In 1847 painter and explorer Paul Kane was in the Pacific Northwest making scetches of both nature and Native Americans to take back home to Toronto and turn into paintings. Kane also kept a journal describing his travels and scetching subjects. It is in this journal that we first learn of the Skookums.
"When we arrived at the mouth of the Kattlepoutal River, 26 miles from Vancouver, I stopped to make a sketch of the volcano, Mt. St. Helens, distant I suppose, about 30 or 40 miles. This mountain has never ben visited by either whites or Indians; the latter assert that it is inhabited by a race of beings of a different species, who are cannibals, and who they hold in great dread...these superstitions are taken from a man they say went in to the mountains with another, and escaped the fate of his companion, who was eaten by the 'skookums', or 'evil genii'. I offered a considerable bribe to any Indian who would accompany me in its exploration but could not find one hardly enough to venture there".
It is very interesting to note that this is the only early reference to Bigfoot being a cannibal. This doesn't mean it is a cute cuddly creature however. In fact, Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest were often afraid to settle on certain lands because they feared the Bigfoots would attack them. My personal feeling is that this would not be cannibal related but more of a territorial issue. Animals kill others commonly for encroaching onto lands that are "theirs".
This is also the first telling of a Bigfoot story that adds the element of them being more supernatural than a bipedal ape-like creature living in the woods.
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