Un-solved

Bigfoot or Sasquatch?

2007-02-25T02:48:00.000+05:30

Want to know who roams our Himalayan Mountains effortlessly hidden from Science, then read this article. Interesting!

Crypto-Bipedal-Primatology

The Study of Unclassified Bipedal Primates

SASQUATCH

The Truth As I Know It

Material on this page is copyright © 1996 through 2003 by Douglas E. Trapp

Patterson/Gimlin Film Frames copyright © 1980 to present by the late Rene Dahinden

The word "Sasquatch" often conjures thoughts of an aggressive monster, most people, of which, do not believe is real. I'm here to tell you that they "ARE" real, and "ARE" a living model for science evasion. This animal has been historically reported and witnessed in every State and Canadian Province since the time Euro-man arrived on the North American continent, and well before by Native Americans. Most of the descriptions are very similar, as well as the reported behavior for these animals. They are not ghosts, goblins, or figments of the drunk imagination. They leave behind compelling evidence for their existence, and much of the evidence cannot be faked.

On October 20th, 1967, Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin were looking for these animals in the Bluff Creek Riverbed in Northern California on horseback. Although their intent was to gather footage of the Sasquatch habitat (attempting to show film producers a merited effort), they really did not expect to actually see one. Suddenly the horses reared, bucking Patterson off, and he was able to grab the 16mm camera from the saddle bag just in time. Gimlin held his Horse firm, and watched in awe as the sequence unfolded. Patterson thought that the Horse reared because of a Cougar or Bear, and wanted to film it. They were both confronted with a large, dark, hair-covered body in the riverbed. With only a little more than a minutes time left of film, Patterson grabbed the camera, and as he did, the animal stood up, and began to walk away. Patterson gained his feet and started chasing the animal, while Gimlin later reflected a major concern for Patterson's safety, although too shocked to make any comment. Patterson ran and then shot what has become the most compelling film evidence ever gathered of a live Sasquatch, walking away from him. The film is shaky in the beginning, but becomes more stable toward the end where the animal can be clearly seen and identified.

Since that day the film has been scientifically analysed by several experts, including those residing in Russia, and most have found that the film obviously shows that the animal is not a man in a suit. They have studied each frame individually and found that there is no zipper, and the "suit" would have been impossible to create in 1967. They have actually seen muscle movement in each frame ... another reason to note that the animal is real. Suits do not show muscle movement. In addition, the walk of the animal is totally unlike a human gait. Estimates based on intense study of each frame show the animal was about 7 feet and 1 inch tall. My personal estimate, based on study at Rene Dahinden's residence in 1980, indicated 6 feet and 11 inches tall. My estimates did not compensate for the bent-over stride, and it may be that this animal would measure over 7 feet and 5 inches if standing totally erect. The weight estimates from the experts indicate from 800 to 1,000 pounds.

I will add here that I was allowed to view and examine, frame by frame, the Patterson Film in September, 1980 by the late Rene Dahinden. Rene owned all rights to the film, although some were always considered "Public Domain". I stayed with Rene for three days, and he showed me most likely more than he ever showed anyone else after that day. I saw so many aspects of the Patterson Film that I believe very few people have ever seen since. I wish the world could see what I saw, including the plaster casts he made only a day after the film, and the comparison of those feet to what is shown in the film.

Patterson Film Subject Head Enhancement

Dr. W. Henner Fahrenbach
on the
"Patterson-Gimlin Film Resolution"

In view of the renewed vigor that the Patterson movie frames are being examined, I will repost this discussion on resolution (with verifying recalculation and minimal changes) that went out about a year ago.

Usually such examination is done on prints that are magnified to or well beyond the limit of profitable enlargement with the result that the optical "noise" of the emulsion, usually called the grain, assumes a
life of its own and invites spurious and fanciful interpretations. In order to give would-be analysts a cautionary yardstick, I provide the following details and calculations.

The resolution of a film, as stated in Kodak handbooks, is determined under laboratory conditions, as for example on an optical bench, by photographing a black and white grating pattern, meaning 100% contrast modulation, onto the film. If one uses a grating whose spacing gets tighter and tighter, there is a point at which the adjacent lines smear into one another and can no longer be separated. That is the stated resolving power of the film. This resolving power cannot, of course, be realized under photographic field conditions, since A) the camera isn't mounted on a solid pier; B) more importantly, real life scenery does not have close to 100% contrast of closely adjacent objects, and C) transfer of the available contrast from scenery to film (modulation transfer) occurs in an imperfect fashion. However, contrast contributes in an important manner to the smallest detail that can be detected in the final print. Additionally, any part of the intervening optical system, for example the camera lens, the enlarger condenser (if any), the enlarger lens and the coherence of the enlarger light source affect the resolution of the final image and will always degrade it from the optimum stated for the film. Multiple serial reproductions exacerbate these problems substantially.

The emulsion that was used by Patterson was, as far as is known, Kodachrome II. That film has a stated resolving power of 63 lines/ mm. In addition, Nyquists's Sampling Theorem states in its simplest fashion, that for a signal (minimal image element) to be detected, you need in effect the space of two lines, which brings the resolving power to 31.5 lines / mm. Stated differently, the smallest interval that can reliably resolved (under optimal conditions) in this film is (1 mm =1,000µm) divided by 31.5 lines = 31.7 micrometers or microns on the film. This is the physically limiting value for Kodachrome II, below which you may see assorted patterns that are part of the emulsion, but that carry NO image information and are, by definition, background noise. Advanced image manipulation techniques can modify contrast, edge sharpness and other aspect of the image, but cannot generate signal from noise and put the interpretation at risk.

It will be apparent at this point that all this calculation can be done without reference to an actual picture. One is dealing, after all, with a plain physical process that is well understood and for which the pertinent literature is voluminous.

The stated resolving power pertains to the original negative. To find what this value of 31.7 microns corresponds to in the prints in circulation, one has to know the magnification. When one does crucially important enlargements, one should print a transparent millimeter grating directly at the same settings
as the original negative, whereby one generates a reference of the magnification. Since this is not available, one has to extrapolate stepwise from the size of an original 16 mm frame (at 1x) and scale it up to the larger images, a process that accumulates errors but still provides a good "ballpark" figure.

A good starting point is provided by the images in Perez' "Bigfoot at Bluff Creek" (1992; BigfooTimes; D. Perez; private printing. 10926 Milano Ave., Norwalk, CA 90650) He shows a one-to-one contact print of a bit of 16 mm film for calibration and a slightly larger image, which includes the frame, at 11.3x. Beyond that point it becomes necessary to find crisp fiduciary marks in overlapping pictures of different magnifications to extrapolate further. Thus, the Dahinden commercial picture of the full frame No. 352 (wide format) is approximately 37.5 x, the Dahinden vertical pictures of Frames 323 and 352 are magnified about 133 times, and the Halpin and Ames pictures are about 110 X (Manlike Monsters on Trial, University of British Columbia Press, 1980).

Some pictures that have been circulated of Patty's head alone can be calibrated by the preceding pictures and have been found to exceed 1,000 fold magnification. For the Patty rear view pictures, information available from NASI indicates that the large Dahinden pictures are at exactly a third of the magnification of the sideviews, i.e., 44 times, the Halpin and Ames picture 22 X. If one multiplies the maximal possible resolution that this film allows with the magnification, one arrives at a value that constitutes the absolute smallest resolvable detail in the pertinent print. This value will inevitably be overly optimistic (too small) because one is not dealing with a stark black-and-white image nor a steady camera. For the vertical images (Frame 323 and 352) this value is (133 x 31.7 microns) = 4,216 microns, or 4.2 mm. Cut out a paper circle with this diameter and it will approximate the smallest detail (optimistically) resolvable, slightly over 2 inches on Patty's body. (Actual resolution, for the above-mentioned cautionary reasons is apt to be worse than that, possibly by half)

Upon inspection of this juxtaposition, the resolution in these large pictures picture is virtually the same as the largest blobs like the nose and the ear projection, but anything below that level of detail does not contain information. This maximal resolution is clearly discernible in the 133 x pictures, which have lots of empty magnification even though that makes it a little easier to look at them at a distance.

Thus, there can be no talk about detecting individual strands of hair, insect bites, skin blemishes, the pupil, teeth or other similar fine detail.

Actually, everything there is to be seen in the pictures is visible with the naked eye at 50-100x magnification, i.e., surprisingly, common sense prevails in "what-you-see-is-what-you-get". Thus, finger or toe detail, that should lie in the vicinity of this 2" limit, does not show up crisply at all.

Any conclusions based on supposed detail below the stated limit are largely a function of the imagination of the examiner, should be viewed with grave suspicion, and would require heroic proof to be convincing.

Analysis based on anything other than direct copies of the original film frames is also to be avoided at all cost due to the above considerations.

There are many other questions and problems to be discussed at length in future articles.

It has been suggested that the Patterson Bigfoot film was instrumental in making Bigfoot what he is today and perhaps this is not an overstatement. On its 30th birthday I toasted the film that defined and cemented a phenomenal image in the public consciousness, and whose delightfully ambiguous nature will continue to be an item of great controversy for many years to come.

Sasquatch footprints are a lot more common than most people realize. Many go unreported because the witnesses do not think anyone will believe them, or they think someone hoaxed the prints. Above is a typical Sasquatch footprint found near Bluff Creek in Northern California ... an area where hundreds of similar prints have been discovered. Although this track is old, it is similar to those found today, on a day by day basis, in all States throughout North America.

Sasquatch footprints are probably the most compelling piece of evidence for a large bipedal hominid's existence. Although some are faked on occasion, most are not, and most are found in areas where humans do not often travel. Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum and the late Dr. Grover Krantz have been seriously involved in examining many footprints and casts of footprints in and from various areas of North America. Dr. Krantz had published several articles and books about his discoveries and conclusions, while Dr. Meldrum continues the legacy of Dr. Krantz after his death. Both have concluded that several of the footprints and casts examined represent an unknown bipedal hominid. For some odd reason the NEWS MEDIA has refused to report these findings, but I am including a link below to Dr. Meldrum's paper which will conclusively show that these tracks are not hoaxed in any way ... at least not those he mentions. Dr. Meldrum is a specialist in primate locomotion, in case the reader has any doubts. It is time Science accepts this evidence and begins serious academic study of the footprints, and possibly the creature who made them. Following the report below you will find a link to Dr. Meldrum's paper which includes many very good photographs and illustrations.

In October 1980 I too found Sasquatch prints in the Stilliguamish River near Robe, Washington. This was also investigated by the late Rene Dahinden. One of the casts I made was examined Dr. Meldrum. His findings were revealed to me in July, 2003 as listed below:

"Assembling a sizable sample has been critical to making any informed generalizations about the variable anatomy of a primate foot. In addition, you should recognize that evaluating an isolated cast with little corroborative data concerning its provenience is an uncertain proposition. I can evaluate the inferred anatomy and proportions within the context of a larger sample, but determining the credibility of the isolated artifact is not really a reasonable expectation. I can now say that your cast falls within the observed range of variation of footprints I am relatively confident are authentic. The heel is a bit weakly impressed, but given that the greatest depth is under the forefoot, that is not unexpected. The weakness of the "ball" impression is also interesting and is correlated with the abducted position of the hallux. I have other examples that are similar in the degree of abduction of the hallux and the weakness of imprint of the ball, but with less attenuation of impression at the base of the hallux. The relative length and conformation of the toes are generally consistent with the model of the sasquatch foot I have derived. As for proportions, your point of measuring the heel and "ball" are a bit off (and you have recorded the dimension of the heel line incorrectly on the back of the cast). Those measures of 3.5 inches to 6 inches give a heel/ball ratio of .58, which falls in the lower range of a human sample. By selecting a better point to measure the greatest breadth of the heel and a more accurate breadth of the ball, I get a ratio of 5.5/4, or .73 which falls within the sasquatch range."

Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum

Go To "EVALUATION OF ALLEGED SASQUATCH FOOTPRINTS AND THEIR INFERRED FUNCTIONAL MORPHOLOGY", by Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum

E-mail Dr. Meldrum if you have footprint casts for examination

There are similar animals reportedly captured and displayed in the past, and only "Jacko" of June 1884, captured by a Train Crew in B.C., Canada was ever thought to be an actual Sasquatch. He was 4 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 127 pounds. That would be considered skinny for a Sasquatch, but perhaps not for a juvenile. He was covered with dark hair and the train crew reportedly fed him on berries and milk (not likely). They planned to take him to London, but Jacko somehow escaped. Obviously, Jacko was not a Chimp, but what he was is still unknown!

THE REALITY OF SASQUATCH

Most of those who do not believe that Sasquatch is a real, living creature have not taken any time to study the subject. In reality, there is too much evidence that they are real, and no evidence that they aren't. Hoaxers play a very small role in Sasquatch research, and are usually quickly discovered with very little effort. To fake a "Real" Sasquatch footprint would simply take too much effort, highly sophisticated equipment, and a strict background in Podiatry in order to produce authentic looking Sasquatch tracks.

Films, on the other hand, can be easily faked with modern equipment, but that equipment did not exist in 1967 when Patterson shot his footage. Today, most photos and films are suspect of being hoaxed, but the Patterson film remains the best bit of evidence yet offered to the world.

Hair and fecal samples have been collected and analyzed, and found to be that of an unknown primate. Since primates do not exist in the areas where this evidence was collected, they must be that of the Sasquatch, or rampant apes running around North America. These "Apes" have also developed flat, human-like feet that are much larger than any ape or man foot recorded!

On a Physics standpoint, this creature must comply with certain standards relative to what is currently understood. The following was written by a Scientist who actually worked-out the math involved, based on Sasquatch stature as well as human and ape, to formulate a living animal that is obviously still eluding Science ...

Bigfoot Encounters

Bigfoot — From a Physics Point of View

Abstract

Some of the most interesting features of this mystery called Bigfoot revolve around the reputed size, agility and strength of these rather ubiquitous creatures. Much has been written on these subjects by a wide variety of investigators and the famous Patterson film confirms (to believers, including this author) the distinctly large size of at least one specimen. Also, circumstantial (i.e., sighting) evidence abounds as to the supposed running speed and agility of these bipeds. This paper will attempt to produce estimates of Bigfoot weight, circumferences, speed, strength and agility based upon simple mathematical and biomechanical concepts (with procedures not previously documented by other investigators). Of course, some "reasonable" assumptions have to be made throughout this discussion; but after all, we don't have one of these remarkable mammals to test. Finally, this essay will take a look at the probability of the existence of such unparalleled creatures based upon an uncomplicated, statistical methodology.

Weight Estimates

Weight estimates by witnesses vary considerably. It is certainly not an easy task to estimate something that is well outside of the normal human weight range. The difficulty is surely compounded by the stunning and/or frightening realization of what the witness is viewing. Even the estimates made of Patty's weight have ranged from the sublime (300 lbs.) to the ridiculous (2,000 lbs.). However, a method will be described that produces quite acceptable estimates by scaling a baseline value to whatever height desired.

The baseline utilized by this author is that of a 6' tall mountain gorilla, with adjustments made due to the gorilla's very short legs and long torso. The recorded 450 lb. weight of captive gorillas would be reduced quite considerably if the leg and torso lengths were proportioned as with a human (or Bigfoot). Otherwise, the short neck, barrel chest and long thick arms of a gorilla correspond very closely with many eyewitness descriptions of a Bigfoot. Thus, for the purpose of establishing a baseline, this author is presuming the weight of a 6' tall Bigfoot at 300 lbs. Note that this value is on the very high side of human ranges, yet certainly reasonable considering the reputed thick structure, high shoulders and long arms of a Sasquatch.

At this point, it is possible to scale weight to any height, assuming the relative structural build stays constant. The relation that is used to define weight, W, versus height, H, is,

(1)

To maintain the constant build requirement, any percentage increase in height is accompanied by the same percentage increase in all circumferential measurements. However, since the cross-section area of any body segment increases with the square of the circumference (or radial dimensions, R), the equation above was basically derived from the relationship,

(2)

This relation is valid for practically any cross-section shape, i.e., rectangular, elliptical, circular, etc. It is now possible to tabulate estimates of Bigfoot weight using the presumed 6' tall/300 lb. baseline. Table 1 below uses Equation (1) to give those estimates, along with two other related columns. For referral purposes, the first column uses a baseline of 6' and 200 lbs. for a fairly "robust" human male and employs the same equation from above to predict human weights versus height.

The third column of Table 1 uses another baseline reference. One of the more interesting stories of Bigfoot lore concerns the supposed (but very well documented) capture of a young Bigfoot by a train crew in B.C over 115 years ago. This creature, named Jacko by the locals, was reported to be 4' 7" tall and 127 lbs. These measurements are set as the baseline for the last column's tabulations and can be compared with the results of the second column. Note that the baseline measurements used for scaling in each column are emphasized in the table. The 7' 3" height is included in the computations since that is the most recent estimate of height for Patty.

Table 1 Extrapolated Weight Estimates
	Male Human	Adult Bigfoot	Jacko (4' 7", 127 lbs.)
5' 6"	154 lbs.	--	219 lbs.
6' 0"	200 lbs.	300 lbs.	285 lbs.
6' 6"	254 lbs.	381 lbs.	362 lbs.
7' 0"	317 lbs.	476 lbs.	452 lbs.
7' 3" (Patty?)	352 lbs.	529 lbs.	502 lbs.
7' 6"	--	586 lbs.	556 lbs.
8' 0"	--	711 lbs.	675 lbs.
9' 0"	--	1012 lbs.	961 lbs.

Circumferential Estimates

A similar, but slightly more complicated scaling method is presented to predict realistic (?) circumferential measurements of a Bigfoot. In this instance, the dimensions of a presumed 8' tall, 711 lb. Sasquatch (from Table 1) will be estimated. This process requires two steps

The known dimensions of a 6' tall, 234 lb. heavyweight boxer will be scaled to a 6' tall 300 lb. weight.
Those dimensions will then be scaled to 7' and 8' heights, with the corresponding weights given from Table 1.

Note that the basic build of this, mesomorphic (and decidedly stout) boxer is somewhat different from the presumably, more thickly, proportioned Sasquatch. However, it is as good of a starting point as any. Table 2 below summarizes the results of this process. Eq. (2) was utilized to compute the R ratios (or circumferential ratios), with height and weight values being presumed from the previous arguments. It is also assumed through all of this discussion that the body density of a Bigfoot is very similar to that of a human. The anecdotal reports of their swimming ability would imply as much.

Table 2 Circumferential Estimates
	6' / 234 lb. Heavyweight	6' Scaled to 300 lbs.	7' / 476 lb. Bigfoot	8' / 711 lb. Bigfoot
Neck	20"	22.5"	26"	30"
Chest	42.5"	48"	56"	64"
Biceps	17"	19"	22"	25"
Forearm	14"	16"	18.5"	21.5"
Waist	34"	38.5"	45"	51.5"
Thigh	26.5"	30"	35"	40"
Calf	17"	19"	22"	25"

The essence of the calculations contained in the last column of Table 2 is that these dimensions are believed to be sufficient for an 8' tall Bigfoot to weigh 711 lbs. Basically, these dimensions would create a satisfactory volume for that weight. In the unlikely event that the body density of an adult Bigfoot is greater than that of the aforementioned muscular, human model, then the listed circumferences could be reduced slightly. Also, if these tall creatures have distinctly non-human length of arms or torso, the dimensions listed above could again be reduced somewhat.

Needless to say, a limited amount of correlating data from eyewitnesses is available. However, the famous encounter narrated by Albert Ostman did include some size estimates for the old female and the two males. He noted that the massive 8' male would require over a 30" collar and that the 7'+ female would weigh over 500 lbs., which compares well with Patty's estimate from Table 1. Also, he estimated that the adolescent 7' male would weigh about 300 lbs., with a 50-55" chest and a relatively trim 36-38" waist. The figures from Table 2 suggest a much more stoutly proportioned 7' adult, especially in the waist. A sharp reduction in the waist dimensions and some reduction in the chest and legs would be required to reduce the 476 lb. tabulated weight to the 300 lbs. assessed by Ostman. Of course, there is no reason to believe all Sasquatch fit the massive model described above. At a minimum, the adolescents need time to "fill out", just as our human species requires.

Speed Estimation

Numerous observers have made speed estimations of a Bigfoot in sprinting mode (or at some unknown portion of full stride). Some of the purported observations have been made by witnesses pacing a large bipedal creature with their automobile. Almost without variation, observers describe either the walking or running stride as quite fluid, or graceful, in its essence.

This report will attempt to make speed estimates based upon the simple scaling of human sprinting mechanics. Some minimal hypotheses are submitted in this discussion.

The bipedal gait, i.e., kinematics, of a running Sasquatch does not markedly differ from the bipedal gait of a human. The mechanics of running are quite complex, but there is no reason to believe there are any great differences between our species and Bigfoot.
The foot structure of a Sasquatch is as described by the theoretical analysis of the late Dr. Krantz. In other words, the foot structure of these large bipeds may be contributory to the long, flat-footed running style so often described by witnesses as "fluid". Note that the forward positioning of the ankle, and the attendant distal connectivity of the tendons as theorized by Krantz, would provide mechanical leverages well suited for climbing but would not be the ideal model for a hominoid sprinter.

The human model to be used (i.e., directly scaled) for this estimate is a quite "average" sprinter with a proportionately long, fluid stride, namely this author as a high school runner many years past. The stride of this 5'7" runner was 7.5' and at maximum speed, 4.2 strides per second were taken. This works out to a top speed of 21 mph. (For comparison, a typical world-class sprinter takes an approximate 8' stride at 4.9 strides per second, for a maximum of 27 mph). Also, as an extreme example, this author recalls a 6' 2" Olympic sprinter in the early 60's with a reputed 9' 3" stride.

The direct scaling of stride length versus height (5' 7" versus 8') would predict a 10.74' stride for an 8' Sasquatch. At the same 4.2 strides per second, the top speed would compute to a maximum 31 mph sprint. If one uses the world-class human comparison at 4.9 strides per second, the top speed of our prototype Sasquatch works out to 36 mph. In either eventuality, these calculations would seem to discount some of the more extreme estimates of speed (> 45 mph) that have been ascribed to a Bigfoot by a few observers. However, the concept of "quickness", "agility" or the remarkable acceleration commonly attributed to these creatures is another matter entirely, and will be broached after the next section.

Strength Estimate

A methodology that utilizes the speed estimates from above, a smattering of rigid body mechanics, and derivations from calculus will be employed to make a strength evaluation of our representative 8' Sasquatch. Fortunately, the readers of this essay will not be required to perform the mathematics behind this analysis. Only the simplest, technical highlights will be presented, along with the appropriate explanations.

The kinematics of bipedal running are certainly quite complex, but it should not be a mistaken conjecture to assign great similarities with the gait and physical mechanics of a Sasquatch to a human counterpart. Numerous observers have almost universally implied that the movements are very human-like. Without making this discussion more complicated than it need be, the motion of a leg in full stride requires that certain hip muscles contract at the top of each stride, provide a twisting (i.e., torque) load to the leg mass pivoting below. Note that the leg is momentarily at rest at the beginning of each stride. At that time these muscles produce a maximum angular acceleration of the leg mass. The physics of this action can be ascertained as the applied torque equaling the mass moment of inertia of the leg times the angular acceleration of the leg, or

Referring to the previous section, the angular acceleration of the prototype Bigfoot leg should be nearly identical to that of the human counterpart. This is certainly true if the number of strides per second are equivalent, as has been postulated previously. However, the great difference between the representative human and the Sasquatch is in the value of the mass moment of inertia of the leg structure. Without going into the mathematical niceties of the calculation, the definition of mass moment of inertia for a "rod", pivoting about one end, with mass, m, length, L, and maximum elliptical cross-section radius, a, is given as,

It is important to realize that the next calculation of applied torque (i.e., strength) for the human and the Sasquatch is not dependent upon the assumed cross-section shape of the leg mass. (The result is the same whether Eq. (3) is derived for an ellipse, circle, rectangle or any other general shape of the leg sections). Now the comparison of strength for Sasquatch versus human can be evaluated. Eq. (3) above can be stated as a ratio,

(3)

or,

(4)

giving

(5)

The only mathematical assumptions here are as follows:

The leg mass ratio is the same as the body mass ratio (711/165).
The leg length ratio is the same as the height ratio (96/67).
The cross-section radius ratio is proportional to leg circumference ratio (40/24).
The 4.2 strides per second, presumed for both the 8' Bigfoot and the human representation, would strongly suggest the same maximum angular acceleration, a, for both.
General physical strength of the Sasquatch is no different than that derived for the specific body part evaluated here, namely, the applied couple (torque) produced by the hip muscles.

Note that if the Sasquatch can sprint at 4.9 strides per second, the calculation in Eq. (5) will indicate an applied torque/strength ratio of 10.4. These values can be viewed in light of reputed strength of other primates. Chimpanzees (with near human weight) have been estimated to possess five times human strength and gorillas supposedly have 10 times human strength. The hypothetical strength levels computed above at least pass the "common sense" test for such a large hominid. No assessment is set forth for the (obviously) unknown distal connectivity (i.e., mechanical leverage) of a Bigfoot's muscle-to-bone structure. It is this author's opinion that the coarse estimates displayed above are, essentially, conservatively low. Lifestyle issues of these large mammals would certainly dictate an exceptionally well-conditioned body. Finally, to put this strength assessment into perspective, it is not inconceivable that these reclusive hominids can bench-press a ton and leg press the car in your garage.

The Agility Implication

Perhaps even more significant than the strength levels presented above are the associated "agility" (or "quickness", or "acceleration") factors that are implicit in the preceding calculations. The ability to accelerate is directly proportional to the ratio of applied force to the mass being moved, as Sir Isaac Newton so wisely observed. The concept of acceleration is often expressed, by those not concerned with the mathematics of physics, as the general observation of quickness or agility. Using our same human comparison and the preceding computations, one can define the strength-to-weight ratio of the Sasquatch versus the human counterpart with the rather simple relation,

Based upon this uncomplicated calculation the implications of Bigfoot agility, in comparison to the human example, are quite significant. First, it would indicate that these creatures would be able to attain their top running speed in half the time of our human comparable. Since a human sprinter requires 5 to 6 seconds to obtain maximum speed, the Sasquatch would only need 3 seconds. This physical attribute would certainly come in handy while hunting (i.e., ambushing) elk or deer, assuming, of course, that this activity is part of their lifestyle. In a similar vein, the ability to make sudden movements would be advantageous in snatching "quicker" food sources, such as fish or small mammals.

Secondly, this strength-to-weight ratio would imply an exceptional ability to climb. Imagine how easy it would be to move up a hill if one's human body mass were effectively reduced in half, yet all previous strength was maintained. Additionally, if the foot structure of a Sasquatch is as hypothesized by Dr. Krantz, the mechanical leverages would further enhance their climbing abilities. There are certainly very many witnesses who have reported the extraordinary quickness that these creatures have displayed bounding up steep embankments when surprised by the human encounter. Note, of course, that none of this discussion is offered as proof in any form; it is left to the reader to draw all inferences and conclusions. The last section of this essay will expound upon this concept, namely, can it all be true?

. . . Fools and Liars, All?

Perhaps the most difficult aspect in accepting the existence of such shadowy creatures in our very own back yard is that, essentially, the concept defies common wisdom (and academic approval). This is especially true for those with only casual knowledge of this mystery's scope.

It is useful to reiterate several observations provided by other investigators.

First, the concept of maintaining an ironclad hoax for well over a century is beyond the pale. The wide spectrum of observers and the time/geography involved serve, realistically, to make it an unrealizable task in carrying out such a hoax.
Also, detailed analysis of certain aspects of the reported evidence is remarkably consistent. For example, the mathematical analysis of recorded footprint lengths (as set forth by other investigators) describes an excellent fit to the well-known Gaussian distribution (i.e., "Bell curve"). The difficulty in faking such a distribution over a large time frame and wide geographical span is practically insurmountable. Equally significant, documented compilations of eyewitness' estimates of height indicate a trend that slowly increases with northern latitude of the observation. Considering that a mammal's ability to maintain body temperature in cool climates is benefited by increased body size, the trend described is, at least, notable and reasonable.

As a final evaluation, a simple probabilistic approach will be employed to assess the credence of the large number of eyewitness reports. The method employed herein will be to evaluate the so-called "null hypothesis", which is merely a technique to affirm a viewpoint by effectively disproving the opposing position.

For example, let us conservatively state that the probability of any particular eyewitness report being either a deliberate hoax or the product of incompetent observation as being 99%! Then, let us take the 100 "most believable" reports and determine the probability that all of these reports are false. Based upon simple theory of compound probability, the chance that all are false can be shown to be,

.99¹⁰⁰ = .366 = 36.6%

The null hypothesis would then dictate that the probability is 1.0 - .366 = 63.4% that at least one report was produced by an honest, competent observer. Since the number of recorded observations is far greater than 100 and it is similarly doubtful that 99% of the general public are worthless interpreters, the actual probability that at least one report is valid is well over 99%.

In conclusion, there is certainly no proof of the existence of such reclusive hominids contained within this dissertation. But the one thread of "truth" that this author wishes to convey is that the hypothetical analysis presented herein is independently generated, yet quite consistent with many eyewitness accounts. Perhaps the only aspect of this mystery that is more preposterous than its circumstantial/factual substance is the chance that it is all a superbly conducted ruse.

Portions of this website are reprinted under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law as educational material without benefit of financial gain. This proviso is applicable throughout the entire website.

Although people often mistake known animals for Sasquatches, the legitimate reports describe a very similar animal. Usually the eyewitnesses never believed in Sasquatch until they actually see one. Sometimes footprints accompany the sighting, making the sighting more credible. I have interviewed scores of people who have witnessed a Sasquatch, and all but two were likely telling the truth. I've also seen three sets of tracks of which all were convincing, with huge strides of giant feet ... in hard packed ground. There is no way a man can walk comfortably and impact a 1 inch deep track with a stride from 4 to 6 feet apart! This man also having no arch in his foot!

Vocalizations of Sasquatch have been analyzed, and determined to be that of an un-known primate. Below is one example ...

Estimates of Pitch and Vocal Tract Length from Recorded Vocalizations of Purported Bigfoot*

by R. Lynn Kirlin and Lasse Hertel

Having analyzed a tape recording of purported Bigfoot speech using accepted techniques of signal processing, the authors conclude that the means and ranges of the recorded pitch and estimated vocal tract length of the speakers indicate that the sounds were made by a creature with "vocal features corresponding to a larger physical size than man." They also conclude that the tape shows none of the expected signs of being prerecorded or re-recorded at altered speed and hence diminish the probability of a hoax.

This paper is based on the analysis of a tape recording which was received by the authors in the spring of 1977. The circumstances under which the recording was made were reported as follows. On the night of 21 October 1972, Alan Berry, a journalist presently living in Sacramento, California, participated in the recording of what he and others believed to be one or more Bigfoot.¹ The event took place in the High Sierras of northern California "at about 8500 feet in late October after the first snowfall, some 2000 feet higher than the nearest road and about eight miles distant to the nearest established trail."² There were previous and subsequent recordings by members of the group at the same location, but the recording of 21 October is of exceptionally high quality and allows direct processing of the vocalizations without first specially filtering the noise. In addition, there is a wide range of vocalization, much of which shows a human-like level of articulation. There are also considerable lengths of what might be termed moans, whines, growls, grunts, and even some whistles, which no primates other than man are known to produce. The phrase might be written, "Gob-uh-gob-uh-gob, ugh, muy tail." Other professionals have listened to the tapes and have expressed their opinions, which have essentially been qualitative.³

The authors of this paper are neither linguists, anthropologists, nor speech pathologists, but have skills applicable to the processing of signals, including speech. The information which might be derived from speech is considerable, but only some of it is useful in attempting to answer the questions raised by the existence of these recordings. Given the constraints of the available equipment, which is really quite state-of-the-art, the first problem to the researchers was to determine what features of the vocalizations might lead to a decision as to the authenticity of the tapes. It was quickly determined that pitch frequency, the rate of opening and closing of the glottis, would be easy to extract from vowel segments and should be indicative of vocalizer size, reasoning that an extraordinarily low distribution of pitch in comparison with that of human would correspond to heavier or larger vocal chords.

Subsequently, it was also realized that format frequencies, the resonance in speech, are an indication of the size of the vocal tract. Indeed, a review of the literature showed that speech signals can provide estimates of not only vocal tract length but also vocal tract cross-sectional area as a function of distance from the glottis to the lips.⁴ However, using present techniques, the area functions are apt to be quite inaccurate for small errors in length estimation. Therefore, only length estimates and not area estimates were subsequently found, but these are sufficient for statistical comparison with known lengths of potential vocalizers other than the hypothesized Bigfoot.

Estimates of both pitch and vocal tract length are therefore extracted from segments on the tapes. This information is displayed via scattergram of pitch versus length, which allows easy visual comparison with human data, probability intervals for which are shown on the same plot. This approach is suggested for comparing data with that of other potential vocalizers, and it also allows determination of results if tape speed were changed. Lastly, extrapolation of average pitch and length estimates to body size is given, corresponding to human proportions; the results indicate a significantly large size.

VOCAL TRACT LENGTH ESTIMATES

The known estimators of human vocal tract length all have inherent variances. An estimator, which we will refer to as L1,⁵ requires knowledge of both resonant and antiresonant frequencies, but was found by the authors to work fairly well with only the resonance (formats). A modification of that estimator, which we will call L2, uses only known formats and iterates through possible tract lengths to find a "best" length.

A more recent paper by Wakita included considerable data on human inter-speaker format variances and length estimates for each of nine English vowels.⁶ This data allowed formulation by Kirlin of a third length estimator, L3, using maximum a posterior estimation, given the formats of the vowel.⁷ L3 is quite accurate for human speech. Without a priori information on the human tract lengths this estimator becomes a maximum-likelihood estimator, L4, which allows a greater, less accurate range of lengths, more appropriate to tracts which are larger than human but which are also human-like.

The human-like criteria for L3 and L4 warrants further comment. The literature dealing with speech production and the evolution of the necessary vocal tract reveals that tracts of non-human anthropoids are very different in that, when body size is normalized, human tracts are considerably longer.⁸ This results from the fact that human vocal chords are low in the neck, where as others are immediately at the rear of the oral cavity, as shown in Figure 1. This difference allows human-like tracts to produce certain unique plosive consonants (|g|, |k|, for example) and format sets as in the vowels |i|, |a|, |u|.⁹ Since |g| is used in the "gob" phrase on the tape, it cannot be produced by a known non-human-like anthropoid tract. That is, the speaker is either human or has a human-like tract. If it is human, the tract length will fall in the known range for humans. If it is exceptionally long, it is likely not human. However, if length falls within human range, that does not, of course, prove it to be human.

The estimators for tract length are given in Appendix A. All four were used and the results averaged. L3 tends to force the results to be more typically human.

PITCH PERIOD ESTIMATION

The reciprocal of pitch frequency is pitch period. A nominal frequency for an adult male is 115 Hz, and the corresponding period is 8.7 milliseconds. Longer periods would indicate longer or thicker vocal chords. Due to the wide range of pitch for any human, much less all humans, only extremely low pitches (or long pitch periods) could be considered conclusive, barring tape speed changes.

Estimation algorithms for pitch are also of wide variety, but one which has been considered the best recently is that given by the cepstrum.¹⁰ The cepstrum is defined as the inverse Fourier transform of the log-magnitude of the frequency spectrum. When a vowel is sustained for 30-50 milliseconds the resulting sound wave will normally contain several pitch periods. Processing the speech segment to yield a cepstrum produces a plot as is shown in Figure 2. The peak will occur at a time equal to the pitch period. Only those segments which have a well- defined pitch are used in the results.

FORMANT EXTRACTION

In order to estimate vocal tract length, resonance in vowel sounds must be determined. The preliminary results of this research utilized the windowed (or weighted) cepstrum technique,¹¹ which essentially removes frequency variations in the power spectrum which are due to the pitch-rate impulses of glottal pressure. However, the smoothed frequency spectrum which results by Fourier- transforming the windowed cepstrum still often contains ambiguous peaks which may be erroneously interpreted as formats. The tendency is to count too many low-frequency peaks as formats, thus effecting vocal tract length estimates which become too long.

A more accurate means of determining formats is provided by "linear prediction" techniques which have been developed over the last six to eight years.¹² Linear prediction algorithms make a least-squared-error fit to the speech segment, using a predetermined number of resonances. This technique is much preferred by the authors, and the results obtained are quite reliable.¹³ Formats themselves allow comparison with human data, and this is the subject of continuing work.

RESULTS

The resulting estimates of pitch and vocal tract length are plotted in the scattergram of Figure 4. Superimposed on the data points are region borders approximately corresponding to ninety-five per cent probability intervals around means for equivalent data from human males. Human pitch statistics are given in various literature, some of which is reproduced in Figure 3.¹⁴ It can be seen in Figure 4 that, even though both pitch and length estimates vary considerably, the means and ranges indicate a creature with vocal features corresponding to a larger physical size than man.

Assuming 5' 11" to be the height for an average man, 115 Hz pitch, and 17.8 cm his average tract length, the creature or creatures on the recording, using all data shown, may be estimated to have a proportional height of 7' 3" by pitch or 6' 4" by tract length. Data from the "grr" sounds alone shows quite different means, and yield heights of 8' 2" by pitch and 7' 4" by tract length.

Figure 5 repeats the same data, but superimposes the ninety pitch and length region of a "deep voiced male" producing the vowel 3, which requires the longest humantract length. Note that the "grr" data falls outside this region.

The possibility of tape speed alteration should be considered. The effect of speed change on Figures 4 and 5 is easily determined. A speed-up on playback causes all recorded frequencies to appear higher; a slow-down on playback moves them lower. Playback slow-down is the situation of concern. Format frequencies and pitch frequencies will both appear lower in proportion to the speed change. As both pitch period and vocal tract lengths are inversely proportionate to frequency, these estimates will be lengthened, both by the same proportion. For example, a tape slow-down by a factor of three would lengthen both pitch period and vocal tract length estimates by three; therefore, a data point will move along a line through the origin p=cL, where c is the constant which forces the line through the data point. This means that pitch-length ranges of any known creature could be shifted along lines of p=cL, as shown in Figure 6. Any resulting good match of these regions with the region of the Bigfoot data makes that creature a possible source of the vocalization, but on the basis of pitch and length comparison alone. Such a match concludes nothing with regard to linguistics or articulation rate. It is the opinion of the authors that the vocalizations on the tape were recorded at the speed they appear to be because the articulation rate and the range of vocal tract lengths are quite broad at constant pitch during the growl or "grr" sounds. However, the suggested matching of regions for other possible vocalizers should eventually be done.

Consideration of a human source should include the possibility of the human simply lowering his pitch. It should first be realized that 60-80 Hz pitches are difficult for most male humans to produce, and when one can it is with an accompanying decrease in volume which was not evident on the recordings.¹⁵ An alternative possibility is prerecording with subsequent slow-down in playback, which would also proportionally increase vocal tract length estimates as shown in Figure 6. The mean pitch period estimate of about 12-13 milliseconds does show this corresponding lengthening of tract length with respect to the means of the other data, but the tract length range is considerably greater and not easily explained. A second alternative is prerecording with greater amplification or "close microphone" during segments of low pitch. Although this may be possible, examination of the original tape showed no 60 Hz frequencies, which would have in a prerecording if it had been recorded using alternating- current rather than battery power.¹⁶ Thus any possible prerecording would fall under the constraints of battery power.

The possibility of prerecording normal language segments and re-recording by playing backward at varied speeds has been mentioned in some of the qualitative observations on spectrograms and listenings. The authors of this paper have played the tape backward and find no clearly identifiable speech. It should be realized that if any recording of any language were played backwards, eventually some phrase will occur which could "sound like" a known phrase in any language. Tape speed alteration is very unlikely in the "huu-u" and "gob" sequences because of the narrow range of vocal tract lengths extracted. Similarly, the growlings are quite consistent in pitch, even though tract length varies considerably. This fact is not consistent with tape speed alteration.

The possibility of more than one speaker, or even species, should also be explored. A look at the data in Figures 4 and 5 does show some gross separate clustering of tract length estimators between "grr" and the other data, but the two clusters overlap; the 2-σ intervals are shown in Fig. 7. The sounds are potentially from the same species. The listener could very well imagine two creatures "conversing." (Three distinct sets of foot tracks were found the morning following the recordings session.) Vocal tract length estimates taken from these two separate segments do not show a significant difference, but even though pitch averages do, the suggestion of two creatures in these segments is not confirmed because wide pitch variations are too easy to reproduce. However, the "grr" cluster is a more acceptable reason for suspecting two creatures.

ANALYSIS OF THE WHISTLES

The recording contains some whistle exchanges between humans and the creatures. Analysis of the whistling is not included in the data groups used for analysis of pitch and vocal tract length, but is treated separately in this section.

There are two types of whistles found in the recordings. First, there are human types of whistling, both where there are no harmonics or formants present, and also where there are exact harmonics present, probably caused by a saturated microphone. A smoothed power spectrum of a typical human whistle is shown in Figure 8. Note that there are no formants or harmonics present. The low frequency components are due to the noise from the airstream. Second, there are whistles which are found to have non-harmonic formant frequencies, but no pitches.

Table 1 shows for six data segments the three first formant frequencies together with their respective vocal tract length estimates. By amplifying the whistle, the microphone can be saturated, and it will then produce harmonics as shown in Figure 9.

The formants were found using the linear prediction technique, and the values were checked using a smoothed power spectrum of each segment.

The formants and corresponding short vocal tract lengths found indicate the likelihood that the creatures could be able to whistle utilizing only a part of their vocal tract. If the creatures have a human-like vocal tract, they might be able to whistle using the constriction between the two vocal cavities. Such whistles can also be produced using some kind of a musical instrument, known to produce both harmonic and non-harmonic overtones.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate more than one speaker, one or more of which is of larger physical size than an average human adult male.

The formant frequencies found were clearly lower than for human data, and their distribution does not indicate that they were a product of human vocalizations and tape speed alteration. Although a time-varying speed could possibly produce such formant distributions, an objective hearing and the articulation rate do not support that hypothesis.

Statistical analysis was applied to groups of vocal tract estimates from different vocalizations, and a significant difference was found between the groups. When compared with human data the results indicated that there could possibly be three speakers, one of which is non-human. The average vocal tract length was found to be 20.2 cm. This is significantly longer than for a normal human male. Extrapolation of average estimators, using human proportions, gives height estimates of between 6' 4" and 8' 2".

Analysis of the rapid articulations in the beginning of the recording (gob-gob) resulted in human-like vocal tract lengths. Also, the sound |g| in "gob" suggests a human-like vocal tract (two vocal cavities).

The pitch periods found cover the broad range of pitch periods for both normal human male and low pitched human male. However, they are mainly distributed around the data for the low-pitched human male.

Pitch and length estimates vary considerably but they are all found to be within the 95 per cent confidence interval for human speech with varying tape speed; however, assuming that there is only one vocalizer, then time-varying tape speed is necessary to produce data over such a wide range.

Both typical human whistles and some abnormal types of whistles were found. By using the formants from the abnormal whistles, very short vocal tract lengths were estimated. These whistles could either have been produced with some kind of a musical instrument or by the creature using only a part of its vocal tract.

It is hoped that the remaining uncertainties will not be considered reason for dismissing the recordings. The possibilities for prerecording are many, but there is no clear reason to believe it is likely. If Bigfoot is actually proven to exist, the vocalizations on these tapes may well be of great anthropological value, being a unique observation of Bigfoot in his natural environment.

Notes

*This article includes, in addition to material presented at the Conference, data from Lasse Hertel, "An Application of Speech Processing Techniques to Recordings of Purported Bigfoot Vocalizations to Estimate Physical Parameters" (M.S. thesis, University of Wyoming, 1978).

1. A description of the circumstances surrounding the recording is given in Alan Berry and A. Slate, Bigfoot (New York: Bantam Books, 1976), chapters 1, 2, and 3, and Appendix B.
2. Ibid.
3. Some of these are reproduced in ibid., Appendix B, including a spectrograph of about four seconds of the recording, in which the "speech" is highly articulated and thus the subject of controversy.
4. See, especially, A. Paige and V. Zue, "Calculation of Vocal Tract Length," IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics 18, no. 3 (1970): 268-70, and "Computation of Vocal Tract Area Functions," IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics 18.1 1 (1970): 7-18; M.R. Schroeder, "Determination of the Geometry of the Human Vocal Tract by Acoustic Measurements," Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 41, no. part 2 (1967): 1002-10; P. Mermelstein, "Determination of the Vocal-Tract Shape from Measured Formant Frequencies," Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 41, 5 (1967): 1283-94; H. Wakita, quot;Direct Estimation of the Vocal Tract Shape by Inverse Filtering of Acoustic Speech Waveforms," IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics 21, no. 5 (1973): 417-27, and "Normalization of Vowels by Vocal-Tract Length and Its Application to Vowel Identification," IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics 25, no. 2 (1977): 183-92; and H. Wakita and A.H. Gray, Jr., "Numerical Determination of the Lip Impedance and Vocal Tract Area Functions," IEEE Transactions on Audio and Electroacoustics 23, no. 6 (1975): 574-80.
5. See "Calculation of Vocal Tract Length."
6. "Direct Estimation of Vocal Tract Length."
7. R.L. Kirlin, "A Maximum A-Posteriori Estimation of Vocal Tract Length," IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (Dec. 1978): 571-74.
8. See P. Lieberman, "On the Evolution of Language: A Unified View," in Primate Functional Morphology and Evolution, ed. Russell H. Tuttle (The Hague and Paris: Mr 1975).
9. Ibid.
10. See A.M. Noll, "Cepstrum Speech Determination," Journal of the Acoustic Society of America 41 (1967): 293-309, and L.R. Rabiner et al., "A Comparative Study of Several Speech Detection Algorithms," IEEE Transactions on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing 24, no. 5 (1976): 399-423.
11. See J.L. Flanagan, Speech Analysis, Synthesis, and Perception (New York: SpringerVerlag, 1972).
12. See J.D. Markel and A.H. Gray, Jr., Linear Prediction of Speech (New York: SpringerVerlag, 1976).
13. The computer algorithm is described in ibid. A polynomial root-finding subroutine is also required.
14. Reproduced from ibid. Vocal tract estimates for male humans are given in Wakita, "Normalization of Vowels."
15. Some pitches in the low sixties were recorded but are not shown in this data.
16. See Berry and Slate, Bigfoot, Appendix A.

From: Manlike Monsters On Trial: Early Records and Modern Evidence, Halpin & Ames, eds. (Canada: UVBC Press, pp. 274-290, 1980)

Through my years I have come to understand, I believe, the Sasquatch biology. I feel that the following description fits the animal well. This description is based on collective evidence, including reports, but should in no way be observed as 100% actual.

Sasquatch Origin

Originally the Sasquatch resided in China, known at the time as Gigantopithicus. Remains of this huge ape-like creature exist only in China, mostly represented by teeth and jawbones. As the Chinese Dynasties expanded, Gigantopithicus' were driven off by man, by Chinese expansion and wandered over the Bering Strait Land Bridge into North America, at the same time AmerIndians Migrated, to adapt into the Sasquatch and the AmerIndians that exist today.

Upon arrival here they confronted Native Americans who also became their enemy. Sasquatches had no choice but to hide in the dark, as Native legends tell. It became such a war that the Sasquatches could only survive by hiding, and walking only at night. Their only means for survival was to form an existence of stealth and secrecy. They had no idea of how to create fire, or weapons. By the time the strongest Sasquatches adapted this way, their numbers were very low, and remain so today. This adaptation exploited the rugged wilderness areas throughout North America. When white-men arrived and began to develop the land, Sasquatches were pushed into even more remote areas for breeding and raising young.

Gigantopithicus blackii skull reconstruction (Dr. Grover T. Krantz)

Modern Sasquatch Biology

The Modern Sasquatch resides primarily in the Pacific Northwest Cascade Mountain Range from Northern California north to British Columbia, Canada. These nomads wander constantly in search of food which consists primarily of vegetation, fruits, berries, nuts, some roots, saplings, and insect grubs, with fish being a primary substance. Meat is a secondary dietary supplement and will be consumed, especially if opportunistic, and that includes deer from hunters who only wound their intended subject. In some areas they prefer fish to other food items. Fish appears to be an attractive prey to Sasquatches, whether spoiling, hanging to dry, or being cooked. This may be something imprinted on the young Sasquatch by adults at an early age, apparently recognizing fish as a potential food item without regard to human occupation of the source. Several researchers have reportedly attracted Sasquatch to their area of research in remote areas by using fish as a bate.

Most reside or wander near rivers or lakes and small ponds. Water is an attractive item to the Sasquatch, and nearly all sightings and footprints are located near a water source. It appears that all legitimate Sasquatch sightings and footprint finds are located near or within a short distance of a water source.

Sasquatches can swim, and this attribute is not normally mentioned in books or other text. Since their feet are flexible, as noted by Dr. Meldrum, they serve as great flippers while in deep water. It is interesting to note that they can apparently negotiate open seas as between the B.C. coast and Vancouver Island, the southeast Alaska coast and Prince of Wales Island (and others), and even as far south and a distant swim as from the California coast to Catalina Island (22 miles). In fact, many coastal Islands along Washington, B.C. and Alaska have had Sasquatch footprint finds and sightings. California is lacking in their activity on Catalina Island, but reports do exist there. Their swimming methods can only be imagined, but I propose that they hold their feet and legs together and use a pumping method with a cuping scooping of the forearms for directional ability, similar to most other wild animals who negotiate water travel. It is possible that they can also dive deep if necessary, such as to avoid location by a passing boat. Swimming activity, most likely, occurs at night when no boats can see them except accidentally ... a very unlikely scenario for anyone familiar with nighttime boat travel.

During the breeding season, which occurs periodically later in life, they reside in remote wilderness areas where man is not often found. The males seek a mate, and they develop a family structure for raising the young newborn. They reside in this same territory until the juvenile is old enough to care for itself, then wander away from that area once the juvenile can care for him/herself. One of these suspected areas is called "Indian Heaven Back-country", on the eastern side of Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. Many reports of apparent family groups have been witnessed in that area, but it is very remote, and usually requires horseback excursions into the area. Additionally, riding into such areas on horseback, and the presence of horses or other large animals, apparently makes the Sasquatch loose his guard, so to speak. While in such areas, and on horseback, especially during the nighttime camping hours is when people have the most compelling encounters with Sasquatches.

The juvenile Sasquatch wanders aimlessly for several years once leaving the family structure, probably after about 12 years of age, although no one really knows how old a Sasquatch is before it "leaves the nest", so to speak. It is most likely these juveniles that are most often witnessed by man in Human inhabited areas. The curiosity of the juveniles make them more likely to be seen, and even a 12 year old can be quite large (up to 6.5 feet tall or higher) although they are nocturnal as are all ages. These young Sasquatches are often mischief makers and almost invite human observance. During their nomadic wanderings they may travel extreme distances from their natal grounds, and are reported in every U.S. State and Canadian Province. It should also be mentioned that a 6.5 foot tall individual can carry twice the weight of a man, and footprints that measure 14 inches long by 5 or 6 inches wide. Some footprints are shorter in length with a wide ball, and flat-footed.

When the juvenile becomes an adult, at probably 16 years of age, he/she returns to the natal area, or any remote wilderness found on the way. They seek a mate by vocalizing, of which much has been recorded and analyzed, form a family complex, and continue the process as their parents had for them. It is very likely, although unlikely, that this is conducted in areas near where Humans reside, or may begin in Human occupied areas and later continued in remote regions. In some of these areas the local Humans are shocked into reality, but once the mate is found all else is quiet and set aside from Humans. It is more than likely that upon locating a mate the Sasquatch moves to a remote area to raise the young, as is witnessed in other primates.

The life of a Sasquatch is probably more that 40 years, especially if they are a higher form of primate. When they die, however, they are not unlike any other wild animal. They seek a place to die where their body will not be discovered. Once they are dead, the body is quickly consumed by predators and insects, and becomes one with the soil on which it lays. It should be noted here that naturally dead bears are never found in the wild; nor are other large mammals. All large animals hide themselves in areas that will not be discovered by predators when they feel sick. This is where they die, and it is not likely humans will locate them unless by chance only a day or two after death.

During the 1970's I investigated several Sasquatch reports in the Mojave Desert and surrounding area. There are many good reports of these animals in the desert southwest, but I am not convinced that these animals are actually desert residents. Rather, I believe they simply wander through the desert from forest to forest, and probably find that food is abundant in the sandy and rocky environment. Since they are nocturnal, they are not often witnessed, especially in the desert where few people reside. I have written two articles about these Desert Sasquatches of which the links to these are provided below. From these articles I am still receiving reports from witnesses in southern California, and all of these places I mention in my articles are active to this very day. I am also providing a general link to Bobbie Short's excellent Web Site where you can find out just about anything Sasquatch related, as well as a few extra links where you can download vocalizations or research Sasquatch activity in your area of North America. If you are a Sasquatch Investigator you may want to link to the Archaeological methods area and learn what it takes, and what is needed, to collect good scientific evidence at Sasquatch activity sites.

Below is the recorded Sasquatch Sound that I feel is most likely a real recording of a Sasquatch, recording by Linda Williford. I investigated this activity for several months afterwards, and I believe she recorded an actual Sasquatch call.

Download a Recording by Linda Williford of a Sasquatch in Snohomish,WA 1979

Go To BIGFOOT ENCOUNTERS: California Sightings List

Go To Sasquatch Activity Geographical Database

Go To Sasquatch Archaeological Evidence Collection Methods

Go To Edwards Air Force Base Surveilance, by Douglas E. Trapp

Go To Edwards Air Force Base Nightstalker, by the late B. Ann Slate

Go To Southern California Desert Sasquatch, By Douglas E. Trapp

Unfortunately the opportunities to actually see a Sasquatch are very limited. It is a matter of being in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time. I have been close, I believe, several times. But never close enough to see one. Since they are nomadic wanderers of the night, and apparently have a small population (2000 nation-wide is the generally accepted estimate), the odds of actually seeing one are very slim. It's really too bad that the people who DO see them are not familiar with them, and often do not report the sighting for fear of ridicule. Those who DO report their sighting are often joked about by media personalities. Until the day arrives when a body is actually recovered, the general population will disregard these animals as nothing more than a myth ... after such a recovery there will be a lot of funding available to discover more about them. I am waiting for that day.

If you have any particular questions about Sasquatches, please write me through the link below.

E-mail Douglas E. Trapp

Bigfoot: CONCLUSIONS

There is evidence that another erect primate shares this globe with mankind. The evidence may not be conclusive, but it is certainly ample to establish that the matter should be further investigated. In the meantime, the person who finds himself in a position to obtain a specimen should do so, in the knowledge that it is important, and that such creatures are neither rare nor human.

- John Green, Sasquatch, The Apes Among Us

"A long Native North American tradition of large hairy humanoid animals exists and cannot be dismissed easily."

- Loren Coleman, Research Associate, Muskie Institue, University of Southern Maine

One is forced to conclude that a man-like life-form of gigantic proportions is living at the present time in the wild areas of the north-western United States and British Columbia. If I have given the impression that this conclusion is-to me-profoundly disturbing, then I have made my point. That such a creature should be alive and kicking in our midst, unrecognized and unclassifiable, is a profound blow to the credibility of modern anthropology.

- Dr. John Napier, Bigfoot, the Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality

"What most convinces me of the actual existence of Bigfoot is my personal experiences in the Cascade Mountains and Coast Range of Oregon. There is no substitute for field work. However, Dr. F. Henner Farenbach's work with a database of 551 footprints (obtained from John Green) adds evidence supporting the "actuality" of what some of us call "Bigfoot". Another piece of evidence that has always intrigued me is personally interviewing many people who claim to have had a bigfoot encounter soon thereafterwards, and noticing how really shook up, upset, and frightened they are. I don't think they're "faking" it. Old Native American tales about Bigfoot like beings, written down from 50-125 years ago, have many similar characteristics to modern Bigfoot reports from people of other cultures, which lends support to the idea that this phenomenon is not another case of mass hysteria or wishful thinking. My personal experience suggests Bigfoot is much stronger than human beings, and faster, bigger, with better eyesight, better hearing, and a better sense of smell. Who's to say they aren't more intelligent as well? The summit ridges and mountain peaks of the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range are their domain. You don't find Bigfoot, Bigfoot finds you."

- Henry Franzoni, Administrator, Internet Virtual Bigfoot Conference

"Despite an overflow of public hype and hysteria, caused mainly by hoaxers, Hollywood, and over-zealous (and sometimes eccentric) 'bigfoot hunters and experts' (to name a few), there seems to be a good amount of credible evidence pointing towards the possible existence of a large bipedal primate, commonly known as sasquatch or bigfoot (and which may be a species of primitive humanoid thought extinct), in the Pacific Northwest, and possibly in other parts of North America. However, the creature, cannot be conclusively proven until a specimen is collected - whether by killing or capture. Until then, we should remain skeptical, but open-minded, of all alleged evidence of sasquatch. If we do not, the search for sasquatch will loose credibility among scientists, the media and thus the general public."

- Ben S. Roesch, Editor, The Cryptozoology Review

"There is no question in my mind that Unknown Bipeds, globally situated, do exist".

- Robert Stansberry, IVBC Member

"There is more evidence to support the existance of Bigfoot than that supporting the existence of the world's most notable people. Let's face it, history, prior to the invention of the camera, is basically just a collection of recorded "sightings." We believe strictly on the strength of written evidence. With Bigfoot, we not only have sightings but also footprints and photographs. There appears to be a double standard in the scientific world.."

- Christopher L. Murphy, Progressive Research

TO KILL, CAPTURE, or LEAVE ALONE

The question regarding the physical evidence for the existance of Sasquatch is often debated. I am not sure some of these debates are based on common sense, since it is evident that all large animals known to exist on this planet were either captured or killed before they were accepted by science. I will deal with each opinion in the order listed in this title ...

The act of killing a Sasquatch is a matter of the heart for some, yet a matter of certainty for many others. It often appears to be a debate on whether or not these animals may be related to humans, or human-like in some way. Several reports exist where a sightee had a gun, but refused to shoot the Sasquatch because it looked "too Human". However, research by the most noted investigators indicate that this animal is human-like only because it is bipedal (walks on two legs, primarily). Some dinosaurs were bipedal, but were not related to mankind. It is not likely that Sasquatches are human relatives any more than the Great Apes, and they are very likely related to Gigantopithicus as mentioned above within this page. Shooting and killing a Mountain Gorilla was necessary, at the time, before the species could be recognized scientifically. In our modern world, killing a specimen may not be necessary to prove its existance. If Gorilla were not killed, it would have been at least another 100 years before they were scientifically recognized. It is true that a dead specimen is not necessary in our modern world, yet we must understand that science is demanding a Sasquatch specimen from us. It is possible, as mentioned elsewhere on this page, that bones may be located, examined, catagorized, and conclusively added to the list of known primate species. However, such a discovery would almost require an "Act of God" because we know that large mammal bones or carcasses from natural deaths are never found ... never! There are no records of naturally dead bear, moose, elk (except Alaska in herding areas) or deer bones (other than antlers) and carcasses discovered in North America in recorded history. Since there are probably at least 100 Black Bear for ever 1 Sasquatch (re:the late Dr. Grover T. Krantz), it is very unlikely we will locate a carcass or bones of a Sasquatch, unless by pure luck. We have a much better opportunity to shoot and kill one. Recently, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization was successful in luring a Sasquatch to a mud puddle through the use of a combination of human and ape pheremones, with fruit set in the middle of the puddle. This resulted in the Skookum Cast of a Sasquatch body as it laid in the puddle retreiving the fruit. Additionally, they used vocal recordings of Sasquatch calls that had been previously analysed by several experts and indicating they were the sounds of an unknown primate. The combined use of these tools could be used to lure a Sasquatch to an area where one could be shot with a high powered rifle. I have had discussions about this with several researchers, and our collective conclusion is that the person with the gun, and those involved for the body extraction, may be in danger of attack by other Sasquatches lurking in the background. To eleviate this problem, a specialized robotic and remotely controlled device could be used. We know the military has such equipment, but it is not normally available for public use. Such a device could be instrumental in both the killing and recovery of a Sasquatch body in remote areas, additionally making such a project safe for humans. I am not personally advocating such a project, but I feel that we have very few alternatives if we wish to protect the Sasquatch as a species, and promote Sasquatch field study funds to discover more.

To capture a Sasquatch would be a monumental task, unless the individual equated to the adult height and weight measurements of a man. If you read the data included earlier on this page, you will see that even a 4 foot 7 inch Sasquatch is heavier than a man (child) of that same size. There have been many proposals suggested through the years of how to capture a Sasquatch. None of those proposals were realistic when dealing with size, strength, and weight of a Sasquatch. View the data included above and you will see that this would not be an easy capture. Pitfall traps, leghold traps, snares, and tranquilizer darts have been suggested throughout the years. If one falls in a pit, how do you retreive the live specimen? Would a Sasquatch sacrifice a leg to free from a leghold trap? Could not a Sasquatch understand how to lossen a snare? That leaves the tranquilizer dart. As in the situations explained above for shooting a Sasquatch, the same elements will apply for such use. The problem is that any individual Sasquatch that walks into the area may be of less or greater weight than predicted, so several darts of different strenght would be necessary, and a very quick decision based on a quick observation. Even with pheremones present, it is not likely that a Sasquatch will simply stand and wait for the shot. A remotely controlled robot, even in this case, would likely be necessary. The problem is that too much tranquilizer, or too little, is a big concern. Too much might kill the Sasquatch of a lower predicted weight, and too little will allow it to travel a long way from the darting area and become unrecoverable. We are not dealing with slow-moving animals here, and the Sasquatch can motivate quickly through thick forest, scale cliffs, and be totally out of human negotiated range in little time. Therefore, the use of tranquilizer darts are not a legitimate option. The darted subject will either die, after running off several miles, or will sleep in a area several miles from the darting activity. The only other option is the use of GPS darts which have a small amount of pain killer on the tip so the subject does not feel it. Again, it probably wont be long before the dart is removed by the subject. If we could use a specially designed dart that will implant a GPS device, that would be best. I am not sure we currently have technology that offers such an item.

To leave them alone would admit the Sasquatch is a real living animal. That is not a likely scenario since science will not accept that on a good day. There are many animal rights activists who think the Sasquatch should be protected now, based on the current evidence. I agree, to a point, but I also understand that science needs a recently dead body or recent bones to study ... dead or alive. Once this is done, funding will develop for field research. I am not sure I will be alive that day, but if so I will be part of it ... If not, I will be watching from above.

The two most likely areas where Sasquatch activity will be observed are as follows. These areas are very remote, although the maps indicate otherwise. In North America there are no other places where these animals can be observered without hoping that one will come across your residence.

North Cascades Wilderness Area

Indian Heaven Back Country, Skamania County, Washington

Patterson Film Subject Head Enhancement

SASQUATCH and the GENERAL PUBLIC

It appears there is a trend to discount all Sasquatch sightings and footprint finds by both the General Public and the News Media. Obviously, anyone skeptical of Sasquatch related evidence is not willing to dig deep enough into the subject to find the truth. Sure, there are hoaxes, but dermal ridges in plaster casts, the Patterson Film, and several hair samples have conclusively indicated that we are not dealing with hoaxers in every case. It is sometimes overwhelming to some of us the details of certain encounters that were held back for scores of years, mainly because the reportee was afraid he/she would be laughed upon. The Media inspires this "laughter" by refusing to look at the evidence. How many times have you heard a media report, talking about Sasquatch, and referring to the animal as a "Him"? "He's back again", or " The big guy is spooking us". The general public is no less guilty, as I can quote from a co-worker. I told him that I knew of a person in Willow, Alaska who found Sasquatch tracks, and later found others of different sizes in the same are, indicating more than one individual. His response ... "I didn't know he could reproduce himself". After some discussion, I was able to change his attitude, and show him that "Sasquatch" was not "One" animal. That is not what the media will ever do unless we actually find a body, or capture a live Sasquatch. In fact, once a body is found they will all claim that the search has ended. As researchers, we battle public opinion and News Media thoughts, day by day.

"After more than 30 years digging through reports, investigating footprint finds and sightings, talking to eyewitnesses, and studying the Patterson/Gimlin Film of 1967, my conclusions for the existence of Sasquatch are as follows:

Sasquatch is a real, living bipedal hominid that is higher in intelligence than most animals, yet still has many animal behaviors and instincts. What exactly they are is not conclusive. They are most likely related to Gigantopithicus. Some eyewitness accounts describe them as ape-like, while others describe man-like animals. They have no sophistication like man, and less than Neanderthal man, i.e., they do not use fire or tools. Although there are hoaxers, and there have been many Sasquatch hoaxes, I feel that there are probably more than 100 sightings and footprint finds that go unreported yearly, primarily due to the "tongue in cheek" approach the News Media offers. No one wants to be laughed at, and it is only those who either don't care, or are naive that report such things to the media. I also believe that there may be Sasquatch bones already collected and available for examination which have been otherwise misidentified and mislabeled at museums. These may appear as bear femurs or even teeth. The teeth of Gigantopithicus went undiscovered for centuries in China, and were labeled as Dragons' teeth. One of the most often asked questions I've received over the years has been, "How can such a large animal allude us?" Actually, Sasquatches are probably one of the last great animals to allude mankind, but certainly not the first. Do some research and read about recent (last 100 years) animals discovered and you will find it pretty amazing what it sometimes takes to locate a unknown yet reportedly real animal, size being no exception. Sasquatches are very aware, and do not wish to make human contact. Some are curious, and most are nocturnal. As a wildlife biologist specializing in Tytonidae (Barn Owl) Owls, people often tell me they have never seen a Barn Owl. Where I live (Dallas) there is a extremely large Barn Owl population. The fact of the matter is that most people are diurnal, and really are not looking for owls when they are out at night. The same must be said about Sasquatches. Imagine how many Sasquatches have been within sighting distance, yet unnoticed. Perhaps crouched down by a highway, looking like a stump in the darkness, etc. Furthermore, there simply is no evidence that Sasquatches are supernatural or extraterrestrial. Anything that can lay giant footprints imbedded in hard-packed dirt is simply a very heavy animal. Because it walks on two legs does not make it abnormal, for in the case for the Sasquatch, bipedal locomotion is natural. This can be easily seen in the Patterson film. By the way, there is nothing in this film that would even remotely support a hoax; it is obviously genuine. For me, the Sasquatch was here long before we were. There are other forms or races that exist all over the world. There is plenty of evidence to support their existence, and little to support a world-wide organized hoax conducted by some secret society for no reason at all. Anatomically the Sasquatch is built to support large weight, and allow for great speed for either escape or attack. My conclusion is that they are real, they are not "Endangered", and that we need more serious researchers to help gather the evidence. After all, we all know that Atoms exist, but have you ever actually seen one?"

ARCHEOLOGICAL SASQUATCH EVIDENCE

In addition to the comments above, I must tell the readers that we have recently (2001,2002,2003) been privileged with some amazing Archaeological findings that indicate Sasquatches were known by humans up to 10,000 years ago, well before Euro-man was here. These findings are still secret and held between an elite group of researchers for Scientific Publication. The basis of these findings were on carvings (Monoliths) made by ancient peoples in North America. They not only carved ancient animals such as Mammoth and Bison, but also carved giant images of ape-like forms ... additionally carving giant human-like footprints with no arch in localized caves. These carvings are not like those of baskets or hand-held heads ... they are giant Monoliths (over 40 feet tall) created to show respect for creatures of their time, 10,000 years ago! They did not carve Giant Squirrel or Rat Monoliths, which futher indicates their respect for these huge respectable animals. There are currently more than ten sites of interest that show these "Monoliths" throughout North America. This discovery is "Monumental" and will help to prove to Science that Sasquatches were at least a once well-known animal, at least 10,000 years ago. If these animals were known 10,000 years ago, and still fit the same general modern description, there will be little doubt that they may still be present. Currently the Archaeologists are collecting data from these sites. This is possibly the most significant discovery relative to Sasquatch ever.

If you are an experienced Sasquatch investigator or a Scientist who has accepted the concept that these animals are real and deserve classification, use the link below to join the Crypto Bipedal Primatology Group in Yahoo. You will need a Yahoo Profile that expalins your current status as either an Investigator/Researcher or a relative Scientist dealing with relic bipedal hominids or hominoids.

Un-solved: The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

2007-02-25T02:43:00.000+05:30

Un-solved: The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

2007-02-25T02:40:00.000+05:30

Un-solved: The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

2007-02-25T02:27:00.000+05:30

Here's another Interesting Read which i came across when i became interested after seeing his documentary on National Geographic Channel.

This extract is taken from Hindustan Times. All the links are intact & you can use them to browse for more info on this debatable topic.



		Click to enlarge

		Subhas Bose Probe: Phase I

		These are findings of the first-ever public probe on Internet. Besides indictating that Subhas Bose did not die in the air crash on August 18, 1945, they also throw up pointers to the conspiracies that dogged the great leader. ...more



		Secret and sensitive documents from Indian and foreign intelligence offices throw fierce light on cases relating to Netaji's disappearance.



		Accounts of witnesses who deposed before the three panels instituted at various stages to unravel the Netaji mystery...

You are here: Home > Netaji Home

Dear surfer,

We seek your leave to end another phase of the probe into Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's disappearance. The phase centred on a late hermit, 'Bhagwanji' of Faizabad, who looked, spoke, wrote and behaved like Netaji. ...more

UP hermit, Netaji too similar

The 'Bhagwanji' of Faizabad, who died in 1985, and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had much in common. Apart from all other things, even their writings were found to be of "common authorship"... more

UP hermit given secret funeral

'Thirteen people were present when Bhagwanji of Faizabad was cremated at Guptar Ghat on the banks of River Saryu (Uttar Pradesh) in 1985. When the pyre was lit, one of them broke down and said, "…there should have been 13 lakh people here!" ... more

Netaji's friend, aides recognised 'UP hermit'

Netaji's confidants Leela Roy, Dr Pabitra Mohan Roy and Atul Sen were among those who knew that the leader was living in a hermit's guise... more

Bose's brother, aides among Bhagwanji's informants

Among those to surface in Bhagwanji's list of associates included Netaji's elder brother Suresh Bose, besides others of Netaji's circle. In letters, testimonies, messages and private conversation, all of them had indicated who Bhagwanji was truly... more

Bhagwanji insisted on security drill

There is evidence that Bhagwanji spent 30 years in India (from 1955) trying to hide his identity. A network of informants (mostly from Netaji's circle of friends and associates) helped him in that, reporting on everything that could breach his cover... more

"I am Subhas Bose"

There had been at least four known occasions when Bhagwanji said he was Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. People before whom he spoke are alive and include his Faizabad landlord, Gurbasant Singh, and doctor, Priyabrat Banerjee.... more

Air crash debunked

Bhagwanji's remarks on "Netaji's movement in the post-1945 crash period" conform with independent evidence that point to the leader's escape through Diren into Soviet Russia. Indeed, the British government in 1945, had never fully believed in the crash theory... more

Life & Times

Snapshots of Subhas Chandra Bose from his boy scout days to his coronation as Congress president and after

Indian National Army

Photograhs of the gallant men of the Azad Hind Fauz as they lined up to salute their commander during a parade

The Air Crash

Rare photos taken from Harin Shah's camera of the air-crash at Taipei and cremation (supposedly of Bose's body). Harin Shah was a scribe who visited Taipei in 1946

Plot of Death
Nanmon Hospital doctor had just been told that a plane carrying Subhas Bose had crashed

Deal with Bose
British archive shows that Viceroy Wavell and senior British officials did not want Bose brought to India

Shah Nawaz Report

It was Shah Nawaz Khan who inked Bose's death certificate. Khan was a major general in the Indian National Army

G D Khosla Report

Justice Khosla was heading three other commissions when he took over as head of Netaji probe panel

Telltale Foreign Files

Mukherjee Commission

1931-1950
Scanned images of Hindustan Times news clippings relating to Subhas Bose's life and times

1951-1980
Hindustan Times news clippings depicting the phase when Indian government conducted probes into his disappearance

1981-2000
Hindustan Times archives with all the details about this phase when demands for fresh inquiry into Subhas Chandra Bose's disappearances intensified

India in World War II

As the world hurtled towards another war, Cong president Subhas Bose pressed for self-government for India

INA in East Asia

Japan's aim in 1941 was to enlist the Indian communities' support for its war efforts against the colonial powers






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Un-solved: The Aryan invasion

2007-02-25T02:19:00.000+05:30

Un-solved: The Aryan invasion

The Aryan invasion

2007-02-25T02:11:00.000+05:30

Here's Something i came across which makes interesting reading.

the myth of the aryan invasion

The aryan invasion
By
Svami B.V. Giri

Introduction
The aryan invasion theory has been one of the most controversial historical topics for well over a century. However, it should be pointed out that it remains just that – a theory. To date no hard evidence has proven the aryan invasion theory to be fact. In this essay we will explain the roots of this hypothesis and how, due to recent emergence of new evidence over the last couple of decades, the validity of the aryan invasion theory has been seriously challenged.

It is indeed ironic that the origin of this theory does not lie in Indian records, but in 19^th Century politics and German nationalism. No where in the Vedas, Puranas or Itihasas is there any mention of a Migration or Invasion of any kind. In 1841 M.S. Elphinstone, the first governor of the Bombay Presidency, wrote in his book History of India:

'It is opposed to their (Hindus) foreign origin, that neither in the Code (of Manu) nor, I believe, in the Vedas, nor in any book that is certainly older than the code, is there any allusion to a prior residence or to a knowledge of more than the name of any country out of India. Even mythology goes no further than the Himalayan chain, in which is fixed the habitation of the gods... .To say that it spread from a central point is an unwarranted assumption, and even to analogy; for, emigration and civilization have not spread in a circle, but from east to west. Where, also, could the central point be, from which a language could spread over India, Greece, and Italy and yet leave Chaldea, Syria and Arabia untouched? There is no reason whatever for thinking that the Hindus ever inhabited any country but their present one, and as little for denying that they may have done so before the earliest trace of their records or tradition.’

The Birth of a Misconception
Interest in the field of Indology during the 19^th Century was of mixed motivations. Many scholars such as August Wilhelm von Schlegal, Hern Wilhelm von Humboldt, and Arthur Schopenhauer lauded praise upon the Vedic literatures and their profound wisdom, others were less than impressed. To accept that there was an advanced civilization outside the boundaries of Europe, at a time before the Patriarchs Abraham and Moses had made their covenant with the Almighty was impossible to conceive of for most European scholars, who harbored a strong Christian tendency. Most scholars of this period were neither archeologists nor historians in the strict sense of the word. Rather, they were missionaries paid by their governments to establish western cultural and racial superiority over the subjugated Indian citizens, through their study of the indigenous religious texts. Consequently, for racial, political and religious reasons, early European indologists created a myth that still survives to this day.

It was established by linguists that Sanskrit, Iranian and European languages all belonged to the same family, categorizing them as ‘Indo-European’ languages. It was assumed that all these people originated from one homeland where they spoke a common language (which they called ‘Proto-Indo-European’ or PIE) which later developed into Sanskrit, Latin, Greek etc. They then needed to ascertain where this homeland was. By pure speculation, it was proposed that this homeland was either southeast Europe or Central Asia.

Harappa
Harappa and Mohenjo-daro
The discovery of ruins in the Indus Valley (Harappa and Mohenjo-daro) was considered by indologists like Wheeler as proof of their conjectures – that a nomadic tribe from foreign lands had plundered India. It was pronounced that the ruins dated back to a time before the Aryan Invasion, although this was actually never verified. By assigning a period of 200 years to each of the several layers of the pre-Buddhist Vedic literature, indologists arrived at a time frame of somewhere between 1500 and 1000BC for the Invasion of the Aryans. Using Biblical chronology as their sheet anchor, nineteenth century indologists placed the creation of the world at 4000BC 1 and Noah’s flood at 2500BC. They thus postulated that the Aryan Invasion could not have taken place any time before 1500BC.

Archeologists excavating the sites at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro found human skeletal remains; this seemed to them to be undeniable evidence that a large-scale massacre had taken place in these cities by the invading Aryan hordes. Prof. G. F. Dales (Former head of department of South-Asian Archaeology and Anthropology, Berkeley University, USA) in his ‘The Mythical Massacre at Mohenjo-daro’, states the following about this evidence:

Mohenjo-daro

‘What of these skeletal remains that have taken on such undeserved importance? Nine years of extensive excavations at Mohenjo-daro (1922-31) - a city of three miles in circuit - yielded the total of some 37 skeletons, or parts thereof, that can be attributed with some certainty to the period of the Indus civilizations. Some of these were found in contorted positions and groupings that suggest anything but orderly burials. Many are either disarticulated or incomplete. They were all found in the area of the Lower Town - probably the residential district. Not a single body was found within the area of the fortified citadel where one could reasonably expect the final defense of this thriving capital city to have been made…Where are the burned fortresses, the arrow heads, weapons, pieces of armor, the smashed chariots and bodies of the invaders and defenders? Despite the extensive excavations at the largest Harappan sites, there is not a single bit of evidence that can be brought forth as unconditional proof of an armed conquest and the destruction on the supposed scale of the Aryan Invasion.’

Evidence from the Vedas
It was therefore concluded that light-skinned nomads from Central Asia who wiped out the indigenous culture and enslaved or butchered the people, imposing their alien culture upon them had invaded the Indian subcontinent. They then wrote down their exploits in the form of the Rg Veda. This hypothesis was apparently based upon references in the Vedas that point to a conflict between the light-skinned Aryans and the dark-skinned Dasyus. 2 This theory was strengthened by the archeological discoveries in the Indus Valley of the charred skeletal remains that we have mentioned above. Thus the Vedas became nothing more than a series of poetic tales about the skirmishes between two barbaric tribes.

However, there are other references in the Rg Veda 3 that point to India being a land of mixed races. The Rg Veda also states that "We pray to Indra to give glory by which the Dasyus will become Aryans." 4 Such a statement confirms that to be an Aryan was not a matter of birth.

An inattentive skimming through the Vedas has resulted in a gross misinterpretation of social and racial struggles amongst the ancient Indians. North Aryans were pitted against the Southern Dravidians, high-castes against low-castes, civilized orthodox Indians against barbaric heterodox tribals. The hypothesis that of racial hatred between the Aryans and the dark-skinned Dasyus has no sastric foundation, yet some ‘scholars’ have misinterpreted texts to try to prove that there was racial hatred amongst the Aryans and Dravidians (such as the Rg Veda story of Indra slaying the demon Vrta 5 ).

Based on literary analysis, many scholars including B.G. Tilak, Dayananda Saraswati and Aurobindo dismissed any idea of an Aryan Invasion. For example, if the Aryans were foreign invaders, why is it that they don’t name places outside of India as their religious sites? Why do the Vedas only glorify holy places within India?

Max Mueller
What is an ‘Aryan’?
The Sanskrit word ‘Aryan’ refers to one who is righteous and noble. It is also used in the context of addressing a gentleman (Arya-putra, Aryakanya etc). 6 Nowhere in the Vedic literature is the word used to denote race or language. This was a concoction by Max Mueller who, in 1853, introduced the word ‘Arya’ into the English language as referring a particular race and language. He did this in order to give credibility to his Aryan race theory (see Part 2). However in 1888, when challenged by other eminent scholars and historians, Mueller could see that his reputation was in jeopardy and made the following statement, thus refuting his own theory -

"I have declared again and again that if I say Aryas, I mean neither blood nor bones, nor hair, nor skull; I mean simply those who speak an Aryan language...to me an ethnologist who speaks of Aryan race, Aryan blood, Aryan eyes and hair, is as great a sinner as a linguist who speaks of a dolichocephalic dictionary or a brachycephalic grammar."
(Max Mueller, Biographies of Words and the Home of the Aryas, 1888, pg 120)

But the dye had already been cast! Political and Nationalist groups in Germany and France exploited this racial phenomenon to propagate the supremacy of an assumed Aryan race of white people. Later, Adolf Hitler used this ideology to the extreme for his political hegemony and his barbaric crusade to terrorize Jews, Slavs and other racial minorities, culminating in the holocaust of millions of innocent people.

According to Mueller’s etymological explanation of ‘Aryan’, the word is derived from ‘ar’ (to plough, to cultivate). Therefore Arya means ‘a cultivator, or farmer’. This is opposed to the idea that the Aryans were wandering nomads. V.S. Apte's Sanskrit-English Dictionary relates the word Arya to the root ‘r-’ to which the prefix ‘a’ has been added in order to give a negating meaning. Therefore the meaning of Arya is given as ‘excellent, best’, followed by ‘respectable’ and as a noun, ‘master, lord, worthy, honorable, excellent,’ ‘upholder of Arya values, and further: teacher, employer, master, father-in-law, friend.’

No Nomads
Kenneth Kennedy of Cornell University has recently proven that there was no significant influx of people into India during 4500 to 800BC. Furthermore it is impossible for sites stretching over one thousand miles to have all become simultaneously abandoned due to the Invasion of Nomadic Tribes.

There is no solid evidence that the Aryans belonged to a nomadic tribe. In fact, to suggest that a nomadic horde of barbarians wrote books of such profound wisdom as the Vedas and Upanisads is nothing more than an absurdity and defies imagination.

Although in the Rg Veda Indra is described as the ‘Destroyer of Cities,’ the same text mentions that the Aryan people themselves were urban dwellers with hundreds of cities of their own. They are mentioned as a complex metropolitan society with numerous professions and as a seafaring race. This begs the question, if the Aryans had indeed invaded the city of Harrapa, why did they not inhabit it after? Archeological evidence shows that the city was left deserted after the ‘Invasion’.

Colin Renfrew, Prof. of Archeology at Cambridge, writes in his book Archeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins’ -

‘It is certainly true that the gods invoked do aid the Aryas by over-throwing forts, but this does not in itself establish that the Aryas had no forts themselves. Nor does the fleetness in battle, provided by horses (who were clearly used primarily for pulling chariots), in itself suggest that the writers of these hymns were nomads. Indeed the chariot is not a vehicle especially associated with nomads’

Horses and Chariots
The Invasion Theory was linked to references of horses in the Vedas, assuming that the Aryans brought horses and chariots with them, giving military superiority that made it possible for them to conquer the indigenous inhabitants of India. Indologists tried to credit this theory by claiming that the domestication of the horse took place just before 1500BC. Their proof for this was that there were no traces of horses and chariots found in the Indus Valley. The Vedic literature nowhere mentions riding in battle and the word ‘asva’ for horse was often used figuratively for speed. Recent excavations by Dr.S.R. Rao have discovered both the remains of a horse from both the Late Harrapan Period and the Early Harrapan Period (dated before the supposed Invasion by the Aryans), and a clay model of a horse in Mohenjo-daro. Since Dr. Rao’s discoveries other archeologists have uncovered numerous horse bones of both domesticated and combat types. New discoveries in the Ukraine also proves that horse riding was prevalent as early as 4000BC – thus debunking the misconception that the Aryan nomads came riding into history after 2000BC.

Another important point in this regard is that nomadic tribes do not use chariots. They are used in areas of flat land such as the Gangetic plains of Northern India. An Invasion of India from Central Asia would require crossing mountains and deserts – a chariot would be useless for such an exercise. Much later, further excavations in the Indus Valley (and pre-Indus civilizations) revealed horses and evidence of the wheel on the form of a seal showing a spoked wheel (as used on chariots).

An Iron Culture
Similarly, it was claimed that another reason why the Invading Aryans gained the upper hand was because their weapons were made of iron. This was based upon the word ‘ayas’ found in the Vedas, which was translated as iron. Another reason was that iron was not found in the Indus Valley region.

However, in other Indo-European languages, ayas refers to bronze, copper or ore. It is dubious to say that ayas only referred to iron, especially when the Rg Veda does not mention other metals apart from gold, which is mentioned more frequently than ayas. Furthermore, the Yajur and Atharva Vedas refer to different colors of ayas. This seems to show that he word was a generic term for all types of metal. It is also mentioned in the Vedas that the dasyus (enemies of the Aryans) also used ayas to build their cities. Thus there is no hard evidence to prove that the ‘Aryans invaders’ were an iron-based culture and their enemies were not.

Yajna-vedhis
Throughout the Vedas, there is mention of fire-sacrifices (yajnas) and the elaborate construction of vedhis (fire altars). Fire-sacrifices were probably the most important aspect of worshiping the Supreme for the Aryan people. However, the remains of yajna-vedhis (fire altars) were uncovered in Harrapa by B.B. Lal of the Archeological Survey of India, in his excavations at the third millenium site of Kalibangan.

The geometry of these yajna-vedhis is explained in the Vedic texts such as the Satpatha-brahmana. The University of California at Berkley has compared this geometry to the early geometry of Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia and established that the geometry found in the Vedic scriptures should be dated before 1700BC. Such evidence proves that the Harrapans were part of the Vedic fold.

Objections in the Realm of Linguistics and Literature
There are various objections to the conclusions reached by the indologists concerning linguistics. Firstly they have never given a plausible excuse to explain how a Nomadic Invasion could have overwhelmed the original languages in one of the most densely populated regions of the ancient world.

Secondly, there are more linguistic changes in Vedic Sanskrit than there are in classical Sanskrit since the time of Panini (aprox.500 BC). So although they have assigned an arbitrary figure of 200 year periods to each of the four Vedas, each of these periods could have existed for any number of centuries and the 200 year figure is totally subjective and probably too short a figure.

Another important point is that none of the Vedic literatures refer to any Invasion from outside or an original homeland from which the Aryans came from. They only focus upon the region of the Seven Rivers (sapta-sindhu). The Puranas refer to migrations of people out of India, which explains the discoveries of treaties between kings with Aryan names in the Middle East, and references to Vedic gods in West Asian texts in the second millenium BC. However, the indologists try to explain these as traces of the migratory path of the Aryans into India.

North-South Divide
Indologists have concluded that the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley civilization were of Dravidian descent. This poses another interesting question. If the Aryans had invaded and forced the Dravidians down to the South, why is there no Aryan/Dravidian divide in the respective religious literatures and historical traditions? Prior to the British, the North and South lived in peace and there was a continuous cultural exchange between the two. Sanskrit was the common language between the two regions for centuries. Great acaryas such as Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Vallabha, and Nimbarka were all from South, yet they are all respected in North India. Prior to them, there were great sages from the South such as Bodhayana and Apastamba. Agastya Rsi is placed in high regard in South India as it is said that he brought the Tamil language from Mount Kailasa to the South. 7 Yet he is from the North! Are we to understand that the South was uninhabited before the Aryan Invasion? If not, who were the original inhabitants of South India, who accepted these newcomers from the North without any struggle or hostility?

Pasupati Siva
Saivism
The advocates of the Invasion theory argue that the inhabitants of Indus valley were Saivites (Siva worshippers) and since Saivism is more prevalent among the South Indians, the inhabitants of the Indus valley region must have been Dravidians. Siva worship, however, is not alien to Vedic culture, and is certainly not confined to South India. The words Siva and Sambhu are not Dravidian in origin as some indologists would have us believe (derived from the Tamil words ‘civa’ - to redden, to become angry, and ‘cembu’ - copper, the red metal). Both words have Sanskrit roots – ‘si’ meaning auspicious, gracious, benevolent, helpful, kind, and ‘sam’ meaning being or existing for happiness or welfare, granting or causing happiness, benevolent, helpful, kind. These words are used in this sense only, right from their very first occurrence. 8 Moreover, some of the most important holy places for Saivites are located in North India: the traditional holy residence of Lord Siva is Mount Kailasa situated in the far north. Varanasi is the most revered and auspicious seat of Saivism. There are verses in the Rg Veda mentioning Siva and Rudra and consider him to be an important deity. Indra himself is called Siva several times in Rg Veda (2:20:3, 6:45:17, 8:93:3).

So Siva is not a Dravidian divinity only, and by no means is he a non-Vedic divinity. Indologists have also presented terra-cotta lumps found in the fire-alters in Harappa and taken them to be Siva-lingas, implying that Saivism was prevalent among the Indus valley people. But these terra-cotta lumps have been proved to be the measures for weighing commodities by shopkeepers and merchants. Their weights have been found in perfect integral ratios, in the manner like 1 gm, 2 gms, 5 gms, 10 gms etc. They were not used as the Siva-lingas for worship, but as the weight measurements.

The Discovery of the Sarasvati River
Whereas the famous River Ganga is mentioned only once in the Rg Veda, the River Sarasvati is mentioned at least sixty times. Sarasvati is now a dry river, but it once flowed all the way from the Himalayas to the ocean across the desert of Rajasthan. Research by Dr. Wakankar has verified that the River Sarasvati changed course at least four times before going completely dry around 1900BC. 9 The latest satellite data combined with field archaeological studies have shown that the Rg Vedic Sarasvati had stopped being a perennial river long before 3000 BC.

As Paul-Henri Francfort of CNRS, Paris recently observed –

"...We now know, thanks to the field work of the Indo-French expedition that when the proto-historic people settled in this area, no large river had flowed there for a long time."

The proto-historic people he refers to are the early Harappans of 3000 BC. But satellite photos show that a great prehistoric river that was over 7 kilometers wide did indeed flow through the area at one time. This was the Sarasvati described in the Rg Veda. Numerous archaeological sites have also been located along the course of this great prehistoric river thereby confirming Vedic accounts. The great Sarasvati that flowed "from the mountain to the sea" is now seen to belong to a date long anterior to 3000 BC. This means that the Rg Veda describes the geography of North India long before 3000 BC. All this shows that the Rg Veda must have been in existence no later than 3500 BC. 10

With so many eulogies composed to the River Sarasvati, we can gather that it must have been well known to the Aryans, who therefore could not have been foreign invaders. This also indicates that the Vedas are much older than Mahabharata, which mentions the Sarasvati as a dying river.

Discoveries of New Sites
Since the initial discoveries of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa on the Ravi and Sindhu rivers in 1922, over 2500 other settlements have been found stretching from Baluchistan to the Ganga and beyond and down to the Tapti Valley. This covers almost a million and a half square kilometers. More than 75% of these sites are concentrated not along the Sindhu, as was believed 70 years ago, but on the banks of the dried up river Sarasvati. The drying up of this great river was a catastrophe, which led to a massive exodus of people in around 2000-1900BC. Some of these people moved southeast, some northwest, and some to Middle-eastern countries such as Iran and Mesopotamia. Dynasties and rulers with Indian names appear and disappear all over west Asia confirming the migration of people from East to West.

With so much evidence against the Aryan Invasion theory, one wonders as to why this ugly vestige of British imperialism is still taught in Indian schools today! Such serious misconceptions can only be reconciled by accepting that the Aryans were the original inhabitants of the Indus Valley region, and not a horde of marauding foreign nomads. Such an Invasion never occurred.

_____________

1 In 1654 A.D. Archbishop Usher of Ireland firmly announced that his study of Scripture had proved that creation took place at 9.00am on the 23rd October 4004 B.C. So from the end of the seventeenth century, this chronology was accepted by the Europeans and they came to believe that Adam was created 4004 years before Christ.

2 Rg Veda (2-20-10) refers to "Indra, the killer of Vritra, who destroys the Krishna Yoni Dasyus". This is held as evidence that the "invading Aryans" exterminated the "dark aboriginals"

3 RV.10.1.11, 8.85.3, 2.3.9

4 RV.6.22.10

5 RV. 1.32.10-11

6 In Valmiki's Ramayana, Lord Ramacandra is described as an Arya as follows - aryah sarva-samas-caivah sadaiva priya-darsana (Arya: one who cares for the equality of all and is dear to everyone)

7 Tradition has it that Lord Siva requested the sage Agastya to write the Tamil grammar, which was spoken prior to Sage Agastya's work. Agastya chose his disciple Tholgapya's grammar for Tamil which was considered much more simple than the grammar that Agastya had developed. This laid the foundation for later classical Tamil literature, and also spawned other Dravadian languages. Agastya Muni and Tholgapya are considered to be the Tamil counterpart of Panini of Sanskrit.

The Roswell Incident

2006-07-20T21:21:00.000+05:30

The Truth about Roswell - By Eijaz Sheikh

Forty-seven years ago, an incident occurred in the southwestern desert of the United States that could have significant implications for all mankind. The incident was announced by the U.S. military, subsequently denied by the U.S. military, and has remained veiled in government secrecy ever since. Although it is in a category fraught with false claims and hoaxes, it is not a hoax or false claim, but rather a known event that is thoroughly documented. It is the objective here to summarize the details of that event, affirm the right of all people throughout the world to know the truth about what occurred, and propose a course of action that will allow that truth to emerge.

The event took place during the first week of July 1947 and involved the recovery of wreckage by the military from a remote ranch northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. There is now considerable testimony from former members of the military known to have been involved, including two brigadier generals, that the recovered material was not of terrestrial origin. Admittedly, such a claim taxes the limits of credibility for discerning and rational individuals. It also tends to evoke a response of immediate dismissal. The preponderance of evidence, however, indicates the event occurred.

On January 12, 1994, United States Congressman Steven Schiff of Albuquerque, New Mexico, stated to the press that he had been stonewalled by the Defense Department when requesting information regarding the 1947 Roswell event on behalf of constituents and witnesses. Indicating he was seeking further investigation into the matter, Congressman Schiff called the Defense Department's lack of response "astounding" and concluded it was apparently "another government coverup."

Most people are not aware that there exists an event of this nature so well substantiated. In the next year public awareness of the Roswell incident should grow. A new hardcover book has been released, a television movie will premiere, and a serious documentary is forthcoming. Questions, controversy, and a general distrust of U.S. government policy in this area are bound to increase.

Detailed information on the recovery of the wreckage at Roswell and of related events is extensive. Some years ago investigators were able to obtain a copy of the 1947 Roswell Army Air Field yearbook. This enabled them to locate witnesses throughout the country. Newspaper accounts show that during late June and early July 1947, there was a wave of reports of "flying disks" (UFOs) throughout the United States and Canada. Many of those reports came from credible witnesses, including pilots and other trained observers.

Sometime during the first week of July 1947, a local New Mexico rancher, Mac Brazel, while riding out in the morning to check his sheep after a night of intense thunderstorms, discovered a considerable amount of unusual debris. It had created a shallow gouge several hundred feet long and was scattered over a large area. Some of the debris had strange physical properties. After taking a few pieces to show his neighbors, Floyd and Loretta Proctor, Brazel drove into Roswell and contacted the sheriff, George Wilcox. Sheriff Wilcox notified authorities at Roswell Army Air Field and with the assistance of his deputies, proceeded to investigate the matter. Shortly after becoming involved, the military closed off the area for a number of days and retrieved the wreckage. It was initially taken to Roswell Army Air Field and eventually flown by B-29 and C-54 aircraft to Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio.

Roswell Army Air Field was the home of the 509th Bomb Group, which was an elite outfit--the only atomic group in the world. On the morning of July 8, 1947, Colonel William Blanchard, Commander of the 509th Bomb Group, issued a press release stating that the wreckage of a "crashed disk" (UFO) had been recovered. The press release was transmitted over the wire services in time to make headlines in over thirty U.S. afternoon newspapers that same day.

Within hours, a second press release was issued from the office of General Roger Ramey, Commander of the Eighth Air Force at Fort Worth Army Air Field in Texas, 400 miles from the crash site. It rescinded the first press release and, in effect, claimed that Colonel Blanchard and the officers of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell had made an unbelievably foolish mistake and somehow incorrectly identified a weather balloon and its radar reflector as the wreckage of a "crashed disk."

One of those two press releases had to be untrue. There is now solid testimony from numerous credible military and civilian witnesses who were directly involved, that the "crashed disk" press release issued by Colonel William Blanchard of the 509th Bomb Group from Roswell was true and that the subsequent "weather balloon" press release from Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Fort Worth. Texas, was a hastily contrived cover story.

Those who knew and worked with William Blanchard say he was a solid, no-nonsense, businesslike individual, and not someone who would make a fool of himself and the Air Force by ordering a press release about something as out of the ordinary and dramatic as the event at Roswell without being certain he was correct. In other words, if Blanchard issued a press release saying there was a crashed disk, there was a crashed disk. Colonel William Blanchard would later go on to become a four-star general and Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.

The first witness located by investigators who was willing to testify and allow his name to be used was retired Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Marcel, the intelligence officer of the 509th Bomb Group at Roswell. He was a highly competent individual and one of the first two military officers at the actual crash site. In a 1979 videotaped interview, Jesse Marcel stated, ". . . it was no! a weather balloon, nor was it an airplane or a missile." As to the exotic properties of some of the material, he stated, "It would not burn . . . that stuff weighs nothing, it's so thin, it isn't any thicker than the tinfoil in a pack of cigarettes. So, I tried to bend the stuff. It wouldn't bend. We even tried making a dent in it with a sixteen-pound sledge hammer. And there was still no dent in it."

It is inconceivable that a man of Jesse Marcel's qualifications and experience, the intelligence officer of the only atomic-bomb group in the world, would have mistaken any kind of conventional wreckage, much less the remains of a weather balloon and its radar reflector, for that of a craft or vehicle that in his words was "not of this earth. " Even if he had initially made such a gross misidentification, he would certainly have been able to see his mistake later after it had been brought to his attention. When returning to the base, he stopped by his house with a few pieces of the unusual wreckage to show his wife and eleven-year-old son. One piece, a small section of I-beam, had strange hieroglyphic like symbols on its surface. His son, Dr. Jesse Marcel, Jr., now a practicing medical doctor and qualified National Guard helicopter pilot and flight surgeon, remembers the incident well. He has been able to produce detailed drawings of some of the symbols. During his career, Jesse Marcel Sr., went on to other important assignments, including the preparation of a report on the first Soviet nuclear detonation, which went directly to President Truman.

The late General Thomas DuBose was a colonel and General Ramey's chief of staff at Eighth Air Force Headquarters in Forth Worth, Texas, in 1947. Before his death in 1992, General DuBose testified that he himself had taken the telephone call from General Clements McMullen at Andrews Army Air Field in Washington, D.C., ordering the coverup. The instructions were for General Ramey to concoct a "cover story" to "get the press off our backs."

Retired General Arthur E. Exon was stationed at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio, as a lieutenant colonel in July of 1947 during the time the wreckage from Roswell was brought in. In a 1990 interview, General Exon said of the testing, "Everything from chemical analysis, stress tests, compression tests, flexing. It was brought into our material evaluation labs. (Some of it) could be easily ripped or changed . . . there were other parts of it that were very thin but awfully strong and couldn't be dented with heavy hammers. . . ." Of the men that did the testing, he said, " . . . the overall consensus was that the pieces were from space."

The testimony of Mr. Glenn Dennis leaves little doubt about the nature of what was recovered in 1947. Glenn Dennis still lives in the Roswell, New Mexico, area and is a respected businessman and member of the community. He is down-to-earth and straightforward. In 1947 Glenn Dennis was a young mortician working for the Ballard Funeral Home, which had a contract to provide mortuary and ambulance services for Roswell Army Air Field.

Prior to learning about the recovery of the unusual wreckage at Roswell, he received several telephone calls one afternoon from the mortuary officer at the air field. He was asked about the availability of small, hermetically sealed caskets and questioned about how to preserve bodies that had been exposed to the elements for several days. There was concern about possibly altering the chemical composition of the tissue.

Later that evening, as a result of unrelated events, he made a trip to the base hospital. Outside the back entrance he observed two military ambulances with open rear doors, from which large pieces of wreckage protruded, including one with a row of unusual symbols on its surface. Once inside, he encountered a young nurse whom he knew. At that same instant, he was noticed by military police, who physically threatened him and forcibly escorted him from the building.

He met with the nurse the next day, and she explained what had been going on at the hospital. She was a very religious person and was upset to the point of being in a state of shock. She described how she had been called in to assist two doctors who were doing autopsies on several small nonhuman bodies. She described the terrible smell, how one body was in good shape and the others mangled, and the differences between their anatomy and human anatomy. She also drew a diagram on a napkin showing an outline of their features. That meeting was to be their last--she was transferred to England a few days later.

The main part of the craft apparently came down some distance from the "debris field" at the Brazel ranch. Researchers were only recently able to confirm this second site because few people knew about it. According to witness testimony, this is also the site where the bodies were found. Most of the witnesses to this site have not, in fear of government reprisal, allowed their names to be used. A prestigious law firm has recently been retained to provide legal counsel to any such witnesses who might consider going public with their testimony. Attorneys from the firm have already met with several Roswell witnesses.

In addition to Glenn Dennis, other witnesses were physically threatened or intimidated. According to members of Sheriff Wilcox's family, he was told by the military, in the presence of his wife, that he and his entire family would be killed if he ever spoke about what he had seen. The rancher who originally discovered the wreckage, Mac Brazel, was sequestered by the military for almost a week and sworn to secrecy. He never spoke about the incident again, even to his family. In the months following the incident, his son, Bill Brazel, found and collected a few "scraps" of material, which he kept in a cigar box. The material was eventually confiscated by the military.

Despite the fact that there has been publicity about the Roswell case since 1980, no witness involved in the recovery has ever come forward to corroborate the "weather balloon" story or to provide some other explanation for the wreckage, such as a V2 missile or experimental aircraft. (Both possibilities have been thoroughly checked out and eliminated.) If there had been a more mundane explanation for the unusual debris, it seems certain someone would have come forward with it by now.

While it is possible that the Roswell witnesses, who live in diverse parts of the country, have been engaged in a perfectly orchestrated, long-term hoax with no clear motive, it is unlikely. It is true there are a few minor gaps and inconsistencies in some of the accounts, but that is to be expected. There were many individuals involved and it has been a long period of time. Human memory is not perfect. For those familiar with the Roswell evidence, however, it would be hard to imagine a scenario in which the core event is not true.

With Roswell so well documented, the question that arises is why the mainstream media has not pursued the story. Two factors stand out. The first is that of a negative mindset. There is a tendency in human nature to resist anything that challenges our preconceived perceptions of reality. In most cases, such an attitude serves us well and manifests itself as a healthy skepticism. In other instances, it may result in a close-minded refusal by otherwise intelligent people to consider compelling evidence--especially when that evidence seems to defy common sense or prevailing scientific theory. Many past revelations of science, for example, have met such resistance--a round earth, evolution, relativity, continental drift, quantum theory, an expanding universe--to name a few.

The second and most damaging factor is ridicule. Unfortunately, UFOs have long been associated with tabloid stories, hoaxes, and the "lunatic fringe." In addition, people tend to put UFOs in the same category as ghosts, mysticism, magic, and other forms of the occult or the supernatural. As a result, anything even remotely related to the area of UFOs is a difficult subject to broach without risking a loss of credibility. Consequently, members of the mainstream media rarely approach the subject, much less treat it with any degree of seriousness or depth. No one wants to make himself an easy target for cynicism or ridicule.

Moreover, it is not necessary to resort to the supernatural to explain UFOs any more than it is necessary to resort to the supernatural to explain the Space Shuttle. UFOs could probably best be looked upon as an extrapolation of where our own technology might be thousands of years from now. A television, jet aircraft, or nuclear bomb would have seemed magical or supernatural to a person from the Middle Ages. Similarly, by virtue of the fact that they apparently violate the laws of known physics, UFOs are perceived by us as an aberration of reality. They are, however, probably quite explainable under laws of science we aren't even close to discovering yet.

Further exacerbating the credibility problem has been the extreme negative position taken by the U.S. government. Almost everyone has heard pronouncements from government officials claiming there is no evidence to support the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Ironically, no matter how high their rank or position, those touting this line may be uninformed, yet telling the truth as they know it. With the U.S. government's high degree of compartmentalization and need-to-know philosophy, chances are that few agencies or individuals would be briefed on or have access to such information.

Agencies in which something might be known, such as the CIA, have refused to cooperate with investigators. When seeking Roswell or UFO-related documents through the Freedom of Information Act, researchers have been repeatedly stonewalled. Claims are made that documents don't exist or can't be released for national security reasons. The few documents that have been released have often been so blacked out that they are rendered meaningless.

By way of contrast, in 1991 the Belgian Ministry of Defense released radar tapes from two Belgian Air Force F-16s that had been scrambled to pursue a UFO detected by four ground-based radar stations and seen by numerous citizens and by police. The tape was impressive--showing digital readouts of incredible altitude and speed changes made by the UFO. Under present government policy, it is hard to imagine such a scenario ever taking place in the United States. Perhaps the world's greatest democracy could learn a few things about a free and open society from its small NATO ally.

There was actually hope at one time that U.S. policy might change. It came when Jimmy Carter was elected President in 1976. In October 1969 while Governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter had reported a UFO sighting. Later, in 1976 as a presidential candidate, he pledged: "If I become president, I'll make every piece of information this country has about UFOs available to the public and the scientists." He then somewhat mystifyingly never said one more word about it publicly after taking office. If he found there was no information to release, why did he not announce it? Doing so would have been a natural and easy way to honor his commitment.

Why the U.S. government defiantly maintains there is nothing to the UFO phenomenon and why it would want to withhold evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence remain a matter of speculation. Three possible reasons have been suggested: fear of mass panic, perceived national security problems, and concern about offending religious groups. Whether arguments in any of these areas have merit is questionable. Most would agree, however, that whatever reasons there may be for withholding such information, they are far outweighed by those for releasing it.

The classic argument for government withholding of information on extraterrestrial intelligence from the public is that it might cause a response similar to that of the famous 1938 Orson Welles "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast. (The program featured a simulated news broadcast announcing an attack by Martians on Grover's Mill, New Jersey, which panicked a small number of listeners who had tuned in late.) The argument, however, is flawed and the comparison is invalid. It is not realistic to compare a simulated emergency news broadcast graphically describing a devastating, ongoing attack or invasion to a low-key, formal announcement confirming that other intelligent life exists in the universe and occasionally visits earth.

Furthermore, we are nearly 35 years into the Space Age and at the brink of the 21st century. This is a generation that until recently lived for years under the threat of nuclear destruction and that now must deal with such threats as AIDS, rising rates of violent crime, international terrorism, etc. The possibility that the confirmation of extraterrestrial intelligence would cause mass panic in this day and age is so remote that it hardly merits mention.

The arguments for maintaining secrecy based on national security are just as specious as those based on mass panic. Assuming the wreckage the military retrieved from Roswell was that of an extraterrestrial craft, it would be understandable that the U.S. Government would want to reverse-engineer the technology. It would be reasonable that the government would want to keep certain details of that technology secret. As with any technology with the potential for misuse, such precaution would be prudent and justified. However, the very existence of such a craft would have profound implications. The mere knowledge by the public of that existence would not pose any kind of threat. Denying the public such knowledge would not be justified and would be an abuse of the power entrusted to those who oversee the country's national security.

When the Carter campaign pledge was not carried out, it was speculated that concern about offending certain religious groups was the reason. If true, it would represent a violation of the principle of separation of church and state. It would also be placing the interests of a small minority above those of the majority.

Like the discoveries of Darwin and Copernicus, the Roswell evidence could have implications that challenge certain religious doctrines. Darwin's theory that there could be fossil evidence linking modern man and other present-day higher primates to a common primate ancestor conflicted with the creationist view on the exalted position of man with respect to other forms of life. Likewise, the Roswell evidence, which would imply the existence of a superior nonhuman intelligence, could be seen as equally threatening to the creationist viewpoint It could be interpreted as implying that on a scale comparing the evolutionary development of different advanced species throughout the universe, human beings may not rate very high. Such a humbling realization might bother some people, but probably not most.

Copernicus' finding that the earth along with the other planets circled the sun contradicted the teachings of the time that the earth was the center of creation. That notion persists today in that many perceive the earth to be the center of intelligent life in the universe. The Roswell evidence could dispel such an ethnocentric view by confirming that the human race is just one single member in a large community of other intelligent races in the universe. Specific effects, if any, that such a revelation might have on society would be purely a matter of speculation. Generally, however, when knowledge replaces ignorance, the long-term result is positive. There is no reason to think that that would not be the case here. If nothing else, the knowledge that it is possible for a civilization to survive the growing pains of becoming technologically advanced, without completely destroying itself and its environment in the process, would in a sense provide a renewed hope for the future of man and his environment.

Despite the media's inattention to the matter, and contrary to what some in the U.S. government would like people to think, Roswell is not a figment of someone's imagination or the product of modern folklore. It involves real people and a real event. The man who issued the press release announcing that event, Colonel William Blanchard, was not someone prone to making mistakes, much less monumental blunders. He would go on to achieve the highest peacetime rank attainable in the U.S. military, four-star general. Credible witnesses, including retired generals, have testified that the original press release issued by Blanchard was correct and that the Roswell wreckage was of extraterrestrial origin. A United States Congressman was recently stonewalled by the Defense Department on the matter and has expressed his belief that there is a coverup. Yet the U.S. government steadfastly maintains it has no evidence indicating extraterrestrial intelligence. Something does not ring true. There is a gross inconsistency here, and it involves an issue of great magnitude, an issue that should transcend domestic politics and that demands an explanation. It is time to lay the cards on the table so that this matter can be resolved, one way or the other.

History has shown that unsubstantiated official assurances or denials by government are often meaningless. Nevertheless, there is a logical and straightforward way to ensure that the truth about Roswell will emerge: an Executive Order declassifying any information regarding the existence of UFOs or extraterrestrial intelligence. Because this is a unique issue of universal concern, such an action would be appropriate and warranted. It is essentially what presidential candidate Jimmy Carter promised and then failed to deliver to the American people eighteen years ago in 1976. Additionally, it would cost nothing, offend no one, and be applauded by all.

To provide positive assurance for all potential witnesses, the Order would need to be clearly stated and written into law. Security-clearance violations can bring heavy fines and long prison sentences. In addition to the original witnesses from 1947, there are most certainly individuals involved with the Roswell material today who would be affected by such a declassification. Undoubtedly, many of them, along with the original witnesses, would want to see this information shared with others--be they friends, family, grandchildren, or all mankind.

If, as is officially claimed, no information on Roswell, UFOs, or extraterrestrial intelligence is being withheld, a declassification order would be a mere formality, as there would be nothing for anyone to disclose. What legitimate concern could there be about declassifying "nonexistent" information? If, however, information is being withheld, there could be significant resistance to officially disclosing it. This resistance could range from contriving excuses as to why an Executive Order should not be issued, to ignoring the matter altogether.

In the end, however, whether information is being suppressed or whether it is not, the effect of an Executive Order declassifying it would be positive. If nothing is being withheld, the result of such an Order would be to set the record straight once and for all. Years of controversy and suspicion would be ended, both in the eyes of the United States' own citizens and in the eyes of the world.

If, on the other hand, the Roswell witnesses are telling the truth and information on extraterrestrial intelligence does exist, it is not something to which a privileged few in the United States government should have exclusive rights. It is knowledge of profound importance to which all people throughout the world should have an inalienable right. Its release would unquestionably be universally acknowledged as an historic act of honesty and goodwill.

Un-solved

Bigfoot or Sasquatch?

Want to know who roams our Himalayan Mountains effortlessly hidden from Science, then read this article. Interesting!

Crypto-Bipedal-Primatology

The Study of Unclassified Bipedal Primates

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The Truth As I Know It

Material on this page is copyright © 1996 through 2003 by Douglas E. Trapp

Patterson/Gimlin Film Frames copyright © 1980 to present by the late Rene Dahinden

Patterson Film Subject Head Enhancement

Dr. W. Henner Fahrenbach on the "Patterson-Gimlin Film Resolution"

Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum

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Gigantopithicus blackii skull reconstruction (Dr. Grover T. Krantz)

Modern Sasquatch Biology

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Indian Heaven Back Country, Skamania County, Washington

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ARCHEOLOGICAL SASQUATCH EVIDENCE

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Un-solved: The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

The Mystery surrounding Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose

Un-solved: The Aryan invasion

The Aryan invasion

Here's Something i came across which makes interesting reading.

the myth of the aryan invasion

The Roswell Incident

Dr. W. Henner Fahrenbach
on the
"Patterson-Gimlin Film Resolution"