WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.040 --> 00:00:00.160 Hi. 2 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:05.080 I'm doctor Maria Meyer, anthropologist, primatologist, wildlife correspondent and part 3 00:00:05.080 --> 00:00:08.880 of the team on Expedition Bigfoot. I've spent my entire 4 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:13.519 life exploring the planet's wildest, most remote places in search 5 00:00:13.560 --> 00:00:17.280 of the extraordinary, and now I'm inviting you to join me. 6 00:00:18.000 --> 00:00:22.960 Introducing the Explorer Society, a global community of curious minds, 7 00:00:23.320 --> 00:00:26.760 truth seekers, and adventures where we dive into the unknown, 8 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.160 from elusive creatures like Bigfoot, to the frontiers of science, 9 00:00:31.359 --> 00:00:35.679 nature and unexplained phenomena. Live q and as and roundtable discussions, 10 00:00:36.119 --> 00:00:40.840 especial guest interviews including the Expedition Bigfoot team, Dave Schrader, 11 00:00:40.960 --> 00:00:45.079 Cliff Berrickman plus Josh Gates, Jack Osborne and many more. 12 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:50.520 On demand streaming content, invites to exclusive events and conferences 13 00:00:50.600 --> 00:00:54.719 around the world, Explore Society swag, and even the chance 14 00:00:54.799 --> 00:00:57.920 to join us on a real life expedition. Come explore 15 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:01.640 with me. Let's discover what's out there. Join Explorer Society 16 00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:03.759 at Mariameyer dot com. 17 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:05.400 Today, I want to tell you about a journey that 18 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:07.719 I've been on for most of my life. Ever since 19 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:09.640 I was a kid, I've heard tales of Bigfoot and 20 00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:12.120 wild men, while spending time with my friends and family. 21 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.239 As I grew older and read more about the paranormal, 22 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.480 my interest in cryptids and other things strange only deepened. 23 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:21.000 That's why I'm so excited to share with you what 24 00:01:21.040 --> 00:01:25.480 I've personally become involved with The Untold Radio Network. The 25 00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:29.079 Untold Radio Network is a live streaming podcast network that 26 00:01:29.159 --> 00:01:33.200 airs a new show every day across all podcast platforms, YouTube, 27 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.959 and more. They have eight different shows on all sorts 28 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:39.920 of exciting topics such as bigfoot, cryptids, UFOs, aliens, and 29 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.319 much more. I even have my own show called Weird Encounters, 30 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:46.280 where I talk about all things strange. This is more 31 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.120 than just a podcast network. It's a community that allows 32 00:01:49.120 --> 00:01:51.560 me to meet so many amazing people who share their 33 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:55.040 stories and experiences with the strange. If you're interested in 34 00:01:55.079 --> 00:01:57.079 hearing more of these stories and learning more about the 35 00:01:57.079 --> 00:02:00.000 paranormal and cryptids, make sure you check out the Untold 36 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:02.760 Old Radio Network for all kinds of exciting shows. 37 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:05.439 It's free to subscribe. So what are you waiting for? 38 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:10.800 Visit www dot untold radionetwork dot com today. 39 00:02:10.520 --> 00:02:13.520 And one are you reporting? I got a screen going 40 00:02:13.560 --> 00:02:16.199 on here? Something just kid with my dog, something killed 41 00:02:16.199 --> 00:02:19.080 your dog, my dog. We're flying through the or over 42 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:23.919 the tree. I don't know how it did it. Okay, damn, 43 00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:26.439 I'm really confused. All I saw was my dog coming 44 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.319 over the fence. The name was dead when you hit 45 00:02:28.360 --> 00:02:30.199 the ground. I didn't a seen any cars. All I 46 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:48.960 saw was my dog coming over the fence. What are 47 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:50.039 you reporting? 48 00:02:50.439 --> 00:03:10.719 We got some wonder or something crawling around out here. 49 00:03:04.039 --> 00:03:04.159 Here. 50 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:05.560 Look, I'm new the one. Don't now and I don't 51 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:12.599 need anything. I don't want to go outside. Just fit Hello, 52 00:03:14.240 --> 00:03:16.520 get the boddy out here? What que I'm out there? 53 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:18.960 I thought of an about text nine. 54 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:20.680 I don't know. Eat him out there? 55 00:03:20.800 --> 00:03:21.400 Yeah, I'm. 56 00:03:23.120 --> 00:03:25.919 Almost every interview I do, whether it's with someone who 57 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:28.879 claims to have seen a Sasquatch or someone who's simply 58 00:03:28.919 --> 00:03:33.080 fascinated by the subject, starts the same way. They tell 59 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.360 me that part of what first grabbed their attention was 60 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:39.000 a film, the Legend of Boggy Creek. It's been that 61 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:43.759 way for decades. That grainy, eerie, half documentary, half nightmare 62 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.680 movie has become a rite of passage for anyone even 63 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:48.360 remotely interested in Bigfoot. 64 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:50.159 But here's the real question. 65 00:03:50.719 --> 00:03:53.080 How much do you actually know about the origins of 66 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.879 the Fouc Monster, the real sightings, the people who claim 67 00:03:56.919 --> 00:03:59.800 to see it, the small Arkansas town that was suddenly 68 00:04:00.039 --> 00:04:03.599 rust into the spotlight, and the strange, unlikely path that 69 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:06.800 led to the making of the film itself. That's exactly 70 00:04:06.840 --> 00:04:09.439 what you're about to hear. We're going to break down 71 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:12.560 the sidings, the people involved, and the legend that still 72 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:16.240 haunts the swamps of Boggy Creek to this day. In 73 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:19.519 the heart of southwestern Arkansas, where the Sulfur River winds 74 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.959 its serpentine path through dense bottomland hardwood forests, lies a 75 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.879 place where the modern world seems to hold its breath. 76 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.720 Here in Miller County, the small town of fok sits 77 00:04:30.759 --> 00:04:34.439 like a forgotten outpost at the edge of civilization, surrounded 78 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:39.040 by thousands of acres of impenetrable swampland, towering cypress trees 79 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.720 draped in Spanish moss, and waterways that mirror the sky 80 00:04:42.959 --> 00:04:47.120 like dark glass. This is a land where time moves differently. 81 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:50.800 The humid air carries the scent of rich earth and decay, 82 00:04:51.519 --> 00:04:54.439 the eternal cycle of life and death that defines the 83 00:04:54.480 --> 00:05:00.680 Deep South. Ancient oaks stand sentinel over forgotten homesteads, branches 84 00:05:00.720 --> 00:05:04.720 reaching toward heaven like arthritic fingers. Somewhere in the distance, 85 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.399 a screech owl calls through the gathering dusk, its haunting 86 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:11.759 cry echoing across the water before being swallowed by the 87 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.800 endless green. The year is nineteen seventy one, and while 88 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.759 the rest of America is reeling from the cultural upheavals 89 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:22.879 of the nineteen sixties, watching Neil Armstrong's footsteps on the moon, 90 00:05:23.319 --> 00:05:28.279 and grappling with the ongoing Vietnam War, Falk remains largely unchanged. 91 00:05:29.040 --> 00:05:32.040 It's a place where families have lived for generations, where 92 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:35.560 everyone knows everyone else's business, and where the old ways 93 00:05:35.720 --> 00:05:39.639 still hold sway. The men work the timber industry or 94 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:43.120 farm the fertile river bottoms, while the women tend gardens 95 00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:46.040 and raised children who play barefoot in the summer heat. 96 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.160 But on this particular night in late spring, as the 97 00:05:49.199 --> 00:05:52.600 temperature hovers near eighty degrees and the humidity makes the 98 00:05:52.680 --> 00:05:55.920 air thick enough to cut with a knife, something ancient 99 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:59.480 and primordial is stirring in the depths of the Arkansas Wilderness, 100 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.959 something that will shatter the peace of this quiet community 101 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:07.199 and thrust it into the National spotlight, transforming Fouc from 102 00:06:07.240 --> 00:06:10.360 an anonymous dot on the map into one of America's 103 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:14.920 most famous cryptozoological hotspots. Yet, the story of the Fouc 104 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:19.199 Monster does not begin in nineteen seventy one. It reaches 105 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:23.600 back through decades of whispered tales, half remembered encounters, and 106 00:06:23.639 --> 00:06:26.199 the deep folklore of a land that has witnessed the 107 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:31.120 passing of Native American tribes, Spanish explorers, French trappers, and 108 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:35.560 American settlers. Each generation has added its own thread to 109 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.240 the tapestry of terror that would eventually become known worldwide 110 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.120 as the Legend of Boggy Creek. The Spanish moss sways 111 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:46.040 gently in the evening breeze, and somewhere deep in the 112 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:49.680 shadowy recesses of the Sulfur River bottoms, a creature that 113 00:06:49.720 --> 00:06:52.959 shouldn't exist is about to make its presence known in 114 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.160 a way that will change everything. This is the complete 115 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:59.279 story of the Falc Monster, a tale that begins with 116 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:02.639 whispers in the eighteen fifties and culminates in a legend 117 00:07:02.639 --> 00:07:06.079 that continues to haunt the American imagination more than half 118 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:10.319 a century later. To understand the Fouc Monster phenomenon. One 119 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:13.399 must first journey back to the earliest recorded encounters with 120 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:18.439 mysterious creatures in the Sulfur River bottoms. The Arkansas Wilderness 121 00:07:18.480 --> 00:07:21.519 has been home to indigenous peoples for thousands of years, 122 00:07:22.040 --> 00:07:24.839 and within their oral traditions lie the seeds of what 123 00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:29.879 would eventually become the modern Fouc Monster legend. Local folklore 124 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.680 also holds that the creature can be further traced back 125 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.759 to sidings in nineteen forty six. Most early sidings were 126 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:39.680 allegedly in the region of Jonesville, as the creature was 127 00:07:39.720 --> 00:07:43.959 known as the Jonesville Monster during this period. However, the 128 00:07:44.079 --> 00:07:47.560 roots go much deeper than the nineteen forties. Prior to 129 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:51.000 the twentieth century, several alleged sidings in the general area 130 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:54.680 related to a large, hairy creature circulated in an eighteen 131 00:07:54.759 --> 00:07:58.079 fifty one report in the Memphis Inquirer and an eighteen 132 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:01.879 fifty six report in the Caddog Gazette. I was doing 133 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:04.680 research in the Arkansas Gazette for a history paperback in 134 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:07.519 the nineteen eighties and came across an article from the 135 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:11.279 very early nineteen hundreds reporting a sighting of an unknown 136 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:16.639 ape like creature in extreme southwest Arkansas. This tantalizing reference 137 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:20.040 suggests that encounters with mysterious creatures in the region may 138 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:24.560 extend even further back than previously documented. The Native American 139 00:08:24.600 --> 00:08:29.399 tribes that inhabited the region, primarily the Caddo, Cherokee, and Choctaw, 140 00:08:29.959 --> 00:08:33.200 all have rich oral traditions that spoke of large, hairy 141 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:36.240 creatures that dwelt in the deepest parts of the forest. 142 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.559 These beings were known by various names in different tribal languages, 143 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:46.240 but they shared common characteristics enormous size, human like intelligence, 144 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:50.320 and an ability to move through the wilderness with supernatural stealth. 145 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.320 The Catto people, who had established permanent settlements along the 146 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:58.360 Red River and its tributaries, including the Sulfur River, told 147 00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:03.639 stories of creatures they called nelusaphaliah, tall hair covered beings 148 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:06.399 that stood upright like men, but possessed the strength of 149 00:09:06.440 --> 00:09:10.480 bears and the cunning of wolves. These creatures were said 150 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:13.799 to be guardians of the deepest swamps, emerging only when 151 00:09:13.879 --> 00:09:16.919 their territory was threatened or when the balance of nature 152 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.639 was disturbed. According to Caido tradition, the nlusiphalia were neither 153 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:26.240 entirely animal nor entirely spirit but something that existed between 154 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:29.759 the two worlds. They could make themselves known to humans 155 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.679 when they chose, but they could also vanish without a 156 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:36.480 trace when threatened. The creatures were said to leave signs 157 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:40.960 of their presence, massive footprints in river mud, broken trees 158 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:44.480 that no storm could have felled, and an overwhelming scent 159 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:49.000 that combined the musk of wild animals with something indefinably otherworldly. 160 00:09:49.879 --> 00:09:53.399 The Spanish explorers who first penetrated the Arkansas wilderness in 161 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.200 the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought back tales of encounters 162 00:09:57.240 --> 00:10:01.679 with creatures that defied easy categorization. In the journals of 163 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:05.559 Hernando de Soto's expedition through Arkansas in fifteen forty one 164 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.759 to fifteen forty two, there are references to Ombre Salvajes 165 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.879 wild men described as being covered in hair and possessing 166 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:18.480 enormous strength. While these accounts were often dismissed as encounters 167 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:23.919 with particularly large Native Americans or misidentified bears, some descriptions 168 00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:27.960 included details that didn't fit known animals or human characteristics. 169 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:32.360 French trappers and traders who established posts along Arkansas rivers 170 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:35.559 in the eighteenth century added their own stories to the 171 00:10:35.600 --> 00:10:39.799 growing body of creature lore. They spoke of ams sauvage 172 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.960 that stood taller than any man and moved through the 173 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:47.279 forest with an uncanny ability to avoid detection. These French 174 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:51.679 accounts were particularly detailed, describing creatures with human like hands 175 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.960 and faces, but covered entirely in coarse, dark hair. The 176 00:10:56.080 --> 00:11:00.240 eighteen fifty one Memphis Enquirer report, though brief describe, ribed 177 00:11:00.279 --> 00:11:03.120 an encounter near what is now Miller County involving a 178 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:05.919 creature that stood near eight feet in height and was 179 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:09.600 covered in hair of a reddish brown color. The witness, 180 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:13.200 identified only as a local hunter, claimed the creature examined 181 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.159 him from a distance before disappearing into the swamp lands 182 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.399 with movements more fluid than any bear or man. The 183 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:24.279 eighteen fifty six Catto Gazette report provided even more detail, 184 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.840 describing an incident in which a creature allegedly approached a 185 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:31.840 logging camp near the Sulfur River. The loggers described a 186 00:11:31.840 --> 00:11:36.159 bipedal creature that showed curiosity about their activities, watching them 187 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:38.799 work from the edge of the tree line. When the 188 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:43.480 men attempted to approach, the creature demonstrated remarkable speed, covering 189 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:47.679 ground with strides longer than any horse before vanishing into 190 00:11:47.720 --> 00:11:51.919 the dense undergrowth. These early accounts established many of the 191 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.559 characteristics that would later become associated with the Fouc monster. 192 00:11:56.399 --> 00:12:01.440 Enormous size, bipedal locomotion, human like in intelligence and curiosity, 193 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:06.519 incredible speed and agility, and an almost supernatural ability to 194 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:11.480 appear and disappear without warning. The reports also consistently mentioned 195 00:12:11.519 --> 00:12:15.320 the creature's apparent comfort in swampy, water logged terrain that 196 00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:19.480 would be challenging for humans to navigate. As American settlers 197 00:12:19.559 --> 00:12:22.919 moved into Miller County in the early nineteenth century, they 198 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:26.480 brought their own European folklore traditions of wild men and 199 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:31.120 forest creatures. These Old World legends blended with Native American 200 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:34.600 traditions and personal experiences to create a rich tapestry of 201 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:39.039 creature lore that would persist throughout the region's development. The 202 00:12:39.080 --> 00:12:42.799 Civil War years brought new reports of creature encounters, though 203 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:47.360 these were often overshadowed by the human conflicts raging across Arkansas. 204 00:12:48.120 --> 00:12:51.600 Confederate and Union soldiers operating in the Sulfur River bottoms 205 00:12:51.759 --> 00:12:55.840 reported encounters with large, hairy creatures that seemed unafraid of 206 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:59.720 human presence. Some accounts described creatures that appeared to be 207 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:04.039 absor deserving military movements, leading to speculation that they possessed 208 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.279 intelligence sufficient to understand the difference between ordinary travelers and 209 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:13.039 armed forces. During reconstruction, as the region slowly recovered from 210 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:17.480 the devastation of war, creature sightings continued to be reported sporadically. 211 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:21.679 Hunters and fishermen taking advantage of the abundant wildlife in 212 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.519 areas that had been largely untouched during the conflict, occasionally 213 00:13:25.600 --> 00:13:29.159 returned with tales of encounters with creatures that defied explanation. 214 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:33.000 The late nineteenth century saw the arrival of the railroad 215 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:36.559 in Miller County, bringing with it new opportunities for commerce 216 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.480 and communication. Railroad workers clearing right of way through the 217 00:13:40.519 --> 00:13:44.519 dense forests occasionally reported finding tracks and other signs of large, 218 00:13:44.600 --> 00:13:48.840 unknown animals. Some engineers and conductors claimed to have glimpsed 219 00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:53.240 massive bipedal figures moving through the trees parallel to the tracks, 220 00:13:53.759 --> 00:13:57.159 always at a distance and never long enough for detailed observation. 221 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.840 By the early twentieth century, the the pattern of creature 222 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:04.879 encounters in the Sulfur River bottoms was well established. The 223 00:14:04.960 --> 00:14:09.279 report shared common elements that would persist for decades, sightings 224 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:14.120 of large, hairy, bipedal creatures, encounters typically occurring in swampy 225 00:14:14.200 --> 00:14:19.879 heavily forested areas, creatures displaying intelligence and curiosity about human activities, 226 00:14:20.320 --> 00:14:23.720 and witnesses who were often reluctant to report their experiences 227 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:27.720 for fear of ridicule. The continuity of these reports across 228 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:32.279 different time periods, cultural groups, and individual witnesses suggests that 229 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:37.039 something unusual was indeed present in the Arkansas wilderness. Whether 230 00:14:37.159 --> 00:14:40.799 that something was an unknown species of primate, a relic 231 00:14:40.879 --> 00:14:45.279 population of primitive humans, or something else entirely. The evidence 232 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:49.120 indicates that the Fouk monster phenomenon has roots that extend 233 00:14:49.200 --> 00:14:52.720 far deeper into history than the famous nineteen seventy one 234 00:14:52.799 --> 00:14:56.320 encounters that would make it a household name. As the 235 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:00.679 twentieth century dawned over Miller County, Arkansas, the remote wilderness 236 00:15:00.679 --> 00:15:04.120 of the Sulfur River Bottoms continued to harbor secrets that 237 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:07.799 science could not explain. The early decades of the new 238 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:10.960 century would see a gradual increase in reported encounters with 239 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:15.120 mysterious creatures, setting the stage for the explosion of activity 240 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:18.679 that would occur in the nineteen seventies. The first reports 241 00:15:18.679 --> 00:15:22.080 appear to have surfaced in around nineteen fifty three, while 242 00:15:22.080 --> 00:15:25.120 in nineteen fifty five, a fourteen year old boy claimed 243 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:28.120 to have seen a large ape like creature with reddish 244 00:15:28.120 --> 00:15:31.879 fur out hunting and armed with a shotgun loaded with 245 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:35.200 lightweight bird shot. The teenager stated that the creature seemed 246 00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:39.519 unphased even after being shot at This nineteen fifty five 247 00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:42.440 encounter would become one of the most frequently cited early 248 00:15:42.519 --> 00:15:44.799 modern sightings of what would later be known as the 249 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:48.919 Fouk Monster. The teenage hunter, whose identity was protected by 250 00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:52.480 local authorities, provided a detailed account of his encounter that 251 00:15:52.480 --> 00:15:57.639 would establish many characteristics later associated with the creature. According 252 00:15:57.639 --> 00:16:00.480 to his testimony, he was hunting alone in the swamps 253 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:04.000 when he noticed movement in a clearing approximately fifty yards away. 254 00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:07.159 What he initially took to be a bear feeding on 255 00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:11.159 the ground suddenly stood upright, revealing itself to be something 256 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:15.559 far more unusual. The creature, as described by the young witness, 257 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:18.840 stood between seven and eight feet tall and was covered 258 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.120 in coarse, reddish brown hair that seemed to shimmer in 259 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:26.039 the filtered sunlight of the forest. Its build was described 260 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.559 as massively muscular, with broad shoulders and long arms that 261 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:33.240 hung nearly to its knees. Most striking were its eyes, 262 00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:37.519 which the witness described as intelligent and almost human like, 263 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:40.639 but larger than any human eyes he had ever seen. 264 00:16:41.559 --> 00:16:44.159 The creature appeared to be examining something on the ground, 265 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:47.799 possibly foraging for food, when it became aware of the 266 00:16:47.879 --> 00:16:52.399 human observer. Rather than fleeing immediately, it stood and looked 267 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:55.159 directly at the boy for what seemed like several minutes. 268 00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.600 The witness later described feeling as though the creature was 269 00:16:58.639 --> 00:17:02.240 studying him with the same curiosity he was directing toward it. 270 00:17:03.080 --> 00:17:06.200 Frightened but determined to defend himself, the young hunter raised 271 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:09.880 his shotgun and fired at the creature. The light bird shot, 272 00:17:10.079 --> 00:17:13.400 suitable for small game but hardly adequate for large animals, 273 00:17:13.680 --> 00:17:16.880 struck the creature in the chest and shoulder area, to 274 00:17:16.960 --> 00:17:19.799 the amazement of the witness, the creature showed no signs 275 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:23.720 of pain or distress. Instead, it simply looked down at 276 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.880 its chest, brushed at the area where the shot had struck, 277 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:29.319 and then looked back at the human with what the 278 00:17:29.319 --> 00:17:34.359 witness described as an expression of mild annoyance. After this exchange, 279 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:37.200 the creature turned and walked away into the dense forest, 280 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.799 moving with a fluid, upright gait that the witness found 281 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:44.799 deeply unsettling. The boy reported that the creature's movement was 282 00:17:44.920 --> 00:17:48.160 unlike anything he had ever seen, not the rolling gait 283 00:17:48.240 --> 00:17:51.000 of a bear walking on its hind legs, nor the 284 00:17:51.079 --> 00:17:53.759 awkward shuffle he might have expected from such a large 285 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:58.119 biped but a smooth, confident stride that suggested the creature 286 00:17:58.200 --> 00:18:02.000 was perfectly adapted for upright LOFs commotion. The young hunter 287 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:04.720 waited in his position for nearly an hour before working 288 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:07.480 up the courage to investigate the spot where the creature 289 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:10.920 had been standing. When he finally approached the area, he 290 00:18:11.000 --> 00:18:14.279 found clear impressions in the soft earth that measured approximately 291 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:17.240 sixteen inches in length and showed the outline of what 292 00:18:17.319 --> 00:18:20.640 appeared to be three toes. The depth of the impression 293 00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:24.559 suggested something enormously heavy, far beyond the weight of any 294 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:28.240 known animal in the region. Most unsettling to the witness 295 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.440 was the discovery of what appeared to be the remains 296 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:34.000 of the creature's meal scattered around the area. The creature 297 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.480 had apparently been feeding on fresh water muscles, cracking them 298 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.079 open with its bare hands, and consuming the meat inside. 299 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:43.839 The shells were scattered in a rough circle, and many 300 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:47.240 showed clear impressions of what looked like large fingerprints in 301 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:50.880 the mud that coated them. This nineteen fifty five encounter 302 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:55.119 was significant for several reasons. First, it established the pattern 303 00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:58.359 of the creature's apparent in vulnerability to small arms fire 304 00:18:58.640 --> 00:19:02.599 that would be reported in later encounters. Second, it provided 305 00:19:02.640 --> 00:19:06.720 detailed observations of the creature's physical appearance and behavior under 306 00:19:06.720 --> 00:19:11.160 relatively good lighting conditions. Third, it suggested that the creature 307 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.920 was omnivorous and intelligent enough to use simple tools or 308 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:19.720 techniques to obtain food. The witness's account also highlighted the 309 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.720 creature's apparent lack of fear toward humans. Rather than fleeing 310 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:27.279 immediately upon discovery, the creature had taken time to study 311 00:19:27.319 --> 00:19:31.200 its observer, suggesting either a lack of experience with humans 312 00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.279 or a confidence in its ability to handle any threat 313 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.079 they might pose. 314 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:36.799 Word of the. 315 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:40.480 Nineteen fifty five encounters spread slowly through the rural community, 316 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:44.079 largely through word of mouth among hunters and fishermen who 317 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:47.200 hunted and fished in the area. The witness and his 318 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:51.039 family were reluctant to publicize the incident, fearing ridicule from 319 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:56.039 skeptics and unwonted attention from curiosity seekers. This pattern of 320 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.839 reluctant witnesses would persist throughout the following decades, with many 321 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:03.839 encounters going unreported or being shared only within small circles 322 00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:08.119 of trusted friends and family members. The late nineteen fifties 323 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:12.039 and early nineteen sixties saw a gradual increase in reported 324 00:20:12.119 --> 00:20:16.680 encounters with mysterious creatures in the Sulfur River bottoms. Most 325 00:20:16.720 --> 00:20:20.680 of these reports were brief sidings glimpses of large, upright 326 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:23.480 figures moving through the trees or crossing roads in the 327 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:28.440 early morning or evening hours. The witnesses were typically hunters, fishermen, 328 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.079 or local residents who knew the area well and were 329 00:20:31.079 --> 00:20:32.559 familiar with the normal. 330 00:20:32.200 --> 00:20:33.440 Wildlife of the region. 331 00:20:34.279 --> 00:20:38.160 One particularly detailed account from nineteen sixty one involved a 332 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:41.000 local fisherman who claimed to have observed a creature drinking 333 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:44.640 from the Sulfur River in the early morning hours. The 334 00:20:44.680 --> 00:20:47.200 witness had been fishing from an elevated position on the 335 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:49.359 river bank when he noticed a movement in the water 336 00:20:49.440 --> 00:20:53.160 below what he initially took to be a bear cooling itself. 337 00:20:53.240 --> 00:20:56.240 In the river proved to be something far more unusual 338 00:20:56.279 --> 00:21:00.480 when it stood and revealed its bipedal nature, and watched 339 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:02.920 for nearly twenty minutes as the creature waded through the 340 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:06.839 shallow water, occasionally bending to drink and seemingly searching for 341 00:21:06.880 --> 00:21:10.640 something in the river bottom. The creature's behavior suggested it 342 00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:14.240 was completely comfortable in the aquatic environment, moving through the 343 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:17.880 water with ease and showing no concern about being observed. 344 00:21:18.279 --> 00:21:20.799 When the creature finally left the river, it climbed the 345 00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:24.119 opposite bank with remarkable agility for something of its apparent 346 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:27.640 size and weight. The witness noted that the creature seemed 347 00:21:27.680 --> 00:21:30.960 to choose its footing carefully avoiding areas where it might 348 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:34.519 leave clear tracks and selecting routes that would provide maximum 349 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:38.599 concealment as it moved back into the forest. This nineteen 350 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:42.920 sixty one siding was significant because it provided detailed observations 351 00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:46.519 of the creature's behavior in its natural environment away from 352 00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:51.000 human habitation. The creature's comfortable relationship with water would become 353 00:21:51.039 --> 00:21:54.880 a recurring theme in later reports, with many sidings occurring 354 00:21:54.920 --> 00:21:57.680 near rivers, creeks, and swampy areas. 355 00:21:58.599 --> 00:21:59.880 In nineteen seventy. 356 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:01.720 One, The constable said that there had been a sighting 357 00:22:01.720 --> 00:22:04.559 of an ape man back in nineteen sixty three, and 358 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:07.920 that several shots had been fired at it. This nineteen 359 00:22:07.960 --> 00:22:11.839 sixty three encounter, while not well documented in contemporary sources, 360 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:16.319 represents another instance of the creature's apparent resistance to firearms 361 00:22:17.799 --> 00:22:18.920 and stay tuned. 362 00:22:18.680 --> 00:22:22.759 For more sasquatch ottaesee, We'll be right back. After these messages. 363 00:22:26.599 --> 00:22:30.039 The cumulative effect of these early encounters was to establish 364 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:34.079 a baseline of creature characteristics and behaviors that would persist 365 00:22:34.279 --> 00:22:38.039 throughout the more famous sightings of the nineteen seventies. The 366 00:22:38.119 --> 00:22:42.680 creatures were consistently described as large, bipedal, covered in hair, 367 00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:47.160 and possessing intelligence that seemed to exceed that of known animals. 368 00:22:47.640 --> 00:22:50.640 They showed no fear of humans, but also demonstrated a 369 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:55.680 preference for avoiding direct confrontation when possible. Perhaps most importantly, 370 00:22:56.000 --> 00:22:59.480 these early encounters occurred against a backdrop of gradual development 371 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:03.640 and population growth in Miller County. As more people moved 372 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:07.240 into previously remote areas, and as hunting and fishing pressure 373 00:23:07.319 --> 00:23:11.359 increased in the region's wilderness areas, the opportunities for human 374 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:15.920 creature encounters grew correspondingly, the stage was set for the 375 00:23:15.960 --> 00:23:19.559 explosive events of nineteen seventy one that would transform the 376 00:23:19.599 --> 00:23:23.279 Fouk Monster from a local legend into a national phenomenon. 377 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.480 The foundation had been laid through decades of sporadic encounters, 378 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:30.599 each adding to the growing body of evidence that something 379 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:34.920 extraordinary was living in the Arkansas wilderness. To understand the 380 00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:38.880 foalc Monster, one must first understand the Ford family, whose 381 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:42.160 encounters with the creature would launch a thousand headlines and 382 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:46.920 inspire one of the most successful independent horror films ever made. 383 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:49.920 The Fords were not newcomers to Miller County. They were 384 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.720 part of the fabric of the community, with roots that 385 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:57.160 ran deep into the Arkansas soil. Bobby Ford born Robert 386 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:00.160 Ford in nineteen forty six was the patriarch of the 387 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.680 family that would become forever linked with the monster. He 388 00:24:03.720 --> 00:24:07.160 was a typical rural Arkansas man of his era, having 389 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:09.400 grown up in the area and learned to hunt and 390 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:12.319 fish in the very swamp lands that would later become 391 00:24:12.359 --> 00:24:16.759 the center of cryptozoological attention. Bobby was known throughout the 392 00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:19.920 community as a reliable, hard working man who didn't drink 393 00:24:19.920 --> 00:24:23.519 to excess and wasn't given to flights of fancy or storytelling. 394 00:24:24.400 --> 00:24:27.240 Standing just over six feet tall and weighing about one 395 00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:31.039 hundred eighty pounds, Bobby Ford was no small man, but 396 00:24:31.079 --> 00:24:33.799 he was also not someone who would typically be described 397 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:37.319 as intimidating. He had served briefly in the military and 398 00:24:37.359 --> 00:24:41.400 had worked various jobs around Texarkana and Miller County, including 399 00:24:41.440 --> 00:24:45.240 time in construction and the timber industry. Those who knew 400 00:24:45.279 --> 00:24:48.440 him described him as level headed and practical, not the 401 00:24:48.440 --> 00:24:50.799