SAVED BY SASQUATCH

It was once upon a time and a long time ago but not as long for me as it was my grandfather when he was a young boy. He was with his brothers and the only one to return home.  The year was 1902 making my grandfather nine years old at the time. He and his family left Ireland and arrived in Canada by way of  the Grand Lake stopping in Chipman, New Brunswick, this is where they would stay and where my mother was born many years later.

Welcome to Canada

The area was called Chipman New Brunswick, Canada.  My grandfather had four brothers and three sisters,  he was  between the girls making his age seven years younger than his youngest older brother, Emmet 17. Fred was my grandfather at the age of nine and he beg and fought to travel along with the bigger boys to Fredericton to help with the sell of ten sheep, two cows, one goat and a young filly. His mother did her best to keep him back but he fought harder winning the favor of his father wanting to accept man hood and off he went with his brothers in the place of Vergil, who would stay behind and help with the chores. Vergil is nine-teen and happy to stay behind as he is still sore from falling off the roof of the new home they had finished  building.   It was in the morning when they all bade each other good-bye and god’s will a safe return. Jimmy 26,  Able 24,  Emmet 17 and Fred who just turned nine, would venture the new wilderness in hopes of selling all they had and returning in two weeks. But it would not happen this way nor was it the will of God. It was pure accident followed with great demise and a tale never forgotten.  Meanwhile.

to market to market to buy a fat pig

Many years ago in the small town over,  lived a young couple just married. The winter was cold and food was scarce, the young man had to leave his new bride to go hunt for food, for surely they would not make it through to spring. Leaving her on her own for days turned to weeks he finally shot and killed a big bear. It had been days now he himself had not eaten and was near froze to death. He cleaned the fur from the animal and cooked enough meat to give himself strength to make his journey home in hopes his bride was still alive and the child she carried is still healthy.  The only way to keep from dying was to wrap the bear skin over his body using the head of the dead beast to warm his own head. Back then in New Brunswick, the winters were harsh and the winds were frosty leaving opened things in a deep freeze. Lucky to be wrapped in bear skin the young man-made it home one dark cold night. He banged upon the door in hopes his bride would answer and banged louder not giving her time to come to him, pounding with both fists,  and having a hard time to stay standing, he hammered on the door screaming in the cold wind for her to come to his aid.  Come she did, but upon seeing him in this bear skin and the frozen dead head upon his, she froze herself in a dreadful fright that when the child was born it was marked with hair from head to toe.  As the child grew, the towns people became afraid and never excepted the boy child.  Then one day he took off to live his life alone deep in the forest where he thought he would never be seen.  But it did not happen so. This child’s birth is recorded along with picture in the Grand Lake Mirror paper in Chipman New Brunswick Canada. You will know him as Big Foot or in the Indian language, Sasquatch 

By this time 1902 the Indian Natives called the Micmac lived in the area and they were known for their war like ways back then. But my grandfather’s family was new to this Country called Canada and as of yet met no Indians, so there was nothing to fear but fear it’s self and wild animals.  So as was the reason,  for sending all the boys, to save for each other against hungry bears and large cats, [cougars ] and what ever else that may stop them.  The Brogan boys were a bunch not to be toyed with, though they never gave any cause to violence, they could stop it dead in its tracks. But the boys would be no match for the Micmac, their only weapon was each other and two rifles between them. Off they went to market their ware,  with little Fred to prove he was a man.

It was on the evening of the third night walking, when they came upon trouble. A band of 18 Micmac surrounded the camp wanting for the animals mainly the sheep and goat, these were different animals to what they have been use to, and now fascinated by these new wooly creatures these Indian scouts wanted to have this for their village.  And i guess the old Language barrier got in the way of things and things got out of hand and the brothers were being killed all around young Fred. And with all the confusion and war cries going on,  no one really noticed when this Big Foot appeared taking down several Micmac and saving my grandfather.  No one was killed by the Sasquatch just knocked out or hurt but no deaths. As the Big Foot is not an angry animal it is the son of the people over hill and down the river to the north of the Grand Lake.

When darkness falls

There is no monster more hideous than hu-man it’s self.

Some of this story is true.

I am so good-looking

THE END