Bigfoot Encounters


Arkansas-Missouri Line: A Monstrous Wild Beast 1846
"The object had the face of a human being and was entirely without clothing..."

Arkansas, Missouri line - One of the earliest pre-Civil War accounts was published in Scientific American in March of 1846. The publication announced the discovery of a monstrous wild man beast in the swamps in the vicinity of the Arkansas-Missouri State Lines. Its footprint measured 22 inches with toes “as long as a common man's fingers.” (Mangiacopra and Smith)

Then in 1881 in the Mark Twain National Forest (before it was named such) Iron County, Missouri/Ironton/Bixby this newspaper account:
”A strange story comes from the west end of the county. A young man named Strickland attended by his dogs, started out hunting Friday morning of last week. Mr. Strickland lives in Dent Township, about twenty miles west of Ironton. A short distance from home his attention was arrested by an object lying in the leaves on the ground, but he was about to pass by thinking it some domestic animal, when it rose to its feet facing him. The object had the face of a human being and was entirely without clothing. Its body was covered with long dark hair, which streamed in the cool wind, like the mane of a horse. As soon as it rose, the strange being started off at a run, Mr. Strickland calling out after it. His first thought was to shoot it, but hesitated until it got out of range. The dogs then took its track, but Mr. Strickland called them back, and went home pondering over his strange encounter. It was proposed to get up a hunting party and scour the woods thoroughly in search of the stranger but up to date no additional developments have been made. Mr. Strickland is a truthful man, and asserts his willingness to make affidavit of the matter herein contained.”

 
And in the Iron County Register Newspaper, Ironton, Missouri April 14,
1881, Page 5 this tiny insert:

The Iron County Register records another sighting of a like strange hairy beast a month later when a young couple strolling down a dirt road from evening services at their tiny church house declared the beast jumped out in front of them and wildly waved its arms as if trying to fly like a bird. Shocked, the young woman screamed in terror and the creature stopped the wild wavings and stared at her, then proceded to walk off.

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