by Scott Harper
Iowa became part of the United States of America after the War of 1812 in an uncontested manner. But, despite its long history, the state doesn't seem to have very much of a history of Sasquatch sightings prior to the 1970's. From then until present day, there is a wealth of reports, however. Why the dearth of reports prior to the 1970's? Especially with states around it that have a lengthy list of pre-Patterson/Gimlin footage (1967) reports.
There is a report filed in
September of 1869 of an "ugly, sandy-haired wild boy". It was seen
eating fish in a river. This sighting took place Gilbert, Iowa.
1884 saw the report of a "wild woman" in the woods around Dubuque, Iowa. Hunters saw her standing very still, with her back to them. They wanted a look at the front of the creature, and quietly slipped around to see her from that viewpoint. Upon them doing so, the creature loosed an "unearthly scream", and ran away, hiding behind a tree. When the hunters again attempted to get closer, the Sasquatch simply ran away. The hunters spent two more hours searching for her, but she was not found again.
1899 proved to be an active year
for sightings in the state. Near Diagonal, Iowa, a "wild man" of was
spotted near a farm. The farmer chased the creature away. He, and other men,
banded together to search for the Sasquatch, but never found it.
Also in 1899, a Sasquatch of "immense size" attacked a chicken house near Afton, Iowa. The barking of the farmer's dog alerted the farmer to the situation. The farmer chased the "wild man" away. But the creature took several chickens with it.
Near Macksburg, also in 1899, a
"wild man" of "gigantic stature" chased a man who was in
the woods searching for livestock that had gone astray. The sighting caused a
stir, making people very wary of being outside alone, especially at night.
Women, and children were especially looked after closely in the aftermath of
the chase.
Also in 1899 there was a report
filed from near Des Moines in which a group of men claimed to have actually
captured a "wild man". They said the creature fought with
"phenomenal" strength, using his mouth in the fight as much as his
hands when they subdued him. It seems that the "wild man" ended up in
a circus.
From there, I couldn't find any
record of Sasquatch in Iowa until 1970. Why? Why the lack of reports? Could the
Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression—which hit the state's farming businesses
very hard—have been the cause? Could Sasquatch in the state have been living,
in large part, from the relative ease of farm crops growing the fields? The
disappearances of a percentage of those crops may have prompted the Sasquatch
population in the state to migrate elsewhere in search of easy food supplies.
Is that possible? Could the Sasquatch in the area simply, for the most part,
vacated the state for about seventy years before population pressures in the
surrounding regions forced them back into it?
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
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