Gone Squatchin': In Search of the Elusive Bigfoot

By Raymond C. Wilson

For centuries, legends and eyewitness accounts have told of a massive, hairy creature that roams the forest on two legs. While science has yet to prove the existence of this mythical man-beast, countless researchers around the world are convinced that there is a giant, ape-like animal hiding in remote areas of the world. They point to the discovery of large, inexplicable footprints as evidence of the so-called "Bigfoot" that they hope to prove is real. But does Bigfoot actually exist? That's what we hope to find out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raymond C. Wilson
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215587973

Raymond C. Wilson

Raymond C. Wilson is a military historian, filmmaker, and amateur genealogist. During his military career as an enlisted soldier, warrant officer, and commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for twenty-one years, Wilson served in a number of interesting assignments both stateside and overseas. He had the honor of serving as Administrative Assistant to Brigadier General George S. Patton (son of famed WWII general) at the Armor School; Administrative Assistant to General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley at the Pentagon; and Military Assistant to the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army at the Pentagon. In 1984, Wilson was nominated by the U.S. Army Adjutant General Branch to serve as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C. While on active duty, Wilson authored numerous Army regulations as well as articles for professional journals including 1775 (Adjutant General Corps Regimental Association magazine), Program Manager (Journal of the Defense Systems Management College), and Army Trainer magazine. He also wrote, directed, and produced three training films for Army-wide distribution. He is an associate member of the Military Writers Society of America. Following his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1992, Wilson made a career change to the education field. He served as Vice President of Admissions and Development at Florida Air Academy; Vice President of Admissions and Community Relations at Oak Ridge Military Academy; Adjunct Professor of Corresponding Studies at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College; and Senior Academic Advisor at Eastern Florida State College. While working at Florida Air Academy, Wilson wrote articles for several popular publications including the Vincent Curtis Educational Register and the South Florida Parenting Magazine. At Oak Ridge Military Academy, Wilson co-wrote and co-directed two teen reality shows that appeared on national television (Nickelodeon & ABC Family Channel). As an Adjunct Professor at U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, Wilson taught effective communications and military history for eighteen years. At Eastern Florida State College, Wilson wrote, directed, and produced a documentary entitled "Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence" for the Chi Nu chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Since retiring from Eastern Florida State College, Wilson has devoted countless hours working on book manuscripts.

Book preview

GONE SQUATCHIN’

IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE BIGFOOT

Written by

RAYMOND C. WILSON

GONE SQUATCHIN’

IN SEARCH OF THE ELUSIVE BIGFOOT

Published by Raymond C. Wilson at Smashwords

Copyright 2023 Raymond C. Wilson

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Also by Raymond C. Wilson

Commander in Chief

Martyr of the Race Course

The Hessians Are Coming

America’s Five-Star Warriors

Boy Generals of the Civil War

The Men Who Saved West Point

Plane Went Down in Gander Town

Elvis Presley: His Music and Movies

The Men Who Saved the Liberty Bell

Whether or Not It’s a Weather Balloon?

Sleepy Hollow: Facts Behind the Fiction

The King and I: My Family Ties to Elvis

Elvis Presley: You’re in the Army Now

Lance of Longinus: The Spear of Destiny

Janet Stewart: Royal Daughter & Mistress

POTUS & FLOTUS: Washington to Biden

Washington’s Life Guards: Conquer or Die

Tecumseh’s Revenge: The Curse of Tippecanoe

Pennsylvania Bucktails: Civil War Sharpshooters

Wounded Warriors - Their Struggle for Independence

George Smith Patton: Four Men Who Shared the Name

McKee Family of Pennsylvania: Loyalists and Patriots

European Royal Bloodlines of the American Presidents

24th Infantry Division (Mechanized) - Point of the Spear

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume One)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Two)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Three)

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Volume Four)

The Making of Patton - An Academy Award Winning Movie

‘Twas Whose Night Before Christmas? Moore Vs. Livingston

If These Walls Could Talk: Huling Hotel and Pack Horse Inn

George Armstrong Custer and the Royal Buffalo Hunt of 1872

Beyond the Bighorn: The Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer

George Armstrong Custer and the Pennypackers of Pennsylvania

Kennedy Family of Pennsylvania and Their Native American Kin

Pass in Review - Military School Celebrities (Presidential Edition)

14th Cavalry Group in World War II - Story of Cavalryman Bill Null

Patton: Soldier Who Saved His Life and the One Who Caused His Death

Custer’s Luck Has Run Out: George Armstrong Custer’s Changing Image

Space Pioneers: Animals That Paved the Way for Human Space Exploration

Out of Necessity: George Washington’s Surrender of Fort Necessity to the French

Dedication

Sharon Ann Straub (nee Wilson) with son Ryan (left) and daughter Vanessa (right)

I wish to dedicate this book to my sister Sharon Ann Straub (nee Wilson) who appears on its front cover. When our mother passed away in October 2019, I began making weekly phone calls to my sister. We would chat on the phone for hours about a variety of subjects including Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch) -- a topic of great interest to both of us.

One of my sister’s favorite places to visit with her family was Tennessee and she always made it a point to stop at the ‘Bigfoot HQ’ in Gatlinburg, ‘Jonathan’s The Bear Necessities’ in Gatlinburg, and the ‘Bigfoot & the Bee General Store’ in Pigeon Forge to get her ‘Bigfoot fix’ from their wide selection of Sasquatch books and memorabilia.

Sharon enjoyed trekking through the woods in the Great Smoky Mountains in hopes of catching a glimpse of an elusive Bigfoot creature. On one occasion, my sister got excited when she thought she had spotted a Sasquatch lurking in the forest, but it turned out to be a large black bear standing upright next to a tree.

In September 2021, Sharon unexpectedly departed this world during the COVID-19 pandemic. But I don’t like to think of my sister as being deceased. I prefer to think of her as ‘Gone Squatchin’.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Native American Legends

Jacko the Ape Boy - 1884

Ape Canyon Attack - 1924

Kidnapped by Sasquatch - 1924

Ray Wallace’s Bigfoot Prints - 1958

Patterson-Gimlin Film - 1967

Bossburg Incident - 1969

Appendix A: Patterson-Gimlin Film Insights

Appendix B: Analysis of Patterson-Gimlin Film

Appendix C: Television Coverage of Bigfoot

Appendix D: Bigfoot Sightings by State

Bibliography

About Raymond C. Wilson

Introduction

More than sixty years ago while living in the Pacific Northwest, I went on a camping trip with my youth group to Mount Rainier in Washington in early Spring 1962. This snow-capped mountain is located about 60 miles from Olympia where I was residing at the time.

View of Mount Rainier from Olympia, Washington

Ascending to 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, Mount Rainier is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous United States, spawning five major rivers. Subalpine wildflower meadows ring the icy volcano while ancient forest cloaks Mount Rainier’s lower slopes. Wildlife abounds in the park’s ecosystems.

At the time of European contact, the river valleys and other areas near the mountain were inhabited by Native Americans who hunted and gathered animals and plants in Mount Rainier's forests and high elevation meadows. Modern descendants of these peoples are represented by members of modern tribes that surround the mountain; including the Nisqually Indian Tribe, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, among others in the area. The archaeological record of human use of the mountain dates to over 8,500 years ago. Sites related to seasonal use of Mount Rainier and its landscapes are reflected in chipped stone tool remains and settings suggesting functionally varied uses including task-specific sites, rock shelters, travel stops, and long-term base camps. Their distribution on the mountain suggests primary use of subalpine meadows and low alpine habitats that provided relatively high resource abundance during the short summer season.

At the outset of the 19th century, the region where Mount Rainier is located was claimed by Spain, the United States, Russia, and Great Britain, with most claims being based on instances of early naval exploration of the region's coast. Spain relinquished all remaining claims to the Pacific Northwest that had not already been handed over with the Louisiana Purchase in 1819 with the purchase and cession of Florida by the United States. In 1824, Russia ceded all land claims south of parallel 54°40′ north to the United States as part of the Russo-American Treaty. In 1818, the United States and the United Kingdom signed a treaty, agreeing upon the joint settlement and occupation of the Oregon country which consisted of the territory north of 42°N latitude, south of 54°40′N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The 1846 Oregon Treaty between the United States and United Kingdom set new borders between British and American territory along today's approximate borders. In 1853, the land between the Columbia River and the border with British Canada was organized into the Washington Territory. On 11 November 1889, Washington officially became the 42nd state of the United States.

Citing the need to protect scenery and provide for public enjoyment, railroads and local businesses urged the creation of a national park in hopes of increased tourism. On 2 March 1899, President William McKinley established Mount Rainier National Park as America's fifth national park. Congress dedicated the new park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people and ... for the preservation from injury or spoliation of all timber, mineral deposits, natural curiosities, or wonders within said park, and their retention in their natural condition.

Warning sign for Bigfoot area

Although several states across the U.S. have recorded Bigfoot sightings in the hundreds, there is no scientific consensus on where the elusive Bigfoot creature lives. While the speculation continues, it is worth mentioning that no U.S. state has as many recorded Bigfoot sightings as Washington State. With about 676 recorded sightings centering around the state's National Parks, this neck of the woods does seem to be the preferred home and the stomping grounds of the Bigfoot creature. Bigfoot sightings are so common in the forests and mountains of Washington State that nine out of every 100,000 Washington residents claim to have seen Bigfoot!

During my camping trip to Mount Rainier in early Spring 1962, I spent