Today in Bigfoot History | Jul 27, 1923 | The Legend of Old Yellow Top

The Yellow Top Legend

Old Yellow Top was allegedly a shaggy haired humanoid with a yellowish mane and a pronounced limp said to have wandered near the mines in Cobalt, Ontario, Canada. The following newspaper articles, dated 1923 to 1970 are all courtesy John Green, Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, 1997...

Sept 1906 and July 1923 -North Bay Nugget  (Ontario)

PRE CAMBRIAN SHIELD MAN SEEN BY TWO PROPECTORS

"Cobalt, Ontario Canada July 27,1923 - Mr. J. A. MacAuley and Mr. Lorno Wilson claim they have seen the "Pre-Cambrian shield man" while working on their mining claims North and East of the Wettlaufer Mine, near Cobalt. This is the second time in seventeen years that a hairy ape-like creature nicknamed "Old Yellow-Top" because of a light colored mane has been seen in the district. The two prospectors said they were taking test samples from their claim property when they spotted what looked like a bear picking in a blueberry patch. Mr. Wilson said he threw a stone at the creature. He said, "It kind of stood up and growled at us, then ran away. It sure was like no bear I have ever seen. Its head was kind of yellow and the rest of it was black, like a bear, all covered with hair." The first report of the creature was made in Sept. 1906, by a group of men building the head frame at the Violet Mine, east of Cobalt. It has not been seen since that time."

... And this news item dated April 16, 1947 -- North Bay Nugget - Ontario

”OLD YELLOW-TOP" REPORTED SEEN IN COLEMAN TOWNSHIP
Cobalt, Ontario, Canada. - "Old Yellow-Top", the half-man, half beast that is supposed to be roaming the wilds around the Cobalt Mining Camp, was supposedly seen again by a woman and her son who live near Gillies Depot, while they were walking the tracks into Cobalt. The woman, who did not want her name made public, said she noticed a dark hairy animal with a "light" head ambling off the tracks into the bush near Gillies Lake. She said she did not get a clear look at the thing, but said it walked very much like a man. The sighting is the third such report to be made since 1906, or 1947. A search party was formed to try to find "Old Yellow-Top".

...and this article dated August 5, 1970  - North Bay Nugget, Ontario

THIRD APPEARANCE BY PRE-CAMBRIAN SHIELD MAN  ( Actually, 4th )
Results in Bus Accident near Cobalt Lode Mine
Cobalt, Ontario Canada - Twenty seven miners on their way to work the graveyard shift at Cobalt Lode could have lost their lives when the bus in which they were riding went out of control and almost plunged down a nearby rock cut. Bus driver Amos Latreille, who has been driving the route for the last four months, said a dark form, which walked across the road in front of him, startled him. "At first, I thought it was a big bear. But then it turned to face the headlights, and I could see some light hair almost down to its shoulders. It couldn't have been a bear." Although no one was hurt, Mr. Latreille said he did not know if he would continue to drive the bus. "I have heard of this thing before, but never believed it. Now I am not so sure." One of the miners at the front of the bus said he caught a brief glimpse of the creature. Larry Cormack said it "looked like a bear to me at first, but it didn't walk like one. It was kind of all stooped over. Maybe it was a wounded bear, I don't know." Mr. Cormack added that he did not believe that PreCambrian Shield Man existed anyway.” My father used to talk about it, but I've seen it close up," he pointed out. The story started back early 1900s when a group of construction workers claimed to have seen the creature.

Did a Historian Document a Battle Between Vikings and Bigfoots?

Did the Vikings encountered Bigfoot in Battle?

"Buliwyf's band establishes that the Wendol are humanoid cannibals who appear as, live like, and identify with bears." -- Wikipedia on Michael Crichton's description of the cryptids in The 13th Warrior

Is it possible that a 10th century historian could have documented a fierce battle between Vikings and Bigfoot? Ahmad ibn Fadlan was an Arab ambassador that was captured by Vikings during a diplomatic mission, the Vikings allowed him to chronicle their adventures. He called them men of the north and his depiction of a Viking ship burial is often references and considered accurate. Other aspects of his adventures border on the fantastic including a battle with Mist Monsters, or as the Vikings called them the Wendol.

Speculation on the Wendol is all over the place, from pure fiction to the last remaining Neanderthals. Michael Crichton's, author of Jurassic Park and Westworld, depicts the Wendol in his screenplay, The 13th Warrior, as humanoid cannibals who appear as, live like, and identify with bears. For Doc Vega of UFODigest.com, the Wendol may be Bigfoot. Doc Vega has written a five-part series on the topic with commentary that includes references to Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Grover Krantz and heavily on Lloyd Pye.

Below we have a short excerpt of Doc Vegas 5-part essay, this is just the initial battle between the Vikings and the Wendols (Bigfoot).

The feared confrontation begins On the first night that Buliwyf and his war party arrived at the Kingdom of Rothgar to the apprehension of Ibn Fadian who thought his Viking comrades to be unprepared to do battle, they feasted, drank, and finally slept. However, Ibn was unable to attain slumber. He lay awake worrying and after barely drifting off, heard animal-like grunts and groans along with footsteps. In the darkest hour of the night with sudden ferocity the gigantic doors to the King’s hall of Rothgar were crashed open. The sleeping Vikings sprang to their feet and began to do battle with the monsters as they savagely attacked from a cloak of mist that had hung over the Kingdom that night.

A gruesome trophy A vicious fight ensued as the marauding Wendol tried to slaughter all there. Ibn himself was picked up and thrown across the room, landing against a wall, and falling to the floor. Herger ran to his side to see if Ibn was all right as the incredible battle raged on. Finally after what seemed like hours, the Wendol withdrew as quickly as they had sprang upon the Vikings. Like phantoms they left with hardly a trace, but there was evidence of their presence there. One Viking warrior had the severed arm of a Wendol which he proudly raised above his head as they others cheered. They examined the arm cut off by a Viking sword. It was muscular and very hairy yet shorter in length than a human arm.

Lloyd Pye attested to the robust structure of Neanderthals. Their dense bone structure that was tougher than human bone indicates also the denser muscles of Neanderthal. As Lloyd puts it, the Neanderthal could pop a human’s head and was probably so strong that it could even take on the predatory cats of their time. Remember that Ibn talks of being picked up and thrown across a room. The Neanderthals were also known to have observed an afterlife as evidence was clearly abundant in archeological ruins that they buried their dead. This is why when the Wendol withdrew from combat they took their dead with them. This also lent credence to their phantom-like reputation among humans who had seen the aftermath of their atrocities and feared them.

Lloyd Pye’s findings shed light on a mystery Keep in mind if what Lloyd Pye attributes to Neanderthal was true, then it was only the superior swordsmanship and weaponry of the mighty Vikings that overcame their more powerful assailants (the Wendol) along with their sheer courage. This might also account for how the inventiveness of Homo sapiens ensured the downfall of the more robust Neanderthal unable to cope with a well-organized and technically advanced species of competing hominids (modern man).

Ibn Fadian evaluated their victory over the “Mist Monsters” as they were called, who had terrorized Rothgar. They had beaten back the Wendol, but there had been a price to pay. One of the Vikings had been wounded badly. The women fixed him a broth of onion and garlic. When it was drank if there was a sword injury that pierced the abdomen or stomach the women could smell the onions and garlic through the punctured flesh and muscle. This usually meant that it was a mortal wound, but the healing powers of the Vikings were legendary as well.

Even though the warrior was perhaps fatally wounded, he laughed and joked with the others and continued to eat and drink as if nothing had happened. This was the nature of the Vikings that often amazed and appalled Ibn Fadian as he accompanied them on their quests and battles. Even in victory Buliwyf was not satisfied of the outcome. They had repelled the Wendol but he and the people of Rothgar knew that this would only lead to another more vicious attack than the first. The next day the Vikings conducted strenuous construction of fortifications regardless of the sleep they had lost. As Ibn walked around exhausted and barely able to stay awake he marveled at the Vikings who worked digging motes, assembling wooden barriers, and fashioning weapons. Ibn was amazed at their tenacity. Soon the night came. The defenses were not finished, but Buliwyf left them as they were and once again as night fell, the Vikings did not feast as the inhabitants of Rothgar agonized over the near future. Neither did they drink mead once again and pass out from intoxication. On this night the Wendol would not come. As the sunset turned to night it was observed that the mist from the highlands was not forming upon the elevated grounds and slopes. This meant that the Wendol, who always attacked beneath the veil of a mist, would not attack without it.

No celebration after the initial victory As was the tradition of the Vikings, the nobleman of Rothgar who had been killed by the Wendol while fighting them, that their bodies were erected at the top of the kingdom’s roof for the prescribed 10 days prior to being sent out to for an ocean burial in fiery vessels. The mood among the Vikings was somber in expectation of the next battle. Ibn still could not figure out the Vikings who seemed to do everything in contradiction to what he would anticipate. According to Ibn Fadian the “Northmen” as he called them (Vikings) who would drink day and night did not do so prior to battle. The severed arm of the Wendol was not strung up on a ceiling beam of the great hall of Rothgar.

So, rather than rejoicing over their victory over the Mist Monsters (Wendol) there was no drinking or merriment. You might recall that there were only two things that Ibn had said the Northmen feared-sea serpents and the Mist Monsters! It is clear that as being perhaps the most formidable warriors in human history, fighting the powerful Wendol who are suspected as being Neanderthals who were massively strong, was no small feat, and little to look forward to. To their credit, the Northmen, as Ibn called them had managed at using their superior skills to defeat a strong and feared enemy.

Links to the 5-part essay below. 
Vikings UFOs and Bigfoot Part 1
Vikings UFOs and Bigfoot Part 2
Vikings UFOs and Bigfoot Part 3
Vikings UFOs and Bigfoot Part 4
Vikings UFOs and Bigfoot Part 5

9 Best Alaskan Native Hairy Man Stories

Illustrations for each of the top 9 Alaskan Native Hairy Man stories

On the west coast of Alaska the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers empty into the Bering Sea creating one of the largest river Delta's in the world. Mostly covered in Tundra it is protected as part of the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Eighty-five percent of the 25,000 residents are Alaskan Natives  both Yupik Eskimos and Athabaskan Indians.

In Alaska they have a cryptid "Hairy Man" that goes by many names. The Delta Discovery, a local publication owned by Native Alaskans has been chronically the Hairy Man stories since February 2013. We have selected our favorites and provided links to each story.

1. Plane buzzes Hairy Man people running over ice

Plane buzzes Hairy People

In May of 2012, a plane took off from Bethel and headed upriver, following the Kuskokwim River. The river was breaking up and the snow had pretty much melted, but many big lakes were still frozen over.

For the two people in the plane, the flight seemed to be much like any routine flight. However, just as they passed Tuluksak, the passenger saw something on his side of the plane. He saw two upright but dark creatures running like people on a large, frozen lake. Read More...

2. Captured by Hairy Man

Human nurses hairy Man juvenile to health

In the interior of Alaska, the Hairy Man is known as the “Bushman”. There was an elderly woman who was known as a medicine woman because of her experience as a young girl.

She was out picking berries with others near Rampart when she was kidnapped by a Bushman. She was taken into the wilderness and brought to a cave, where she saw other members of the Hairy Man’s family or group.

In that cave, there were both male and female Hairy Man people, and even young ones. They were hairy and wore no clothes, and smelled badly. But one of the babies of the Hairy Man people was very sick. Read More...

3. Bigfoot follows women during night ride

Two women see Hairy Man in the full moonlight

This lady is from Bethel. Years ago in the 1990’s, she and her younger sister were traveling by snowmachine to Bethel from one of the tundra villages. The sister was driving the snowmachine and she was riding in the back in the sled.

It was nighttime and the moon was full and bright, illuminating the frozen tundra. Stars shone in the sky and there was not a cloud in sight. One could see a long way on a night like this.

The lady riding in the sled had been wearing glasses but took them off because they kept fogging up so she tucked them away. The two women were about halfway to Bethel when suddenly her sister stopped the snowmachine and said to her, “Look!” Her sister was looking at something. Read More...

4. Hairy Man steals dried fish

Caught red handed

One evening, her baby wasn’t well, being restless and whining. That night she slept a few minutes at a time, before baby would wake again and start whining. Soon it was getting bright outside and baby whined again. The lady got up and tended to her baby. When the baby started nursing, the lady was relieved knowing that the baby was much better.

But then she noticed it was unusually quiet outside. Even the early morning birds were not chirping. Through the open door, she could see the dog, which was tied up to the left of the smokehouse door, down on its stomach, its fur very smooth and chin to the ground. She also noticed the dogs were making noises through their noses, making snorting sounds.

While she was looking at the dog, she saw a very big, furry person-like creature coming toward the smokehouse. It was looking around, turning its upper body while turning its head. It got to the smokehouse but did not go inside. Instead, it reached in and took out a dried chum. He tucked it under its arm, looked around again and left. It took long strides when he walked away. Read more...

5. A hunter is chased away by a Hairy Man

After several misses, the hunter runs

A man went hunting by boat one day up the Black River, and got close to Kusilvak Mountain. Stopping at one location, he got out and anchored his boat.

He got his rifble and went up the bank to some high ground to look around, like all other hunters do. While looking around, he spotted some kind of animal not far away.

As he looked longer, he realized it was a Hairy Man! Then the Hairy man saw him too and began to run toward him, making terrible sounds as it came.

Quickly the hunter swung his gun around and fired several times toward the charging beast. Apparently he missed, as the Hairy Man kept coming. Read More...

6. Strong-smelling creature in woods near fishcamp

Remembering a stick whizzing past her ear

“While going back, I bent down to pick a beautiful little flower. Then something went past my left ear, like wood making a ‘swoosh-swoosh-swoosh’ sound like it was flipping over and over as it went past my head.

“Just when I got up and looked, a piece of dry wood branch landed in front of me. I looked to see if anyone was around. I could see far into the woods because there was no grass or growth covering the ground inside the trees.

“I didn’t see anyone or anything. But I smelled something really strong like a wet dog, but stronger and different. I went back to fishcamp. Read More...

7. Nunivak Island Bigfoot

in the 1930's a sod house is invaded

It was during the winter when the three hunters went out on their trip to the west side of the island. As it was evening, the hunters stopped at an old fishcamp to bunk down for the night in an abandoned sod house.

Sod houses, especially those at hunting or fishing sites, were not large and had small entry ways.

The hunters were traveling by dog team. When they stopped to camp they secured their dogs to wooden posts before turning in for the night.

As they were waiting to sleep, the dogs outside began barking. The next thing they knew, someone or something was trying to break in through the door of the sod house. The terrified men got out their .30-.30 rifles in fear of the unknown. Read More..

8. Nome miner kills a Hairy Man

Bear or Bigfoot?

Jean Joiner was a miner from Nome who had a mine near Jade Mountain on Dahl Creek. The Jade Mountains are the westernmost peaks of the Brooks Range.

Mr. Joiner told his story that he had killed a Bigfoot-like animal near his mine, which he thought was a bear at first. But when he looked at the “bear” he killed, he didn’t know what it was but it resembled a human being.

He got real scared of what he had killed and believing that he would get in trouble for it, he cut it up and threw the pieces into the stream near his mine. Read More...

9. Rock throwers of the Andreafsky River

Rocks being thrown from the shore

“Miluquyuli” (the thrower) is one of the names given to the Hairy Man in many parts of the Yukon and Kuskokwim River villages.

At another time, a son (now in his 50s) of the elder remembers camping as a young boy along the same river with his family when, from far up a hill above their camp, a large rock or two were thrown and sailed over them, landing with a big splash into the Andreafsky.

The rocks were too large for humans to thrown that high and far. Read More...

Click the following link to find The Delta Discovery Hairy Man Section