According to an ancient legend, North America was once inhabited by a race of giants that were much taller and stronger than the average man. These giants, a red-haired tribe of cannibals known as the Si-Te-Cah, often harassed the Paiute tribe with war and captured their victims to eat.
After many years of conflict, the Paiute tribes banded together to destroy the Si-Te-Cah. As the battle went on, the last of the red-haired giants were chased into a cave by the Paiutes. They demanded the giants to come out immediately, but they refused. As a form of retaliation, the Paiutes set the cave on fire with flaming arrows – suffocating and burning the Si-Te-Cah alive.
Because of an earthquake, the cave’s entrance eventually collapsed – leaving it only accessible to bats. These bats produced an abundance of guano, a valuable ingredient in gunpowder. This guano discovery led many humans back to Lovelock Cave, also known as Bat Cave, Horseshoe Cave, Sunset Guano Cave and Indian Cave. Lovelock Cave is located approximately 20 miles south of Lovelock, Nevada.
In 1911, the Sunset Guano Mining Company was formed specifically to mine the guano. During the mining process, several artifacts were discovered, including bones, baskets and weapons. In 1924, archaeologists were notified of these artifacts. And even though several of them had either been lost or destroyed, more than 10,000 were successfully recovered. Two of the successfully recovered artifacts included a male and female mummified red-haired giant. The male giant measured 8-feet tall, and the female giant measured 6.5-feet tall.
The remains of red-haired giants weren’t only discovered inside Lovelock Cave. In 1931, two giant skeletons were found near Lovelock, Nevada in the Humboldt dry lake bed. One of the skeletons measured 8.5-feet tall, and the other measured nearly 10-feet tall. In 1939, another giant skeleton was discovered at Friedman Ranch, measuring 7 feet, 7 inches tall.
Several artifacts can be viewed in Winnemucca, Nevada at the Humboldt Museum. Unfortunately, the red-haired giant skulls aren’t on public display. However, if you ask to view them, you’ll likely be able to.
Humboldt Museum
175 Museum Ave
Winnemucca, NV 89445
Michael Ruark 