Long before Bigfoot was fixed as a cultural icon in American folklore, people encountered hairy wild men and gorilla-like beasts in the woods, the mountains, and the creek bottoms. Strange cries and enormous footprints were met with hunts and posses, to no avail. Not until 1958 did the popular understanding of Bigfoot arise to suggest a possible answer to the puzzle. This book surveys the historical Bigfoot, providing the researcher and enthusiast with data on hoaxes, misidentifications, fokloric patterns, and cases which suggest the presence of an as-yet-unidentified primate in North America. For additional cryptozoology titles, visit CoachwhipBooks.com.