Everyone by now has read the amazing survival story of Rita Chretien, the Canadian woman who survived 47 days in the Nevada wilderness. She was located south of a ghost town called Rowland on a spur road off of a maze of dirt roads in the rugged Jarbidge country.
Those of us who know that country are probably more surprised than the casual observer: it is not just rugged terrain, it is brutal in the winter and it is winter there until the 4th of July. Some of those roads aren’t open until late June.
I grew up in Jarbidge, more or less. It was the first Nevada Ranger Station my dad was assigned to in 1957, shortly after my birth. He worked at three locations in the Jarbidge area: Pole Creek Ranger Station, Mahoney RS, and the Elko RS during the winter. Even after we left that country for more “urban” postings, the country and the friendships drew us back every summer. My folks owned property in Jarbidge (my brother owns it now).
I understand in part how the Chretiens may have ended up on a road impassable in March: their GPS unit most likely listed it as a scenic route with lots of history. The big silver mines, the old ghost towns (Jarbidge is still inhabited), and the site of the last stage coach robbery in the Continental US. GPS doesn’t give you a footnote: These roads are impassable in the winter.
Set all of that aside. I am ecstatic that Rita Chretien’s God came through for her. I don’t want to be an arm-chair critic of why they went off-roads in that country in March. I am sad that Mr. Chretien is still missing, probably will never be found and if he is located, I seriously doubt he will be living.
What I really want to post about is the word Jarbidge. When I was a girl, we had a coffee-table history book of Nevada. If my memory serves me right, it was published in 1964, to coincide with the Nevada Centennial. It was light brown and full of interesting stories about the places and sights, including the background to the doomed Donner Party, the mystery of the Humboldt Sink, photos of the boom town of Hamilton and more.
My favorite story was almost a ghost story. It was about the giant, Tsaw-haw-bits.
Tsaw-haw-bits lived in a rugged, remote canyon. He was large and very hairy and he ate the native Shoshone and Paiutes who wandered into that country. He had plenty of hiding places in the basalt cliffs, deep ravines, and lava tubes.
The Indians exacted revenge on him, burying him in a cave by piling rocks over the entrance. They never wanted him to escape.
But they also never wanted to wander into that canyon again, and so – legend has it – they never went into the Jarbidge country again.
Every time I have been down in those narrow, steep canyons I have been in love. And I have wondered if Tsaw-haw-bits still wandered there. Or if he was what we now call Sasquatch.
It is beautiful country. If Mr. Chretien died there, then he died in a little corner of God’s country, giant hairy creatures or not. It is a little bit of the glory of God down in that country… but only in the summer, when the roads are passable.
PS – there is only on “r” in Jarbidge. Thank you.
I am happy too, that Mrs. Chretien survived such a long, lonely ordeal — but most likely it will now be as a widow. I hope that, at the very least, her husband’s remains will be found so she can have some measure of closure.
I enjoyed reading about Jarbidge, and then had to google it because you piqued my interest. Now, that is my kind of town! 🙂
I heard the word “Jarbidge” used on a MonsterQuest program titled “Sierra Sasquatch.” The narrator said the Jarbidge was a spirit creature, or some such thing, told of by the Shoshone Indians that they feared. The program also showed a picture of the Jarbidge, and I would very much like to see this picture in a still shot but could not find it on the web. It looked like it might have been from a rock painting but was more vivid than a primitive painting. Hopefully, someone will read this reply and help me to find this picture somewhere.
Thank U. — Don
Hi Don,
I watched the episode you refer to and I am afraid I cannot help you. How MonsterQuest tied “Jarbidge” and the Shoshone legend in with Mono Lake defies any logic. The Jarbidge Mountains are on the Idaho/Nevada border north of Elko, NV, considerable east of Reno. Mono Lake is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which is the southern extension of the Cascade Mountains and runs along the border between California and Nevada (not Nevahda as pronounced in the video clip, by the way). That’s west of Reno. They aren’t close enough to make the connection. I’d be less skeptical if the crew had actually gone into the Jarbidge country, but they didn’t. That episode was filmed entirely in California. Not that I doubt there is a Sasquatch up there, just that I can’t figure out how they made the Jarbidge connection or what petroglyphs they are referring to. It’s like they took the Shoshone legend out of the canyon in NE Nevada and tried to make it fit a broader expanse of mountains in the Sierra Nevadas. I’ll do some more snooping, but I’m at a loss right now…
Jaci (who hopes you read replies to comments)
i really like this site. im a Native Shoshone-paiute, Nevadan. i was always facinated with this story.i have heard this story several times. and i find it very believable. i have moved to the humbolt national forest area four years ago. and i would agree that it truly is”Gods country”. i remember when that couple had gone off road and went missing. my husband and i now live and maintain the old”mendive family” ranch on gold creek road, which is on its way to jarbidge. and seeing search and rescue on their way to find them. we only live out there seven months out of the year. we have some of our own stories and sightings of strange occurances on that mountain range also. i would like to add that im a true believer of respecting mother earth “Newe Sogobia” and nature around us. i would also like to see and read more stories about Jarbidge.
Thank you Nicole! My youngest child is part Shoshone (she’s actually my sister’s daughter). Might be Paiute – I don’t know anything about her father’s side of the family. I love the Jarbidge country and am still planning to get back down that way in the near future. I truly believe there is “something” deeply spiritual in those canyons. I do know where the Mendive Family ranch is on Gold Creek Rd.
That tragedy – the Canadian couple that went missing – was something. I was so sad to see they tried to go into Jarbidge during the winter. Knowing that country… I’d love to hear more of your life out there.
Jaci
thanks for responding Jaci, i would like to add you on my facebook. Nicole Delgado. went to school in Battle Mtn. and reside in Northfork. if u can look me up on facebook, i have photos. sent a request. hope to hear from you. thanks!
[…] LINK: Tsaw-haw-bits lived in a rugged, remote canyon. He was large and very hairy and he ate the native Shoshone and Paiutes who wandered into that country. He had plenty of hiding places in the basalt cliffs, deep ravines, and lava tubes. […]
Jaci I hope this finds you well 9 years down the road, but I live in California in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada yokuts here have two different names for sasquatch/Big Foot one referring to high mountain Big Foots. The Yokut legends also tell of abducted children never to be seen again and with a war against the creatures which came to a truce and no more abductions. And implying that the abducted were eaten. This legend of cannibal red haired giants also seems to connect to the Love Lock Cave near Love Lock Nevada which is only a 141 miles as the crow flies from the Jarbidge Wilderness. Not really all that far.
Thank you, John. I was just getting off of the Interwebs and saw that you had commented. Yes, I had heard that there were other Big Foot legends, especially around Mono Lake. I’ve only heard small rumors about the Lovelock Cave. Do you have additional sources? I’m always fascinated by the legends (and since I live in the Pacific Northwest, the tales are aplenty here, including the story of Ape Caves up in Washington State where (apparently) some miners were assaulted by “giant apes throwing rocks”.