Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 09, 2000 | Married Couple Chased by Bigfoot

Bigfoot chasing a couple

"My wife and I were chased out of the woods by what I am sure was a Bigfoot in the Lake George/Buck Mountain region of the Adirondacks, New York in Warren County."

 Source: Bobbie Short, http://www.bigfootencounters.com/
A couple were chased away from their resting place by what seemed to be a Bigfoot.

Warren County, New York State
Lake George - Buck Mountain region Adirondacks

Around July 9th, 2000 — My wife and I were chased out of the woods by what I am sure was a Bigfoot in the Lake George/Buck Mountain region of the Adirondacks, New York in Warren County. The creature observed us from about 100 feet away and broke large branches and made a large roaring/screaming like sound at least 7 times, maybe more that could only come from a very large mammal. I have been in the woods with very large bears and have even taken away food bags from bears, but this was no bear or Coy-dog, it was much larger.

We never did see it, but we could hear it following us out through the trail in the woods and I have NEVER been so scared in all my life. It kept coming closer — would stop and "roar", then approach us closer. We were nearly frozen in fear, but managed to collect our things from where we had been resting and nearly ran out of the woods. My wife is a very big skeptic of Bigfoot... until this point. The whole time we walked out of the woods, she kept on commenting that it was following us. We could feel it watching us and could hear it through the woods, a few times I saw something moving through the woods parallel with us but tried not to look as we both picked up large sticks in case in attacked us. There was no one parked at the trail head when we came out and I suspect it had followed out 2 other hikers that had hiked in earlier ahead of us and just happened to come across us.

The sounds we heard that day have really bothered me since then. I am literally scared to death of going into the woods alone now, even though I have been hiking for over 20 years. I can't explain the terror I felt from hearing this thing. I feel like I have to go back to the area and check it out, but my wife will never go back into the woods after this incident, that's how frightening these sounds were.

I was wondering if you know of anyone in the Upstate NY area that researches Bigfoot that would go up into the trail with me to just look around and see if we can maybe find tracks of some sort or look for signs of the creature. Thanks JW, witness identity withheld by request.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 08, 2012 | Longest Sasquatch Vocalizations Recorded

Bigfoot belting out a gigantic roar

"This is as it happend (sic) and 100% real.The experince (sic) lasted 20 mins..." --bigtoetime, YouTube user

Recorded on July 8th, 2012 and then uploaded to YouTube on August 13th, 2012, according to the user, this is the longest recorded bigfoot vocalization. Watch the video and read the description below.

Bigfoot screams captured on audio july 8th, 2012 in the sierras near clippermills,ca. This is as it happend and 100% real.The experince lasted 20 mins and It has been edited to 15 mins to youtubes requirements.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL 07, 1977 | King of Apes Encountered in Texas

"King of Apes" 

"They ran to the home of Ed McFarland. Saw a king of apes but still a "man" with huge arms hanging to the knees". --Abilene Texas Morning Reporter-News July 7, 1977

Courtesy of John Green's BC Archives we have a classic story of tree breaks and rock throwing in Texas. Read the article below:

Hawley, Texas  --Two boys clearing brush in the morning at Bob Scott's ranch were resting around 10 a.m., when they notice breaking of tree limbs and shower of rocks, one of which hit Larry Suggs age 15 on the right calf.

They ran to the home of Ed McFarland. Saw a king of apes but still a "man" with huge arms hanging

to the knees. Returned with Renee McFarland and a .30 -.30. All three saw the creature 40 yards away in nettles. Suggs shot and missed. Creature glided off leaving foot-long prints and a rotten smell

© Abilene Texas Morning Reporter-News July 7, 1977

Courtesy John Green's BC Archives. 

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 27, 1976 | 5 Tracks Cast Near Snoqualmie River in WA

A portion of the Snoqualmie River in Washington State

We are big fans of the TV series Twin Peaks. So to find out that there was any activity in the Snoqualmie/North Bend area, where Twin Peaks was filmed, perked our interest.

And just like Twin Peaks this mystery was not what it seems from the outset. Read the original reporting by the Lewiston Tribune below where a man claims to have cast five Bigfoot prints.

Footprints of 'Bigfoot' reported

Lewiston Tribune

NORTH BEND, Wash. -

Jim French says he was skeptical of reports about Bigfoot, the Northwest's legendary ape-man, until he and a companion discovered 18-inch long footprints Sunday in a river sandbank.

"I always believed it was a bunch of bunk," French, 38, said Monday after he and Joseph Langston, 33, found the four-toed, 8 1/2-inch wide indentions near the south fork of the Snoqualmie River.

French estimated the creature weighed about 400 pounds because of the depth of its prints in the sand when compared with his own. French said he weighs about 180.

The animal's size has not been verified by the scientific community, however.

French said he made five plaster casts of the footprints and he and Langston found hair on some tree limbs along the creature's path.

The hair was found about five or six feet off the ground, he said.

French said he intended to contact University of Washington scientists and let them analyze his findings.

His first reaction Sunday, French said, was that the prints were a hoax.

"I could not believe what I saw," said the veteran outdoorsman. "There was no evidence of any four-footed marks anywhere."

French and Langston consulted three other outdoorsmen. They concluded the prints were authentic.

"No man helped me make those tracks," he said. "Whatever made them, made them by themselves."

French first noted the tracks in hard sand. He could see only the toe marks and thought they were from a club-footed elk.

They tracked the creature for a quarter of a mile before losing it amongst loam and leaves and then pasture land where prints of horses and dogs could be seen.

The creature was moving east to west French said, adding that all the tracks matched the terrain.

Slide marks appeared when the animal was going downhill and deep indentations were found when it dug in going up a slope, French said. The stride lengthened when it loped across flat ground.

French, a self-employed subcontractor, and Langston, a lumbermill employe [sic], were using a metal detector to search for items of value along the river when they found the prints.

Not everybody was convinced of the evidence. Peter Byrne thought that a movie about Bigfoot playing in the same area was to coincidental. Check out the clip below.

From the Spokane Daily Chronicle - Jan 29, 1976 (click to enlarge)

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 26, 1869 | "Wild Man" Haunts Ohio Woods

Illustration of a Wildman

January 26, 1869 -- Gallipolis, Ohio is excited over a wild man who is reported to haunt the woods near that city. He goes naked, is covered with hair. is gigantic in height and "his eyes start from the sockets." He attacked a Carriage containing a man and daughter a few days ago. He is said to have bounded at the father, catching him in a grip like that of a vice and hurling him upon the earth; falling upon him and endeavoring to bite and scratch him like a wild animal.

The struggle was long and fearful, rolling and wallowing in the deep mud, half suffocated, sometime beneath his adversary, whose burning and maniac eyes glared into his own with murderous and savage intensity. Just as he was about to become exhausted from exertions, the daughter, taking courage at the imminent danger of her parent, snatched up a rock and hurling it at the head of her father's would-be-murderer, was fortunate enough to put an end to the struggle by striking him somewhere about the ear. The creature was not stunned, but feeling unequal to further exertions, slowly got up and retired into a neighboring copse that skirted the road.

Published in the Hillsdale Standard, Hillsdale Michigan Tuesday January 26, 1869

Credit for finding this article goes to the late Scott McClean who relentlessly scoured newspaper archives to find articles that predate the term Bigfoot or Sasquatch. This search paved the way to find earlier articles of Bigfoot we would have never been exposed to. I never met him, but the community who did, remember him with great fondness. You can read an endearing eulogy for Scott McClean by  the talented Tom Yamarone.

Cliff Barackman also has a great post honoring Scott McClean's memory at his blog. 

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 25, 2006 | Malaysian Government Pays for Bigfoot Research

An Orang Asli tribesman drawing a sketch of a Malaysian Bigfoot

"One team will explore the forest areas while the other to study the existence of the creature..." --Abdul Ghani Othman, Chief Minister of Johor Malaysia

Here's a quick social studies course on Malaysia. Malaysia has 13 states, and each state is has a chief executive, but some leaders are hereditary (monarchy) rulers with the title Menteri Besar, while others are appointed by the political party, these are known as Ketua Menteri. The reason why I mention this is in the article the person who is quoted the most is Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman. Menteri Besar is his title, and Abdul Ghani Othman is his most honorable name.

Originally published in January 25, 2006, I have been trying to follow up on any updates regarding the two expeditions. I have written to the honorable Abdul Ghani Othman and the editors at Bernama.com without even a comment or reply back. For now all we have is the article which is reprinted below:

January 25, 2006 21:05 PM Teams To Track Bigfoot

JOHOR BAHARU, Jan 25 (Bernama) -- The state government will set up two expedition teams to track "bigfoot", the hairy creature allegedly seen in the forests of Johor.

Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the teams would be led by experts who would conduct a study on various aspects of the creature as well as to explore the state forest.

He said the expedition to track the creature would be carried out in stages with the cooperation of the Johor National Park Corporation (JNPC).

"One team will explore the forest areas while the other to study the existence of the creature," he told reporters after chairing the weekly state exco meeting at the Sultan Ibrahim building, here Wednesday.

Abdul Ghani said the vast forest area of the state, including the Endau-Rompin National Park and at Kota Tinggi, should be explored to obtain scientific evidence on the existence of the creature.

"We have obtained description of the creature from those who claimed to have seen it ... we hope the expedition will be able to prove its existence," he added.

There have been claims of the creature been seen in the forests of Tanjung Piai, Mersing, Kahang, Endau-Rompin National Park and Kota Tinggi.

Three workers at a fish pond in Kampung Mawai, Kota Tinggi claimed to have seen a "bigfoot" family last November.

-- SRC: BERNAMA

Every year we will revisit this article and try and get some updates for you. 

Today in Bigfoot History | Dec 12, 2012 | Bigfoot Spotted near Cultus (Kultus?) Lake

This little feller look like Chaka from The Land of the Lost series

My name is Sanel Hodzic and today December 12, 2012 at approximately 3 pm I was hiking with my dog up Teapot Hill Hiking Trail near Cultus Lake Provincial Park in the Fraser Valley nearest would be toward Chilliwack., British Columbia, Canada. 

On my way down the trail I was changing my music on my iPhone not really paying attention to my surroundings when I noticed that my dog, Lila was barking like crazy. She was about 5 feet ahead of me and staring off into the distance. So I stopped and looked ahead when I noticed something in the bushes about 50 feet ahead of me. I was so scared that I froze and just kept staring at it. After about a 10 second stare down I switched my camera on and quickly took a picture. Meanwhile my dog is still barking like crazy. I then picked up a rock and threw it in the direction of the thing and then I quickly turned around and ran back up the hill. I waited about until I saw someone else coming down the hill and followed him closely behind all the down. I do believe I saw the Sasquatch/Bigfoot that day. 

If I could describe it I would say he was about 8-9 feet tall, very hairy and big. His skin colour was brownish. His face was something like a monkey/ape. I took with a full zoom with my iPhone 4. He was about 50 yards away from me. He’s in the middle right-ish of the picture. Only thing I noticed really was how he was standing, looking at me. It had a long face, but bigger forehead with long hair starting from about the top of its head.

Sanel Hodzic, Chilliwack, BC 

Where the sighting took place

Interesting that this sighting took place near Cultus lake while we are celebrating Kultus week. This of course is a homophone; a word that sounds the same but is spelled differently.

While we are at it you should check out the first three chapters of the novel Kultus at KultusBook.com

And if you want to read the current best Bigfoot novel,  you can buy it from Amazon.com using the link below.

Today in Bigfoot History | JUL, 3 2008 | East Indian Villager's Bigfoot Encounter Spurs Scientific Search

Mande Burung (Indian Bigfoot) Concept art for the History Channel's Bigfoot the Definitive Guide
Artist: Dhamindra Jeevan  

“Gigantic, hairy, ape-like...” --The only words Abu could Mutter

India has many strange tales of the Mande Burung, including one where a villager was force to breast-feed on a Mande Burung. The story below is a little less, well, exotic and seems to mirror our own efforts in North America. Even to the point of authorities showing little interest.

The Telegraph, Calcutta, India

Shillong, July 3, 2008: “Gigantic, hairy, ape-like...” was all that Abu Marak could utter in between gasps for breath.

Surrounded by villagers in the safety of his house near Durabanda in the West Garo Hills, Abu’s eyes still mirrored the excitement of spotting the animal. Within a few days, Abu’s account, coupled with those of a few other villagers, became the raw material for a renewed scientific search for the legendary Big Foot — mande burung in Garo.

Sasquatch in North America, yowie in Australia, yeti in Nepal — Big Foot has its share of dedicated followers across the globe. The creature, which is supposed to be about eight feet tall, is said to have been last sighted at Rongrigittim in South Garo Hills in July 2005, before making a reappearance in May this year.

The Achik Tourism Society, which has been on this elusive animal’s trail for the past few years, said the best sighting data was recorded in between January and March in 2002.

This year, the animal was spotted in forests between Nokrek and Chokpot.

“Soon after receiving news from the villagers, we sent our team on the trail of this unknown creature, but unfortunately we could neither see it, nor record any footprints,” said Dipu N. Marak, general secretary of the Achik Tourism Society.

By the time the villagers reported their findings, the mande burung had shifted its location, rued Dipu.

Before coming together as the Achik Tourism Society, Marak and his friends were engaged in compiling data about Big Foot.

“We started our data collection on November 15, 1997, when the creature was first seen near Andol Chiring, in South Garo Hills,” Dipu said.

Information on the mande burung are available in the form of video footages and photographs of footprints, which measure between 14 to 15 inches and impressions believed to have been left by the creature on trees and nests.

“We have already alerted the Wild Life Trust of India after hearing about its sighting this year, but the authorities have shown little interest in the creature,” Dipu said.

The Achik Tourism Society has also apprised the deputy director of tourism in Tura about the findings.

Conservationists and biologists believe that the creature, which could be a descendant of the ancient primate, may have been living in the dense jungles of the Nokrek peak.

Author and Sahitya Akademi award winner Llewellyn R. Marak, who is also an avid follower of mande burung data — is optimistic that “one day the efforts by the villagers and youths to trace Big Foot will be rewarded.”

“I have seen the footprints of this creature. It’s really big and I am convinced that such a creature has a home in Nokrek,” he said.

Llewellyn came down heavily on forest guards and officials for not heeding the villagers’ reports.

“Very frankly, they (forest guards) are lazy and instead of listening to the villagers, they scold them.”

All attempts by conservationists to persuade the forest department to initiate a research into the mande burung have also proved futile.

But that has not dampened the spirit of those who have ceaselessly been collecting every detail to prove that Big elusive Foot does existence. 

Today in Bigfoot History | July 2 1995 | John Green Calls Peter Byrne a Fraud

John Green (left) Peter Byrne (right) are pioneers of Bigfoot research.

"Peter Byrne is a fraud. He tells the public that Sasquatch is near human because that's what they like to hear." --John Green;  in a 1995 Chicago Tribune Article

In an article almost two decades old we see some of the same divisive debates that still plague the modern Bigfoot community. Ape vs. human. Kill vs. No-kill.

The excerpt further below is from the July 2, 1995 Chicago Tribune article. In the article you will read opinions of Peter Byrne from Grover Krantz and John Green. 

At the time Mr. Byrne was investigating the Bigfoot mystery under a grant from the Academy of Applied Science. A former Big Game Hunter, he was initially involved in the search for the Himalyan Yeti in the 1950's in the Slick expedition. 

Grover Krantz was a professor of physical anthropology at Washington State University, perhaps most famous to the general public as one of the few scientists not only to research Bigfoot, but also to express his belief in the cryptid's existence. 

Finally John Green is Canadian retired journalist and first began investigating Sasquatch sightings and track finds in 1957 after meeting René Dahinden. 

Time was running out.

But then, in 1992, good luck struck. Byrne received from Boston's Academy of Applied Science a very generous five-year grant. It provided enough money to found the Bigfoot Research Project, and to hire two assistants to help him launch the most high-tech monster search the world has ever seen--a search that relies on police gear, wildlife research equipment, a Jeep, a video camera, and, above all, a phone line. Byrne has a toll-free number, 1-800-BIGFOOT, and a dozen or so people call in every month to report sightings. The old hunter takes notes and then, if a sighting sounds promising, he rushes off to investigate- -to peruse the crushed twigs or watch witnesses imitate the horrible scream. Every detail is logged onto computers. Eventually, if all goes as planned, Sasquatch's migrational patterns will become clear, and Byrne can jump into a helicopter.

There are, on standby, two Bell 206 choppers equipped with the infared sensors used to track prison escapees. These would zero in on the beast, and Byrne would shoot a small dart. The dart would loop into the Sasquatch's flesh, extracting a small bit of tissue--enough to fill up, say, one tiny test tube--and ultimately the creature would lope off, unharmed. And the cameras would whir: You know the tabloids would be there. Indeed, they can't wait. Last year, the crew of "Unsolved Mysteries," an independent syndicated TV show, spent a week with Byrne filming a mock Bigfoot hunt that was replete with a Hollywood stunt man wearing oversized shoes.

Byrne has also been covered by "Ancient Mysteries," "Sightings," and the Australian Broadcast Corporation, and newspapers ranging from The Hood River News to The New York Times.

There critics are out there.

With all the fame has come criticism. For instance, Grover Krantz, a Bigfoot believer who teaches anthropology at Washington State University, argues that Byrne is "a sham, a fake." Krantz takes issue mainly with Byrne's opposition to killing, which evolved after decades of watching bumbling tourists murder Nepalese tigers. "I argue for humane treatment too," says Krantz. "But in order to attain protection for the Sasquatch, we have to prove they exist. And Peter knows that the only way we can do that is by bringing in a body." John Green, a retired Canadian journalist who has written several books on Bigfoot, is even more critical. "Peter Byrne is a fraud," Green says. "He tells the public that Sasquatch is near human because that's what they like to hear."

Green is certain that, "if Sasquatch is real, he's just an animal." But Byrne feels the truth is far more complex: He likes to think of the creature as a convict. "As a child," he explains, "we played a game called Convict 99. One person was the fugitive. Others were the police; they tried to put themselves in the mind of a fugitive. Now we're trying to do the same thing. Bigfoot is out there, but where? Where is he hiding?" It's a vast question and, trying to answer it, Byrne has forded an icy, chest-deep stream on snowshoes and slept out on winter nights with nothing but a small fire to warm him. He says, "It's like we're trying to find a needle in a haystack and the needle is moving and it doesn't want to be found."

You can read the full article titled, "ON THE TRAIL OF BIGFOOT," at Bigfoot Encounters

Today in Bigfoot History | May 17 2005 | Bob Heironimus Passes Lie Detector Test Claiming He Was Bigfoot

Decades later, the two that claimed they hoaxed the Patterson Gimlin Film
  failed to recreate the film despite haveing better materials, tools, and technology

Yakima Man Claims He's the Real Bigfoot
on PAX Television Channel 'Lie Detector' Aired May 17, 2005 8:00 PM ET/PT

Bob Heironimus, a 64-year-old retired man from Yakima, Washington, claims the famous 1967 Roger Patterson film of the legendary "Bigfoot" was all a hoax, on PAX TV's "Lie Detector," airing Tuesday, May 17, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Heironimus submitted to a lie detector test administered by leading polygraph expert Dr. Ed Gelb to try to prove that he was the infamous creature shot on film in Bluff Creek, California, wearing just a modified gorilla costume, which does not match the figure in the Patterson film. Not even close.

Hosted by Rolonda Watts, "Lie Detector" is a provocative series that examines the truth behind real-life stories ripped from the headlines, using the most powerful instrument to detect deception - the polygraph.

Heironimus took the polygraph on live television and passed the test according to Dr. Ed Gelb, proving once and for all that along with passed polygraphs by serial killers like Ted Bundy, Heironimus believes he was the man in the suit to the degree that he too was able to pass the polygraph.
Is it any wonder the polygraph is not admissible evidence in a court of law?

It is note worthy to mention that Heironimus is unable to produce the alleged costume with breasts he allegedly wore 38 years ago and he was unable to satisfactorly say why he waited all these years to make such an admission.

Additionally, Heironimus footprints do not match those left by the creature in the Patterson Film and he is unable to duplicate the locomotion of the creature filmed by Roger Patteron in October of 1967. The fundamental nature of Heironimus' statement is phoney. He lied and passed the polygraph anyway, just as serial killer Ted Bundy did all the way down death row to the electric chair.

After watching the video below you can read about Bill Munns project to definitively put the debate to bed.



Nadia Moore wrote on behalf of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum:

These pictures are from Bill's Discovery Day V presentation, as he discussed in great detail his recent work, made possible by a Grant arranged by Dr. Meldrum, in recreating the anatomy of "Patty" using live models for in depth comparisons between her movement and various natural versions of the human form, both male and female, in costume and sans clothing.  He also made several chest panels using various synthetic materials available in 1967, in order to try and recreate a costume which would duplicate the appearance of Patty and her movement.  The third branch of this project was the recreation of the "costume" described by Bob Heironimus in his claim that he was hired by Roger Patterson to be the object of Roger's film. Not only has Bob been unable to describe the actual location that the film was made, let alone how to get there, but the research of Mr. Munns has now proven once and for all that the "costume" as described by Heironimus is structurally, anatomically, and logistically incapable of portraying what is in the famous 1967 Film. 

We recommend you read her entire Bill Munns Presentation write-up. below are some of the photos Nadia Moore took that exposes some of the challenges Bob Heironimus would have to overcome based on how he described the construction of the suit.

Bob Heironimus described the head was attached to a football helmet.

A recreated head shows the angle of head tilt required.
Although to be fair, Patty is leaning forward, the  live person is leaning back.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum has said Bill Munns dissection is the most promising and extensive reseaerch done on the film and you help the research reach more people by funding Bill Munns's documentary at IndieGoGo.

Today in Bigfoot History | May 9th 1851 | Arkansas Paper Reports Wildman Leaping 14 ft at a Time

Simulation of "Wildman" taking a 14 ft. Leap

The terms Bigfoot and Sasquatch are relatively modern terms, at least modern when used among most of us less indigenous folks. Before Bigfoot and Sasquatch there was the Wildman. Often described the same way as the Bigfoots we have come to know and love. The Memphis Enquirer, article dated May 9th, 1851 is a case in point. As you read the the description of hair, foot size and the amazing ability to leap up to 14ft at a time, you get a sense that this is a description familiar to most of us.

Even more interesting to us is the history the Wildman has had in the area, outdoorsmen describing encounters 17 years prior, starting as far back as 1834.

St. Francis Green, Greene and Poinsett Counties, Arkansas

"Wild Man of the Woods"

"During March last, Mr. Hamilton of Greene County, Arkansas, while out hunting with an acquaintance, observed a drove of cattle in a state of apparent alarm, evidently pursued by some dreaded enemy.


Halting for the purpose, they soon discovered as the animals fled by them, that they were followed by an animal bearing the unmistakable likeness of humanity.

He was of gigantic stature, the body being covered with hair and the head with long locks of hair that fairly enveloped his neck and shoulders.

The "wildman," for we must so call him, after looking at them deliberately for a short time, turned and ran away with great speed, leaping from twelve to fourteen feet at a time. His foot prints measured thirteen inches each.

This singular creature has long been known traditionally in St. Francis Green and Poinsett Counties.

Arkansas sportsmen and hunters having described him so long as seventeen years hence.

A planter, indeed, saw him very recently, but withheld his information lest he should not be credited, until the account of Mr. Hamilton and his friend placed the existence of the animal beyond cavil." 

Today in Bigfoot History | APR 09, 1934 | America’s First Sasquatch-Catching Expedition

A newspaper article coincidentally from 1934 about the British Columbia Sasquatch

"Our professor of anthropology will be much interested," --Blakeney brothers right before they left for British Columbia in pursuit of Sasquatch

Just as 1958 was a watershed moment for Bigfoot in the Bluff Creek, the same could be said about 1934 and Sasquatch in British Columbia. At the time, Tom Cedar's encounter (illustrated above) was just the most recent in a string of several other encounters spanning over 20 years.

This brings us to today's Bigfoot history topic. Two Sacramento brothers, medical students at the University of California, decide they would "bag" a Sasquatch. It was touted by the Associated Press in the Sacramento Bee as "America’s first Sasquatch-catching expedition."

Read the article below about the lofty endeavor proposed by the Blakeney brothers. But wait! There's more! We have taken the time of two more keystrokes to also provide you with the Lincoln Star article (pictured above) about Tom Cedar's encounter printed in the same year.

Fresno [California] Bee

April 9, 1934

Californians Out To Bag Legendary ‘Sasquatch’

VANCOUVER (B.C.), April 9. — (AP) — America’s first Sasquatch-catching expedition headed into the mountains of British Columbia today on a hunt for the horrible, hairy, naked bogey-man of Indian legend.

J. F. Blakeney and C. K. Blakeney, brothers, of Sacramento, medical students at the University of California, read reports of frightened tribesmen that the giant body-snatcher of old had been seen recently in the mountains north of Harrison Lake and determined to attempt to photograph or lasso a "Sasquatch."

The fabled Sasquatch, as described in Indian lore for hundreds of years, is about as villainous a phantasm as ever frightened a little papoose anywhere, but adult Indians also are fearful of the monsters.

They are supposed to lurk in the caves and glades of British Columbia, coming out in the twilight to peer moodily into Indian tepees, to glower and snatch at children, to steal food, play diabolical tricks and even kill warriors.

"Our professor of anthropology will be much interested," said the Blakeneys, as they left for the haunts of the Sasquatch.

British Columbia is a happy hunting ground for weird legends, and there is no lack of witnesses who will swear to them, as hundreds have sworn they have seen Ogopogo, the sheep-headed fresh-water serpent of Lake Okanogan, and the two big salt-water sea-serpents, Hiaschuckaluck Cadborosaurus and his "wife," Amy.

And now for The Lincoln Star Article from the same year.

The Lincoln Star

Lincoln, Nebraska
July 29, 1934

Are they the Last Cave Men?

British Columbia Startled by the Appearance of “Sasquatch,” a Strange Race of Hairy Giants

By Francis Dickie

It is peculiarly in keeping with the topsy-turvy year of violently varying weather, universal human unrest, droughts, grasshopper plagues and other phenomena that there now comes from various eyewitnesses the report of seeing some of the “Sasquatch,” those weird hairy men reported for twenty years to dwell in the tremendous and unexplored mountain region of British Columbia, Canada.

Their reported return is particularly in keeping with this unusual year, as remarkable for the number of appearances of various startling monsters sighted from Scotland to the Caribbean, from the Pacific to the Mediterranean, the reality of which is affirmed by scores of eyewitnesses. Moreover, the statements of some of these people, in so far as curious denizens of the oceans are concerned, have been borne out, for within a short time of each other, at a dozen places on the European coast, the remains of incredible monsters of the deep have been cast up.

Of all these mysterious earthly visitants, perhaps the “Sasquatch” is the least known, by reason of the rarity of their appearance and the reluctance of those who have seen them to talk.

THE existence of a troglodyte race inhabiting the mountains of British Columbia in many of the vast caves is a tribal legend among the Chehalis Indians and those of the Skwah Reservation, near Chilliwack, in the Harrison Lake district, about a hundred miles east of Vancouver. Among the Indians the race has been known for centuries by the name “Sasquatch,” or hairy men.

But reports of these creatures being seen frequently at various times over a period of the last twenty years, and more frequently in recent weeks, have caused a number of people to raise the question if these strange creatures may not be more than an Indian legend of the past, and that some of this race of cavern dwellers are still living in the unexplored fastness of British Columbia.

The Sasquatch have been seen, according to the statements from both white men and Indians. The wild, hairy men have mostly been reported in the Harrison Lake district, but also as far east as the mountainous region of Yale, on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The repeated reports of eyewitnesses of seeing one or more of the huge hairy men in recent years, and more particularly in the last month, and the mounting number of the reports of eyewitnesses now seem to point strongly that the old tribal legend, long contemptuously flouted by the white man, is true, and that at least a few of this mysterious race may still inhabit the solitudes nearby where once they were numerous. The possibility of this is further borne out when it is recalled that the remains of a giant race of men recently have been unearthed in the mountainous region of Mexico.

The chief difficulty, in fact the whole task of an investigator, in matters of such phenomena as Sasquatch or sea serpents, is, of course, the credibility of the witnesses. If untruthful, what motive lies behind their story? In the case of the Sasquatch, the element of credence is heightened because in most cases the witnesses have been reluctant ones, some of them not revealing their stories for years.

From a careful comparison of all eyewitness statements to date, all are closely in agreement as to the following facts: The Sasquatch are gigantic men, varying from six and one-half to seven feet in height. One, and only one, witness states the nose of them to be very broad, and the arms long, reaching below the knee. All but one are agreed as to the hideousness of the face.

However, as in most instances the Sasquatch were not seen close up, it is natural the descriptions remain very general. Those people who have been close were so terror-stricken that their accounts are vague. Yet, aside from one of the most recent happenings, in only two other cases have the Sasquatch shown themselves hostile.

THE fact that some of these strange people have just been reported close to civilization at this time accurately compares with dates noted by the Chehalis Indians. The Indians have oral records covering three generations. According to them, members of the tribe have seen in the Springtime every fourth year the light of a great fire on one of the highest peaks in the Chehalis Range. The fire burns for four nights, riding in a very high, thin column. Sometimes it is suddenly extinguished, to rise again a little later. That this is some periodic mark of a return to a certain place of worship at some ancient shrine, or a communication with members in some remote mountain fastness, are possible conjectures.

These periodic returns to some ancient gathering place do bring these people close to what are now civilized areas.

A few days ago, a middle-aged Indian, Tom Cedar, was trout fishing from his canoe on Morris Creek, a tributary of the Harrison. He was near a rocky terraced bank. Suddenly a large rock struck the water so close to his canoe that he was drenched by the splash. Looking up, he saw with amazement a huge hairy man above him just as he threw another rock. This also barely missed the canoe. Cedar paddled rapidly upstream to the settlement.

By way of noting an odd coincidence, this particular stream, now called Morris Creek, was known as Saskakau when the white man first arrived, and is so called on old maps. Nearby are caverns which were investigated by Captain Warde, forty years a resident in the district. He states they bear evidence of habitation. Upon the walls are some crude drawings. In this region, according to the Indians, two large bands of Sasquatch fought a long time ago until both were brought almost to extinction.

THE other evidence of hostile intention of some of these creatures dates back twenty years and consists of the statements of two Indians, Peter and Paul Williams, of Chehalis. The following is very much a condensed resume:

“On an evening in May,” states Peter, “I was about a mile from the reserve, near the foot of the mountain, when what I at first took to be a bear rose up in the underbrush. It was between six and seven feet tall, covered with hair. I turned and ran through the underbrush to my dugout. The hairy man came after me. I paddled across the stream, which is not very deep, and the man waded after. I reached the house where my wife and child were inside. I bolted the door. Presently the hairy man arrived. It was growing dark. He prowled around, grunting and growling, but after a little while went away.”

About the same time Paul was chased from a creek where he was fishing. But the giant did not run after him very far, and apparently the action was only to drive the man away to get the fish he had taken.

On another occasion in the next year, Peter and another man came upon two giants so close as to distinguish a man and a woman. Though the Indians ran, they were not pursued.

Charley Victor, now living at Chilliwack, relates that he and a little group of companions, while bathing in a mountain lake near Yale, suddenly looked up to see a huge man, naked and hairy, looking down upon them from among the trees.

“His big eyes looked very kind, and I was about to speak to him when he drew back into the trees,” related Charley.

Here we have the only witness who gives a favorable reaction to sight of the mysterious race.

This took place many years ago and at a point about a hundred miles from where the majority of the Sasquatch have been reported seen in recent times.

THE next account of which any fully recorded evidence is now to be seen deals with September, 1927, near the little mountain town of Agassiz, which is very near the points at which all the other Sasquatch have been reported. A party of hop-pickers were picnicking here. On their way to this[,] a man, named Herbert Point, and a girl, Adeline August, were walking when they saw a strange creature approaching. “He was twice as big as the average man, with hands [arms?] so long they nearly touched the ground, and his nose seemed spread all over his face. His body was covered with hair like an animal. He stopped within fifty feet of us. We ran away as fast as we could.” The lines in quotes are excerpts from a letter written by the man in answer to a query of what he had seen.

Within recent weeks Emma Paul and Millie Saul, two other members of the Chehalis Reserve, saw one of the Sasquatch near their home on the fringe of the woods. Several nights later he was heard prowling around the home of Millie Saul, and one rubbed his hand over the window frame.

To date, the last report was from Harrison Mills, a small hamlet on the Harrison River.

The woman, on hearing a humming noise, looked up to see a big man covered with hair on the edge of the clearing. She was frightened. Taking a backward step, she fell into one of the half-full laundry tubs at which she had been working. When she had extricated herself and looked again, the man had disappeared.

Such, in brief, are the legendary and eyewitness stories regarding the Sasquatch.
THE scientific board connected with the Museum of Vancouver is skeptical regarding the existence of any such remnant of a race that once might have roamed the forested regions.

An objection that the climate is too rigorous for a naked race, no matter how hairy, might be answered by pointing to the Fengians, who live in a much more inhospitable one.

The eyewitness reports have always been reluctantly given. There may be many more. The chief objection among the natives to telling white inquirers is fear of ridicule. This sensitiveness is much stronger among natives than whites.

Here, for the present, the matter must rest. Perhaps further witnesses may be heard in the future. Remembering, however, in judging the possibilities of the existence of the Sasquatch, how many people have seen sea serpents and that remains of strange creatures have been recently washed on various shores. It is quite within the bounds of probability that just as there are unknown forms of life in the boundless depths of the ocean, equally so may there be in the enormous wilderness stretches of British Columbia wild hairy men roaming. Click the following link to see a scanned version of the article. 

Today in Bigfoot History | APR 07, 2006 | Yakama Nation: Searching for Bigfoot is Bad Medicine

Mel Skahan is a Native American of the Yakama Nation

"I have talked to a few Elders and some of them believe that [Bigfoot Research] is bad medicine" --Mel Skahan; Forester; Yakama Nation

What is bad medicine? If you are like us, it is anything cherry-flavored, or the only part you sing in a Bon Jovi song.  There is another definition, as most of you know Native American medicine is not necessarily something you ingest to heal you, it is more like a synonym for power. In other words, Native American medicine is more like the Force in Star Wars and bad medicine is more like pursuing the dark side of the force.

Another point of interest to us is this: even though Yakama Nation history predates the white man, it was not until the white man's arrival that the Sasquatch stopped hanging out with humans. As the story goes, they did not like the technology we brought.

Read an article that was published 7 years ago today.

Friday 7 April 2006 -- Hello! We would like to thank all the people from Canada and the States who have emailed us and shared with us some of their great stories.

One of our readers is also a Sasquatch researcher and his name is Mel Skahan, who belongs to the Yakama Nation (located in) Washington State, and we shall be sharing some of his stories and experiences in our column.

Mel how long have you been a Sasquatch researcher and what first sparked your interest in Sasquatches?

I work for the Forestry in the Yakama Nation and this area covers 1.(2) million acres and three-fourths of this is timbered. It was 1995 in the winter and another worker and I were out timber cruising and we had separated to check on different areas when I came across this set of footprints. They were twentytwo inches in length and the when I measured the stride they were at least five and a half to six feet in length. I followed the footprints for about a mile and a half at the same time I followed these tracks to get some kind of behavior of the Sasquatch and it would go from tree to tree and it would stop its feet always pointing in the direction that it was going, but it seemed to be checking to make sure that the area was safe to carry on. I snow-shoed to where the other worker was and shared with him my story. Together we went back up to where I found the prints and his mouth just dropped open because the toes in the tracks could be seen perfectly. These footprints eventually led us to another set which measured about eighteen inches in length and a third set was also found which measured eight to nine inches long. They all came together about a mile and a half and then they walked in one line. We followed the tracks which were pretty fresh for a while but we got this creepy feeling of being watched it made the hair on the back of my head stand up.

What do the Elders of the Yakama Nation think about your researching Sasquatches?

I have talked to a few Elders and some of them believe that it is bad medicine (to continue with my investigations and research, and one elder said that “I know that you are listening to me when I talk to you, but I see that you will still try to find them, but you need to pursue this in a healthier manner, take care of yourself, believe in your medicine, protect your family, sweat and prayer will help you”), (a couple) of them refused to shake my hand (and I believe that me researching this subject may have something to do with it, it’s like they knew something was different with me… I try to respect what they tell me, but this is something that I never went looking for, I came across them and wanted to continue to find the answers that I still have), still others believed that you should go to sweats and to be careful and to treat it with lots of respect.

What is the Yakama’s Nation name for Sasquatch?

The name that I have heard is Qah-limah.

What do you think a Sasquatch is?

There is a legend that says that there were three groups of people living on the Earth and they were the big people, the little people, and the Yakama. They all live together off the land and followed the traditional ways.

Along came the (early settlers) and they started to show the Yakama their tools and the Yakama started to follow them. The big people and the little people saw what was happening and they went up into the mountains they wanted nothing to do with the new ways. The Yakama weren’t allowed to go with them because they were following the white men and using their tools.

How have these experiences changed you?

Each new story and experience brings me greater and greater respect for the Sasquatch! I had at one time thought about some type of capture, but since knowing more about them or this subject has since changed my belief and want them not to be harmed.

What other kinds of experiences have you had?

I have experienced many things: Having items thrown towards me. Having them growl or howling my direction or letting me or the folks that I have been in the forest with, know they are there. Have heard them make different noises, and the one that I never forget was the one that whistled. I have seen many tracks I did see one briefly runaway Just last year, finally was able to have one come close enough for me to smell the tremendous stench that I have heard described in my investigations).

I don’t know how your people believe about shape shifting or the UFO ‘unidentified flying objects’ but lately have been reading and hearing about how Sasquatches can teleport or shape shift into other animals.

But there is something out there that from certain investigations is able to pull a few folks away from a group, how it’s done is unknown, but I keep an open mind about this subject. I don’t necessarily categorize it as something paranormal or relate it to UFO’s but something has happened to a certain folks, but until I educate myself about the subject rather then, say it is a certain thing, then will not label it. I have seen this lately, where folks have labeled it something right away without further studying or collecting more evidence to narrow down the error... per se. This has been upsetting me as of late.

Another thing is the way this subject is perceived. I know that as a witness as I started, I was laughed at. But as I changed from being a witness to a investigator/researcher I see that laughing quickly disappearing, because I present more evidence to those that first laughed and you know what—they were usually hiding something, an experience of some kind that they were afraid to bring forward. But I took it to the next level and have ‘faced the fear’ that was once instilled in me by my first couple of experiences and those folks that laughed at me, they ask me where I was over the weekend.

Whether you believe it is myth, spirit, supernatural, or physical, your responses are welcome here. Please email: bigfootbuzz@taiga-communications.com

Meegwetch! Ekosi!

© "the DRUM"

The Source for Aboriginal News in Manitoba & Northwest Ontario, Canada

http://www.manitobadrum.com/bigfoot.html 

Today in Bigfoot History | MAR 12, 1996 | UPN Snow Walker Video

Still frame of snow walking Bigfoot from UPN TV Show Paranormal Borderlands

"We had some suspicions qualifying our speculations, which were selectively edited out of the documentary interviews." --Dr. Jeff Meldrum

Today, March 12th, in 1996, The United Paramount Network (UPN) needed a huge premier for its new TV show The Paranormal Borderline. They had the perfect video, a Sasquatch regaining it's balance and walking up a snow bank.

Unfortunately the segment producer for The Paranormal Borderline was also behind Alien Autopsy: (Fact or Fiction?). Both films were admitted hoaxes. You can see the footage from the TV show in the two videos below.





It is often reported that Dr. Jeff Meldrum was quoted on the show as saying, "We're talking about an individual somewhere between 8 to 10 feet tall in height..." This may not be the entire story. You Tube user Spiko7 reached out to Dr. Jeff Meldrum, who claims his suspicion of the video were edited out:

"They traveled to Mammoth Ski resort in California and edited in stock footage of the Himalayan panoramas. I was the one who initially analyzed it. We had some suspicions qualifying our speculations, which were selectively edited out of the documentary interviews. In follow up research, the videographer came forward and admitted the prank. The producers needed a hook for the premier episode of Paranormal Borderline and hired the guy to fabricate something. It's a hoax, plain and simple."

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 13 | Hopeful Skeptic Says Both Bigfoot Camps Need Help

Eugenie Scott a skeptic who would like Bigfoot to exist

"I would like [Bigfoot] to be real" -- Dr. Eugenie Scott

Today in 2009 Eugenie Scott spoke at the Ask a Scientist event in San Francisco. The topic that night was Bigfoot. As an anthropologist and a skeptic Eugenie seems to have more patience for bigfooters than she has for creationist. You can read about the event below.

Tuesday, January 13, 7:00 PM
Ask a Scientist: Bigfoot and Other Wild Men of the Forest

Bigfoot, Yeti, and hordes of other cryptoid missing links have been igniting human imagination for ages. Even the most skeptical of us must wonder if it’s possible there really could be large, undiscovered primates on earth, still unknown to us humans. Can we be so sure we’ve found them all? And if some enticing evidence presented itself, how would we test it scientifically? Tonight physical anthropologist Eugenie Scott will help us answer the question of whether or not we might one day be able to welcome some long lost relatives to the family tree. This event is presented in collaboration with the Bay Area Skeptics.

Speaker: Eugenie Scott; Physical Anthropologist and Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education

Although we don't know exactly what happened at the Ask a Scientist event, we can get a pretty good idea watching the video below. 


In the video below Dr. Eugenie Scott represents the Bay Area Skeptics. She quickly identifies two camps of bigfooters. In the first camp, as she describes them, are the paranormal, mystical bigfooters that believe Bigfoot can shape shift, she quickly marginalizes them and says that is an argument for theologists. In the second camp are, as she defines them, cryptozoologist. She is critical of their lack of scientific process and ability to test their explanations.  Dr. Scott does say Scientist like Dr. Jeff Meldrum are heading in the right direction.

The entire hour and half video is well worth watching, it gives us some insights into what our challenges our in seeking Bigfoot. The Table of Contents is below and you will have to click on the "Watch Full Program" in the embedded video to see the whole presentation. 


Eugenie Scott: Bigfoot and Other Wild Men of the Forest from Ask a Scientist on FORA.tv

Video Table of Contents:
01. Introduction: 00 min 56 sec
02. Bay Area Skeptics: 02 min 33 sec
03. Two Types of Wildmen of the Woods: 06 min 15 sec
04. Scientific Investigation of Bigfoot: 04 min 06 sec
05. Cryptozoology: 03 min 43 sec
06. Likelihood of Undiscovered Bigfoot Species: 04 min 18 sec
07. Where Bigfoot Lives: 03 min 04 sec
08. Remnants of Giant Asian Ape?: 04 min 36 sec
09. Bigfoot Prints: 08 min 49 sec
10. Existence of Orangutan: 05 min 02 sec
11. Habitat Encroachment: 00 min 35 sec
12. History of Bigfoot Sightings: 02 min 13 sec
13. Strength of Belief in Bigfoot: 00 min 36 sec
14. Bigfoot Books: 02 min 48 sec
15. Explanations for Sightings: 03 min 54 sec
16. Unreliability of Eyewitness Reports: 04 min 38 sec
17. Yeti Movie: 02 min 27 sec
18. Bluff Creek Sighting Video: 08 min 46 sec
19. Snow Walker Yeti: 06 min 32 sec
20. Camera Traps Fail to Spot Bigfoot: 03 min 34 sec
21. Analysis of Hair Samples: 05 min 21 sec

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 11 | "Zipper" Found on Patty "Bigfoot Costume"

Today, January 11, in 1999 the color plate of frame 352 from the Patterson/Gimlin film was carefully examined by imaging specialists at a color technology laboratory in Ventura, California. State-of-the-art scanners were used to magnify the image down to the color-point level.

All of this came about due to a press conference called by Cliff Cook and the supporting testimony of his associate Chris Murphy. Murphy claimed to of found a bell shape (aka zipper pull tab) within the grainy film image and even took the time to hand craft a pretzel-like, clay model of this bell shape.

The final image in the series shows the detail in question at approximately 1600% magnification. At this level of resolution the individual points of color are clearly visible.

Murphy's "bell-shaped object" is not readily discernible at any level of resolution. To the naked eye the "object" appears to be a diffuse blotch of light reflecting off the fur. At increasingly higher magnification this detail still appears to be a diffuse blotch of light reflecting off the fur. Several other parts of the bigfoot figure show similar blotches of light reflecting off the fur.

The detail in question has no clear edges, and has no visible "artificial" shape. The lab tests demonstrated that a clear magnification of the color plate does not reveal anything like the pretzel-like object displayed at Crook's press conference. The image analysts stated that Murphy seems to be relying on some "highly imaginative, Rorschach-like interpretations of fuzzy details in enlargements of the color plates."

It is important to note The Oregonian on this same day had a headline "BIGFOOT PROOF CALLED 'MAN IN MONKEY SUIT'" The article was released by United Press International and begins with these two paragraphs...

BIGFOOT PROOF CALLED 'MAN IN MONKEY SUIT'
PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 11 (UPI) _ Two longtime trackers of the legendary creature Sasquatch say grainy film footage that allegedly proves the existence of the beast also called Bigfoot shows nothing more than a ``man in a monkey suit.''

The Oregonian newspaper reports today that Bigfoot trackers Cliff Crook and Chris Murphy have determined that four magnified frames from the so-called ``Patterson-Gimlin Film'' show tracings of a bell-shaped fastener on the creature's waist, indicating that the image is likely that of a human being wearing a costume.

The Associated press chimes in as well with this report reprinted below...

CLAIMS AGAINST BIGFOOT FILM SET ENTHUSIASTS AT ODDS
By JOHN M. HUBBELL
Associated Press

BOTHELL, Wash. (AP) - In the hearts and minds of true believers, Bigfoot's existence has long been enshrined in a single minute of jerky, grainy footage of a startled sasquatch retreating into the upper California woods.

But two enthusiasts of the legendary being are alleging four magnified frames of the 16 mm footage show tracings of a bell-shaped fastener at Bigfoot's waist. They say the creature in the so-called Patterson-Gimlin Film can finally be dismissed as a man in a monkey suit.

"It was a hoax,'' said Cliff Crook, a longtime Bigfoot tracker who devotes rooms to sasquatch memorabilia in this suburb north of Seattle. "How can an artificial, manmade object end up on a Bigfoot?''

The film, purportedly showing a female Bigfoot fleeing a stream-bed, was taken by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin on Oct. 20, 1967. It has largely withstood independent scrutiny and, for many steeped in the lore of the man-beast, has become bedrock evidence of its very existence.

"There's no way of really detracting from it,'' said Ray Crowe, president of the Western Bigfoot Society in Portland, Ore. The image captured in the footage "has a fluid motion. It's a wild creature of nature.''

The film is important because many Bigfoot believers compare all plaster casts of telltale footprints against those made by Patterson the day he purportedly filmed the creature slinking across a sandbar in the Six Rivers National Forest.

Discredit the footage, experts agree, and the gold standard for Bigfoot tracks will be washed away.

Crook bases his assertion on computer enhancements performed by Chris Murphy, a Bigfoot buff from Vancouver, British Columbia, who maintains he discovered an aberration in the footage in 1995 while helping his son Daniel prepare a class project.

Murphy declined to be interviewed, instead supplying a written narrative detailing his discovery.

According to that account, the Murphys used a color photocopier to duplicate a frame of the Patterson film. Zooming in again and again, Chris Murphy became suspicious.

To him, something geometric - vaguely the shape of a bottle opener - seemed to take shape at Bigfoot's waist. Murphy maintains that four sequential computer-scanned frames of the film show the object in different positions, as if it were swinging. He theorizes something is cinching the sasquatch costume in place.

Murphy made a clay model of the object and in October gave that and the enlargements to Crook, a charter-bus driver transfixed by sasquatch stories since 1957. That's the year he made a camping trip with teen-age friends on Washington's Olympic Peninsula that ended with telltale signs of a sasquatch encounter: a rustling of brush, a throaty growl and an ever-worsening hallmark musk.

Decades later, at 58, spare rooms in his home are dubbed "Bigfoot Central,'' stuffed with photos, plaster casts and maps dotted with push-pins that chart sasquatch sightings.

Now his hoax assertion is giving rise to a howl that would make a Bigfoot proud. Longtime enthusiasts smell a deserter.

One recent e-mail was typical of the incredulity Crook's allegation of a costume fastener is up against.

"Cliff, Cliff, Cliff,'' it scolded. "That's matted feces.''

"There are two witnesses (and) there are footprints,'' said Rene Dahinden, a Richmond, British Columbia, researcher who shares the film's copyright. "We've never had anything like it previously, and anything like it since.''

Dahinden, 68, discounts Murphy as an amateur. "He wasn't involved in this until 1993,'' Dahinden said. "He couldn't spell the name 'sasquatch' before that.''
Grover Krantz, a Washington State University anthropology professor and Bigfoot expert, also believes firmly in the old footage.

"I fully accept the Patterson film,'' Krantz said. "If there was a fastener, it could not be seen in an enlargement. The film grain is such that it cannot hold an image of something that small.''

The truth of the Patterson-Gimlin film remains as elusive as Bigfoot itself. Enthusiasts such as Krantz and Crowe see the film as a building block for their faith. And the faiths of Crook and Murphy endure in spite of it.

Crook knows that, in dissent, he and Murphy are "far outnumbered.''

"There's a few broken friendships because of this,'' Crook said. "I just figured, 'This is a search for the truth. When it becomes something different, that's when it should stop.'''

Maybe a Bigfoot will one day view the film, Crook figures, and offer its own disapproving grunt.

"There's just too much evidence that these creatures do inhabit certain areas out there,'' Crook said, ever sanguine. "Even though the Patterson film is a hoax, it doesn't mean Bigfoot doesn't exist.''

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 09 | Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science Debuts

Cover art for Discovery Channel documentary and companion book

2003. It was a Thursday night exactly ten years ago today when a documentary film, Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, aired on the Discovery Channel. The program featured scientists from various disciplines analyzing the most compelling evidence. Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science was produced by Doug Hajicek with White Wolf Entertainment, the same people who brought us Monster Quest. It is narrated by the distinctive voice of Stacy Keach.

The documentary can be defined by the analyses of three pieces of Sasquatch footage and 17 categories of evidence.

The three pieces of footage were the Patterson/Gimlin film, the Freeman footage and the Memorial Day footage. The 17 different categories of evidence included: fossil evidence, new species discoveries, dermal ridges, the Sasquatch body, images, step frequency, biomechanics, forensic measurements, Patterson-Gimlin film, behavior parallels, vocalizations, visual misidentification, track morphology, kinesiology, soft tissue pathology, statistics, and DNA.

Also included in the documentary were six experts, described by the official webpage below:

In the documentary, scientists from various disciplines put the most compelling sasquatch evidence to the test. Collectively their conclusions are ground-breaking. There is now scientific proof for the existence of a giant primate species in North America -- a species fitting the descriptions of sasquatches (bigfoots). 

The nation's top primate anatomist, Dr. Daris Swindler of Washington State Univeristy examines the Skookum Cast, along with prominent primatologist Dr. Esteban Sarmiento of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and anthropologist Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University, give their conclusions about the Skookum cast, and what it points to.

The nation's top bioacoustics analyst, Dr. Robert Benson at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, analyzes sound recordings of purported Sasquatch vocalizations with an advanced computerized system in his laboratory. He explains his conclusions about the recordings.

Primate fingerprint expert, Officer Jimmy Chilcutt, discusses the consistent and distinct dermal ridge patterns found in track casts from the northwest and southeastern United States. He states his conclusions about the level of proof provided the dermal ridge casts evidence.

DNA expert Dr. Craig Newton from BC Research in Canada attempts to extract DNA from hair samples and saliva taken from the Skookum Cast site. He explains the potential and problems with DNA analysis.

Dr. Russel Ciochon shows life-size models of Gigantopithecus, and describes their interactions with early man. Various other scientists fill in other parts of the puzzle.

Anthropologist Dr. Jeff Meldrum also wrote a companion book with the same title, "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science."

According to Wikipedia, the DVD version is slightly different from the broadcast including extra footage.

• The full length of the Patterson footage in digital format, allowing you to zoom in on individual frames with unprecendented clarity
• More of the Freeman footage
• More of the Memorial Day footage
• An FAQ on the Sasquatch mystery
• A gallery of images related to Sasquatch evidence and research

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 08 | Circus Train Wreck Blamed for Wildman Sightings

Recreation of Bigfoot escaping a train wreck

Today in 1905 The Washington Post published an article regarding the sighting of a "wildman".

The "wildman" was described with all the Bigfoot characteristics we have become familiar with.

The story continues to speculate that the wild man may have escaped from a traveling circus during a train wreck. You would be surprised how often "a wild animal escaped from the circus" is used to explain a Bigfoot sighting.  In the book Historical Bigfoot by Chad Arment there are at least 24 counts in as many papers suggesting circus train wrecks as the origin of the escaped "wildman". Here is a quote from the Jan 8th 1905 event.

Several persons give it as their opinion that this creature is a wild animal of some kind that made its escape from the Robinson & Franklin circus that was touring this peninsula a number of years ago. The circus train met with a railroad wreck, and several wild animals were freed from their cages, many of these beasts were captured, and others were shot, and while others were never seen by the circus people again.

The source of all of this can be read online at Google books. The Historical Bigfoot, by Chad Arment, which covers sightings of Wild Men, Gorillas, Yahoos, and What-Is-It's, from the early 1800s to the 1940s. Before the term "Bigfoot" was coined to signify an unknown species of North American primate, sightings of towering bipedal apes were reported throughout the continent, and were called by a variety of names. This book compiles and sorts the most significant sightings, but also provides a look at hoaxes, mis-identifications, and the influential perspective of newspaper editors as they dealt with reports of a strange hairy manlike ape.

Today in Bigfoot History | JAN 07 | First Documented Mystery Footprint

Postage stamp commemorating David Thompson's Life and reputation as a mapmaker

Today in 1811, marks the first recorded account of an overly large foot print in North America by a non-native person. The honor goes to David Thompson, a British-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, who was known for keeping detailed records. On January 7th, 1811, Mr. Thompson found curious animal tracks in the snow near Jasper, Alberta. He described the tracks as 14 inch long footprints (see T.C. Elliott, "Journal of David Thompson", Oregon Historical Quarterly, 15 March-June 1914) Some years later, a book of Thompson's, David Thompson's Narrative of His Explorations of Western America, based on his journal, was published. In it he says:

I now recur to what I have already noticed in the early part of last winter, when proceeding up the Athabasca River to cross the mountains, in company with.... Men and four hunters, on one of the channels of the River we came to the track of a large animal, which measured fourteen inches in length by eight inches in breadth by a tape line. As snow was about six inches in depth the track was well defined, and we could see it for a full hundred yards from us, this animal was proceeding from north to south. We did not attempt to follow it, we had not time for it, and the Hunters, eager as they are to follow and shoot every animal, made no attempt to follow this beast, for what could the balls of our fowling guns do against such an animal? Report from old times had made the head branches of this River, and the Mountains in the vicinity the abode of one, or more, very large animals, to which I never appeared to give credence; for these reports appeared to arise from that fondness for the marvelous so common to mankind: but the sight of the track of that large a beast staggered me, and I often thought of it, yet never could bring myself to believe such an animal existed, but thought it might be the track of some Monster Bear.

For all you rational, critical thinkers who took Santa Claus away from us at 6yrs old. Yes, we know snow melt distorts prints and we don't know how long the tracks were laid before they were discovered. We are also aware that 8 inches is rather wide for a 14 inch print. Prints 8 inches wide are usually at least 17-18 inches in length. So even with the obligatory caveats listed in the previous sentences, we still love adopting David Thompson's mystery creature into the Bigfoot lore. After all, we are the same blog that thinks historically, werewolves are potentially misidentified Bigfoots.