Bigfoot myths about Teddy Roosevelt

There are several stories that make the rounds concerning Teddy Roosevelt and sasquatch.

Myth #1 : Roosevelt killed a bigfoot during one of his hunting expeditions.

Myth #2 : Roosevelt had a face to face encounter during which he had to fight for his life.

Myth#3 : While camping deep in the woods, one night Roosevelt heard howls and growls that he could not identify as any animal he knew.

There is no evidence to support those tall tales. False. False. And the last happened to Bauman in the story that Roosevelt retold.

Roosevelt was not shy in writing about his different hunting expeditions in his several books. He told about the successful trips and the ones where he came up dry. Included in the books are his learning experiences, the mistakes he made, the people he met and learned things from.

No where does he mention meeting or hunting a bigfoot.

He never saw one. He never tracked one. He never trapped one. He never shot one.

The names bigfoot and sasquatch were not known to white man when he hunted throughout the United States. He would have been familiar with Native tales of legendary creatures roaming the plains and mountains. And he would have used those terms if he himself encountered them.

However, what he is known for is recording a tale of Bauman, a trapper who told of his experiences with a bigfoot. It is one of the most remarkable experiences that has been recorded. Roosevelt included it in his book "The Wilderness Hunter".

He referred to the creature encountered as a "goblin".  If you are not familiar with the story, you can read about it in a previous post.  [Link below].

https://sasquatchobsevations.blogspot.com/2018/07/bauman-roosevelts-story-of-bigfoot.html


Roosevelt also mentioned an incident with a Native who was acting as a guide on one of his expeditions. [Hunting in the Selkirks]. The man strongely objected to going up higher into the mountains when Roosevelt indicated that direction to go. The guide grew increasingly difficult to deal with. At first he would not explain his actions but was finally persuaded by Roosevelt to tell him what was wrong.

It appeared the guide was afraid to go too high into the mountains because of the "little bad Indians" [goblins] who would kill him if they found him alone up there. And especially if they found him alone at night.

No "goblins" attacked them on this expedition.

Roosevelt also felt the night sounds of this area were "very weird and strange". He felt he could understand how people would believe in "elves, wood spirits, and other beings".

At night, either when sitting by the fire or if he woke up during the night, Roosevelt would listen to the noises around him. At times he listened as the "wind moaned harshly" through the trees, to the "clatter of huge rocks falling down the cliffs", "the cry of some wild beast", "the crash of a falling tree".

"If I listened long enough, it would almost seem that I heard thunderous voices laughing and calling to one another, and as if at any moment some shape might stalk out of the darkness into the dim light of the embers," said Roosevelt.

In the chapter "Wolves and Wolf-hounds", he talked of camping one night. He had let the fire go out and was readying himself for sleep when he heard an "animal of considerable size come down to the stream nearly opposite me and begin to splash across, first wading, then swimming. It was pitch dark and I could not possibly see, but I felt sure it was a wolf. However, after coming half-way over it changed its mind and swam back to the opposite bank . . . ".

With these accounts of his experiences, it is easy to suppose that the noises in the mountains were sasquatch; the moans and voices were vocalizations; the rocks falling and the trees crashing caused by bigfoot. It is easy to picture instead of a wolf, a bigfoot wading into the stream and beginning to swim across. Perhaps changing its mind realizing the intruder was still awake and able to defend himself.

As a naturalist, hunter and zoology student, Roosevelt would have been well-qualified to explore the stories of sasquatch. And it is indeed possible that he did hear stories from the Native tribes with whom he spoke. He would have heard the names of all the creatures and giant, hair-covered legends that they were willing to share.

But no where is it recorded that Roosevelt believed that sasquatch was real or if he ever had any sort of encounter. If he would have had one, I believe he would have spoken of it, told of what had happened while sharing the legend with his readers.

Nancy

"I'll spark the thought; what you do with it is up to you."

Sources:"The Wilderness Hunter" / Theodore Roosevelt
exemplore.com
bigfootsightings.org

This Post By TCC Team Member Nancy Marietta. Nancy has had a lifelong interest in the paranormal and cryptids. Nancy is also a published author and her book, The Price of war, has been met with great reviews.

This post sponsored in part by