Bigfoot and a Missionary

This next tidbit of Bigfoot history comes to us courtesy of the Holland Library of Washington Sate University and more specifically Dr. Robert Ruby for finding the letter. It is a letter from Elkanah Walker who was a missionary to the Spokane Indians of Northern Washington. It was addressed to Reverend David Green who served as the secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. At the end of the article I will put the letter in its entirety. For Bigfoot purposes I will concentrate on the part that relates.

Elkanah Walker in April of 1840 wrote:

..."I suppose you will bear with me if I trouble you with a little of their superstition, which has recently come to my knowledge. They believe in the existence of a race of giants which inhabit a certain mountain off to the west of us. This mountain is covered with perpetual snow. They inhabit its top. They may be classed with Goldsmith’s nocturnal class and they cannot see in the daytime. They hunt and do all of their work in the night. They are men tealers. They come to the people’s lodges in the night when the people are asleep and take them, and put them under their skins and take them to their place of abode without even waking. When they wake in the morning they are wholly lost, not knowing in what direction their home is. The account that they give of these Giants will in some measure correspond with the Bible account of this race of beings. They say their track is about a foot and a half long. They will carry two or three beams upon their back at once. They frequently come in the night and steal their salmon from their nets and eat the’m raw. If the people are awake they always know when they are coming very near, by their strong smell, which is most intolerable. It is not uncommon for them to come in the night and give three whistles and then the stones will begin to hit their houses. The people believe that they are still troubled with their nocturnal visits.
We need the prayers of the Church at home."

There are a few Bigfoot traits to note in this letter:
First - The reference to the creatures being a race of giants. Furthermore he goes on to compare them to the Biblical race of giants. Not one mention of these creatures being an animal or more animal-like than human.
Second - He refers to them being nocturnal. And not only that but "cannot see in the daytime". This does go along with the common belief that Bigfoot for the most part are nocturnal however there have been many day-time sightings.
Third - The track of the creatures is reportedly about a foot and a half long. 18" has been documented from tracks collected modern day and is a common size of what some believe an adult Bigfoot to be.
Fourth - These giants have incredible strength. "They will carry two or three beams upon their back at once". This super human strength has been credited to Bigfoot since sightings began being documented.
Fifth - They steal salmon from fishing nets and eat them raw. Bigfoot sightings commonly occur along water sources and include things like seeing one attempt to fish, break open mussel shells, etc.
Sixth - There is mention of the smell of the creature being "intolerable". Also a common trait when sightings are reported today.
Seventh - The giants whistle and throw stones at houses. Again both are traits reported to the Sasquatch today

Here is what we know about the actual letter:
     Elkanah Walker was a missionary in the area in 1840. He lived from 1805 to 1877. He and his wife devoted their lives to being missionaries in Western Territories. In 1838 they opened and operated the Tshimakain station for nine years. This was located in the Oregon Territory and more specifically what is now known as Washington State.
     Rev. Green was indeed the secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1840. And was in correspondence with the missionary family before and after this letter.

This letter is not only authentic but very noteworthy. In a time where correspondence was so important Elkanah Walker thought enough about this superstition to not only write about it but to also ask for prayer about the matter.

And that I think is food for thought.

Entire letter:

Dear Sir: I suppose that it is not necessary for me to say much as Mr. Eeles has given you all that is interesting. My health is very poor and I fear I shall be unable to pursue my labours as a missionary. We are, we hope, doing something in the language. It is, if I may be judge, very difficult and will require much hard study before we have much knowledge and are prepared to make any direct or forcible appeal to them. I should not be at all surprised if this mission prove a total failure. How much more confidence I should have in its success if we had had real opposition to encounter from the Indians at its commencement. We, I fear, are destined to experience some opposition from the old chief I named in my letter last fall. He has been absent most of the time since. He soon after went off to Buffalo and has not yet to my knowledge returned. I left our place last Monday for this place (Fort Colville) and shall leave tomorrow for home, “Deo volente” which I expect to reach in two days. It has been very sickly in this region the last part of the winter. Many have died. I do not know what can be done to save them from utter extinction. They seem as fated to fade away before the whites as the game of their country. There seems but one way that they can be saved and that is by settling them and civilizing them and this I fear they cannot bear. I sometimes think that it will be as injurious to them as their superstitions which are carrying them off very fast. Whatever is done for them must be quickly done, for there will soon be nothing to labour for. We need to be placed in such a situation that we can devote all our time and energies to them and when that is done we can do little on account of the few that we have access to. I think that I may safely say that the two tribes, Nez Perces and Flat Heads are as well supplied with ministers as New England, that is, there are as many preachers compared to the number of the people. We can only have access to a few at a time. If we travel and visit with them at their places we can have but little influence over them. I suppose you will bear with me if I trouble you with a little of their superstition, which has recently come to my knowledge. They believe in the existence of a race of giants which inhabit a certain mountain off to the west of us. This mountain is covered with perpetual snow. They inhabit its top. They may be classed with Goldsmith’s nocturnal class and they cannot see in the daytime. They hunt and do all of their work in the night. They are men tealers. They come to the people’s lodges in the night when the people are asleep and take them, and put them under their skins and take them to their place of abode without even waking. When they wake in the morning they are wholly lost, not knowing in what direction their home is. The account that they give of these Giants will in some measure correspond with the Bible account of this race of beings. They say their track is about a foot and a half long. They will carry two or three beams upon their back at once. They frequently come in the night and steal their salmon from their nets and eat the’m raw. If the people are awake they always know when they are coming very near, by their strong smell, which is most intolerable. It is not uncommon for them to come in the night and give three whistles and then the stones will begin to hit their houses. The people believe that they are still troubled with their nocturnal visits. We need the prayers of the Church at home. I am, My Dear Sir, Yours most truly and submissively, E. Walker (Elkanah Walker) Missionary to Spokane Indians.