BAUMAN - Roosevelt's story of a bigfoot

Theodore Roosevelt wrote a book "Wilderness Hunter" before he became president. It includes a story he was told about a man named Bauman who was alleged to have had an unfortunate encounter with a bigfoot.

Misconceptions to be cleared up : Teddy never shot and/or killed a sasquatch. He never reported seeing one or having any sort of encounter with one. He recorded in his book an interesting tale about another woodsman. He never investigated the story nor sought proof of it.


And now to the story.


It was in the mid-1800s that Bauman and a friend spent time up in the Bitterroot Range, part of the Rocky Mountains. Baumann was still a young man and he and his friend were hunting and trapping. As game seemed scarce, they moved even further into the remote area. There  they found a stream and a sizeable colony of beaver. The pass they traveled through to reach this area was seldom used as it had gained a reputation of bad luck and bad things happening to those who ventured there.

 A year before Bauman and his friend  wandered through the pass, it had been reported that a woodsman had been ripped to shreds and partially eaten by something unknown. The body was found by a group of prospectors, who instead of finding their fortunes, found only this sign of a violent death.


If Bauman and his friend has heard this story, it did not seem to bother them. They set off through that pass with two pack ponies loaded with the supplies that would sustain them on the long journey. The two men continued on until the path grew too difficult for the horses. Finding a stretch of meadow, they left the horses behind and continued for another four hours through the dense forest.


Finally they reached a small glade where they made camp for the night. There was evidence of plenty of game in the area and they felt this would be a lucky place for them. They built a shelter for themselves and then headed upstream to catch some salmon for their supper. When they returned, they found everything torn up and knocked around. It was as if a crazed, wild animal had run through it.


The lean-to shelter they had built had been pulled apart, their backpacks torn open and the contents scattered. Any food left was gone and there were large prints left all around the campsite. The two decided it had been a bear and set about rebuilding their shelter and settle down for the night. After things had been organized, Bauman's friend decided to take a closer look at the tracks.

After he  examined the tracks he came back to Bauman and informed him the beast, whatever it was, had been walking on two legs. Totally confused, the two studied the prints for a while longer but could only conclude that the tracks were not from any bear. Although the tracks did seem to show evidence of claws, bears usually only walked on their hind legs for short periods of time. These tracks showed no evidence of walking on four legs.

Finally the two retired to their shelter to get some sleep. Around midnight Bauman was woken by a strong animal stench near the camp. A massive, animal-like form suddenly came into view. Bauman grabbed his gun with the intent to shoot but the darkness prevented any clear view and his shot only appeared to frighten the creature away. The hunters, knowing there would be no more sleep for them that night, lit a fire and kept it burning until morning. Their hope was the flames would keep the beast away from the camp.

In the morning, the two men went off to check the traps they had set. Gathering the animals they returned to their camp, only to find that something had again been there while they were away. The re-constructed shelter was again destroyed; their beds torn apart and the pieces thrown around the clearing. And everywhere were more of the huge, bipedal tracks.

As darkness fell, they realized the beast had returned to the clearing. They could hear it moving in the forest around them and making a weird, drawn out howl or moan. Their blazing fire seemed to be keeping it from entering the clearing. By now both men had decided that this was more than they were ready to deal with. They decided that as soon as it was daylight, they would pack up the camp and leave the area. It was not safe enough to do so in the darkness of the forest. The fire was kept burning all night long.

When the sun rose, the two began to pack their things to leave. One problem facing them was the need for food to make the trip out. And so they knew they had to retrieve their traps from the day before in hopes there were animals there that they could eat. As they left the camp, they both felt the sensation that they were being followed by someone or something that remained out of sight, but could be heard following them through the forest. There was a constant snapping of branches and rustling coming from the trees, following their every move.

Bauman volunteered to continue on up the ravine and collect the traps, allowing his friend to begin the descent off the mountain and set up the next camp for the evening. The plan was to have a large fire burning with plenty of firewood before the darkness fell.

Bauman collected the traps and contents and quickly made his way down the trail to where he hoped to meet up with his friend and a blazing fire. As he neared the designated area, he was met with silence and darkness. There were no birds, no animals, absolutely no sound. Bauman approached the area slowly and cautiously, calling for his friend. There was no answer and Bauman became even more concerned.

 As he approached the camp, he could see that the fire was almost out, with only smoke moving up into the trees. Bauman again called for his friend but there was still no reply. That was when he saw the body lying next to a huge trunk of a fallen tree. He raced over to see what aid he could give, only to see that his friend was dead. His neck had been broken and savage bite marks covered his neck. And decorating the ground all around were those strange, huge bipedal prints.


Bauman realized that his friend must have been sitting on the fallen tree warming himself at the fire when the beast crept up behind him and attacked him.


Now in a panic, Bauman seized the only option before him. He abandoned all the equipment and provisions, except for his rifle, and fled down the mountain. After a long and frightening trek, he was able to reach the meadow where the ponies were still waiting. The sight of the animals seemed to signal to Bauman that the nightmare on the mountain was over and he was safe.


Bauman was convinced by that time that whatever had stalked them and attacked and killed his friend was not made of flesh and blood. It was diabolical. It was a demon. A terrible devil.


The story told is fascinating and tickles our need for a horror story. Many think that this is an early documented encounter with a violent bigfoot. One intent on killing humans.

To me, the story is highly colored and a sensationalized account of an alleged encounter with some sort of wild animal. There are variations of the story out there. But the core story remains the same. There was no clear sighting of the creature. Just a large dark form in the night; no features discernable. There is no record of the tracks; no description of details or drawing. There  was no measurement taken, no mention of size. Just that they were "huge". There is just the mention that the two men considered them bear tracks at first. There is the mention of evidence of claws in the tracks. No sasquatch has claws on its feet. There is no mention of the friend's name. No evidence to support that there ever was a friend. Or that such a trip ever took place. There was no followup research and investigation.

It may have all happened just as Bauman said. Or, perhaps, Mr. Roosevelt was being told a tall-tale scary story, just to amaze and entertain him.

Nancy

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