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Ape Canyon Attack
Miners were besieged by giant apes hurling rocks all night. They fired rifles but the creatures kept coming. Boulders crashed through the roof. By morning, the apes vanished. The canyon kept their name.
July 1924
Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA
5+ witnesses
Ape Canyon gave Bigfoot one of its most dramatic early stories.
The Miners
Five men:
- Fred Beck
- Marion Smith
- Others
- Prospecting for gold
- Mount St. Helens
The Attack
July 1924:
- Shot at creature
- It fell into canyon
- That night, siege began
- Rocks hurled
- Boulders crashed cabin
All Night Terror
What happened:
- Creatures surrounded cabin
- Pounded walls
- Threw rocks
- Tried to break in
- Men fired back
Description
What they saw:
- 7-8 feet tall
- Covered in hair
- Ape-like
- Multiple creatures
- Coordinated attack
The Morning
Dawn came:
- Attacks stopped
- Creatures gone
- Men fled
- Never returned
- Became famous
Legacy
Impact:
- Named canyon
- Bigfoot lore
- Fred Beck wrote book
- Never recanted
- Still debated