The Cherokee Devil of Ashe County, N. C. This bigfoot was first introduced in Season three, episode eight of the Mountain Monsters tv show. According to the AIMS team, this particular creature possessed unique and dangerous abilities including mind control. Buck further informed the others that he was an old Cherokee legend - the T Sul 'kalu.

And now we leave the fun and fiction of the show to look at some of the truths.

T Sul 'kalu, pronounced sool kaloo, is translated as "slant-eyed or sloping giant." This legendary figure is considered "the great lord of the game" an...d was often invoked in hunting rites and rituals. There is a full version of the legend at  http://www.firstpeople.us.  T Sul 'kalu was, and is, an important part of the Cherokee traditions. It is hard to watch them take that legend and use the name to promote a fictional one-of-a-kind bigfoot.

This was one of the best-known Cherokee legends and the tale was recorded by Europeans as early as 1823, sometimes referred to as Tuli cula.

The giant was said to live in a place called Tsunegun 'yi, a 100-acre patch on Tanasee Bald mountain in Jackson County, N.C. It was said he cleared the area for a farm so he could live there. The place name was corrupted by Europeans to Jula culla. So the site also is called Jula culla Old Fields.

Around a mile away is a large slab of soapstone called Jula culla Rock that is covered with strange scratches and carvings. These are said to be caused by the giant when he jumps from his home on the mountain to the creek below.

Mountain Monsters can't take all the blame for maligning a magnificent legend though. T Sul Kalu has been featured in several books, a film, a cartoon series, and in the game World of Warcraft, where he is represented by a massive white gorilla. Not having read any of the books or stories and not having seen the movie, I do not know how this giant is portrayed in them.

However, nowhere in the Cherokee legend of T Sul Kalu is he referred to as a bigfoot or bigfoot-type creature, only as a giant with great hunting skills.

However, this is not to say that this area of North Carolina has no bigfoot encounters. There is definitely activity in this area and in this state.  Let's take a look at two types of experiences.

The rangers tried to write off the tracks as rabbits or other small animals jumping up out of the snow and back in. The other witnesses were quite skeptical of this explanation.

Then we have the vacationing fisherman who had an experience in 2000.

He was enjoying an afternoon of fishing, wading upstream when he heard a deep loud snort come from the bank of the stream. At first, he saw nothing as he scanned the riverside and so he continued to walk upstream while looking. Then he thought he would see a large shape up on the mountainside. It appeared to be following him as he waded. After hearing a couple of cracks as if large branches were being snapped off a tree, he decided to leave the water a few minutes later and returned to the house he was renting on the other side of the river.

The next day, he decided to fish the same stretch of stream. This time he was treated to a sound like a "fast, heavy tapping or knocking" from the same area he had seen the shape the day before. He had to dismiss the possibility that this was a woodpecker as the sound was much deeper and heavier than any bird could make.

The witness has nothing to say for daytime activity the third day. It was evening when it got interesting. He was watching tv that night when he thought he could hear a howling noise in the distance. Going out on the porch, he listened more carefully. The howling appeared to be maybe 1/2 to 1 mile away. He listened to the series of "long, high-pitched howls" like nothing he had ever heard before. He only knew that it did not sound canine -- and there were no answering barks or sounds of any other dogs or animals.

Is Cherokee Devil a bigfoot?  Probably not.

Is Bigfoot in North Carolina?  That would be a yes.

Nancy

"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."
"Those that know, need no further proof. Those that don't, should not demand it from others, but seek it for themselves."