Hairy Man, also called Miluquyuli, was also known by its smell. Here is a Hairy Man story that happened many years ago by a woman who lives in Bethel:
“When I was still very young, we had moved to fish camp across from Napakiak. My stepfather never allowed us to leave waste in our potties when we went bathroom, so we had to empty it out right away in a ditch he made for that.
“On this day, I remember (I must have been six or seven years old or even younger) I had to use the bathroom while we were playing. I ran up to our tent, relieved myself, and took the potty to the ditch to empty it.
“I noticed the grass was getting tall where there were no trees along the path to the ditch, and behind it inside the trees there was no grass, just some growth far apart and it looked really nice.
“I never went inside the trees before because I never really could see beyond the ditch where we emptied our potty and the honeybucket, plus our dishpan and clothes-washing tub water. But that time I thought there might be birds’ nests or baby snowshoe rabbits so I walked back there.
“While going back, I bent down to pick a beautiful little flower. Then something went past my left ear, like wood making a ‘swoosh-swoosh-swoosh’ sound like it was flipping over and over as it went past my head.
“Just when I got up and looked, a piece of dry wood branch landed in front of me. I looked to see if anyone was around. I could see far into the woods because there was no grass or growth covering the ground inside the trees.
“I didn’t see anyone or anything. But I smelled something really strong like a wet dog, but stronger and different. I went back to fishcamp.
“Later on another sunny day, Mom’s aunt – we always call her “Mom” or “Momma-q” – decided to look for punk behind our fishcamp. That evening while we ate, she asked my mom’s uncle if he teased her and threw a tree-top at her.
“When he said he hadn’t been in the trees, she asked other people there if anyone threw a Y-shaped tree-top at her. Everyone said they hadn’t been in the woods.
“My step-father asked her if she smelled anything. She thought for a few seconds then said yes, describing the smell – it was the same smell I smelled. She also described the piece of wood making a loud swooshing sound and landing in front of her, on the left side of her head too.
“She asked my stepfather why he asked her that. My stepfather said while he gathered dry wood to cook for his dogs, he smelled what she described, but no piece of wood was thrown at him and he didn’t see anything.
“When I remembered that piece of dry wood and the smell. I told them about it. Then my stepfather said that there is a miluquyuli back there. He told us not to go in the woods alone.
“I never hear of them – the Miluquyuli – hurting anyone or hitting a person when they throw things at people. Just the same, people tell us not to go into the woods if something like pieces of wood ‘swoosh’ by us and land somewhere near us, or if we smell something strong other than our dumping ditches for our waste, fish-gut ditches, or dog smells.”
The lady who told this story wished to be anonymous.
