"Cement Monster". "Wild-man". "Speedway Monster". "Mojave Sasquatch". "Sierra Highway Devil". "The Missing Link". "Borrego Sandman". "Monster Man". "Blue Eyes".All names for the same being?
Urban legend?
Sasquatch? Bigfoot? Demon?
Most people think the stories started in the early 1970's with the claims coming out of the AFB at Twentynine Palms and the Joshua Tree National Park area. But claims of some sort of big, hair-covered being have been around for much longer than that.
Spanish priests in 1769 were warned of the dangers of the "hairy devils" that lived nearby. The natives they were attempting to convert lived in fear of the large, foul-smelling "wild-men". They refused to go anywhere near where the "creatures" lived. Researcher Bobbie Short stated : "Sasquatches [sic] have been reported in remote locations of Southern California since the early 1700s. The mission padres wrote about them."
These stories do not always refer to the being that we call sasquatch or bigfoot. Native tribes also talk of tall, hair-covered demons that are different from the former beings. These "demons" or "devils" are most often the ones referred to when they speak of the creatures that attack, kidnap, or kill. They are evil entities and do evil things. Too often people see the words "giant" and "hairy" and immediately jump to the bigfoot or sasquatch conclusion.
During the 1800's the Butterfield stagecoach line passed through the area, stopping at Deadman's Hole to rest and water the horses. It also allowed passengers to stretch their legs and quench their thirst. In 1876, one passenger who got out reported that he saw a large, naked, hairy "thing" watching them from behind some 'scruff'. [bushes and other undergrowth?]
There were many unsolved murders at Deadman's Hole; two decades worth. Victims included a French-Basque shepherd, several people on the run from the law or creditors and a wealthy man from San Francisco, William Blair. It was said that many of the victims had bruised and broken necks and their valuables and money were not taken. The last unsolved murder in the location was in 1922. This strangled victim was found 64 years after the first recorded murder was done.
Bigfoot? Demon? Human? Not enough evidence to support any solution offered.
In March, 1878, the "San Diego Union" reported that Turner Helm claimed to have seen a giant with dark fur like a bear and a human face" near Warner's Ranch. [Located 4 miles south of present day Warner Springs]. This was in the same area as Deadman's Hole and was fuel for the rumors of what may have been killing the people there. Helm heard a whistle and looked up to see a figure sitting on a large boulder nearby. The figure then rose to its feet. Helm's prospecting partner LTH had this to share about the being that Helm saw.
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Warner Springs - Robin Bigge
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"He was a man of about medium size and had rather fine features -- not at all like those of an Indian but more like an American or Spaniard. Mr. Helm spoke to the singular creature, first in English and then Spanish and then in Indian but the man remained silent. Mr. Helm called to me, but the wind was blowing so hard I could not hear him. The wild man then turned and went over the hill and was soon out of sight."
Helm also stated that the figure was covered all over with coarse black hair, around 2 to 3 inches long. The beard and head hair was long and thick. They had seen barefoot tracks in the area before but had always attributed those prints to the Natives.
Then in April, 1878, a report came out of Julian published in the "San Diego Daily Transcript". Edward Dean and Charles Cox claimed to have shot and killed a bigfoot at Deadman's Hole. They described it as a gorilla with "the face of an Indian and fangs like a bear". It's foot was claimed to be 24 inches long. Although they promised to bring the body to San Diego, there is no evidence that they did so. 100 years later "Daily Transcript" reporter Herbert Lockwood started investigating the story. He discovered that it had appeared in the paper on April 1st, 1878. Obviously, one of the paper's April Fool's Day jokes.
Weird California - weirdus.com
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In 1939, a prospector [who wished to remain anonymous] told a story of how he had been attacked by a large group of "upright-walking-apes" while camped near the Borrego Sink. He said the creatures were large and covered in white fur and had red glowing eyes. In the end, it was his campfire that frightened them away and saved his life.
The Anza-Borrego State Park has it's share of "Missing Link" and "Borrego Sandman" stories through the years. It is described as being "an enormous primate" with whitish fur and glowing red eyes.
The 1950s brought stories of the "Speedway Monster" at and near Mickey Thompson's Fontana Dragway in Fontana. The speedway functioned from 1955 until 1972 when it was closed after a series of fatal crashes. Spectators at these events reported seeing a "wild man". It was dubbed the "Speedway Monster" and was believed to live in the foothills of the nearby San Bernardino Mountains. It seemed to have the habit of crossing the open stretches of land just beyond the dragway's edge during the events.
A short order cook [wishing to remain anonymous] who had lived there since the 1940s admitted that friends of his would come by and share their stories of the wild man with him. Back in 1951 or 1952, the fans at an event at the dragway off in the distance what seemed to be a hairy, bipedal giant going back and forth an open field.
This same being, or one similar, was seen in the same area very often during the early 50s, 60s and 70s, with some reports still being made in the 80s. No one ever went to get a closer look or to see details of the figure.
In the 1960s, it is said that the Southern Californian newspapers and tv stations carried reports of Yucca Man sightings regularly.
In January, 1964, Maj. Victor Stoyanow claimed to have found giant footprints. He was searching for access into the Superstition Mountain region when he noticed the large humanoid tracks in the sand dunes.
"The prints ran in pairs, generally parallel and averaged about 14 inches in length, and nine wide at the instep," said Stoyanow.
He returned to the desert several times. He made plaster casts of the prints he found there and took photographs. "Curious as I am, I hope that the person who discovers what kind of beast it is doesn't happen to be me."
Harold Lancaster, prospector, also claimed a sighting in July 1968,
"I was camped up on a mesa one morning when I saw a man walking in the desert. The figure came closer and I thought it was another prospector. Then, I picked up my binoculars and saw the strangest sight in my life. It was a real giant ape-man. I had heard about the screaming giant ape-man up in Tuolumne County that frightened people for a couple of years. Another person and I even went up there to look for the thing. I decided it was a hoax and never expected to actually see one," said Lancaster.
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Desert - Diakujia
The Yucca Man
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He continued : "That thing was big. I was no match for it. I had a .22 pistol on my hip but it would have been like shooting at a gorilla with a pea shooter. I was afraid the beast might get too close. So, I fired a couple of rounds into the air. The sandman jumped a good three feet off the ground when the sounds of the shots reached him. He turned his head, looked toward me, and then took off running in the other direction."
When asked why he didn't shoot it, Lancaster replied : "I was afraid. They should be protected. They are a form of a human, a primitive species. It would be murder to kill one. They should be studied."
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s there were many reports of the "Mojave Sasquatch". New housing developments were springing up in the Lancaster and Palmdale areas. As this encroachment of the desert areas, sightings increased.
The Antelope Valley Daily Ledger-Gazette featured this headline in June of 1973 : "Bigfoot Surfaces again in Palmdale, Nine-Mile Canyon". Chuck Wheeler, reporter, wrote the story.
"... The creature likes to run around houses and leaving footprints. That is its MO in the East Lancaster area where footprints were found around several houses recently. One woman reported that the creature ran around her house and scratched at the door. A small boy sent to tell his father supper was ready was found hours later crying near the corral. When asked what happened to him, he answered that a big, furry man would not let him pass."
In March, 1973 reports were made by a babysitter and then three Marines. Each report claimed sighting a bigfoot in Lancaster.
In May, 1973 one party of researchers investigating all the reports was forced to take cover when another group of researchers also investigating mistook them for a group of bigfoot, panicked, and opened fire on them. Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident.
In 1971, the Yucca Man became "famous" once again, referred to as Blue Eyes with the publicized sightings at Edwards Air Force Base at Twentynine Palms.
The most memorable story to come out of the base has been turned into almost Urban Legend status. Short version : Marine [or night watchman] hears growls in the dark and heavy breathing. Steps out with rifle [or sidearm] and confronts an 8 foot tall hairy creature with glowing red eyes. He is knocked unconscious and is found later. His weapon has been bent in two.
Then there is the story told that is said to come from the wife of the man who was in charge of the armory. She said her husband had told her the story of the night guard [a Marine] who was found at the rifle range in the morning. He was almost incoherent. His rifle was bent in two. He also described the creature that had approached him.
"The creature was in the dark and the guard had felt or heard a noise of something in the darkened desert, upon raising his rifle and yelling out to halt, the 'thing' came at him taking the rifle away and bending it almost in two." He said it was 'yeti-like".
It is told that the CIA and FBI were brought in : many "dark suits" on the base all asking questions and looking for information. [One wonders if some of the suits may have been NIS -- NCIS, now].
The neighborhood also made reports of two other encounters that took place that same night. People claimed to have seen one large creature accompanied by a smaller one. [ One person claimed the taller figure was 12 foot high.]
At the corner of Valley Vista St. and Utah Trail, dogs were barking and residents say when they looked out their windows, they saw the two creatures walk by. Further down the street, someone saw them near a horse corral and that the horses were panicked.
The story of the bent rifle is often dubbed as the "first" story of the Yucca Man. But reports of this being were often reported by new Marines based there, although often dismissed as pranks being played upon the "newbies" by the others stationed there.
Edwards Air Force Base adjoins the massive Rogers Dry Lake and has miles of smooth desert runways. There is not much near by except for open spaces of desert and scrub and the mountains in the distance. Plenty of room for a large being to live mostly undetected.
The base is said to have a lot of subterranean infrastructures. And to have many security cameras. These cameras have been said to repeatedly capture images of sasquatch moving through the tunnels at night. That they travel the base's buildings and corridors, appearing and disappearing.
The late Bobbie Ann Slate [Bigfoot Encounters] investigated many of the claims of sightings at the base. One of the stories she posted was Sgt. Michael House's encounter with "Blue Eyes" in spring, 1974. Sgt. House as security police, was patrolling the old "sled track" section of the base where rockets are tested.
House : "Heading back to the main base, I noticed maybe 200-300 yards to my left, these large blue eyes. I do a lot of night hunting and it was strange -- they were larger than anything I'd ever seen before. Their diameter had to be about four inches apart and seven feet off the ground. I stopped the truck and sat there watching them. It was too dark to see any body-shape to the thing. The blue glows proceeded toward my truck at a right angle for about 100 yards and then stopped."
He watched as the eyes started to circle him and continue to get closer until they were about 50 yards away. He still could not make out any shape due to the desert brush. He could now smell an overpowering stench.
Said House : "The movement of the eyes was extremely fast. Another thing that bothered me was that they didn't bob up and down. It was like two lights on a wire moving from one point to another." As he watched the eyes, he received a radio call requesting him to return to the base. He quickly left in response. He returned three hours later. There was no trace of the "blue eyes" and rain had washed out any chance of finding tracks.
After filing his report on the encounter, House was mocked for it. It got so bad, that others in squadron decided not to make any formal statements about any of their encounters. The encounters that did not stop.
The Commanding Officer tried to downplay these events. He wanted to believe that the men were just being "overly imaginative". He did not feel that these sort of reports would look good in the official records.
When the men staffing the MARS station reported hearing unusual noises, he told them that it was just the wind they were hearing. However, the dark form that was viewed passing by the windows was definitely not the wind. It also would have had to be at least 8 ft. high to be seen through those high windows. Outside it was found that the being had stepped on a soda pop bottle in passing and had pulverized it.
To be fair, sometimes the reports of moving figures in the desert proved to be only wild burros making their way through the brush.
Air Police Sergeant Barton made no official report to the Air Security Police concerning his 1974 winter encounter.
He was on patrol near the Rocket Propulsion Lab when he noticed strange lights in the mountains near there. He believed they might be car lights from trespassers and set out to catch up to them. When he reached the assumed location, the lights were gone. After he determined there was no one there, he tried to leave, only to find his vehicle was stuck in the soft sand.Barton walked the two miles back to base and radioed for a tow truck to get his vehicle out. He then returned to the location with the tow truck. Once there, he discovered 3-toed tracks that completely circled the vehicle as if whatever it was had inspected it. The tracks then led off into the desert -- walking on two legs. The tracks measured 14 inches long with what seemed to be a clawed digit at the heel of the track. While they were examining them, the blowing wind was filling the tracks in.
Three weeks later Air Patrol Sergeant Jones was parked near the rocket site. The moon had risen and it was around midnight. Jones saw a shape that was moving across the skyline of a nearby hill. The figure looked "immense". Jones radioed HQ for help.
When he looked back at the hill, he then saw two large luminescent green-blue eye-like orbs moving towards him. "They didn't really seem to me like they were bouncing the way a person would when walking. They kind of floated or were moving on an easy glide," said Jones.
He looked away as car headlights were approaching and Jones greeted the patrol, thinking they were the backup he had requested. However, these men were responded to an order to investigate a report of strange lights being seen in the hills. However, there were no longer any lights visible and the glowing eyes were no longer there.
All the men found were two rounded depressions measuring 6 inches and 2 inches in diameter. They also found tracks. "They were all over the place. There were so many of them that I couldn't follow any trail," added Jones.
Barton stated that those tracks were similar to the ones he had seen by his vehicle a few weeks earlier.
In 2009 they officially acknowledged the many "Blue Eyes" encounters along with some of the other strange phenomena. "Inside Edwards", the base newsletter, reported that Blue Eyes was discussed at a reunion of the 6510th Air Police Squadron officers who were on the base between 1973-1979 -- the 6510th Desert Rats.
Lisa Camplin of the 95th Security Forces Squadron wrote : "Attendees traded memories of their bizarre experiences on patrol such a seeing 'Blue Eyes', the local version of a Yeti near South Base or 'Marvin of the Mojave', a ghost who could be heard but not seen and left size 10 sneaker imprints in the sand."
They also recalled "observing unexplainable objects in the skies [and] seeing disappearing tail lights on the dry lake beds."
Side note : The Desert Rats motto is "Ad Inexplorata", which means "Toward the Unknown". People in this area [Twentynine Palms] would report that their dogs would go nuts barking which alerted them to the unusual occurrences in their neighborhood.
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| Joshua Tree |
The 1970s also had reports coming from the Joshua Tree National Park and surrounding area. Early in 1971 employees of the park reported their sighting of the bigfoot.
In 1979 a 12 foot tall bigfoot was seen twice in one week south of Palm Springs. The being left behind 17 footprints in the mud along a rural road the first time it was seen. These prints [ and the alleged sightings] were investigated by researchers Douglas Trapp and Danny Perez. They were measured at 18 inches long with a 6 foot stride.
One of the 1979 encounters was by a couple driving near their condo in Desert Hot Springs. Suddenly a large, hairy man stepped from behind a Yucca bush and stood in front of their car. It then walked away into the darkness. The two said that it's chest was the size of a refrigerator. The arms hung down below its knees. It had long, tan colored hair.
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| Barton Flats |
A group of Boy scouts claimed to have been woken by a bigfoot rummaging through their campsite near Barton Flats in 1975. Then in 1976, a young man walked into a bigfoot outside his cabin near Big Bear.
The 1980s continued with reports. Among them is what is listed under urban legend : The Cement Monster in Lucerne Valley.
In March, 1988, after a day of snow skiing at Big Bear, two servicemen were on their way home when they had their encounter. Ken Fox talked with researcher Douglas E. Trapp from Texas.
"We were completely down from the mountain and just entering the desert . . . On the right hand side of the road there is a cement factory . . . There isn't any civilization around for about 10 miles or so which isn't uncommon for the Mojave Desert. Mike was driving, I believe I saw it first. From the left side of the road something very large seemed to stand up on two legs and run across the road. The bottom half looked human, covered with hair, the top half wasn't very visible, but appeared monsterish, scary in other words. The headlights only got the bottom half, and the damn thing ran out about 150 feet in front of us. It made it across the road in there strides. I distinctively remember seeing the arms pumping back and forth just like any of us would do if sprinting across the road in front of a car. It appeared to be 8 feet tall.
". . . I didn't say anything, I just kinda glanced over at Mike. He just kinda glanced back at me. Then we both looked right at each other, 'What the Hell was that!' I said, 'That was the Cement Monster, after him!' Mike slammed on the brakes and turned around.
" . . . I said, 'Go down that dirt road' . . . About 300 feet down the dirt road was the old cement factory, but no sign of the thing that ran out in front of us. So we drove around a little but didn't see it.
"We talked about it a few times before our enlistment's were over. The strange thing is that we just accepted that we had simply seen some sort of a prehistoric man, and that was that, and it was no big deal, and maybe some day we might be privileged enough to see another."
In 1991, the John Davis family from Fontana had strange activity on their property. On several successive nights, they would hear "something heavy on two legs" run across their chicken yard.
"The footfalls were so heavy-sounding the house shook," claimed Mrs. Davis. Mr. Davis found several chickens flattened one morning. Their youngest son managed to catch a glimpse of a "real big, gray-colored ape". A section of their fencing was pulled up. Their dogs would howl and cower inside the entire night.
Several reports came from families during 1992. The spoke of seeing a group or family of bigfoot crossing over the railroad tracks on the outskirts of Fontana.
However, once the dragstrip closed, reports of bigfoot activity also stopped.
1993 brought a report out of Barton Flats. A camper claimed to have woken in the middle of the night by footsteps outside the van in which he was sleeping. Suddenly the van began to rock violently. He yelled and the rocking stopped. Shining his flashlight out the window, he saw a figure covered with hair walking on two legs like a man disappear into the trees.
In 1998 or 1999, a camper wishing to remain anonymous reported something unusual in a photo he took while camping in Joshua Tree National Park.
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Hidden Valley Campground
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"Over Easter break in about 1998 or 1999, I was camping and rock climbing at Joshua Tree with two friends. We stayed in the Hidden Valley Campground. At some point during the trip, I took a picture of our campsite, which backed up against large rocks with a famous climb overhead. Between the rocks was a deep crevice(although not a full cave). You guessed it. When the pictures were returned to me, there was a primate-type face peering out of the darkness of the crevice. It wasn't super clear, but distinct enough that everyone I showed it to noticed it. I showed it to a friend who used to ranger at Joshua Tree and she said 'that might be Yucca Man', which was the first I had heard of him. I'm not certain where the photo is now, although I'm certain I didn't throw it away."
Since 2000, there have been reported sightings of the hair-covered red-eyed "Sierra Highway Devil" along HIghway 14 near the junction with Pearblossom Highway. The sightings have usually been at night with the creature either running along or across the road.
An anonymous witness who lived in the Fontana area for 15 years remembered hearing loud howling screams, screeching and growling on many nights. They seemed to occur usually around 2 a.m. and at least twice a month. They felt the sounds came from across the main road and from a dry river bed that led into Lytle Creek.
In 2005 or 6, this witness tells how one night his brother George called him to ask where he kept his bat. When he asked his brother why, he replied that he was in the second floor bathroom and happened to look out the window. He saw a tall, hairy creature looking up at him. He also realized that the figure was standing behind the neighbor's 9 ft tall hedge. It was standing upright and it's head was higher than the hedge. When it saw George looking back at him, it ducked it's head. George further described the figure as being grayish tan in color, hiary and tall. The body appeared to be covered in hair and it had a human like face.
January 5, 2008, there was discovered a series of bare footprints in the Norco River bottom. The 22" prints emerged from the river. A large hairy man was seen by 5 witnesses. These witnesses were allegedly interviewed and the prints were photographed by an anonymous researcher.
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| Devil's Punchbowl |
At a summer camp, the kids staying there reported having many sleepless nights as "something" in the forest kept prowling in the woods just beyond their cabins.
Most sightings in this area are reported by campers and hikers at the Joshua Tree National Park. There are claims of tents being opened in the middle of the night by something large and smelly. Large footprints are found in the park and blurry photos are produced by the witnesses.
There are other explanations offered for what the witnesses may have seen. The Tongva People have tales of the Tahquitz or Takwis. These are not sasquatch but are demons or other spirit type giants.
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| Joshua Tree |
Others say that the unusual shapes of the Joshua Trees themselves may account for alleged sightings. While that may account for some of the claims, trees do not open tent flaps, walk across roads, or leave large footprints behind. As for what does, those who have had experiences have their own explanations for what they encountered.
Nancy
"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."
Partial list of sources :
nexusnewsfeed.com
www.theoccultmuseum.com
theghostdiaries.com
longreads.com
www.phantomsandmonsters.com
Lon Strickler
cryptomundo.com
Saga Magazine / "America's Terrifying Woodland Monster-Men", 1969
cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki
strangestate.blogspot.com
www.insidetheie.com [Inside the inland empire]
sasquatchchronicles.com
robojapan.blogspot.com
"The Bigfoot Casebook" / Janet and Colin Bord
"Sasquatch, the apes among us" / John Greene
weirdus.com
Edwards Air Force Base
wikipedia
[I may have missed listing some sources and apologies to those sources who feel they might have been left out. Extensive research was done and I tried to include the 'best of the best' stories and references. Thank you to everyone and every source.]
