Quileute Legends – Monsters of Boulder Peak

Monsters that Cry in the Woods

In Quileute Legends, there is a legend about how Boulder Peak was made by K’wa’iti.  It is a boundary marker between Quileute and Elwha Territories.  Using piles of stones he created the boundary and when finished marked it as a wolf marks his territory.

A monster lives  in the woods of the Quileute Territory in Sol Duc.  There he found a dark cave and made it his home using sticks and brush to hide the entrance.  He is very large so he felt safe.

On the Elwha side lives another monster, his refuge is not known to us and has been kept secret by the Elwha. But it is said the monster also lives in a cave covered by a large boulder to conceal the entrance. He too is very large and need not worry about wolves.

On occasion the two monsters meet to fight a fierce battle on Boulder Peak.

Both are equally matched as they are wise as they are old.  They face one another displaying their sharp teeth, their mouths so big they could fit an entire human in their mouth.  Their tails flap to and fro like a dagger being hurdled through the air.  And claws on their hands and feet  twice that of that of an adult wolf.  Both are covered in battle scars from their previous encounters, as they’ve been fighting for a long time.  These scars only add to there frightful appearance.

If  the Quileute or Elwha come upon these monsters they are advised to quickly leave the area, as these monsters although often shy have been known to attack humans.

Their size is 8 feet or taller, if you were lucky enough to escape them you’d report that you could see their heads in the tops of the trees.

When these two border monsters fight they’d clash together in one pile of a mess, fur begins to fly and eventually they look like one giant fur ball rolling all around on the ground,  they occasionally knock over a tree with their arms or tails.

As the battle continues, the woods thunder with the sounds of their battle.  It is said that Boulder Peak is set a fire with their heavy breathing and screams of terror.  That is why no plants will grow on Boulder Peak.

Once the blood begins to flow the smell drifts into the woods. Humans have been reported to smell them in the woods, a horrible stink.  This is a warning to stay away.

They will continue to fight until they are both all bloodied up and tired, new scars and broken bones , some ripped skin or the flesh burned off by the vapor contained in their fierce breath.

They can never kill one another as they have “libiti taxilit” or real strong spirit power.  This power is required for all good warriors.

These fights sometimes last a day and into the night and when they are done they roar both singing their victory songs, roar after roar and hobble back home.

They go back to their caves and to their lairs.  When they reach their lair they cry because of their wounds.  They cry and their tears are hot, so hot are their tears that they form a creek that runs out of the caves and settles to form the Olympic Hot Springs, so the legend goes.

These monsters are called “a’latkil” ; the monsters that cry in the woods.