Historical Witness

Fred Beck

Washington1924
Location archiveWashington
Profile overview

At a glance

Encounter period1924
RegionWashington
Direct visualYes
Repeat / ongoingNo
Co-witness / corroborationYes – four miners
Primary sourceHistorical account / later re-examination
Exact locators1
Media / transcript records0
Encounter & observations

The encounter

Context

Miner; outdoor experience: High.

1924 · Washington

1924 reported encounter

large hairy figures; night attack / rock throwing

What the witness reported

LOC-0020

Source-linked observations — LOC-0020

  • large tracks
  • hair-covered subjects
  • multiple subjects/group event
  • physical cabin attack narrative

Original source ↗ Open locator →

Sources & changes

Key source passages

LOC-0020

I Fought the Apemen of Mt. St. Helens — Fred Beck memoir

Beck's memoir describes prior large tracks, a group of miners, and a nighttime attack by what he calls hairy apes; the opening physical narrative is separable from the later metaphysical interpretation developed in the memoir.

Exact locator → Original source ↗

Source chronology

1924

Reported encounter period

Washington. large hairy figures; night attack / rock throwing

1924 press / 1967 memoir

Ape Canyon miners

Source supporting this witness profile: Historical account / later re-examination

Open source/record ↗

Changes over time

Unresolved

  • Metaphysical accretion
  • Compare 1924 press / 1966 / 1967
Research assessment

Research assessment

Corroboration & evidence

Reported co-witness / corroboration

Yes – four miners. This is not coded as independent testimony unless the co-witness's own source is recovered.

Evidence mentioned in source matrix

Contemporary publicity; multi-witness account. Evidence authenticity and testimony are evaluated separately.

Documentary strengths

  • Already qualified for the Observatory's public baseline witness corpus.
  • Recoverable source URL is preserved.
  • 1 exact source locator record(s) currently recovered.
  • The source matrix codes a reported direct visual.

Limitations / controls

  • Current profile is primarily dependent on one entered source layer.
  • Reported co-witness information is not automatically independent corroboration.

What would improve the record

  • Search for earlier or independent firsthand source layers.
  • Recover the co-witness's own statement where possible.
  • A dedicated case record may be added if the event details can be resolved from public sources.