CFZ-CANADA: Follow Your Arrow

Recently, in Sturgis, Saskatchewan, they held an archery competition. After a hearty pancake breakfast, archers had the opportunity to walk two courses of about 2km each. Twenty 3-D targets, were set up in realistic natural settings. These included bear, turkey, wild boars, panther, cougars, elk, deer, moose, antelope, buffalo, dinosaurs, an alligator. and this year, a life sized 3-D Bigfoot. After first thoughts of the elusive hairy best being just as rare in that area as alligators and dinosaurs, it felt prudent to research to confirm or disprove the scarcity theory.

In 1895, a rancher named Jack Shewfelt moved his operation to the elbow of the river in what was then known as the Assiniboine Territory. The discover of arrowheads and other evidence proves that the present site had long been a place of nomadic Indian tribes. In 1901 Owen Carragher bought Shewfelt's buildings and became the earliest settler. In 1902 townships 33 and 34 were surveyed and this brought an influx of homesteaders. The years 1904-1906 saw many homesteaders from the United States, Ontario, the Maritimes, England, Sweden, Poland and the Ukraine. Soon, a railway line from Swan River, Manitoba to Pelly, Saskatchewan and in 1911, it reached Sturgis and continued to Preeceville (about 115kilometers) . In 1914, the line was expanded from Canora to Sturgis.

Fred C. Brooks moved his general store from Crystal Lake to the Sturgis area and became the first Postmaster. He gave it the name Sturgis Post Office, after his hometown of Sturgis, South Dakota. There seems to be some evidence that the town was at one time known as Stanhope. Sturgis was incorporated as a village in 1912. Several of its residents lived to be over 100 years old.

Currently, there are about 650 residents. Sturgis occupies a total land area of about 3.5 square kilometers and has a median resident age of 50. It's home to five churches. You could buy a two bedroom house there for under $100,00 (which currently translates to about $67,000 US Dollars).

Reports of Sasquatch in the area come from experiences in the 60s and in the 80s.

A young woman was playing in a field, where there an abandoned shack in the distance. When she looked up, what she says was Bigfoot was laying in the grass. It was startled and got up and walked away. Many years later, her daughter also spotted the hairy guy in a park near the same area. Another local claims to have a video of a Sasquatch crossing a small river or creek, and climbing up the riverbank.

This area is considered to be southern Saskatchewan. There are some hills and valleys, but is mostly open field with limited wooded areas. It surely isn't prime Sasquatch habitat, from what we conjecture his needs would be. It is sparsely populated, but so is northern Saskatchewan where there is considerably more more tree cover. There are, however, many lakes, and the wilderness of the Porcupine Forest, just to the north of town, offers big game trophy hunting and fishing opportunities.

There may be a good reason to look at this area as Sasquatch populated. Much more fieldwork needs to be done there. If you don't find a 'Squatch, at least you can have a look at the Cowboy and the Park Patrol roadside attractions. They are just as odd. And no, the province name does not in any way related to the term Sasquatch. But they do have them.