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.