Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence – An Anthropologist Speaks Out
Book review by Linda Martin – © 2010
Reading group homepage for this book: Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence
Re: Chapter One of Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence – An Anthropologist Speaks Out
Dr. Grover S. Krantz was fascinated by the possibility of Bigfoot’s existence. His enthusiasm shines through in the pages of his seminal scientific examination of the phenomena: Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence – An Anthropologist Speaks Out. The introduction and chapter one are the same thing – there is no separate introduction.
In Chapter One – Introduction, Dr. Krantz explains how he came to be invested in Bigfoot research. He lists the books he read and tells what he thought of them and what he learned from them. He introduces a few prominent Bigfoot researchers of his era; he started his Bigfoot research in the mid-sixties. Next he examines, briefly, various types of proof he’ll discuss at length later in the pages of his book.
Not content with telling why people believe in Bigfoot, Dr. Krantz also writes about alternative explanations for Bigfoot sighting reports and Bigfoot related phenomena, including bear misidentifications, fabrications, misinterpreted chance irregularities, and other types of human error. He states:
Dr. Krantz lists a series of events needed to prove to scientists that an animal is real. The process includes sighting reports, skeletal remains, a complete body, a live capture, and then studies in its natural habitat. We’re a long way from proving anything about Bigfoot! We’re still in stage one of the process – gathering sighting reports.
The next section explains why we are unlikely to ever find Bigfoot bones. Dr. Krantz concluded the chapter by discussing strong opinions, unusual historic Bigfoot sighting and encounter cases, his personal involvement in Bigfoot research, and the focus of his book, which is professional and scientific in nature.
Next chapter: Big Footprints
April 4, 2010
Missouri: Saint Louis University Biology Professor Supports Bigfoot Research
Dr. John Severson lectured on “Bigfoot: Science Fiction or Science Fact” during a recent family night at the Space Museum in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Dr. Severson is a professor of biology at Saint Louis University where he teaches Biology of Health and Disease.
He clarified that although there’s no “hard evidence” (bones or bodies,) there’s plenty of “soft evidence” (footprints and sightings.) He also told his audience that recent examinations of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film showed it could not have been a hoaxer in a costume.
Dr. Severson has been interested in Bigfoot for a long time. He did not commit to being a totally convinced believer, but said that Bigfoot is thought to be nocturnal, omnivorous, and a strong swimmer.
His statements about the flexibility of Bigfoot footprints and the ludicrous idea that thousands of fake-foot hoaxers exist are reminiscent of Dr. Grover Krantz’s anthropological study in Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence, which I’m currently reading. (I’ll share more about that in a future posting.)
Source: Giving Bigfoot evidence a second look; Dr. John Severson talks about Bigfoot at space museum’s Family Fun Night by Teresa Ressel, published on March 30, 2010 in the Park Hills, MO Daily Journal Online.
Note that a comment on the article cited above mentions a Bigfoot known to frequent the Bonne Terre Rock Quarry. Rock quarries are known to be a site frequently associated with Bigfoot sightings.
Bonne Terre, 62 miles south-west of St. Louis, is surrounded by forests, and in the vicinity of Missouri’s St. Francois State Park.
October 5, 2009
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Ten: “Humboldt County”
Book review by Linda Martin – © 2009
Reading group homepage for this book: Tribal Bigfoot
Re: Chapter Ten of Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides, “Humboldt County”:
I love that David Paulides had so much time (and money) to travel and spend time doing research and meeting people. But I like to check things out for myself, so after reading his notes about Lucy Thompson’s book, published in 1916, a source of information on the “Indian Devil” aka “Oh-ma-ha” – I requested a copy from the Siskiyou County Library. Lucy Thompson was a Yurok Indian… Yurok meaning “downriver” compared to the local natives here in the Orleans/Happy Camp area who are Karuks, meaning “upriver people.”
A few days ago I received the book through a library transfer from another city in our county, and turned to Chapter IX: The Indian Devil, page 129. Almost everything that was written about the Indian Devil in Lucy’s book was retold in Chapter Ten of Tribal Bigfoot, so you might think my quest was a waste of time . . . but then I kept reading further into the chapter, amazed at her remarks about wars in Europe compared to the peacefulness of Native Americans. I found this: “Tears and love, love and tears, sweetly mingled when infant and adult meet in one great brotherhood of forgiveness. Always thus, since time began, someone must die a martyr for the beginning of every cause; and it has ever been thus, since the dawn of history, among all races and nations: the heathen, the barbarian and the civilized nations of the world.” (Pg. 132 of To the American Indian
This says to me that before humans and Bigfoot can come together there will be martyrs… and indeed there have been some. Bigfoot has been shot at. Some perhaps killed. Recently an esteemed reader of this blog sent me a link to an article on the Oregon Bigfoot Blog (Autumn Williams) with YouTube renditions of the Art Bell “Bugs” interview. I remembered hearing this interview when it was first aired, years ago. “Bugs” was a false name for a man who claimed to have been one of three hunters who killed two Bigfoots and buried them. Fascinating interview… “Bugs” on Art Bell – Did he really shoot and bury Bigfoot? I listened to Bugs on several occasions and always felt he was very credible. He said he and his hunting buddies killed a male Bigfoot thinking it was a bear… then after realizing their mistake, they were charged at by a grief-stricken female Bigfoot so they killed her too. Martyrs, perhaps?
Earlier in Tribal Bigfoot there was a section on Bigfoot killings – including a report David Paulides got from a former Forest Service employee who met a sixteen-year-old hunter who claimed to have shot a Bigfoot. But killings go both ways. Theodore Roosevelt told the story of Bauman, whose hunting partner was killed by a Bigfoot. To read between the lines of Lucy Thompson’s report on the Indian Devil, the Yuroks were very paranoid of contact with Oh-ma-ha: “When the Indians would go on their hunting and camping trips into the mountains, as soon as they heard an owl screech or hoot, they would stop and listen, and try to distinguish if it was an Indian devil imitating an owl or the cry of a wild animal. The Indians would stop at once, kindle a fire, and hallo; this was given as a warning to the devils that they were awake and ready to fight them if necessary.” (Pg. 130 of To the American Indian: Reminiscences of a Yurok Woman
I’m impressed enough with Lucy’s writing to want to buy my own copy and read the entire book, but that will wait for another time as today I’m reviewing Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides, Chapter Ten, all about Humboldt County Bigfoot sightings. He claims that Humboldt County is the “Bigfoot Capitol of California” and the chapter was quite thick.
There are many credible and intriguing Bigfoot sighting accounts in this chapter: a woman who saw one walking through her front yard; a young boy who saw one when he had to unplug a water line, a two hour climb uphill from his home; a waitress who saw a Bigfoot on the Bigfoot Scenic Byway between Willow Creek and Hoopa in 1987; another woman who saw a Bigfoot enthusiastically chasing a motorcycle her son was riding; an ambulance driver who happened upon a Bigfoot on Highway 299 west of Willow Creek at 3 in the morning. These are all very credible witnesses and the stories written by David Paulides are detailed and entertaining.
The chapter also contains an update on some Hoopa sightings including hair sample DNA results and wonderful forensic sketches by Harvey Pratt. There’s also a profile of Al Hodgson, long-time Willow Creek resident and witness to the Bluff Creek Bigfoot footprints back in the 1960s. He is the curator of the Willow Creek Bigfoot Museum.
…
Note: I’m behind my self-imposed schedule for reviewing this book thanks to my injury and a trip out of town to Mt. Shasta. I have three more chapters to cover in this book before I go on to the next one, Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence by Dr. Grover Krantz. I expect that book will go slowly as well because it is full of scientific information. I am a slow reader but that will not stop me. It may mean my reading of Dr. Krantz’s book will continue into November. This may pose a problem for me because I’m writing another novel (with Bigfoot in it) during November (I always participate in NaNoWriMo.) So, my reviews may be slow, but they’ll be posted. Get the books and read ahead of me if you like… I’ll get there sooner or later.
September 26, 2009
Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence
By Linda Martin – © 2009
Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence
Dr. Krantz was a professor of anthropology specializing in human evolution at Washington State University. He started his study of Sasquatch in 1963 after examining footprint castings and believed that Sasquatch is an actual flesh and blood creature.
The book, Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence
This book will be reviewed, chapter-by-chapter, on this blog as soon as all reviews of Tribal Bigfoot
A home page for Dr. Krantz’ book has been created at Squidoo: Bigfoot Sasquatch Evidence.
September 1, 2009
Bigfoot Reading Group
September’s Bigfoot Reading Group selection is Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides. This is his second book examining Bigfoot sightings in Northern California. He also includes sightings in Minnesota and Oklahoma. The first chapter, which I’m reading now, presents historic Bigfoot sighting information and newspaper clippings.
His first book was The Hoopa Project, something I found fascinating because I live down the road from Hoopa, about sixty-five miles on the Bigfoot Scenic Byway, Highway 96 in Northern California.
My schedule for this Bigfoot Reading Group project is semi-flexible. I want to read through the entire book within a month and plan to post something each time I finish a chapter. If you’d like to discuss it with me, the comment section for each posting will provide a place for opinions.
I’ve come up with a tentative schedule. I intend to read and comment on chapters 1 through 5 during the first week. Week two will be for chapters 6 through 9. Week three, chapters 10-12, and week four, chapter 13. Can I do it? Well, I will try. I am a notoriously slow reader, but David Paulides’ writing does manage to hold my attention.
After September, there will be more Bigfoot Reading Group books. Here’s the tentative schedule:
October – Bigfoot Sasquatch: Evidence
November – Bigfoot Encounters in New York & New England
December – Giants, Cannibals & Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture
January – Bigfoot Film Journal
February & March – Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us
August 30, 2009
Georgia Bigfoot
The Georgia Bigfoot website is the place to go for information about Bigfoot tracking in this forested southern state. Does Georgia seem like an unlikely place for a Bigfoot sighting?
Consider this:
Back in the 1990s a man living in a mobile home in Georgia was disturbed by something (or someone) walking around his home and pounding on the walls. Worse, the thing killed some of his dogs and stole lots of dogfood. His frequent calls to the Sheriff’s department were considered a nuisance. The result of this disturbance is the Elkins Creek footprint, cast by Deputy James Akin of the local Sheriff’s department. This footprint cast was studied by Dr. Grover Krantz and Jimmy Chilcutt and declared to be real. This is a sighting story worth reading and the site includes footprint cast photographs. On a separate page you can see Jimmy Chilcutt’s dermal ridge analysis of the Elkins Creek print.
Articles on this site include the practical matters of Basic Track Casting and Processing and Investigating Potential Sasquatch Evidence. The Photo Gallery has images from trail cams, tracks and casts, and wilderness scenes showing what the terrain in Georgia is like.
I looked over the entire site before moving on to the blog, which has quite a few valuable articles though it is no longer being maintained since the site was passed on to new owners at the end of 2007. What’s there is worth a read! It starts with Game Camera Survey Phase One, published March 2, 2006 by Samuel Rich. If you’re planning to use trail cams, this is a good primer. Or if you’d like to read about a wood-knocking, howling adventure, check out Mike2K1’s story, Serendepity…How we got from Point A to B. Part I and Part II. I also appreciated Red circles, shadows and the Blob agenda. I will come back to this blog to read the rest of the postings.
All this leaves one question unanswered… Do Bigfoot enjoy eating Georgia peaches?
Probably so…
July 25, 2009
The Bigfoot Reading Group – “Tribal Bigfoot”
I’m starting something new here… which will be called the Bigfoot Reading Group. I’m planning to read David Paulides’ new book, Tribal Bigfoot, and am inviting all of you to read it along with me during the month of September 2009.
Each time I read a chapter I’ll write something about it, and you’re welcome to join in a discussion of what’s written in the book. I wrote to David Paulides about it and he says he will be following the conversation on this blog; perhaps he might even take part… that I don’t know.
What I do know is that the book looks amazing — I have a copy and have leafed through it more than once. There are some great new forensic sketches by Harvey Pratt in the book.
If you’re interested in reading the book with me, please check this out:
If this project is successful I’ll do the same with other Bigfoot books. I have a few in mind, such as Giants, Cannibals & Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture
