Here is the article written by Kathy Weiser in The Legend of America website:
Oral traditions of many Native American tribes, including the Arapaho, Sioux, Cheyenne, and Crow, tell of "little people” who stand from just 20 inches to three feet tall. In some tribes they are small people, wyoming, native americans, pedro mountains, tudtod, antequera, bohol, mummy, elves, fairies, leprechaunknown as "tiny people eaters,” in others they were known to have been spirits and healers, and some believed them to be magical, similar to leprechauns or fairies. In any event, the legends were well known among Indians across the nation, long before the Europeans set foot upon these lands.
To the Shoshone Indians of Wyoming , this small race of people were known as the Nimerigar and their legends told of the little people attacking them with tiny bows and poisoned arrows.
The Nimerigar were also known to kill their own kind with a blow to the head when they became too ill to be an active part of their society. Though part of the legend, this practice of sometimes killing the infirmed was a also a regular part of life for many of the nomadic Indian tribes
Though many believe these "little people” to be only the stuff of legends, several discoveries point to the contrary, the most significant of which, was a 14” inch fully formed mummy found in 1932. Called the Pedro Mountains Mummy, he was discovered when two men were digging for gold in the San Pedro Mountains about 60 miles southwest of Casper, Wyoming .
After continually working a rich vein and running only into more and more rock, Cecil Main and Frank Carr used dynamite to blast a section of the mountainside to get at the gold. After the dust cleared, a cave could be seen in the rock face. The small cavern was about 15 feet long and 4 feet high and had been totally sealed off from the outside world by a thick wall of rock.
As the men entered the cave they were surprised to see a small a pygmy-like man sitting cross-legged upon a ledge. The tiny mummy was only about 6 ½ inches tall in its seated position, and estimated at 14 inches tall in a standing position. Its skin was brown and wrinkled, its forehead low and flat, its features displaying a flat nose, heavy-lidded eyes and a very wide mouth with thin lips. The face looked like of an old man. It was so well preserved, its fingernails could still been on its hands and the top of its head was covered in a dark jelly-like substance that was still pliable.
The two prospectors took their find to Casper, Wyoming and in no time, scientists came from all over the nation to have a look at the mummy. Sure that it was a hoax, extensive tests were performed when the professionals assumed it was a pieced-together work of taxidermy. However, the anthropologists would soon be surprised to see that x-rays displayed a perfectly formed, manlike skeleton. The tests also showed that the mummy had been killed violently, as the spine was damaged, a collarbone broken, and the skull had been smashed in by a heavy blow. The soft substance at the top of the head exposed brain tissue and congealed blood. After the tests were complete, the scientists estimated that the mummy was a full grown adult who was approximately 65 years old at the time of his death. One odd finding was that its teeth were overly pointed, having a full set of canines.
These examinations were allegedly performed by the American Museum of Natural History and certified genuine by the Anthropology Department of Harvard University. However, alternate reports also say when the mummy was examined by the University of Wyoming , the body was found to be that of a diseased child.
The mummy was displayed in sideshows for years, before it was purchased by a Casper businessman named Ivan T. Goodman. When Goodman died in 1950, the mummy passed into the hands of one Leonard Walder and eventually disappeared.
Other skeletons of the "little people” have said to have been found in other areas of the U.S. Near Cochocton, Ohio, a burial ground was reportedly discovered that contained the numerous remains of a pygmy race of people only about three feet tall. In 1876, another ancient graveyard was documented as having been discovered in Coffee County, Tennessee. The reports indicated the cemetery, covering some six acres, held the remains of thousands of dwarf like people.
Though the "little mummy” has been lost in history, it continues to be a scientific curiosity and to many, and to others, only the stuff of legends. Allegedly, the Pedro Mountains Mummy brought bad luck to those who possessed it and Native Americans continue to warn their people to be aware of the "tiny people eaters” who are still said to live in the mountains and high places of Wyoming .
As to the prospectors who originally found the mummy, they soon returned to continue their search for gold. They registered their claim in Carbon County as the "Little Man Mine" but it never produced the gold that they had hoped for. Today, a sign still stands in Shirley Basin that signifies the location of the mine.
In Bohol, Philippines, there're stories of tudtod, small people who lived somewhere in Antequera, Bohol, Philippines. However, there are no direct evidence to prove that tudtod once lived in Bohol.
The defunct Bohol Magazine (February 1999 issue) published a story of small people in Bohol. The writer, Engr. Jes B. Tirol, talked about these small people who were not dwarfs or duwende but some mysterious beings which existed in Bohol. Stories of these small people called tudtod prompted the University of Bohol professor to conduct an in-depth research especially in Antequera, Bohol, where the story seemed originated.
People who saw these small people said that they are about 18 inches tall. They live or hide near riverbank. In order to live, they ate shellfish by cracking the shells with stones and eating the meat. They usually get out from their hiding places during the night and on moonlight nights they love to play along the dry portion near the river. Sometimes they venture to places away from the river.
Atty. Tirol had interviewed a Home Economics teacher of Antequera Central Elementary School. According to the teacher, sometime in 1960’s, she was surprised why her supply of biscuits in the HE Room were eaten or consumed since it was stored in a sealed container. They were thinking that cats or rats were the culprit. But cats or rats are not known to open the lid-cap of containers, so they tried to sprinkle white flour near the biscuits containers. The next morning, they saw the imprints of small feet, like that of children, with five toes, clearly marked on the spread flour. With the reported sighting of tudtod near the stream at the rear of the school, they concluded that it was the tudtod who entered the HE Room.
But Atty. Tirol didn’t dig much information because the people of Antequera are very secretive about the existence of the tudtod. Many were afraid to divulge what they learn because they believed the tudtod is very vindictive when displeased. Tudtods are said to be armed with small bow and arrows or small blowguns that are poisoned.
Aside of Antequera, tudtods are said to be sighted in Bilar, Bohol and Lila, Bohol. The report from Lila Bohol said that the tudtod laughed when it saw a naked man bathing in the stream.
This story of tudtod is an old story. Fr. Juan Felix de la Encarnacion had used this as an entry in the Bisayan-Spanish dictionary published in 1852. The Spanish definition can be translated as a kind of satyr, monster or demigod imagined by the superstitious and semi-Christians. It is said to have two teeth above and two below and it is very big and with an arm of stone.
Since the reported sightings of tudtod are numerous, Atty. Tirol said that it may be a kind of unknown nocturnal animal existing in Bohol. We know that the tarsiers, flying lemurs, salimaw and linaw (the last two are now extinct), are found in Bohol. Or may be a kind of animal similar to a monkey but without tail. Or there’s a probability that the tudtod are really small people existing in Bohol.
In fact if you travel to Europe, there are many people that still believe in elves or small people.
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| Leprechaun/Wikipedia |
Blue Trolls - These are worker trolls, used by high command elves for slave labor. Note: Small blue creatures have been seen by abductees that are used for workers for the 'Grays'.
Dwarfs - They are short, stocky and strong. They mature at the age of 3 and at the age of 7, they are old, bearded and gray haired. If they are struck by sunlight, they will turn to stone. They practice magical spells and potions that at times make them immune to daylight.
Elves - There appearance makes them look like a normal man or woman. Small in stature and have pointy ears. They are divided by the Seelie and Unseelie Courts.
Gnomes - Earth Elementals - They live underground and guard the treasures and history of the Earth. Gnomes are wonderful metal workers, especially of swords and breastplates.
Goblins - Goblins are an uglier species of fairy. They are small and malicious, and usually band together as they have lost their abilities to operate independently. Usually they are controlled by a Mage for evil doings.
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