EPISODE 13April 15, 2021

The Curious Creature of Yale

One summer's day in the 1880s, a number of railroad workers stumbled upon a mysterious creature sleeping on the track. After a brief chase, they captured the beast and carried it to town, where it was examined by the local doctor and declared to be a new species of ape. That's the legend, at least. The story of Yale's "wild man" or "Jacko," as he would come to be called, caused a slight stir in 1880s British Columbia, but that would pale in comparison to its rediscovery in the late 20th century by cryptozoologists. Could this forgotten story be a powerful piece of evidence that proves the existence of the elusive Sasquatch or Bigfoot? And what are its connections to a local First Nation's chief and a famous American showman?

Sources

Brown, Ian. Hallowed Ground: Stories of the Yale Pioneer Cemetery. Victoria, British Columbia: Friesen Press, 2017. P. 135

 

Clark, Jerome. Unexplained!: Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena. Visible Ink Press: 2012.

 

Daegling, David J. Bigfoot Exposed: An Anthropologist Examines America’s Enduring Legend. Langman, MA: Rowman Altamira, 2004.

 

Green, J., Sanderson, S. W.  “Alas, Poor Jacko.” Pursuit. January 1975, Volume 8, No. 1: 18-19.

 

Green, John. Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us. Surrey, BC: Hancock House Publishers, 2017.

 

Krantz, Grover S. Big Foot-Prints. Boulder, CO: Johnson, 1992.

 

Murphy, Christopher L., Blount, Barry G. Yale & the Strange Story of Jacko the Ape-boy. Surrey, British Columbia: Hancock House Publishers Limited, 2011.

 

Paterson, T. W. Fraser Canyon: British Columbia Ghost Town Series #3. Langley, BC: Sunfire Publications, 1985.

 

Sanderson, Ivan T. Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life. Philadelphia, PA: Chilton, 1961.

 

The Land of Heart’s Desire: The Inland Sentinel Quarter Century Commemorative Number. Kamloops, BC: May 29th, 1905. 47.

 

“What Is it? A Strange Creature Captured Above Yale.” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, July 4, 1884.

 

“What Some People Say.” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, July 6, 1884.

 

Good, J. B. “Indian Traditions.” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, July 9, 1884.

 

REX, “The What Is It.” Mainland Guardian. New Westminster, BC, July 9, 1884.

 

“The Wild Man.” The British Columbian. New Westminster, BC, July 12, 1884.

 

“‘What is it’ in Jail.” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, July 13, 1884.

 

“A Chilliwack correspondent…” The British Columbian. New Wesminster, BC, August 23, 1884.

 

“New Westminster. (Columbian.)” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, August 24, 1884.

 

“The Yale Wild Man.” Daily British Colonist. Victoria, BC, August 24, 1884.