Chapter 10
HEAVY WITH THE WEIGHT of the massive beast the squeaky wagon wheels were the only sound. Splashing through the muddied main road, the infamous wagon slowly rolled into the town of Seaton Portage. It was drawn by ponies and horses. But before breakfast, word had already traveled like wild fire throughout the community. People heard of how William heroically led the perilous mission.
Many versions of their story were told, until someone was retelling a ridiculous rendition every week. Re-tellings embellished how William rescued Trevor and defeated the creature that held him captive. There were stories of the men hauling the captive monster into town with ropes alone and how it fought them all the way and killed Norman.
Though the death of Norman wasn’t true, it did cause quite an added stir. The actual events were fantastic enough, without the exaggerations.
People gathered at the sheriff’s station as the hairy, sleeping creature was carried inside. Ropes bound it tightly, binding its arms and legs together. Gurchukk was dragged into the cold prison cell where they locked him away. With his knees pushed up close to his chest, Gurchukk looked like a mound of long shaggy hair. He practically took up all the room in the small single cell. People were captivated by it. No one could pry their eyes from looking at it.
“We have to come up with a better place to keep this thing, fast.” The sheriff mentioned, “I have no place to keep a prisoner now, and how am I going to get rid of that stench? My whole station smells like it.”
Everyone nodded but no one answered the sheriff. Who could be certain if anyone was even listening? The people just couldn’t believe that a creature of such massive proportions had been living in their mountains for generations. For all this time, it had eluded capture and even escaped human eyes, for the most part.
Trevor was asked by the conservation officer, what to feed it and he truthfully answered, “For now just feed it honey, milk and berries. When he’s stronger try to give him cooked game meat, fish and garlic.”
In this time of Sasquatch hysteria, it wasn’t uncommon for the sheriff to be over lenient on criminals. The citizens suspected there wasn’t much of a law when all domestic complaints were brushed off. The mayor and the sheriff seemed to give all of their time and energies to the Sasquatch and the potential problems that might surround the possession of such a creature. Because the jail cell was occupied by the Sasquatch, a couple of criminals were threatened to be imprisoned with the beast. When the criminal was frightened enough, they just let him go.
When the Sasquatch was finally exposed to the public, the community newspaper read; “This day, an extra-ordinary discovery has been made.” The legend is a legend no more.
Many meetings were held outside the jail cell with long moments spent with each new person who came to view the creature. Some people tried to poke the Sasquatch with a stick so they could see its face better or to inspect its hands or feet. Only people of importance to the community were given permission to see the Sasquatch after a while.
When they did see it, everyone had a different opinion about what it was and how to deal with it.
Trevor was required to sit in on every session to answer some difficult questions. There were times when Trevor thought his words of compassion made people feel sympathetic for the Sasquatch, but generally, they saw Gurchukk as a beast. They were threatened by it and they were determined to oppose him as such.
Greedy minded folks planned to make money with a grand show. Another suggestion to sell the creature’s pieces around the world to be studied. This plan changed to an idea to sell the Sasquatch to the highest bidder to benefit of the town.
William wanted to use it as bate to capture more Sasquatch.
Trevor suggested, “Specialists should try to make contact with Gurchukk, to learn from him. Perhaps they could find a way to conform him to our civilized way of life in some manner.”
A woman figured, under all that hair was a bushman. She suggested to have it shaved and dressed in clothing to show just how human it was. Everyone questioned whether the woman was sincere or if she was testing who would go along with her elaborate prank.
They wanted to X-ray it and to have a dentist record its teeth. This was also to dispel a theory that the creature was in fact, a man; ‘John Henry,’ who went missing from the town years ago. They speculated he didn’t die, rather, he adapted to the land; grew taller and stronger and developed a coat of body hair to survive in the wild.
This person tried to argue that Gurchukk was actually, John Henry.
Shortly after all this ruckus died down, word came that the military was interested in the creature and to expect them to show up and confiscate it. No matter how much Trevor insisted that the Sasquatch’s name was, ‘Gurchukk,’ the people continued to refer to him as ‘John Henry.’
Three days passed since Gurchukk was first brought into the town of Seaton Portage. Before the government sent its people to take Gurchukk away, the people of Seton Portage one day put the creature on public display. This event wasn’t originally meant to be a celebration, it was supposed to be a time of closure. People needed a way to say farewell.
Trevor was one of those people.
With the passing of time, Trevor grew to dislike Gurchukk being locked in a jail cell.
The Sasquatch was adapting to the drugs and began to awaken once more.
Trevor didn’t approve when they smashed jars of chloraphorm to the floor to knock Gurchukk out again.
“Why does he smell so bad?” asked the Sheriff with his index finger pressed to the bottom of his nose, “Will we ever clean that putrid stench out of here?”
“It’s an animal, sheriff. Don’t forget that!” William answered.
No one was concerned about how much chloraphorm was wasted or the affects of their dosages. Trevor worried that they would kill him with an over dose.
For the time being, while Gurchukk slept, the men in charge ordered that the creature be washed and manicured. To top it all off, someone passed the hair-brained idea to have the Sasquatch dressed in customized civilian clothing.
Later that day, Gurchukk was loaded into a cage and rolled out onto a stage. Six mules pulled the cage.
When the curtain dropped, the Sasquatch was exposed and the festival began. The band began to play. People enjoyed the celebration with Gurchukk; the center of the attraction.
There were clowns, popcorn, hotdogs and balloons. Multiple booths were set up to test your strength against a Sasquatch by hitting a teetering board with a heavy sledge hammer. This sent a weight to ring a bell at the top of a pole. Someone carved miniature Sasquatch out of cedar stumps. Another person drew a portrait of people so they would know what they would look like if they had the hair of a Sasquatch on their face. Clocks made out of the plaster molds of the creature’s foot prints were available to buy.
William was on the stage with the main attraction, the caged beast! He stood front and center with his men standing in a crescent line behind Trevor.
The people expected to see more from the Sasquatch, but he just lay silently in his cage.
Opening his eyes slightly, Gurchukk was too sedated to move. Looking out through his long bangs, the Sasquatch thought the people looked like strange little elves. They danced and sang and were full of spirits, but the Sasquatch couldn’t understand them or their excitement.
Due to the effects of the drugs, Gurchukk felt like he was having a goofy dream. As his awareness returned, he retreated to one of his basic survival tactics; playing dead. When Gurchukk felt his strength come back to his arms and legs, he had soon fully awakened. Breathing in through his nose, the fresh air was evidence he was outside. The bars made him feel instinctively trapped. In broad daylight and in the middle of Seaton, Gurchukk realized he was actually amongst humans. The crowd of people cheered when he tilted his head.
The whole town showed up in the park to view the creature. Important people, rich people, poor people, opportunists, people from near and peopl
e from great distances.
With his body covered in tight fitting fabric, Gurchukk realized he was dressed in civilian clothing. He had been washed and manicured. The fragrant soaps covered his natural signature and he hated it. Needing to let the effects of the drugs wear off fully, he was still too dopey to react.
Rambunctious children found, their efforts to get close to the Sasquatch thwarted by protective adults. They threw popcorn and peanuts at the caged beast.
Little did anyone suspect, Gurchukk’s strength was returning as he continued to lay still. Under his long hair he wiggled his fingers and flexed his muscles. The effects from his last dose of chloraphorm, quickly expired from his system.
“…and when I was hungry, it would feed me. The word it used for food was, ‘Kalanootch.’”
Trevor’s story was interrupted, “Oh, now I think you’re exaggerating.” William attempted to steal Trevor’s spotlight determined to portray the Sasquatch as a savage wild creature. “Trevor’s letting his fame go to his head. What we have here is proof of another secret in our mountains. Does anyone have any other questions?”
Many people put up their hands with great anticipation to be the next to ask a question. “You sir, there in the front.” The hunter spoke, pointing out a man in the crowd.
“What have you to say about the strange sightings you and your men have mentioned about a short skinny creature in a silver circular craft?” he asked. Tilting his head; his mouth slightly open, the man anticipated his response.
“These are words from over active imaginations. We had been walking since early morning and many of us were dehydrated. When we first saw the beast, it was on a rampage. Some of us interpreted this to be the creature fighting with something. That’s all. Now does someone have a question about this ‘Bigfoot?’”
A voice from the crowd asked if the captured Sasquatch was the only one. The proud and boastful leader, William answered, “I grew up on a farm and I can tell you that if a farmer finds one rat in his barn, he is, in fact, infested with them. I believe the same is true here where we have captured one ‘Bigfoot’ but our mountains are, surely, infested. The Indian settlers spoke of them as the ‘big people’ or the ‘Sasquatch’. We don’t see much of them because they’re dug deep into the mountains, but they are there. How many, you ask? Who can say? We need to flush them out of the land, into plain view and I plan to be there when we do. It’s my solemn vow to capture them all.”
Trevor could take no more, he challenged William. “Sure they have lots of hair and they have primitive methods, but we shouldn’t hunt them! We need to protect them! These creatures feel for one another and they not only have a great affection for their own kind, but they can also feel a deep connection with us. I have experienced this kindness first hand when I was in this creature’s care.” He gestured his fingerless hand to the Sasquatch. “They have feelings the same as you and me, perhaps even more so. He didn’t kill me. He took me in and cared for me. I’ve found such attributes rare even among us.” A few people nodded their heads in understanding, but they were all far too amazed to agree with him fully. The whole presentation was far more unbelievable than the people had expected it to be. Then Gurchukk began to test his strength. The Sasquatch struggled in the cage as he fought to clear his head and stand up.
William, cut in, “You sound like this creature has a hold on you somehow. How could you let it control you? What did it do to you?... Tell us how you lost your finger!”
That was it. Trevor tightened up, balled his fists and pushed toward William. It took three men to hold him back.
William was too clever. But not clever enough to understand the relationship between him and the Sasquatch. None of these people could.
“You can’t tell me these creatures are anything but very dangerous!” William continued. “They’re a threat to our communities and families. Listen to the tales from credible people who’ve had other run-ins with the ‘Bigfoot!’ Mark my words; we will need to hunt them all down to extinction for our own safety and protection.”
The ropes that were tied around the creature’s upper body snapped and sprang loose. Gurchukk rose up in the cage. He wore big tanned pants with suspenders that came up over his red plaid shirt. They tried to make him look like a lumber jack. He took hold of the iron bars and shook at them in his groggy state.
The people of the audience shared a sickening feeling in the pits of their stomachs as they looked upon the very alive creature of the mountains.
The evidence of what lives in their backyard was a terrifying reality. The eyes of the Sasquatch met the eyes of the people for the first time. Parents shielded their children’s eyes and led them away from the creature quickly.
Not a co-operative captive, the Sasquatch pulled and bit at the bars. The welds began to break. When the people heard the bars snap and caught sight of the creature’s sharp fangs, they panicked. Scrambling every which way, the celebration quickly became chaos. In the midst of the creature’s fit, he began to tear off his clothes and break more of the ropes that bound his legs.
Trevor ran to Gurchukk and tried to calm him down. Stopping for a moment, Gurchukk gave Trevor a long stare. His long bangs hung down over his perturbed expression. Trevor saw the emotion in Gurchukk’s eyes. There was a child-like innocence there. He wondered why the other people couldn’t see it also.
Then Gurchukk looked past Trevor and locked his gaze with William just as William shouldered a rifle. Calmly, he peered right back at the Sasquatch through the targeting scope. A shiver ran through William’s body as the eyes of the Sasquatch seemed to peer right into his soul. One second, filled the expanse of eternity.
Chloraphorm jars flew in at the caged creature. The gas broke and the liquid came spraying out with the hissing rise of foggy gasses. Gurchukk collapsed back to the floor of the cage again. His huge hands slid down the bars as the gas took over the Sasquatch’s demeanor and took over. Gurchukk’s eyes closed slightly, but they remained locked on William.
Trevor looked at William just as he lowered his rifle. William looked like he had seen a ghost. He wasn’t sure if he had the will to pull the trigger even if he had to. The Sasquatch scared him so.
The situation was controlled. The Sasquatch was carried back into the jail cell where it was safely locked up.
“Hey, go easy on those chloraphorm jars.” The conservation officer shouted. “If we run out of them we’ll only have live ammunition to protect us.”
Efforts were made to revive the festival. All who had something to gain financially, pitched in.
Sasquatch wood carving competitions continued of men carving Sasquatch statues out of logs.
The Sasquatch getting angry seemed to be just what the people wanted. The interest and talk was lifted to a new height.
“Are you as strong as a Sasquatch?!” The voice of a peddler shouted, to advertise his Sasquatch test your strength devices. “Smack down the hammer and ring the bell and you could be going home with one of these limited edition Sasquatch stuffies!”
People began spending more money. Others promoted, “Get a photograph of yourself with the Sasquatch!” Where they had a booth set up next to the Sasquatch cage and they took the shots with flash photography.
The people enjoyed Sasquatch beer drinking competitions. Sales of Sasquatch dolls increased with T-shirts, mugs, etc.
Seton Portage claimed to be a Sasquatch town and the people loved it.
Rumors circulated of a mysterious rich and powerful man who had bought Gurchukk. He was willing to fight off the military to keep the Sasquatch. The story also suggested that the rich man planned to defeat the military by releasing the Sasquatch against the soldiers.
Trying to ignore all of the ridiculous stories, Trevor explained how capable he was to calm the creature. The hunters and the sheriff believed Trevor. The Sheriff said, “If Trevor didn’t know how to communicate with the creature, he would’ve been dead long ago.” Trevor was cleared to stay for the night to reliev
e the night watchman. It was bound to be a long night in the jail cell of the basement under the sheriff’s station.