--Excerpt from Alan Guggenheim's 'A New World For Francis'
It would be three full days of travel before Francis would see Spirit Lake. The name conjured up visions of terrified Cowlitz Indians frozen in fear on the banks of a cold lake, aghast at the sight of evil serpents swimming over the surface, snorting steam spouts.
Legend also had it that ancient Douglas Firs, flooded by St. Helens' snowmelt to form Spirit Lake hundreds of years earlier; would sometimes mysteriously shed their roots anchoring them to the lake bottom. The trees would explode through the surface of the placid waters beneath icy Mount St. Helens. Francis edged closer to the boys talking about this faraway place called Spirit Lake.
And there was, of course, Bigfoot. What danger lurked in the densely forested reaches of the Toutle River and its tributaries? How would he react to the sight of three-inch-deep footprints of a hairy caveman who survived as his ancestors did in the isolation of Mount St. Helens? How would Bigfoot react to the intrusion of an 11-year-old camper with only a pocketknife to defend himself?
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Legends & Tales Of Mount St. Helens
Historical FictionA collection of legends and tales around Mount St. Helens. Collection contains oral accounts from survivors who witnessed the unknown, Native American legends, urban legends, newspaper articles, and first-hand eyewitness accounts from the mountain.
