839, issue of the Carroltonian, a now-defunct publication.
The original article was credited to the Montrose, Pa., Spectator where
it was published under the title "Food for the Marvelous":
"Something like a year ago, there was considerable talk about a strange
animal said to have been seen in the southwestern part of Bridgewater.
Although the individual who described the animal persisted in declaring
that he had seen it and was at first considerably frightened at it, the
story was heard and looked upon more as food for the marvelous than as
having any foundation in fact. He represented the animal, as we have it
through a third person, as having the appearance of a child seven or
eight years old although somewhat slimmer and covered entirely with
hair. While picking berries he saw it walking toward him erect and
whistling like a person. After recovering from his fright he is said to
have pursued it, but it ran off with such speed, whistling as it went,
that he could not catch it..."
"The same or a similar looking animal was seen in Silver Lake township,
about two weeks since, by a boy some 16 years old. We had the story from
the father of the boy and afterward from the boy himself. The boy was
sent to work in the backwoods near the New York state line. He took with
him a gun and was told by his father to shoot at anything he might see
except persons or cattle. After working awhile he heard some person, his
little brother he supposed, coming toward him whistling quite merrily.
He said it looked like a human being, covered with black hair, about
the size of his brother who was six or seven years old. His gun was
somewhere a little distance off and he was very much frightened.
However, he got his gun and shot at the animal, but trembled so that he
could not hold it still. The strange animal, just as his gun went off,
stepped behind a tree and then went off, whistling as before. The father
said the boy came home very much frightened....
Making due allowance for frights and consequent exaggeration, an animal
of singular appearance has doubtless been seen. What it is or whence it
came is of course yet a mystery. From the description, if an outang
[sic] were known to be in the country, we might think this to be it. As
no such animal is known, we shall leave the reader to conjecture for
himself what it is without vouching for the correctness of the story."
The Sasquatch has been known to roar, yell, buzz and scream and now it
seems he may also whistle.
Jesse Glass is a Fortean researcher and the author of Ghosts and Legends of Carroll County, Maryland, just hot off the presses from the
Carroll
County Public Library.
