Northern Wisconsin advertiser (Wabeno, Wis.), January 6th 1922

He Saw Snowman

Englishman Corroborates Story Told by Explorers.

Probability That There Is A Mysterious Race That Has Not Been Reached by Civilization.

William Hugh Knight, a member of the British Royal Societies club, recently recalled to a representative of the London Times an occasion some years ago when he was able to inspect closely a figure which he believes to be that of one of the “Abominable Snowmen” to whom reference has been made by members of Mount Everest expedition. He said:

“Shortly before the last Tibetan war I was returning from Tibet with an other European, a Tibetan guide, and our train of about forty and fifty coolies.[*] We were coming down the track which leads from Gnaton to Sedonchen. We wanted to go to Gantok by the higher track, but Tenzin Wagdi, our guide, said the coolies[*] would not face the leeches, so we had to take the lower track, which roughly follows the river. As we got near Gantok we had to climb the long ascent. My companion had gone on ahead with the coolies.[*] I was about half a mile behind, about half a mile below Gantok.

“I stopped to breathe my horse, on an open clearing, and dismounted, loosened the girths and watched the sun, which was just about setting. While I was musing I heard a slight sound and, looking around, I saw, some fifteen or twenty paces away, a figure which I now suppose must have been one of the hairy men that Everest expedition talk about the Tibetans, according to them, call the ‘Abominable Snowmen.’

“Speaking to the best of my recollection, he was a little under six feet high, almost stark naked in that bitter cold – it was the month of November. He was a kind of pale yellow all over, about the color of a Chinaman[*], a shock of matted hair on his head, little hair on his face, highly splayed feet, and large, formidable hands. His muscular development in the arms, thighs, legs, back and chest was terrific. He had in his hand what seemed to be some form of primitive bow. He did not see me, but stood there, and I watched him for some five or six minutes. So far as I could make out, he was watching some man or beast far down the hillside. At the end of some five minutes he started off at a run down the hill, and I was impressed with the tremendous speed at which he traveled.

“So far as I can remember, I mentioned the matter in the Gurkha mess that night, and to Claude White when I saw him at the residence next morning, but my recollection is that they took it rather as a matter of course. The incident more or less passed out of my mind until I read about the tracks in the snow written of by members of the Mount Everest expedition.”

Disclaimer: This 1922 newspaper article was published prior to 1931. Under United States copyright law (specifically the 95-year rule), this work has entered the public domain and is thus free to use or republish. It is presented here as an interesting and folkloric newspaper oddity.

[*] Note on offensive terminology: This newspaper article uses derogatory and offensive terminology such as a racist slur against the Chinese as well as a term used to refer to a low-waged laborer or indentured servant usually of Asian descent. For the purposes of historical documentation of the material, this article has been unaltered and is presented as it was previously published, retaining its original language and word usage. The derogatory terms used in the article should not be used to refer to people.

Source(s): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn85040705/1922-01-06/ed-1/?sp=2

Categories: Newspapers, Abominable Snowman