I posted this on my other blog, The OrangeOrb, back in April:
Received my copy of Preston Dennett's UFOs Over California yesterday, and discovered this:
"The many popular Native American legends of wise visitors from the sky could be the legacy of early California encounters. One of the first UFO-Bigfoot accounts occurred in 1888, and comes from the journal of a cattleman who had wintered with a tribe of Native Americans in northern California. During his stay, he saw a member of the tribe carrying a platter of raw meat into the forest. He followed the Indian to a nearby cave. Upon entering, he was amazed to see the Indian feeding the meat to a large, hairy man-like creature. The creature was totally covered with thick hair, except for its palms. Also, the creature had no neck, but ws much larger than a man. The Indian tribe called him "Crazy Bear" and explained that he had come to the earth in a "small moon" which carried two other similar creatures. Inside the "small moon" were several other entities who were human-looking, only very short and they wore shiny, silver clothes. After disgorging the three creatures, the object too off into space. The Indians told the cattleman that similar incidents had happened throughout the years, but only rarely." (Preston Dennett, UFOs Over California, Schiffer 2005, p10.)
Well, I wasn't expecting to read that!
As “spoon nose” commented, that story appeared in Brad Stieger’s Mysteries of Time and Space:
Location. Near Humboldt Line, Tennessee
Date: winter 1888 Time: various
The grandfather of James C Wyatt reportedly stated that while he and several cowhands were staying with an Indian tribe during the winter following the delivery of cattle to a nearby fort, the grandfather communicated with the Indians via sign and verbal language. He was led into a hidden cave and there he saw a hairy man-like creature. The being was neck less, long armed, and covered with long, shiny black hair. The only apparently hairless parts were around its eyes and the palms of the hands. The being appeared tamed and sat with its legs crossed as it consumed the meat, which was brought by the Indian. “Crazy Bear,” as the creature was called by the Indians, was fed at regular intervals by the Indians, that stated that such creatures came from “moons” which periodically land in a nearby valley. The Indians claim that over the years, many “Crazy bears” had been left in the woods, put there by the “sky people.” The “sky people” appear different than the hairy giants, resembling Indians, but with short hair and shiny clothes. ~ Brad Steiger’s Mysteries of Time and Space. (and thanks to the Cabinet of Wonders blog.)
Notes
Cabinet of Wonders blog
http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/damndata/index.php?/archives/926-The-Paranormal-Aspects-of-Cryptozoology-Bigfoot-and-the-Flying-Saucers-The-Early-Years.html
Mysteries of Time and Space; Brad Steiger
UFOs Over California, Preston Dennett
