Manitou’s Gorilla

Posted by: Loren Coleman on February 8th, 2010

From the St. Catherines Journal

St. Catherines, Ontario

July 9, 1868

A HOME-MADE GORILLA.

A correspondent of the Cleveland Plaindealer, wring [sic] from Manitou Island, Lake Michigan, under the date of June 10th, is responsible for the following story: —

Many of your readers are aware that in Lake Michigan, between fifty and sixty miles from Sleeping Bear Point, is a cluster of islands called the Manitou.  There are four of them; they have been used by the Indians as their home, during the fishing season, for years.  When, in the progress of time, the white men filled the whole country, the Indians took their departure, and ever since the islands have been inhabited by lumbermen and fishermen.

Early this spring I, with others, took up my abode on one of the islands, and intend to remain here all the season.  Some ten days ago, one of our party took his boat and started for the Little Manitou, one of our group of islands, about 4 miles distant from the one on which we are encamped.  He returned about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, and related that after he had landed upon the island he heard what he supposed was a man halloing loudly as though in distress; that he proceeded to the spot from whence the noise seemed to come, and, when within ten or fifteen feet of it, he said he saw a form that had the appearance of a man, at least eight feet tall, entirely, with his body covered with hair.

His face had the appearance of intellectuality, his brow being quite high. His beard extended nearly to his stomach, and his hair was disheveled and coarse.  As the monster saw the approach of my informant, he gave a loud shriek and at once fled.  Knowing that it would be impossible to overtake him, my friend returned to his boat and came home.

After relating his story, we held a consultation and decided to make up a party on the next day and hunt the monster up.  At 10 o’ clock we landed on the island and commenced our search.  In choosing our positions I took the one which led me to the west, on the shore of the lake.  I had not proceeded far, when I beheld the unknown sitting upon the beach, washing his feet in the pure water of the lake.

I approached him gently and hoped to be able to capture him without trouble, but when within at least twenty feet of him, he heard me approaching, and at once springing to his feet commenced to run.  I fired upon him with my gun, but failed to bring him down.  I then endeavored to overtake him, but my efforts were fruitless.  The rest of the party were unable to get a sight of him, and it is yet unknown where he succeeds in hiding.  We start out again tomorrow in the hopes of catching him, and if possible finding out who and what he is. 

There is a story afloat among the other fishermen of the island that some twenty years ago a woman lost a child here about four years of age, that efforts were made to find it, but that all efforts were unsuccessful, and that the bereaved mother came to the conclusion that her boy had been stolen and carried off by some of the wandering tribes of Indians then inhabiting the islands.  As I said before, we start out tomorrow in search of this strange character, and I will, as soon as possible, give you the result of our trip.

 

Unfortunately, it appears, there seem to have been no successful results of their future hunts.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.


5 Responses to “Manitou’s Gorilla”

  1. JMonkey responds:

    Wow. What an interesting story. 152 years have gone by and no luck. seems like this guy almost had the first difinitive evidence if only he could have hit what he aimed at. I do truly hope it does not have to come to this in our age to make people believe. Hunting something so rare down and killing it for the sake of not being made fun of, and difinitive proof of life seems so wrong. Unfortunately the world may not listen to anything less.

  2. Shelley responds:

    Although this narrative was written nearly 150 years ago, it is still shocking to think that it was acceptable to encounter a totally unknown form of life, with the appeareance of intelligence, who tried to do the writer no harm and was indeed terrified of him, and to shoot to kill the being. You have to hope this was all a made-up story for the press, because I hate to think what that Bigfoot must have thought of his first encounter with “civilized” humans.

    Are there any other stories about these islands, and especially about why they are called the Manitou Islands?

    Then, of course there is the thread about the Indians making their home there, and then “in the progress of time,” taking their departure–but maybe still coming back to kidnap missing children?! What an all-purpose symbol they became, victim of an inevitable progress and bogeyman, all wrapped together.

    Enough, I shall get down from my soapbox, before my arthritis makes it impossible. 😉

  3. dogu4 responds:

    Maybe it was one of these supposedly mythological creatures portrayed in this link of a Pacific Northwest Indian (British Columbia) carved wooden mask which according to the accompanying description is a half-human, half-animal Dzunukwa or “wild woman of the woods” which would abduct children.

  4. cryptidsrus responds:

    Good sotry. I wish the hunter would not have tried to kill the thing, but if it had, I admit I would not have been enraged at the guy. Unfortunately, as JMonkey astutely pointed out, the world “may not listen to anything less.” And to be honest, when dealing with the unknown, caution is better than total trust.

  5. idahorick responds:

    I also agree that the world may not have listened to anything else. A dead sasquatch is probably the only evidence that will prove their existence. I know if it was me in a situation where I am seeing one and I have a rifle. I would probably take the shot even though I don’t like the thought of killing a rare creature. It would definitively prove their existence. One dead sasquatch would lead to them being placed on the federal endangered species list.

Sorry. Comments have been closed.

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