Editing Bigfoot (section)

==History==

===Folklore and early records ===
Ecologist [[Robert Michael Pyle|Robert Pyle]] argues that most cultures have accounts of human-like giants in their folk history, expressing a need for "some larger-than-life creature".<ref name="Goodavage">{{cite web |last=Goodavage |first=Maria |title=Hunt for Bigfoot Attracts True Believers |newspaper=USA Today |date=May 24, 1996 |url=http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.usatbf.html |access-date=July 19, 2007 |archive-date=March 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314183111/http://web.ncf.ca/bz050/HomePage.usatbf.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Each language had its name for the creature featured in the local version of such legends. Many names mean something like "wild man" or "hairy man", although other names described common actions that it was said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees.<ref name="Mil07">{{cite book |last=Meldrum |first=Jeff |title=Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science |publisher=Macmillan |year=2007 |page=50 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ggeQHFa5E7AC&q=salish+sasquatch&pg=PA50 |access-date=February 19, 2010 |isbn=978-0-7653-1217-4 |archive-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216154000/https://books.google.com/books?id=ggeQHFa5E7AC&q=salish+sasquatch&pg=PA50#v=snippet&q=salish%20sasquatch&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref> European folklore traditionally had many instances of the "wild man of the woods," or "wild people," often described as "a naked creature covered in hair, with only the face, feet and hands (and in some cases the knees, elbows, or breasts) remaining bare"<ref name="Bartholomew2009" /><ref name="Forth2007">{{cite journal |last1=Forth |first1=Gregory |title=Images of the Wildman Inside and Outside Europe |journal=Folklore |date=2007 |volume=118 |issue=3 |pages=261–281 |doi=10.1080/00155870701621772|s2cid=161789895 }}</ref> These European wild people ranged from human hermits, to human-like monsters.<ref name="Bartholomew2009" /> Upon migrating to North America, myths of the "wild people" persisted, with documented sightings of "wild people" reported in what is now New York state and Pennsylvania.<ref name="Bartholomew2009" /> In a 2007 paper titled "Images of the Wildman Inside and Outside Europe" it stated: {{Cquote|quote= "To be sure, the modern sasquatch is largely the product of a European-derived culture, as possibly to an even greater extent is the Australian yahoo; accordingly, traces of the European wildman are discernible in both figures. Yet the sasquatch is partly rooted in Amerindian representations of hairy hominoids, even though the relationship between these, which are often described as small, and the giant sasquatch of the popular Canadian and American imagination is hardly straightforward"|author=[[Gregory Forth]]|source=<ref name="Forth2007"/>}}

Many of the indigenous cultures across the North American continent include tales of mysterious hair-covered creatures living in forests,<ref>{{cite web |title=Sasquatch |url=https://oregonwild.org/wildlife/sasquatch |website=oregonwild.org |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126200327/https://oregonwild.org/wildlife/sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> and according to anthropologist David Daegling, these legends existed long before contemporary reports of the creature described as Bigfoot. These stories differed in their details regionally and between families in the same community and are particularly prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.<ref name="Dae04_p28">[[#Dae04|Daegling 2004]], p. 28</ref> Chief Mischelle of the [[Nlaka'pamux]] at [[Lytton, British Columbia]], told such a story to [[Charles Hill-Tout]] in 1898.<ref name="Hill-Tout1978">{{cite book |last1=Hill-Tout |first1=Charles |editor1-last=Maud |editor1-first=Ralph |title=The Salish People: The Local Contribution of Charles Hill-Tout Volume I: The Thompson and the Okanagan |year=1978 |publisher=Vancouver : Talonbooks |isbn=978-0-88922-148-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/salishpeopleloca0001hill/page/20/mode/2up}}</ref>

[[File:Painted_Rock_Tulare_County.jpg|thumb|left|A reproduction of the petroglyphs at [[Painted Rock (Tulare County, California)|Painted Rock]].]]
On the [[Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reservation|Tule River Indian Reservation]], [[petroglyph]]s created by a tribe of [[Yokuts]] at a site called [[Painted Rock (Tulare County, California)|Painted Rock]] are alleged by Kathy Moskowitz Strain, author of the 2008 book ''Giants, Cannibals, Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture'', to depict a group of Bigfoots called "the Family".<ref>{{cite web |title=Was Big Foot at the Reservation? |url=https://www.recorderonline.com/was-big-foot-at-the-reservation/article_92f4cf6c-e5eb-51c7-a558-d5529203c665.html |website=recorderonline.com |publisher=[[Porterville Recorder]] |access-date=May 10, 2021 |date=November 14, 2013 |archive-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510205236/https://www.recorderonline.com/was-big-foot-at-the-reservation/article_92f4cf6c-e5eb-51c7-a558-d5529203c665.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The largest glyph is called "Hairy Man", and they are estimated to be 1,000 years old.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Moskowitz Strain |first1=Kathy |title=MAYAK DATAT: THE HAIRY MAN PICTOGRAPHS |url=https://www.isu.edu/media/libraries/rhi/research-papers/Mayak-Datat-Hairy-Man-Pictographs-1.pdf |website=isu.edu |publisher=THE RELICT HOMINOID INQUIRY |access-date=11 March 2024 |date=2012}}</ref> According to the Tulare County Board of Education in 1975, "Big Foot, the Hairy Man, was a creature that was like a great big giant with long, shaggy hair. His long shaggy hair made him look like a big animal. He was good in a way, because he ate the animals that might harm people", and Yokuts parents warned their children not to venture near the river at night or they may encounter the creature.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bays |first1=Ruby |title=Big Foot, The Hairy Man |url=https://tulerivertribe-nsn.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/big-foot.pdf |website=tulerivertribe-nsn.gov |publisher=Tulare County Board of Education |access-date=11 March 2024 |date=1975}}</ref>

16th-century [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish explorers]] and [[Mexican Cession|Mexican settlers]] told tales of the ''los Vigilantes Oscuros'', or "Dark Watchers", large creatures alleged to stalk their camps at night.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Almond |first1=Elliott |title=Trekking California's mysterious Bigfoot trail |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/ |access-date=February 3, 2022 |agency=[[The Mercury News]] |date=January 31, 2022 |archive-date=February 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202203836/https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/31/trekking-californias-mysterious-bigfoot-trail/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the region that is now Mississippi, a [[Jesuit]] priest was living with the [[Natchez people|Natchez]] in 1721 and reported stories of hairy creatures in the forest known to scream loudly and steal livestock.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grayson |first1=Walt |title=Focused on Mississippi: "Bigfoot Bash" to be held in Natchez on November 4th |url=https://www.wjtv.com/living-local/focused-on-mississippi/focused-on-mississippi-bigfoot-bash-to-be-held-in-natchez-on-november-4th/ |website=wjtv.com |publisher=[[WJTV]] |access-date=November 26, 2021 |date=November 1, 2021 |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126200318/https://www.wjtv.com/living-local/focused-on-mississippi/focused-on-mississippi-bigfoot-bash-to-be-held-in-natchez-on-november-4th/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1929, [[Indian agent]] and teacher J.W. Burns, who lived and worked with the [[Sts'ailes Nation]] (then called the Chehalis First Nation), published a collection of stories titled, ''Introducing B.C.'s Hairy Giants: A collection of strange tales about British Columbia's wild men as told by those who say they have seen them'', in [[Maclean's]] magazine.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Peters |first1=Hammerson |title=How the Sasquatch Got Its Name |url=https://mysteriesofcanada.com/bc/how-the-sasquatch-got-its-name/ |website=mysteriesofcanada.com |access-date=11 March 2024 |date=12 July 2018}}</ref> The stories offered various anecdotal reports of wild people; including an encounter a tribal member had with a hairy wild woman who could speak the language of the [[Douglas First Nation]]. Burns coined the term "Sasquatch", believed to be the [[anglicized]] version of ''sasq'ets'' (sas-kets), roughly translating to "hairy man" in the [[Halq'emeylem]] language.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kadane |first1=Lisa |title=The true origin of Sasquatch |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220720-the-true-origin-of-sasquatch |website=bbc.com |publisher=[[BBC]] |access-date=August 10, 2022 |date=July 21, 2022 |archive-date=August 11, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811052029/https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20220720-the-true-origin-of-sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> Burns describes the Sasquatch as, "a tribe of hairy people whom they claim have always lived in the mountains – in tunnels and caves".

The folklore of the [[Cherokee]] includes tales of the ''[[Tsul 'Kalu]]'', who were described as "slant-eyed giants" that resided in the [[Appalachian Mountains]], and is sometimes associated with Bigfoot.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=D.W. |title=IN THE SHADOWS: The legend of Judaculla, the Cherokee Devil |url=https://www.stilwelldemocrat.com/community/in-the-shadows-the-legend-of-judaculla-the-cherokee-devil/article_12f4001a-a3ff-11ee-bf18-1fbdd84df632.html |website=stilwelldemocrat.com |publisher=The Stilwell Democrat Journal |access-date=31 January 2024 |date=29 December 2023 |archive-date=January 31, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240131172842/https://www.stilwelldemocrat.com/community/in-the-shadows-the-legend-of-judaculla-the-cherokee-devil/article_12f4001a-a3ff-11ee-bf18-1fbdd84df632.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Members of the [[Lummi Nation|Lummi]] tell tales about creatures known as ''Ts'emekwes''. The stories are similar to each other in the general descriptions of ''Ts'emekwes'', but details differed among various family accounts concerning the creature's diet and activities.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rasmus|first1=Stacy M.|title=Repatriating Words: Local Knowledge in a Global Context|journal=[[American Indian Quarterly]]|date=2002|volume=26|issue=2|pages=286–307|doi=10.1353/aiq.2003.0018|jstor=4128463|s2cid=163062209}}</ref> Some regional versions tell of more threatening creatures: the ''stiyaha'' or ''kwi-kwiyai'' were a nocturnal race, and children were warned against saying the names so that the "monsters" would not come and carry them off to be killed.<ref name="Rigsby">{{cite web |last=Rigsby |first=Bruce |title=Some Pacific Northwest Native Language Names for the Sasquatch Phenomenon |publisher=Bigfoot: Fact or Fantasy? |url=http://home.clara.net/rfthomas/papers/rigsby.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081205183546/http://home.clara.net/rfthomas/papers/rigsby.html |archive-date=December 5, 2008 |access-date=August 18, 2008 }}</ref> The [[Iroquois]] tell of an aggressive, hair covered giant with rock-hard skin known as the ''Ot ne yar heh'' or "Stone Giant", more commonly referred to as the ''Genoskwa''.<ref name="MartAyers2020">{{cite book |last1=Mart |first1=T.S. |last2=Ayers |first2=Mel |title=The Legend of Bigfoot: Leaving His Mark on the World |year=2020 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-1-68435-140-4 |pages=24–25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b2r-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212002435/https://books.google.com/books?id=b2r-DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1847, [[Paul Kane]] reported stories by the natives about ''[[Skookum|skoocooms]]'', a race of [[Human cannibalism|cannibalistic]] wild men living on the peak of [[Mount St. Helens]]. U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]], in his 1893 book, ''The Wilderness Hunter'', writes of a story he was told by an elderly [[mountain man]] named Bauman in which a foul-smelling, bipedal creature ransacked his beaver [[fur trapping|trapping]] camp, stalked him, and later became hostile when it fatally broke his companion's neck.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roosevelt Relates 'Bigfoot Story' |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2010/07/27/roosevelt-relates-bigfoot-story/ |website=tampabay.com |access-date=March 18, 2021 |date=July 27, 2010 |archive-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519062842/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2010/07/27/roosevelt-relates-bigfoot-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Roosevelt notes that Bauman appeared fearful while telling the story but attributed the trapper's [[German folklore|German ancestry]] to have potentially influenced him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Teddy Roosevelt Wrote About A Fatal Bigfoot Encounter |url=https://bearstatebooks.com/blog/2021/01/04/teddy-roosevelt-wrote-about-a-fatal-bigfoot-encounter/ |website=bearstatebooks.com |date=January 4, 2021 |publisher=Bear State Books |access-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-date=May 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509073042/https://bearstatebooks.com/blog/2021/01/04/teddy-roosevelt-wrote-about-a-fatal-bigfoot-encounter/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Alutiiq]] of the [[Kenai Peninsula]] in Alaska tell of the ''Nantinaq'', a Bigfoot-like creature.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Armstrong |first1=Michael |title=New reality-TV show explores Nantinaq stories |url=https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/life/new-reality-tv-show-explores-nantinaq-stories/ |website=peninsulaclarion.com |publisher=[[Peninsula Clarion]] |access-date=6 December 2023 |date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207180709/https://www.peninsulaclarion.com/life/new-reality-tv-show-explores-nantinaq-stories/ |url-status=live }}</ref> This folklore was featured in the [[Discovery+]] television series, ''[[Alaskan Killer Bigfoot]]'', which claims the ''Nantinaq'' was responsible for the population decrease of [[Portlock, Alaska|Portlock]] in the 1940s.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-30|title=New Show Set in Portlock Explores Legend of Bigfoot|url=https://www.kbbi.org/local-news/2021-11-30/new-show-set-in-portlock-explores-legend-of-bigfoot|access-date=2023-12-06|website=KBBI AM 890|language=en|archive-date=February 12, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240212085035/https://www.kbbi.org/local-news/2021-11-30/new-show-set-in-portlock-explores-legend-of-bigfoot|url-status=live}}</ref>

Less menacing versions have been recorded, such as one by Reverend [[Elkanah Walker]] in 1840. Walker was a [[Protestant]] missionary who recorded stories of giants among the natives living near [[Spokane, Washington]]. These giants were said to live on and around the peaks of the nearby mountains, stealing salmon from the fishermen's nets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bigfootencounters.com/classics/walker.htm |title=The Diary of Elkanah Walker |publisher=Bigfoot Encounters |access-date=August 1, 2007 |archive-date=October 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181007085252/http://www.bigfootencounters.com/classics/walker.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Ape Canyon incident ====
On July 16, 1924, an article in ''[[The Oregonian]]'' made national news when a story was published describing a conflict between a group of [[Gold prospecting|gold prospectors]] and a group of "ape-men" in a [[gorge]] near Mount St. Helens.<ref>{{Citation|last = Pyle|first = Robert Michael|title = Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing the Dark Divide | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Books, 1995| page = 131| isbn = 0-395-85701-5| year = 1995}}</ref> The prospectors reported encountering "gorilla men" near their remote cabin. One of the men, Fred Beck, indicated that he shot one of the creatures with a rifle. That night, they reported coming under attack by the creatures, who were said to have thrown large rocks at the cabin, damaging the roof and knocking Beck unconscious. The men fled the area the following morning. The [[U.S. Forest Service]] investigated the site of the alleged incident. The investigators found no compelling evidence of the event and concluded it was likely a fabrication. Stories of large, hair covered bipedal ape-men or "mountain devils" had been a persistent piece of folklore in the area for centuries prior to the alleged incident. Today, the area is known as [[Ape Canyon]] and is cemented within Bigfoot-related folklore.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Perry |first1=Douglas |title=How a 1924 Bigfoot battle on Mt. St. Helens helped launch a legend: Throwback Thursday |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2018/01/1924_bigfoot_battle_on_mt_st_h.html |website=oregonlive.com |publisher=[[The Oregonian]] |access-date=31 May 2023 |date=25 January 2018 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414232954/https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2018/01/1924_bigfoot_battle_on_mt_st_h.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Origin of the "Bigfoot" name===

====Jerry Crew and Andrew Genzoli====

In 1958, Jerry Crew, bulldozer operator for a logging company in [[Humboldt County, California]], discovered a set of large, {{convert|16|in}} human-like [[footprint]]s sunk deep within the mud in the [[Six Rivers National Forest]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bailey |first1=Eric |title=Bigfoot's Big Feat: New Life |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-19-me-bigfoot19-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=April 13, 2021 |date=April 19, 2003 |archive-date=August 22, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822012255/http://articles.latimes.com/2003/apr/19/local/me-bigfoot19 |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon informing his coworkers, many claimed to have seen similar tracks on previous job sites as well as telling of odd incidents such as an [[Drum (container)|oil drum]] weighing {{convert|450|lb}} having been moved without explanation. The logging company men soon began using the word "Bigfoot" to describe the apparent culprit.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Flight |first1=Tim |title=The Hairy History of Bigfoot in 20 Intriguing Events |url=https://historycollection.com/the-hairy-history-of-bigfoot-in-20-intriguing-events/10/ |website=historycollection.com |access-date=April 13, 2021 |date=November 9, 2018 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413161935/https://historycollection.com/the-hairy-history-of-bigfoot-in-20-intriguing-events/10/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Crew and others initially believed someone was playing a prank on them. After observing more of these massive footprints, he contacted reporter Andrew Genzoli of the ''[[Times-Standard|Humboldt Times]]'' newspaper. Genzoli interviewed lumber workers and wrote articles about the mysterious footprints, introducing the name "Bigfoot" in relation to the tracks and the local tales of large, hairy wild men.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McPhate |first1=Mike |title=When California introduced Bigfoot to the world |url=https://www.californiasun.co/stories/when-california-introduced-bigfoot-to-the-world/ |work=[[California Sun]] |access-date=March 18, 2021 |agency= |date=August 7, 2018 |archive-date=April 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417203833/https://www.californiasun.co/stories/when-california-introduced-bigfoot-to-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A [[plaster cast]] was made of the footprints and Crew appeared, holding one of the casts, on the front page of the newspaper on October 6, 1958. The story spread rapidly as Genzoli began to receive correspondence from major media outlets including the ''[[New York Times]]'' and ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.<ref name="Buhs2009">{{cite book |last1=Buhs |first1=Joshua Blu |title=Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend |year=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-50215-1 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI4SlHwH7h0C&pg=PA75 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212044604/https://books.google.com/books/?id=RI4SlHwH7h0C&pg=PA75 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result, the term Bigfoot became widespread as a reference to an apparently large, unknown creature leaving massive footprints in Northern California.<ref name="Nickell2017">{{cite journal |last1=Nickell |first1=Joe |author-link1=Joe Nickell |title=Bigfoot As Big Myth: 7 Phases of Mythmaking |journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |date=2017 |volume=41 |issue=5 |pages=52–57 |url=https://www.csicop.org/si/show/bigfoot_as_big_myth_seven_phases_of_mythmaking |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826145056/https://www.csicop.org/si/show/bigfoot_as_big_myth_seven_phases_of_mythmaking |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018}}</ref>

====Ray Wallace and Rant Mullens====

In 2002, the family of Jerry Crew's deceased coworker [[Raymond L. Wallace|Ray Wallace]] revealed a collection of large, carved wooden feet stored in his basement. They stated that Wallace had been secretly making the footprints and was responsible for the tracks discovered by Crew.<ref>{{cite web |title=The enduring legend of Bigfoot |url=https://theweek.com/articles/833273/enduring-legend-bigfoot |website=theweek.com |publisher=[[The Week]] |access-date=March 18, 2021 |date=April 6, 2019 |archive-date=November 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107233302/https://theweek.com/articles/833273/enduring-legend-bigfoot |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wallace was inspired by another hoaxer, Rant Mullens, who revealed information about his hoaxes in 1982. In the 1930s in [[Toledo, Washington]], Mullens and a group of other [[forester]]s carved pairs of large feet made of wood and used them to create footprints in the mud to scare [[huckleberry]] pickers in the [[Gifford Pinchot National Forest]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Morgan |first1=Jake |title=The True Legend of Toledo's Bigfoot |url=https://lewiscountytribune.com/the-true-legend-of-toledos-bigfoot.html |website=lewiscountytribune.com |publisher=Lewis County Tribune |access-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418225701/https://lewiscountytribune.com/the-true-legend-of-toledos-bigfoot.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The group would also claim to be responsible for hoaxing the alleged Ape Canyon incident in 1924.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toledo Retiree Admits Bigfoot Hoax in 1982 |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/toledo-retiree-admits-bigfoot-hoax-in-1982,212478 |website=chronline.com |publisher=The Daily Chronicle |access-date=April 18, 2023 |date=April 11, 2007 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418225702/https://www.chronline.com/stories/toledo-retiree-admits-bigfoot-hoax-in-1982,212478 |url-status=live }}</ref> Mullens and the group of foresters began referring to themselves as the St. Helens Apes, and would later have a [[Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument#Ape Cave|cave]] dedicated to them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mt St Helens Ape Caves |url=https://www.visitmtsthelens.com/mt-st-helens-ape-caves/ |website=visitmtsthelens.com |access-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418225700/https://www.visitmtsthelens.com/mt-st-helens-ape-caves/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Wallace, also from Toledo, knew Mullens and stated he collaborated with him to obtain a pair of the large wooden feet and subsequently used them to create footprints on the 1958 construction site as a means to scare away potential thieves.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sexton |first1=Owen |title=Hundreds Attend 'Bigfoot: Real or Hoax?' Event in Chehalis |url=https://www.chronline.com/stories/hundreds-attend-bigfoot-real-or-hoax-event-in-chehalis,317537 |website=chronline.com |publisher=The Daily Chronicle |access-date=April 18, 2023 |date=April 17, 2023 |archive-date=April 18, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418225701/https://www.chronline.com/stories/hundreds-attend-bigfoot-real-or-hoax-event-in-chehalis,317537 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other historical uses of "Bigfoot"===

In the 1830s, a [[Wyandot people|Wyandot]] chief was nicknamed "Big Foot" due to his significant size, strength and large feet.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sketches of Western Adventure|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/53143756|access-date=May 8, 2018|work=Newbern Sentinel|issue=1|date=May 3, 1833|archive-date=May 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509151235/http://www.newspapers.com/image/53143756/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Potawatomi]] Chief Maumksuck, known as Chief "Big Foot", is today synonymous with the area of [[Walworth County, Wisconsin]], and has a [[Big Foot Beach State Park|state park]] and [[Big Foot High School|school]] named for him.<ref>{{cite web |title=Why is your high school named Big Foot? |url=https://www.bigfoot.k12.wi.us/domain/27 |website=bigfoot.k12.wi.us |access-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414001021/https://www.bigfoot.k12.wi.us/domain/27 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[William A. A. Wallace]], a famous 19th century [[Texas Ranger Division|Texas Ranger]], was nicknamed "Bigfoot" due to his large feet and today has a town named for him: [[Bigfoot, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Texas Ranger "Big Foot" Wallace born |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/texas-ranger-big-foot-wallace-born |website=history.com |publisher=[[A&E Television Networks]] |access-date=April 14, 2021 |date=November 16, 2009 |archive-date=April 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414001017/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/texas-ranger-big-foot-wallace-born |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lakota people|Lakota]] leader [[Spotted Elk]] was also called "Chief Big Foot". In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, at least two enormous marauding [[grizzly bear]]s were widely noted in the press and each nicknamed "Bigfoot." The first grizzly bear called "Bigfoot" was reportedly killed near [[Fresno, California]], in 1895 after killing sheep for 15 years; his weight was estimated at 2,000 pounds (900&nbsp;kg).<ref name="Had Slain His Thousand">{{cite news|title=Had Slain His Thousand|url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/california/placerville/placerville-mountain-democrat/1895/02-09/page-7|access-date=October 22, 2016|work=Placerville Mountain Democrat|issue=7|date=February 9, 1895|archive-date=February 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216154020/https://newspaperarchive.com/placerville-mountain-democrat-feb-09-1895-p-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> The second one was active in Idaho in the 1890s and 1900s between the Snake and Salmon rivers, and supernatural powers were attributed to it.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Terror to Ranchmen. "Bigfoot," the Giant Grizzly, and his Costly Depredations|url=https://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/indiana/goshen/goshen-daily-democrat/1902/05-24/page-8|access-date=October 22, 2016|work=Goshen Daily Democrat|issue=8|date=May 24, 1902|archive-date=February 16, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240216154011/https://newspaperarchive.com/goshen-daily-democrat-may-24-1902-p-8/|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Regional and other names====
[[File:Pikes Peak Bigfoot P4160515.jpg|thumb|right|upright|"Bigfoot" carving at the [[Crystal Creek Reservoir]] in Colorado.]]

Many regions throughout North America have differentiating names for Bigfoot.<ref>{{cite web |title=AKA Bigfoot World Map |url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Ak-BQArjKb2uY6NfenxeV1ga16M&msa=0&dg=feature&ll=41.25303313356799%2C-100.67871068749997&z=5 |website=google.com |access-date=April 4, 2021 |archive-date=November 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231128052129/https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1Ak-BQArjKb2uY6NfenxeV1ga16M&msa=0&dg=feature&ll=41.25303313356799,-100.67871068749997&z=5 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Canada, the name ''Sasquatch'' is widely used in addition to Bigfoot.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Nicki |title=Sasquatch |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sasquatch |website=thecanadianencyclopedia.ca |access-date=April 4, 2021 |date=January 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210303061343/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> The United States uses both of these names but also has numerous names and descriptions of the creatures depending on the region and area in which they are allegedly sighted.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Walls |first1=Robert |title=Bigfoot (Sasquatch) legend |url=https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bigfoot_sasquatch_legend/ |website=oregonencyclopedia.org |access-date=April 4, 2021 |date=January 22, 2021 |archive-date=April 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418050928/https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/bigfoot_sasquatch_legend/ |url-status=live }}</ref> These include the ''[[Skunk ape]]'' in Florida and other southern states,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bfro.net/GDB/ |title=Geographical Database of Bigfoot/Sasquatch Sightings & Reports |publisher=Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization |access-date=April 10, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090228213753/http://www.bfro.net/GDB/| archive-date= February 28, 2009 | url-status=live}}</ref> the ''Ohio Grassman'' in [[Ohio]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Keating |first1=Don |title=The Legend of Bigfoot at Salt Fork State Park |url=https://visitguernseycounty.com/what-to-do/discover/attractions/85-the-legend-of-bigfoot-at-salt-fork-state-park.html |website=visitguernseycounty.com |date=February 10, 2017 |publisher=[[Guernsey County]] |access-date=March 23, 2021 |archive-date=February 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226091929/https://visitguernseycounty.com/what-to-do/discover/attractions/85-the-legend-of-bigfoot-at-salt-fork-state-park.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Fouke Monster]]'' in Arkansas,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Thompson |first1=Amy Michelle |title=Fouke Monster |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/ |website=encyclopediaofarkansas.net |access-date=March 23, 2021 |date=February 28, 2017 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413203937/https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Wood Booger'' in [[Virginia]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sorrell |first1=Robert |title=Fans, experts assemble for first ever Virginia Bigfoot Conference |url=https://richmond.com/news/virginia/fans-experts-assemble-for-first-ever-virginia-bigfoot-conference/article_5b856a3c-a352-5dde-bc3f-ca29133e3a52.html |website=richmond.com |publisher=[[Richmond Times]] |access-date=April 4, 2021 |date=August 26, 2016 |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616050948/https://richmond.com/news/virginia/fans-experts-assemble-for-first-ever-virginia-bigfoot-conference/article_5b856a3c-a352-5dde-bc3f-ca29133e3a52.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the ''Monster of Whitehall'' in [[Whitehall, New York]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=Mark |title=NY town proclaims Bigfoot its official animal. 'It can't hurt,' town official says. |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article214951325.html |access-date=April 4, 2021 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=July 16, 2018 |archive-date=June 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621011552/https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article214951325.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Momo the Monster|Momo]]'' in Missouri,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Banias |first1=MJ |title=The Missouri Monster 'Momo' Is the Cryptid Time Forgot |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-missouri-monster-momo-is-the-cryptid-time-forgot/ |access-date=March 11, 2021 |work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]] |date=September 30, 2019 |archive-date=April 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403035019/https://www.vice.com/en/article/evja34/the-missouri-monster-momo-is-the-cryptid-time-forgot |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Honey Island Swamp monster|Honey Island Swamp Monster]]'' in Louisiana,<ref>{{cite web |title=Big Foot |url=https://www.honeyislandswamp.com/bigfoot.html |website=honeyislandswamp.com |access-date=March 10, 2021 |archive-date=January 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128054241/https://www.honeyislandswamp.com/bigfoot.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Dewey Lake Monster]]'' in Michigan,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dimick |first1=Aaron |title=Michigan Monsters: Dewey Lake Monster legend comes to the surface |url=https://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-monsters-dewey-lake-monster-legend-comes-to-the-surface |access-date=April 11, 2021 |work=[[WWMT]] |agency= |date=May 30, 2016 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411041305/https://wwmt.com/news/local/michigan-monsters-dewey-lake-monster-legend-comes-to-the-surface |url-status=live }}</ref> ''[[Mogollon Monster]]'' in Arizona,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ford |first1=Erin |title=Searching for the Mogollon Monster |url=https://www.williamsnews.com/news/2017/oct/24/searching-mogollon-monster/ |access-date=April 11, 2021 |work=[[Grand Canyon News]] |date=October 24, 2017 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411041305/https://www.williamsnews.com/news/2017/oct/24/searching-mogollon-monster/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the ''Big Muddy Monster'' in [[southern Illinois]],<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cates |first1=Kristen |title=Chasing Monsters: Big Muddy Monster still has Murphysboro residents wondering |url=https://thesouthern.com/news/chasing-monsters-big-muddy-monster-still-has-murphysboro-residents-wondering/article_b06c6316-8e36-5a7f-9e80-1b7a4aa0ec23.html |access-date=April 9, 2021 |work=[[The Southern Illinoisan]] |date=October 26, 2005 |archive-date=April 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411063057/https://thesouthern.com/news/chasing-monsters-big-muddy-monster-still-has-murphysboro-residents-wondering/article_b06c6316-8e36-5a7f-9e80-1b7a4aa0ec23.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and ''The Old Men of the Mountain'' in [[West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Todd |first1=Roxy |title=New W.Va. Bigfoot Museum Highlights A Local Take On The Mountain State's Sasquatch |url=https://www.wvpublic.org/section/arts-culture/2021-10-29/new-w-va-bigfoot-museum-highlights-a-local-take-on-the-mountain-states-sasquatch |newspaper=[[West Virginia Public Broadcasting]] |access-date=December 21, 2021 |date=October 29, 2021 |archive-date=December 21, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211221165110/https://www.wvpublic.org/section/arts-culture/2021-10-29/new-w-va-bigfoot-museum-highlights-a-local-take-on-the-mountain-states-sasquatch |url-status=live }}</ref> The term ''Wood Ape'' is also used by some as a means to deviate from the perceived mythical connotation surrounding the name "Bigfoot".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bozek |first1=Rachel |title=Habitat Of The Wood Ape |url=https://www.aetv.com/shows/the-lowe-files/exclusives/lowe-cation-habitat-of-the-wood-ape |website=aetv.com |publisher=[[A&E Networks|A&E]] |access-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413142405/https://www.aetv.com/shows/the-lowe-files/exclusives/lowe-cation-habitat-of-the-wood-ape |url-status=live }}</ref> Other names include ''Bushman'', ''Treeman'', and ''Wildman''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chandler |first1=Nathan |title=What's the Difference Between Sasquatch and Bigfoot? |url=https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/sasquatch-bigfoot-difference.htm |website=howstuffworks.com |access-date=June 24, 2021 |date=April 9, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203614/https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/strange-creatures/sasquatch-bigfoot-difference.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Patterson-Gimlin film===
{{Main|Patterson-Gimlin film}}
[[File:Patterson Gimlin Bigfoot Film Unedited.webm|thumb|left|The Patterson-Gimlin film.]]
On October 20, 1967, Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson and his partner Robert "Bob" Gimlin were filming a Bigfoot [[docudrama]] in an area called Bluff Creek in Northern California. The pair claimed they came upon a Bigfoot and filmed the encounter. The 59.5-second-long video, dubbed the ''Patterson-Gimlin film'' (PGF), has become iconic in popular culture and Bigfoot-related history and lore. The PGF continues to be a highly scrutinized, analyzed, and debated subject.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rosman |first1=John |title=Film Introducing Bigfoot To World Still Mysterious 50 Years Later |url=https://www.opb.org/news/article/bigfoot-patterson-gimlin-sasquatch/ |website=opb.org |publisher=[[Oregon Public Broadcasting]] |access-date=March 18, 2021 |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518145245/https://www.opb.org/news/article/bigfoot-patterson-gimlin-sasquatch/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Academic experts from related fields have typically judged the film as providing no supportive data of any scientific value,<ref name="Daegling2004">{{cite book |last1=Daegling |first1=David J. |title=Bigfoot Exposed: An Anthropologist Examines America's Enduring Legend |date=2004 |publisher=Rowman Altamira |isbn=978-0-7591-1523-1 |page=108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WfCxAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |access-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212002435/https://books.google.com/books?id=WfCxAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA108 |url-status=live }}</ref> with perhaps the most common proposed explanation being that it was a hoax.<ref name="Buhs2009190">{{cite book |last1=Buhs |first1=Joshua Blu |title=Bigfoot: The Life and Times of a Legend |year=2009 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-50215-1 |page=75 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RI4SlHwH7h0C&pg=PA190 |access-date=December 16, 2023 |archive-date=December 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212002644/https://books.google.com/books/?id=RI4SlHwH7h0C&pg=PA190 |url-status=live }}</ref>