The First Encounter
by Lindsey Wells
On an ‘ordinary’ day in the mountain range of the Elders, before the time of the English Settlers moved farther west from the eastern coast. Tahkeomi, a young Native American brave of the Wandering Elk Tribe was tracking an Elk. The young warrior had matured enough to take on more responsibility within the tribe. His tribe had been traveling with the large herd of Elk for many years, having migrated south during the changing of the seasons each time. Tahkeomi had been observing the herd from a distance when he noticed the limping Elk started to wander off by itself into the nearby forest away from the others.
Tahkeomi walks slowly following the Elk into the shadows of the forest. He was told by a few warriors that Elk would wander off to die alone, but it was Tahkeomi’s responsibility to bring back the body to be used by the tribe. Tahkeomi tracks the Elk a few yards away from the meadow, it was resting and laying down on a spot beside a tree. A loud cry echoes around the forest, the Elk turns his head toward the sound but then turns away unfazed by the cry. Tahkeomi does not recognize the call, the animal cry being unfamiliar.
Tahkeomi watches the Elk resting when suddenly another cry sounds, one he recognizes, he tenses up and scans the scenery looking for the predator. A cougar suddenly runs and jumps at the Elk, taking it down to the ground with one push and biting its throat. Tahkeomi jumps out of his hiding spot, his spear raised and charges at the cougar, wanting to reclaim the Elk for his people. He thrusts his spear at the big hissing cat, the cougar swipes at him emanating a growl, standing over the dead Elk’s body. Tahkeomi almost pierces the cougar, but it dodges his attack, another cry sounds close by, the same sound as earlier. The noise distracts Tahkeomi for a second, allowing the cougar to shove him down onto the forest floor. The large cat was standing on top of the young brave now, its sharp teeth inching toward his face and his neck to end his life.
Tahkeomi holds the cougar back by will and strength alone, his hands on either side of its face holding it back the best he could. Tahkeomi yells and screams as he feels his strength weakening. The cougar’s face inching closer, fearing his death drawing nearer due to the situation he is in. When suddenly a loud deep growl sounds, a pair of big furry hands grabs ahold of the cougar from around the midsection and yanks the feline up into the air. The cougar growls and yells but stops after a minute or two of being air lifted. Tahkeomi stares in shock and disbelief at the size of the being in front of him holding this big cat in the air. The person or animal is covered in hair, from head to big toes. Tahkeomi is shocked to see the feet on his savior, it was hard to describe the size to be correct. The creature gently sets the cougar down, the big cat quickly running off, never looking back. Tahkeomi watches the cat run and then turns to look at the large creature again. The large creature is looking at him with a mix of expressions by Tahkeomi’s best guess, since its face keeps shifting into different shapes. The eyebrows lift or lower, the mouth closing then opening or straightening.
Tahkeomi wasn’t sure of what to do, he knew he had no chance against this creature, his spear was out of his reach, and he barely had strength left to fight. He just surrendered and lay there, closing his eyes, and waiting to be torn apart by this new predator in their lands. But nothing happens, time slowly passes until Tahkeomi can’t take it anymore and sits up into a better position.
“Creature of the Forest, Guardian Protector, are you going to eat me now?” Tahkeomi says, watching the huge creature with worried, anxious eyes.
The creature looks at Tahkeomi once again with a mixture of expressions and then turns away, leaving him alone. Disappearing into the brush and foliage of the forest without another sound. Tahkeomi would encounter this creature repeatedly learning its habits and personality. The Wandering Elk Tribe would be the first Native American tribe to record the origin and encounters with this creature. This is Tahkeomi’s story as well as the story of the creature who will be known by the world as Bigfoot.
When Tahkeomi spoke to the Elders and tribe members of the experience, the encounter with this new creature, he was laughed at and was treated like a kid again. Everyone saying that he made up the tale, that there was no creature as he described. He was exaggerating or he had smoked too much while watching the Elks and had dreamt of the experience. To prove to his tribe that this creature was real, Tahkeomi was going to bring back proof; anyway possible.
Tahkeomi ventured into the forest again, trying to retrace his steps back to where he first encountered the creature. He had brought a rucksack with varies items inside, ready for anything he had thought of that could happen. Tahkeomi stumbles over some roots trying to find the right spot, he had made a rough memory of the scenery the last time. The carcass of the Elk had been left behind due to his excitement and lack of strength to drag it back to the tribe’s tents. Tahkeomi had received punishment for his carelessness, being confided in the tribe’s tents and not the fields or herding pastures. As Tahkeomi walked deeper and farther into the forest, Tahkeomi finds the half decayed/torn apart carcass of the Elk from days ago.
He scans the forest, searching for a sign of the creature but there are no footprints or tracks that are visible. The creature had not left any of its brown fur laying on the ground or caught on a branch. Tahkeomi walks farther into the forest until he reaches a stream, this was a point that the Wandering Elk members never crossed, the stream was the border for their land. Beyond the stream was unknown and dangerous, no one ventured farther unless they wanted to perish. Tahkeomi quickly made up his mind to keep moving forward, he didn’t have a trail or tracks to follow, but he felt that the Great Elk spirit that guided his ancestors and his people was leading him down the right path to where he wanted and needed to go.
Tahkeomi walks farther getting close to the rocky mountain that was beyond the stream and in the distance of his tribe’s land. He thinks about climbing to get a better vantage point of the terrain. Tahkeomi uses his strength to traverse the rocky green spaces of the land mass, moving steadily from one outcropping of small green space to another. The climb becomes more difficult as he ventures higher, losing his grip at times and almost falling off the ground he has his feet on. It feels like a long time as Tahkeomi steadily moves further and higher up to be able to see more of the forest. Tahkeomi feels his rucksack start pulling him down, he packed a lot, but it might have been too much to climb with. As Tahkeomi reaches for a branch, he feels a snap and grabs a hold of another branch from a different outing, steps onto a branch to climb a tree to reach the next outcropping of land on the mountain side.
As he puts his weight down fully, he feels and hears a snap again, but from underneath him. Before Tahkeomi can shift his weight off the weakening limb, it gives out and breaks sending him down the cliffside of the mountain. Tahkeomi screams as his body plumets down, eventually hitting tree branches which slow him down slightly. His screams continue as he hits more tree branches until he breaks through the last branches and lands with a hard, solid thud on top of something. Tahkeomi opens his eyes and sees the creature again, its eyes not looking at Tahkeomi but something above them. Tahkeomi shifts his gaze and sees what the large creature is looking at, his rucksack was hanging from a tree branch. Tahkeomi figured it must have slipped off as he was falling and got caught on the branch.
“That’s mine,” Tahkeomi says and tries to reach for it.
But as he puts his arms up to grasp it even though it is slightly out of his reach, he feels a pull in his head, light-headed and his vision blurs, his arms falling back down as he slips unconscious.
Tahkeomi stirs feeling something crunch underneath him, his head feels heavy but manages to open his eyes and look down. For a moment, fearing that the crunch he heard was that of skeleton remains being that of either animal or human, Tahkeomi was not sure. But his heart calms as he sees that he is only resting on a pile of leaves. Green, brown, a mix of old and new leaves that make up a makeshift bed that is four times his size. Tahkeomi carefully sits up and looks around, finding that he is in a cave; a dry, spacious dwelling.
There are many drawings on the walls around him that draws Tahkeomi’s attention. He slowly gets up and moves closer to look at the multitude of intricate designs and shapes plastered on the cave walls. The drawings look like they were made of charcoal, which is what his tribe used as well. Tahkeomi can make out the shapes of animals, natural elements; some are random and other drawings look like they tell a story. Tahkeomi follows one drawing as he slowly walks around the space, its story encircling the whole space in a line around the room. Like this story is the main event or history that should be remembered from these drawings. There is a group, a large herd size image of tall brown figures; Tahkeomi figures and puts to the image in his mind that it is a tribe or large family.
The next images show the tribe gathering items, rocks, trees and water. Tahkeomi walks slowly more, picking up on smaller details of the drawings, one of the tall brown figures being slightly distant from the others as they gather and survive. Then Tahkeomi steps to the next images and understands immediately what they show because his tribe has used the same simple drawings to tell their history. Drought, sickness fire, the number of tall brown figures lessened each image of a disaster to the tribe until one drawing shows all the tall brown figures farther away from one lone figure. The lone figure appears completely by itself now, which Tahkeomi interprets as being cast out by how he is interpreting all the drawings.
As the seasons pass, the lone tall brown figure stands alone each time. The last image is a pair of hands and feet, the hands are large, bigger than Tahkeomi’s. The feet are even bigger compared to his own or anyone in his tribe, Tahkeomi thinks of a name to call this creature, from the observations and size of this being, he decides on ‘Bigfoot’. Tahkeomi praises himself on the name, it is his discovery and something simple, but the name is fitting makes the most sense for the time being. Tahkeomi looks around again realizing that his rucksack is not in the room, did he leave it in the tree or did Bigfoot take it or leave it behind.
Tahkeomi makes the logical observation and chooses that he himself is in Bigfoot’s home or cave. The size of the dwelling, the bed makes the most sense since no one in the Wandering Elk tribe or any tribe that his people have encountered have taken up dwelling inside a cave; except for harsh cold seasons when no tribe member could survive the brutal conditions outside the tent or inside for too long.
Tahkeomi slowly wanders out of the inner space of the cave he was resting in, as he ventures farther out. The walls glow with a faint light in darker areas as he sees more drawings. Some of bloodshed, animals hunting one another and one of thin stick people, Tahkeomi is guessing that these are of Native Americans that Bigfoot has seen. The clash of two tribes is clear in the drawing, bloodshed and death. These drawings do not show that some tribes are peaceful and nomadic like Tahkeomi’s has done for many, many moons.
As Tahkeomi continues to walk through the cave, he spots an opening and sees a room filled with items. Wood, branches, berries, apples and other varied items are piled up in the room, a stream of water trickles from the wall into a pool of clear water. The room was filled to Tahkeomi’s perspective, but he would guess that Bigfoot would still gather more for the upcoming season. This creature would eat two to three times more than himself, eating as much as his actual tribe would during one season of a good harvest.
Tahkeomi moves to the pool and cups a handful of water to drink in slow sips. Quenching his thirst, Tahkeomi contemplates taking something to eat from one of the piles but decides against it. Tahkeomi was not a thief, he heads out of the room and resumes his track out of the cave. As he nears the opening he hopes; he can hear a series of grunts, growls and groans. Tahkeomi is unsure of what creature could be making this sound, as the young brave had heard many different animal cries and sounds during his life.
But this one was foreign, as Tahkeomi gets to the mouth of the cave, he can see the creature that he has now encounter for the third time this spring season, the creature he has named Bigfoot. The creature is facing away from the cave entrance, sitting on a pile of rocks, its attention highly focused on something in its hands. Bigfoot makes a sound and then tosses something on the opposite side of him, farther away from the entrance and Tahkeomi’s line of vision would allow. Tahkeomi slowly approaches Bigfoot, creeping around to the side that is closest to the cave and himself.
As the young brave edges closer, he gets close enough to see what has captured this enormous fascinating creature’s attention. It was his rucksack; the creature was pulling items out one by one and examining them. Tahkeomi watches fascinated, as Bigfoot puts a green apple near his large feet, then places a cantina made of animal skins over to the side while he listens to it slosh around inside.
Tahkeomi moves to protest but stops, Bigfoot picks up a pair of rabbit feet that’s attached to a small piece of Elk antler with a string. The creature gives it a turnover and a sniff then growls, quickly tossing it to the side. Tahkeomi figured that Bigfoot was not into animals being used as items, having seen the preserving area clear of any meat or animal items. Tahkeomi wants to make a record of his observations so far, but quickly sees Bigfoot take out the small pieces of tanned Elk hide that Tahkeomi was going to use to write/draw on. Tahkeomi reaches out as he accidently speaks wanting the creature not to tear the skin, “Wait!”
Bigfoot startles making a new sound, one that sounds like a mix of shock and surprise at the sound of Tahkeomi’s appearance and voice. Bigfoot drops the animal hides and the rucksack and moves away from the items. Shifting his weight to move past Tahkeomi to go into the cave. Tahkeomi notices the sudden dart of Bigfoot’s large yellow eyes like a reverse of sunflowers swaying in the breeze. Tahkeomi slowly raises his hands up in a show of good faith/surrender. Bigfoot sways in place, Tahkeomi unsure if the creature understands his gesture but keeps his hands raised.
Bigfoot looks at Tahkeomi, and then grunts, turning and moving quickly away from the cave. The creature moves quickly down the side of the mountain, Tahkeomi seeing that the items Bigfoot had tossed to his right had slipped down to a pit with other varies items. Tahkeomi cannot make out some of the items due to many leaves and rocks covering them. Tahkeomi watches Bigfoot cross over the pile and move up the other side of the mountain, disappearing into the tress on the other side of the mountain. Tahkeomi chastises himself for his actions and quickly picks up his items that he can reach on the cave floor. Leaving the other items, Bigfoot had tossed down into the pit.
Tahkeomi picks up the tanned Elk skin and manages to fish out a charcoal piece from his rucksack. Starting to write down all the information he had gathered thus far on the creature. Tahkeomi walks back into the cave and copies down the drawings from the wall that he first saw when he woke up. He would show these drawings to his tribe members to show them that Bigfoot was real. Tahkeomi was only able to make a copy of the main drawing line having enough room on the Elk skin when he made the drawings smaller to fit the whole story.
The Wandering Elk Tribe did not believe Tahkeomi’s tale of his escape from the mountain and his third encounter with the creature he named Bigfoot. Tahkeomi would try to get closer to Bigfoot but would not be able to get close enough to have direct contact with the creature again. He was only able to make distant observations which no one believed during that one spring season.
The story of Bigfoot will be told and farther explored as days turn into months eventually turning into years. Tahkeomi was one of the first few who encountered Bigfoot and bestowed on the creature with a name. But don’t take everything you read or see as fact, go out and discover things for yourself. Bigfoot is out there waiting to be farther observed and seen by the people of this time.