Friday, January 22, 2016

BIGTRUTH  PRESENTS


HARPER'S HISTORY Vol. 1 #1





Sasquatch History Pre Patterson-Gimlin Film


by Scott Harper


    In the summer of 2014, my wife, our daughter—who was still a baby at the time—and myself took a trip to Willow Creek, California for their annual Bigfoot Days celebration. While there, we paid two visits to the famed Willow Creek/China Flats Museum. While the museum isn't dedicated fully to Sasquatch, a lot of the displays there are. That's what the museum is known for.
    

    One larger section of display focuses on the Patterson-Gimlin video footage. This piece of video was filmed by Roger Patterson, in the presence of his working partner/travelling companion Bob Gimlin, in Bluff Creek, California in 1967. For many, the Patterson/Gimlin film is the definitive piece of evidence supporting the existence of Sasquatch. Many researchers working in Cryptozoology in general, or looking into the subject of Sasquatch in particular, were convinced that Sasquatch are viable, living creatures by that video footage. It is, arguably, the single most important piece of evidence that we have today to support the reality of these beings.
    

    The Patterson-Gimlin footage did not, however, result in the first-ever sighting, or report of a Sasquatch. Why do I feel the need to make that point so blatantly? It's because of something I overheard during the first visit my family and I took to the museum while in Willow Creek.
    

    We were standing near the Patterson-Gimlin display, but not directly at it. Two women approached the display. The older of the two began to excitedly point out still photos taken from the footage, and plaster casts—a mixture of originals, and replicas— from the location where the footage was shot. She then proceeded to tell her younger friend, "That was the first time anyone had ever seen one of those things!" Her friend asked, "Really?" To which the older woman instantly replied, "Yes! No one had ever seen one before. It's lucky those guys had a camera with them!"
   


    In actuality, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin had been in the area for several days. They were shooting footage for a Sasquatch-themed film that Patterson was producing. His interest in the subject had began years prior, in 1959, when he read a magazine article by Ivan T. Sanderson on the topic. Between then, and shooting the famous film in Bluff Creek, Patterson had also self-published a book on Sasquatch. These beings didn't simply turn up, abruptly real, in 1967!

    

    Human history is rife with descriptions, and accounts, of such creatures. "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is roughly 4,000-years-old. Although it's unknown how much of it is purely fantasy, there are descriptions of beings in it that certainly fit the typical description of a Sasquatch—tall, muscular, very hairy, and incredibly strong. Some researchers are of the firm opinion that those characters were, in fact, based on real beings which existed then, and still exist in the world today.


    In the Unites States, we find accounts in nearly every Native American tribal culture—if not every; I've not yet found one lacking this belief—of such beings. These reports go back centuries. They're found in tribal cultures spanning from Florida to Alaska. All told, there are dozens of names in Native American cultures for these beings. A large percentage of those denote the creatures as something special, beings to be respected and revered, or feared and avoided. Physical depictions of them are also common. Very typically these take the form of totem pole carvings. Again, their positions on the totem poles very often mark these beings with great respect. And they appear right along with eagles, deer, fish, and other wildlife that mainstream science has long since accepted as real. This is further testament of the reality of such beings to Native Americans.


    Sasquatch aren't a recent phenomena in our world, and human cultures. Every piece of evidence that we have points to them having been here for as long as humans have. Quite possibly, Sasquatch, as a race, are older than Humanity. Many accounts from Native Americans talk of how, in the past, Humans and Sasquatch lived side-by-side. According to these accounts, Humans and Sasquatch had, if not a close relationship, at least something more cordial than exists as a whole today. As time has gone by, and modern Humans have mostly lost touch with nature, and inflicted so much damage on nature, Sasquatch apparently want less to do with us. They've withdrawn almost entirely from contact with us, and become a very stealthy, low-key presence. That, however, doesn't mean they aren't still with us. We have ample evidence in myriad forms to tell us that!


    What a lot of people in our modern times seem to have forgotten, though, is that Sasquatch didn't simply pop up out of nowhere a few decades ago. These beings have lived beside Humanity for centuries—if not longer. Are they a barely-known Human ancestor? Are they an offshoot of Humanity; or an entirely separate race? We don't know. What we do know, thanks to a great many stories handed down from generation to generation, is that Sasquatch have been with us for a very long time. While the Patterson-Gimlin footage may have been the first time a Sasquatch was captured on video, it most certainly wasn't the first time a Sasquatch had been sighted by a Human.


    Tales of Sasquatch throughout human history is a topic that can easily provide the basis for a good many articles such as this one. Given the propensity for Native Americans to keep quiet about the subject of Sasquatch with anyone outside of their own tribe, it makes me think that the general public only knows about the tip of the proverbial iceberg in this matter. Many Native tribes view Sasquatch with a religious reverence. This makes them very cautious about speaking regarding such things with anyone they view to be an outsider to their tribe, and/or belief system. How many accounts of Human interaction with Sasquatch in years, decades, or even centuries past do Native tribes keep entirely to themselves?


    Still, given the small number of existing accounts of such past sightings of, and interaction with Sasquatch, we know more than enough to know that these beings aren't new. Be they harmless, threatening, or somewhere in between, they've been here for a very long time, woven into human history



About the Author
  Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down. Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith." 

  More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net


Blog Post by Dan Lindholm






Sunday, January 17, 2016

Exclusive Sneak Peak at Hidden Tribe

The best selling husband and wife Authors Scott Harper and Desiree Lee have teamed up to co-author their soon to be released "Hidden Tribe." Told from the dual perspectives of Human and Sasquatch, this looks like a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it. I've also included their Author bios from Amazon. You can find all of their titles on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Scott will also be writing for this blog in the near future with a Series of Articles based on historical Sasquatch Reports. Here's your Bigtruth exclusive, first look at "Hidden Tribe." 
- Dan Lindholm



Iktomi crouched behind the conjoined pines again, watching the human female. As she seemed so apt to do, she had, once more, begun speaking to herself while she stood before an odd device. This one appeared to be a slightly larger variation of the oily black thing she had clicked at the footprints. It balanced atop a trio of slender black artificial sticks. "While these tracks aren't the best," she said, "they're the first ones I've found in years, and not for lack of looking, either! Unfortunately, the footprints were too old to get any real detail. So, no dermal ridges, or anything like that from these. Still, they're clear enough to tell that these were made by a living foot." She lay the copies of the tracks on the ground, in the order she had found them—right foot, left foot, and then another right footprint. Removing the device from the sticks to which it had been mounted, she fiddled with it while focusing on the brief trail. "Note the toes, which are curled a bit, digging into the earth. This is a common feature in many sasquatch prints that have been found. One theory is that the creatures grip the ground with their toes to gain additional traction. "Also notice the outline and shape of the tracks. Look closely at the two prints made by the creature's right foot. We can see how the foot flexed and moved from one step to the next. This is evidence of anthropoid morphology, rather than a hoax. Anyone faking such tracks would be far more apt to use a simple wooden cutout, or something similar, strapped to their feet. Such an appliance would be too rigid to demonstrate such flexing and motion. "It's too bad I didn't find these prints sooner. Had they been fresher, and clearer, they may well have contained dermal ridges. A number of such footprints have been found over the years. Sadly, I've never personally discovered any of those." She paused, standing still, aiming the device in her hands at the footprints. Iktomi watched closely, attempting to divine her purpose. However, her actions continued to mystify him. The faint snapping of a twig caused him to slowly crouch lower. Iktomi sniffed the air tentatively. The piquant stink of a second human—this one male—caused his hair to ruff up involuntarily. Making a conscious effort to smooth it back down, he held still otherwise. Leaves scuffed as the newcomer approached. He seemed to want his advance to be clandestine. A glance at the female told Iktomi that she remained oblivious to the other human's presence. Iktomi refocused on his progress as an acorn skipped off the side of a stone. Like most humans, this new one didn't seem to be nearly as stealthy as he obviously wanted. Another twig broke, much closer to the female's camp. Finally, she became aware of the nearness of the second human. She froze briefly, before moving slowly to return the device in her hands to the top of the odd trio of sticks. When more leaves crunched, she held her breath, and picked up her gun. She inched close to the black device again. "Something is in the woods, near my camp," she whispered. "What I'm hearing sounds like two feet—something bipedal—as opposed to a deer, or some other four-legged animal." She inhaled deeply, sampling the air. "I don't smell the tell-tale stench of a sasquatch, though. I've smelled that before. It's rank; it's like skunk concentrate, especially if one has urinated in the area recently. Whatever is approaching my camp, I don't think it's a sasquatch. Still, their stink seems to be a defense mechanism. They appear to be able to create it at will. Mountain gorillas have glands under their arms from which they can emit pungent secretions when they get excited. A lot of sasquatch encounters don't include report of such a stink. What I'm hearing right now may or may not be a sasquatch. Yet I've seen no other signs of human habitation in this area. Although I've only been here for a bit more than twenty-four hours, so that isn't saying much." She fell silent, waiting. The gun remained firmly in place at her shoulder. "Alexia?" a masculine voice called several moments later. "Is that you over there?" Iktomi saw the female tense as her head angled sharply. Her body language told him that not only did she know the male, but she didn't like him in the least. "Just a warning shot," she muttered. "Something to send him on his way." "It is you!" the voice said. "I thought so." "Mr. Wessler," she answered through teeth that were firmly gritted. "What are you doing out here?" The new human stepped into view through the trees partway around the camp from Iktomi. "Call me Dane," he said, smiling broadly, displaying his even, white teeth. The male stood noticeably taller than the female, had dark blonde hair, and appeared only a few years older than she. He wore variations on the same type of body covering that she wore. Iktomi had seen such things on most of the humans he had witnessed in the forests—thick, warm things that completely covered the arms and legs, with heavy foot protection. Once more he gave silent thanks that his own people had no need of such silliness. "What are you doing out here, Mr. Wessler?" the female asked. Grin broadening, he strode into her camp. "Same as you." He pointed at the trio of footprint copies. "I see you've already had some luck. Where did you find those?" "That's confidential." "We're on the same side," he told her, gazing at the tracks. "Where are you camped?" "Why?" He turned to her, grinning in a way that Iktomi thought of as happily. "Are you thinking of visiting me?" "No; just the opposite. I want to know where your camp is, so I know which area to avoid. I'm trying to do serious work out here. Having a clown trampling around, making noise, is going to be detrimental to that." "Noise? Are you referring to my guitar?" She nodded, quirking an eyebrow in irritation. He chuckled. "A lot of researchers have had some success in eliciting responses from the Forest Gods by playing music." "I don't care what you do—as long as you do it far from me. Again, please, why are you out here?" "There've been a lot of sightings in this area over the past few years," he replied, crouching to take a closer look at the tracks. "I plotted out the ones I knew about on a map. This valley is right smack in the middle of a cluster of locations where the Forest Gods have been reported. It makes sense that if they're all around here, they're in this valley, too. Even if none of them are living here full-time, they must crisscross through it to get from one side to the other. Far as I know, there's nothing here they'd want to avoid badly enough to trek all the way around the valley over and over." He stood up, facing her again. "When, that is, they're here." "Here?" "On this plane of existence," he explained. "You're still supporting the supernatural sasquatch theory?" "How else do you explain the lack of definitive evidence supporting their existence?" he asked. The female sighed in response. Her reaction, unfamiliar though Iktomi might be with humans, spoke eloquently of her frustration. "Lack of evidence?" she asked. "We have thousands of footprints that have been discovered. We have hundreds of photographs, and audio recordings. We have dozens of video recordings. Several handprints have been found. A few of the handprints, and even some of the footprints, have exhibited dermal ridges. Some of those prints have also been shown to display some form of injury or handicap that the creature apparently suffered from—attributes that would take an extensively detailed knowledge of anatomy, anatomical morphology, and several other fields to pull off. Not to mention that those knowledge bases would all need to be understood equally well by the hoaxer. "We have a large number of hair samples, some of which scientists have been able to sample DNA from. Testing on those have sometimes come back showing that the being the DNA came from wasn't human, or chimpanzee—but some unknown species that is, evolutionarily-speaking, somewhere in between them! More recent studies of sasquatch DNA have shown not only that, but suggested that sasquatch are descended from human ancestors, and some unknown species. "On top of all of that, we have hundreds of thousands of eye-witness reports of these creatures. Taken all together, it's a pile of evidence that would be the proverbial open-and-shut case in any court, anywhere in the world! People are sentenced to execution every single day on what amounts to a tiny, tiny fraction of the evidence that we have documented to support the existence of sasquatch as a living population!" As the male held up his hands, and the female stopped talking. Iktomi wished yet again that he could understand their speech. If he knew what they were saying, he might be better able to gauge what level of threat—if any—these two posed to his family, and to himself. Based solely on the passion with which the female seemed to speak, Iktomi couldn't help but to feel extremely wary of them.

Author Bios:

Scott Harper is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 published short stories, and several novels. There has been talk, from several fronts, about turning his fourth novel, "Predators or Prey?", the first book in his Wendy Markland series, into a live-action project. Interest from a movie producer has also been voiced about turning his bestselling, award-winning eighth novel, "Quintana Roo, Yucatan", into a film.

Harper grew up in Ohio, and graduated from Marysville High School in 1993, and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels. He has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions, and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film, and comic books. He was also a contributing writer for "Nuclear Winter Entertainment" for several months before that site shut down.

Scott is very happily married to bestselling paranormal author Desirée Lee. Together, they have a wonderful little girl, and are working jointly on several projects. Those projects include multiple books, as well as the hit webcomic "MoonWraith".

More information about his work can be found on his website: www.scottharper.net



______

Critically acclaimed, best-selling author Desirée Lee is an amalgam wrapped inside of an enigma: a book junkie, vampire, and self-proclaimed geek with a fascination bent toward the dark and macabre. When not writing or reading, she feeds her gaming addiction. Des loves the dark, evil characters. If word ever got out that she was secretly a level 15 paladin, her reputation would be ruined.

Des currently lives in a hole-in-the-wall town in Northern California, further away from civilization than she'd sometimes like to be.

Check out Des' website at http://www.desireelee.com

and find her on Twitter: http://twitter.com/authordeslee



Blog Post by Dan Lindholm