I realised after the fact that I had done my global-view range maps and comparitive-sized reconstructions for Wildme and Heuvelmans' "Petit Yeti" and "Grand Yeti" but not also for Tyler Stone's freshwater monkeys, of which the Kappas are the best-defined representatives. At left is a Kappa illustration from Wikipedia, and it has an "Angry monkey" face plus webbed hands and feet which are four webbed toes and a thumb apiece, which we are going to say is the true value
And below is my scale comparison, this time also incorporating the eyes for each type. It turns out the eyes for Wildmen and Sasquatch are about the same absolute size in either case, but proportionately very much smaller in the faces of the Giants. The "Water-Goblins" were something I had added on a similar chart I drew while at SITU HQs in the mid-1970s. I thought from the eyes they might be a type of lemur, and they were indicated by a series of the "Little Hairy Men of the Delta" reports off of John Keel's listings for sightings in the Eastern USA. Shortly thereafter, I dropped the category as sounding too "Far Out" But now I can see what is going on with those reports better, since Tyler Stone articulated the theory to me over again in a clearer way. I had also included the Kelly-Hopkinsville "Goblins" on the theory the big head could have been the effect of a large mane of hair on the head, and asuming there was no real connection to any UFO report then. The hands and feet of the Kappa are meant to represent webbed fingers and toes and yes, the category is now intended to include Loveland "Frogs" (Now reconfigured as "Loveland Kappas")
PS, the mane could also be less extensive in females, accounting for some sightings seeming to have less less covering over the ears, for example. The mane could also lie flatter when wet and slicked-down. Wetter hides ARE remarked on as being very reflective in some cases and the creatures can look greenish when covered in algae or duckweed. They ARE "Goebelins" in Europe as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin
'Goblins were described as 2–3 feet tall, thin, and brown. Most were bald and "if there were females among the group they could not be distinguished from the males".' From which it seems that the sex organs are unclear to humans and the females do not have prominent breasts: "Most were bald" means they have an apparent bald spot on the tops of their heads, the same as the Kappas do. They seem to have prominent ischial callosities and also cheek pouches to store food in. And incidentally they would seem to maintain a pecking order by males mounting subordinate males, same as in ordinary macaques: there are many stories of goblins attempting buggery of human males.
For the record also, here is my former map for "Improbable Giant Frogs" of the Loveland variety. Thetis Lake is indicated on the map and should be removed--but oddly enough such creatures are also reported at Lake Okanagon, the Ogopogo lake, and represented on Petroglyphs on the shores of the lake there.
Dale, would it be possible for me to use this map and some of the other illustrations from here in my upcoming Freshwater Monkeys article? They would be extremely helpful.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Tyler Stone
Absolutely, feel free to use anything you might need. Mi casa es su casa.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes, Dale D.
BTW, I personally would exclude the Hopkinsville "Goblins" from the Freshwater Monkeys. The fact that they were described with silver skin as opposed to hair, rounded heads with mouths like slits, big elephantine ears, and were apparently invulnerable to gunfire (it reportedly sounded like something hitting a metal bucket when they were shot) makes me think they are something very different, although I have no idea what. The Dover Demon, however, could conceivably be a Freshwater Monkey with its mouth and nose obscured by hair. If I remember correctly, it was apparently seen near a creek.
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Tyler Stone
The big ears are described sometimes on actual Kappa reports: obviously usually the ears are covered by hair. And the hair being reflective enough to look luminous in some kinds of artificial outdoor lighting has been described elsewhere, including in Florida. The build of the Hopkinsville creatures is distinctly apelike and presumably nobody really got a really good view of them that night. And most of the authorities assume the metallic sounds were because the shots went wild and hit some metallic objects. So for all of these reasons I provisionally include the Kelly-Hopkinsville Goblins as the same sort of crreature. More importantly to my way of thinking, other witnesses in places nearby (Indiana in the mid-1950s) and distant (Britain after 2000) said the small water-creatures they witnessed reminded them of the K_H creatures. And comparing the Goblins with the Dover Demon, there are a number of points of similarity. The K-H Goblins were also quadrupedal part of the time and bipeds part of the time, and there is a creek nearby that leads to a major watercourse.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes, Dale D.
In that case I'll add it to the freshwater monkeys article. It is currently in draft form.
ReplyDeleteThe appearance of "Silvery" creatures is indeed noted on other occasions and it definitely is connected to having a slck,wet surface: the fur also seems to have a reflective quality to the hairs, which is also true of some apes ansd monkeys including Chimpanzees.
ReplyDeleteWhile we were writing this I was doing a photosearch for a sequel and I rushed to post one of the things I turned up in regards to the Honey Island Swamp Monster. It is nowe the most recent posting on this blog.
Best Wishes, Dale D.
Dale, in the early 1990's, I interviewed a man from Anderson, Indiana for the PBS program "Across Indiana" concerning his childhood encounter with a "Pukwudge." He described the creature as a small man under three-foot in height and wearing a white smock. He later realized the "smock" was a man's shirt, but the Pukwudge was so small the shirt covered him completely. He told me the Pukwudge often lived in burrows dug into river banks. Supposedly, at one time, the White River in central Indiana was home to a number of Pukwudge families.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Tim R. Swartz
Thanks Tim: I live in Indiana and I was aware people used to see them here and even used to use the name here. But the "White smock" does not fit, perhaps he was seeing a "Coat of fur that covered him completely"? The fur on the belly is often said to be paler than on back.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I had heard the "White smock" part in more recent years: authorities thought that meant like they were wrapped in a sheet and some kids were pretending to be ghosts.
Best Wishes, Dale D.
There was a front-page story in the Indianapolis Star in the 1970s with a cartoon of somebody in a sort of halloween ghost getup to illustrate that story: but few people thought the latter incident was anything but a childish prank.
ReplyDeleteBest Wishes, Dale D.
The man I interviewed is named Paul Startzman, his encounter took place during the day in an old quarry behind his house. His grandmother, who was a Native American, told him that the Pukwudgies would steal laundry when it was drying on the line. He speculated that the creature he ran into was wearing a stolen shirt, that is why it looked so big on him.
ReplyDeleteHe also told me a story about a man who once tried to chop down an old tree along the banks of the white river. Unfortunately for him, there was a group of Pukwudgies underneath that tree and they stormed out and cut his throat. Obviously he survived or we wouldn't have this story. Of course since we don't have any name for verification we have to treat this as a local myth. Still, it is interesting that these stories continue to be told even into this day and age.
Thanks.
Tim
Actually, I can see a monkeylike or apelike creature stealing a shirt and trying it on; young captive chimps or orangutans can do that sort of thing spontaneoulsy. I suppose they are actually only playing then. It is even rather common for young orangutans to steal blankets and wrap up in them.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzling part is, are the small Puckwudgies the young of the much larger "Frogfoots"? There is good reason to suspect many of the "Swamp Creature" tracks are hoaxed (See the updated entry on the Honey Island Swamp Monster, but typically even a SMALL "Frogfoot" track is larger than an ordinary human track. Tyler and I are currently discussing that matter, but it would be really unusual if there were two sets of very different amphibious humanoids involved in this same part of the country.
Best Wishes, Dale D.
Oh, in case you missed my Frogfoot article, the FF tracks were reported in the White River also.
ReplyDelete