William Waddell’s wandering arm

Lumberman William Waddell survived a grizzly attack at his creek in October 1875 but not the amputation that followed; the arm was buried in a coastal meadow to be reunited at his funeral, and when they went to fetch it, it was gone. Ever since, gear that goes missing around Waddell Creek gets blamed on the reaching arm, and Big Basin Redwoods runs a Halloween walk telling the tale under the old-growth. The man and the bear are hard history; the arm keeps its own counsel.