The tale of

Bigfoot

Origins

The legends of Bigfoot are as ancient as time itself. Stories of the creature date back far beyond recorded history. The oldest known tales of an ape-like man wandering the wilderness come from several Native American folklore.

Pictograph of the Hairy Man at Painted Rock

A.D. 500

Mayak Datat

Painted Rock is a rockshelter site associated with a prehistoric, Yokuts village. The site, located immediately adjacent to the Tule River, houses a pictograph of a bipedal creature referred to as Mayak Datat, or ‘Hairy Man.’ The daughter of a tribal elder, who had been the caretaker of the pictograph site in the early 1900s, identified Hairy Man as being the same as Bigfoot. The indigenous tribe described Hairy Man as “a creature that was like a great big giant with long, shaggy hair.”

During hot summer nights, all the animals would come out together down from the hills to drink out of the Tule River. Legend says that Big Foot liked to catch animals down by the river, and he would eat them up bones and all. Elders caution children not to make fun of his picture on the Painted Rock or play around in that place because Bigfoot would hear them and come after them. Some people say Big Foot, the hairy man, still roams around the hills near Tule River. If you spot him along the trail at night, he might consume you whole.

Historic photograph of a Sasquatch figure with members of a tribe

Origin date unknown

Sasq'ets

The Sts’ailes of the Pacific Northwest call the elusive creature Sasq’ets, a name derived from the word “se’sxac,” meaning “wild men.” The anglicized “Sasquatch” remains a prominent name for the creature to this day. The Sts’ailes believe the hairy creature is a benevolent ‘supernatural slollicum’, or shapeshifter, that protects the land and people. His great power and significance are what make him the emblem of the Sts’ailes’ nation.

A small town called Harrison Hot Springs opened a Sasquatch Museum inside its visitor centre in 2017, and worked with Sts’ailes member Boyd Peters, who provided input on the original Sts’ailes acquisitions, including a drum and replica wood mask of Sasquatch. This museum, in addition to attracting more than 20,000 tourists annually, preserves sacred totems dedicated to honoring the Sasquatch deity. To the Sts’ailes, the idea of a Sasquatch is rooted in spirituality and symbolism, rather than sensationalism.

Claim to fame

The woodland creature first entered popular culture in the 1950s and eventually grew to a peak in the 70s and 80s. Let’s travel back a few decades and recount how the creature came to fame.

1958

Big Foot

Lumberjacks in Northern California sent a letter to Humboldt Times upon discovering mysteriously large footprints in the woods. They were convinced the tracks were proof of some unidentified creature living in the forest. Reporters thought the men were crazy, but decided to publish the story anyway for its entertainment value.

Journalist Andrew Genzoli included the letter in the Sunday column and jested, “maybe we have a relative of the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas.” But to his surprise, the story really fascinated readers. In response, Genzoli published follow-up articles about the footprints, reporting more on the so-called creature who left the tracks — “Big Foot.” And so a legend was born.

“Who is making the huge 16-inch tracks in the vicinity of Bluff Creek?” Genzoli wrote in one of his columns that October. “Are the tracks a human hoax? Or, are they the actual marks of a huge but harmless wild-man, traveling through the wilderness? Can this be some legendary sized animal?”

1967

Patterson-Gimlin film

One early afternoon, Bigfoot hunters Patterson and Gimlin were riding on horseback along the east bank of Bluff Creek. They spotted a figure on the opposite side of the bank. Patterson said that his horse reared upon sensing the figure, and he spent about 20 seconds extricating himself from the saddle, controlling his horse, getting around to its other side, and getting his camera from a saddlebag before he could run toward the figure while operating his camera.

Patterson had the film developed as soon as possible. At first he thought he had brought in proof of Bigfoot’s existence and really expected the scientists to accept it. But only a few scientists were willing to even look at the film. Though there was little scientific interest in the film, Patterson was still able to capitalize on it. He made a deal with the BBC, allowing the use of his footage in a docudrama.

This grainy, shaky, but still legendary film exploded in popularity and has been subjected to many attempts to authenticate or debunk it. Patterson died of cancer in 1972 and maintained right to the end that the creature on the film was real.

The science

While Bigfoot may seem like a creature too fantastical for the scientific community, there have been several formal, academic studies looking into the existence or potential existence of this beast.

Origin date unknown

Gigantopithecus blacki

Bigfoot proponents and anthropologists Grover Krantz and Geoffrey H. Bourne both believed that Bigfoot could be a relict population of the extinct southeast Asian ape species Gigantopithecus blacki. According to Bourne, blacki may have followed the many other species of animals that migrated across the Bering land bridge to the Americas.

To date, no Gigantopithecus fossils have been found in the Americas. In Asia, the only recovered fossils have been of mandibles and teeth, leaving uncertainty about G. blacki’s locomotion. Krantz has argued that G. blacki could have been bipedal, based on his extrapolation from the shape of its mandible. However, the relevant part of the mandible is not present in any fossils.

Blacki have traditionally been restored as a massive, gorilla-like ape, potentially 200–300 kg (440–660 lb) when alive. These creatures could have stood anywhere from 8–12 feet tall.

1974

Bigfoot trap

The National Wildlife Federation funded a field study seeking Bigfoot evidence. No formal federation members were involved and the study made no notable discoveries. Also in that year, the now defunct North American Wildlife Research Team constructed a “Bigfoot trap” in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest in Jackson County, Oregon. It was baited with animal carcasses and captured multiple bears, but no Bigfoot.

Upkeep of the trap ended in the early 1980s, but in 2006 the United States Forest Service repaired the trap, which today is a tourist destination along the Collings Mountain hiking trail. The trap is a wooden box 10 by 10 feet (3 by 3 m) made of 2x12 planks bound together by heavy metal bands and secured to the ground by telephone poles. A U.S. Forest Service special use permit was issued for its construction.

The trap’s door has been bolted open since 1980 for visitor safety. Its location was originally remote, but since the construction of the Applegate Dam, a road is now near the trap.

Nearby sightings

The Adirondacks’ dark woods, looming mountains, and long winters have conjured up stories of creatures and monsters for its inhabitants for thousands of years. And Bigfoot sightings have persisted into the modern era.

1976

Officer Gosselin

Bryan Gosselin, a police officer for the town of Whitehall, NY, spotted a giant creature he couldn’t identify on Abair Road on the outskirts of town. Gosselin went back to investigate the area that he saw the creature the next morning, and he found giant footprint tracks on the edge of the river.

Gosselin wasn’t the only one reporting strange activity. Some of Gosselin’s fellow officers, as well as his father Wilfred and brother Paul, all reported seeing this unknown creature. Gosselin compiled his friends’ and family’s descriptions in his 2018 book, “Abair Road: The True Story.” He explains that the animal was between 7–8 feet tall with a weight approaching 400 pounds. The animal was further described as having red eyes and a terrible scream.

To the Abenaki people, an Algonquin tribe from the area, the idea of a Sasquatch with such a scream isn’t so unique. Winter stories tell of encounters with the Kiwak, a looming figure over 8 feet tall, covered in fur and red glowing eyes that wears a necklace of skulls from its victims. It started life as a man, until his heart was turned to ice and a dark spirit took over. His scream is so piercing it can stop the hearts of its victims.

Bigfoot investigator Paul Bartholomew holding a footprint cast

2018

Highway hopping

A man, who has chosen to stay anonymous, claimed to have spotted a Bigfoot as he was driving north on 9N one late summer night. He claims to have spotted the creature climbing over the guardrail and jumping back into the woods. The man then reported it to long-time Bigfoot investigator Paul Bartholomew.

Bartholomew said the man said that “the light of his vehicle passed between the creature’s legs showing a big outline of two legs, a body, wide shoulders and a head. It was black.” The witness said, ‘I couldn’t believe it… my mouth just dropped open.’ The man said the creature must have already crossed the road and was stepping over the guardrail when he spotted it.

A day after the sighting, Bartholomew and the man went back to the scene, where they found a gargantuan footprint about 12 inches long and 5 inches wide, of which Bartholomew took a cast impression. He said the area where the print was found was a “very hard area with dirt built up on road pavement — so not much detail — mainly an outline of foot with possible toes.”

2010

Security camera

One man in Whitehall claimed to have caught the creature running away on a security camera. The image is blurry, but undoubtedly contains an animal of some kind. Skeptics claim that the image depicts an owl mid-flight that only appears large since it is so close to the lens. However, the photo has been analyzed and professionals assert that the figure shown in the photograph is in fact 7–8 feet tall.

The image is grainy at best, and many believe this is a product of an elaborate hoax. However, the man who caught the creature on camera insists the image captures an authentic Bigfoot. He even reported hearing blood-curdling screams, which is why he checked his security system in the first place.

He has chosen not to release his name to the media, though he was ok appearing on camera for the local news. He claims that anyone who could recognize him (i.e., anyone in the town of Whitehall), would never ridicule an honest report of a sighting.