Imperial Valley Press (El Centro, Calif.), July 15th 1924
Gorilla Search Will Probably Be Fruitless
KELSO, Wash., July 15. – Although a party of four men under C. A. Parker, of the forestry service, left early Monday to hunt down and either kill or photograph the gorillas or “mountain devils” of Spirit Lake, the belief is that their quest will be unsuccessful and numerous other expeditions that were planned have been abandoned.
It was learning today that Marion and Roy Smith and three companions are all spiritualists and that while they are on their prospecting trips into the hills they frequently hold seances.
The Smiths and Fred Beck, another member of the prospecting party are the men who reported an encounter with the ape-like creatures. Marion Smith claimed to have fired two shots at one of the beasts and Roy Smith declared that he had been chased to the cabin from a nearby spring where he was drawing water.
Kelso residents believe the Smiths and Beck were sincere in their statements but since the knowledge has spread that all the prospectors were dabblers in spiritualism, it is thought that while they were emotionally wrought up by a seance they had mistaken an upright bear for one of the “mountain devils” with which Indian[*] Lore and Legend peopled the slopes of Mount St. Helens.
Disclaimer: This 1924 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 article uses incorrect and offensive terminology to refer to indigenous or native people, which was unfortunately common at the time. For the purposes of historical documentation of the material, the article has been unaltered and is presented as it was previously published, retaining its original language and word usage. The derogatory term used in the article is a product of colonialism and should not be used to refer to indigenous people.
Source(s): https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn92070146/1924-07-15/ed-1/?sp=4
Categories: Newspapers, Proto-Bigfoot, Ape Canyon