Front cover for The Historical Bigfoot, a book about early sasquatch reports
The Historical Bigfoot
Chad Arment
ISBN 1-930585-30-6
Retail $14.95 (USD)
346 pp. / Paperback

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The Historical Bigfoot provides a look at the stories of large hairy manlike apes in North America, before the term "Bigfoot" was even coined for this cryptid. From the early 1800s to the 1940s, sightings of Wild Men, Yahoos, Gorillas, and What-Is-It's were published in newspapers or passed along as strange stories to ponder. Many of these were based on solitary humans, others were misidentifications of known wildlife, and a few were hoaxes or fabricated stories. There are reports, however, that distinctly point to the presence of an as-yet unidentified primate in North America.

Back cover for Historical Bigfoot book
This book includes Bigfoot stories from 41 states and 7 Canadian provinces. Wherever possible, accounts are reprinted with full text so that readers can see the details for themselves. Also included is a reprint of the full chapter from C. A. Stephens' fictional novel, Camping Out, published in 1873, which concerns a Maine "Indian Devil." Here is a sample of the accounts included:

An Early Georgia Monster.

In the fore part of August, 1812, a party of hunters found in a mountainous region now known as Rabun county, Ga., a being nearly eight feet high covered with bluish hair and having a human face adorned with immense ears resembling those of an ass. The creature was stone deaf and on that account seemed wholly unconscious of the approach of the men. This monster seems, from old accounts, to have been seen upon several occasions during the next four years.

In 1816 a number of adventurers from Virginia, most of them surveyors working up the unexplored portions of Georgia and the Carolinas, formed themselves into a party for the express purpose of capturing the uncanny being if possible. They scoured the hills and valleys for several days and at last returned unsuccessful to the starting point.

The many tales told of this extraordinary being seem to have created quite a stir all along the Atlantic coast. A printed circular issued by a land company in 1815 says, “The climate of Georgia is exceedingly mild, the soil productive, and the danger of attack from uncouth beasts which are represented as being half beast and half man are fairy tales not worthy of consideration.”

Delphos, Ohio, Daily Herald, May 14, 1901.
Coachwhip Publications

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