Abominable Snowmen, by Ivan T. Sanderson, [1961], at sacred-texts.com [p. i] Abominable Snowmen: LEGEND COME TO LIFE [p. ii] OTHER BOOKS BY IVAN T. SANDERSON ANIMAL TREASURE LIVING TREASURE CARIBBEAN TREASURE FOLLOW THE WHALE THE CONTINENT WE LIVE ON ANIMAL TALES, AN ANTHOLOGY Reference HOW TO KNOW THE NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS LIVING MAMMALS OF THE WORLD THE MONKEY KINGDOM Juveniles ANIMALS NOBODY KNOWS THE SILVER MINK JOHN AND JUAN IN THE JUNGLE [p. iii] Abominable Snowmen: LEGEND COME TO LIFE The Story of Sub-Humans on Five Continents from the Early Ice Age Until Today IVAN T. SANDERSON F.L.S., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. Illustrated CHILTON COMPANY * BOOK DIVISION Publishers PHILADELPHIA AND NEW YORK [1961] Scanned, proofed and formatted at sacred-texts.com, October-November 2008. This text is in the public domain in the US because its copyright was not renewed in a timely fashion as required by law at the time. Click to enlarge Title Page Click to enlarge Verso Abominable Snowmen, by Ivan T. Sanderson, [1961], at sacred-texts.com [p. iv] [p. v] DEDICATION To Bernard and Monique Heuvelmans and My own Alma And also to the Following Today finds a surprising host of assorted students in this odd field, but also a few professional scientists whose labors I would like first to note, at the same time thanking them for their long- standing encouragement, constructive criticism, and many forms of direct help, not only in this book but also in my other studies of similar matters. In addition to Dr. Bernard Heuvelmans, who has become the doyen of the whole business, these are most especially Professor W. C. Osman Hill, presently Prosector of the Zoological Society of London; Professor George A. Agogino, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Wyoming; Professor Teizo Ogawa, Department of Anatomy, University of Tokyo; Professor B. F. Porshnev of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R.; Professor Corrado Gini, President of the Institut International de Sociologie, Rome, Italy; and Dr. John Napier, of the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine at the University of London, England. Dr. Waldimir Tschernezky, of Queen Mary's College, London, has lent me much invaluable advice; and Dr. Jorge Ibarra, Director of the National Museum of Guatemala, has pursued more specific details for me in his country. There is, then, another category of students not primarily engaged in scientific pursuits but without whose labors little would be known about this subject, and without whose generous help this book could not have been written. This class is headed by Tom Slick, of San Antonio, Texas, whose work is more fully acknowledged in the course of my story. Next, J. W. Burns of San Francisco, who has spent over half a lifetime in pursuit of the Sasquatches, and John Green, newspaper publisher of Agassiz, B.C., on whose shoulders Mr. Bums' mantle has fallen. Then, there is my old school friend, W. M. (Gerald) Russell, and Peter Byrne, who separately and together did so much to clarify ABSMery in the Himalayan region. In the same class is my friend and associate, Kenneth C. (Cal) Brown. In still another category is a devoted and more or less dedicated little band of my immediate associates. Foremost is my wife, who has worked with me for over a quarter of a century--in the field, in my researches, and on all my books--doing much more than merely typing and collating roomfuls of material. Next, I would like to acknowledge two of the most remarkable young men I have had the pleasure and honor of meeting in scholarship--Rabbi Yonah N. Ibn Aharon and Umberto Orsi. Yonah is the recipient of degrees from the University of Yemen and a philologist of remarkable knowledge and talents, accredited to the U.N., who obtained his M.A. degree upon production of the first (and only) Basrai Aramaic Lexicon. [p. vi] [paragraph continues] He is, as detailed later, conversant with all the basic dialects upon which the larger number of languages of eastern Eurasia are today founded. Umberto Orsi has given me vast assistance via his specialty, bibliographical research. He is not just a literary sleuth, but a true bloodhound when it comes to rescuing rare items from the mazes of modern libraries. Without his invaluable assistance I would not have dared to issue this work. Then, there is Johanna Linch, who somehow reproduced all my maps, outside of office hours, in just two weeks. Then, too, our good friend, Raizel Halpins, who gave great help on the manuscript, merely out of kindness and her interest in the subject. There come next three new friends who have given their own particular technical skills to immeasurably further this work, and I don't quite know how to thank them. They are, first, Ljubica Popovich and Benjamin Rothberg, both of Philadelphia, who translated some hundred thousand words of technical material from Russian originals of hitherto unpublished publications of the Special Commission of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Coming after these two stalwarts was Ethel Waugh, who transcribed their translations from tape recordings--including place names in goodness knows how many languages. To all of these, and particularly to Ben Rothberg upon whom the greatest onus devolved, I hereby give my sincerest thanks. Actually, these three together accomplished a work of considerable significance to anthropology, which will, I hope, soon see the light of day in complete and technical form. I would like to say, also, that I have been the recipient of splendid guidance and encouragement from the Chilton Company--Book Division, both as a whole and from all its departments. They have kept a fine old publishing tradition in a bright new setting--a novel experience, and a most delightful one to a latter-day writer who has seldom enjoyed such co-operation in the past. Finally, there is another army of good people, many named in the body of the story but many more are not named, who have furthered the cause of ABSMery generally by coming out with their own stories in face of ridicule and censure so extreme as sometimes to have resulted in loss of their jobs. These people are pioneers--if not, on occasion, actually martyrs --in their pursuit of truth and the disproof of "official" mendacity, prejudice, and stupidity. I can only pray that one day their fortitude will be rewarded with full popular and scientific recognition. IVAN T. SANDERSON Abominable Snowmen, by Ivan T. Sanderson, [1961], at sacred-texts.com [p. vii] Foreword The possible existence of the Yeti, Sasquatch, and other Abominable Snowman forms has long been a point of conjecture among travelers, naturalists, and scientists. While most of this evidence is circumstantial and inconclusive as yet, it provides a tantalizing mystery filled with enough interest and promise to warrant the attention of both serious students and casual readers. In this book, Ivan T. Sanderson summarizes current world evidence regarding ABSMs (abominable snowmen), drawing from records and reports that are world-wide in scope and cover a broad period of time. For completeness he discusses all prevailing views, both pro and con, ranging from highly plausible accounts to reports that border on the absurd. The result is as thorough an evaluation of all known ABSM sightings as could possibly be compiled at this time. My own approach to the ABSM problem was one of extreme skepticism. Three years ago I dismissed all such evidence as either hoax or legend, and in hopes of a confirmation of this viewpoint served as coordinator of laboratory research for several "abominable snowman" expeditions into the Himalayas. Today my skepticism is somewhat shaken, and I accept as plausible, perhaps even probable, the existence of the Yeti in the Tibetan plateau and view with growing interest the "global" sightings of similar creatures. Since my own research has been in connection with the Himalayan Yeti, I will restrict my comments to this area alone. If I accept the results of serological tests, analysis of faeces for content and parasites, examination of hair, hide, and tracks and evaluation of mummified Yeti shrine items, then I must support the existence of a large unknown animal, the Yeti, in [p. viii] the Himalayas. However, the following question once disturbed my acceptance of this conclusion. Is it possible for any large animal to be sought systematically for over a decade without a single specimen being captured or killed? For an example bearing on this question, I return to the Tibetan plateau. Here in Western Szechwan, China, on the very edge of the Tibetan border, a large animal, the Giant Panda, was once hunted unsuccessfully for over seventy years before one was captured alive. This search proves that a large animal can exist yet elude the best efforts of professional collectors to secure one. The story behind this hunt is fascinating. In 1869, Abbe Armand David, a noted French missionary, observed a strange bear-like skin in Szechwan province located on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. This skin, much like that of a modest-size black and white bear, was the first tangible proof that the Bei-Shung (white bear) of Szechwan did actually exist. Excitedly, Father David, a long-time naturalist and conservationist, traveled to this animal's reported habitat, a high mountain bamboo forest, and engaged local hunters to secure a living specimen. In twelve days they returned. The hunters had captured a living Giant Panda, but since the animal proved troublesome in traveling, it was dispatched to make transportation more convenient. Although Father David was disappointed that he had failed to secure a living animal, he shipped the remains to the Paris Museum, providing the first tangible evidence that the "legendary" Bei-Shung actually existed and could be caught in the Szechwan bamboo forests.