A species of giant, apelike creatures reportedly stalks the woodlands of the Pacific Northwest.
MONSTER OR MYTH, the saga of Bigfoot took a huge leap into American folklore in July1924 when The Oregonian reported a violent clash between a group of miners and a band of hairy apemen. According to Fred Beck, one of the miners, the team spotted the creatures while working on Mount St. Helens in the state of Washington. A miner shot one of them, triggering an assault on the workers' cabin by the angered beasts that night. Beck claimed the Bigfoot stood eight feet tall and weighed 600 to 800 pounds, with feet measuring 19 inches in length.
That same year, 1924, Canadian prospector and lumberjack Albert Ostman was looking for a lost gold mine near Toba Inlet in British Columbia. Ostman claimed that, as he lay in his sleeping bag one night, he was picked up and carried off through the wilderness by a large apelike creature. Held captive for six days, Ostman finally escaped unharmed—but he did not tell his story for 33 years, fearful people would think him crazy or a liar.
Many people believe the most compelling piece of evidence proving the existence of Bigfoot is a 60-second motion picture shot by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin at Bluff Creek in northern Canada. The film allegedly shows a female Bigfoot turning its head and looking directly at the camera as it strides off about 25 feet from the two men. Most mainstream scientists have dismissed the film as a hoax, but others have taken a more favorable view.
The complete lack of physical evidence of Bigfoot hasn't prevented the creature from becoming a pop culture sensation. Movies, television programs and books keep the legend alive and growing.
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