Message from the Editor: It is with a heart full of gratitude that I write this ‘editor’s intro’ to Bobbie Short’s book ‘The de facto Sasquatch’. It is due only to the gracious generosity of her daughter, Reverend Kimberley Britton and her webmaster grandson, Chris Millet, that this book is now seeing the light of day. Their support and assistance from the beginning to the very end was essential in completing the task. Thank you, Thom Powell, for introducing Bobbie and I those many years ago.. You began this rich odyssey for me and I am grateful. Also, my heartfelt appreciation to Bobbie’s ‘team’ who were critical in seeing this project to completion - Steve Summar, Sharon Day, Sybilla Irwin, Joe Beelart, M.K. Davis, Don Monroe and RobRoy Menzies.. Your encouragement, support and friendship has made this learning process an immense joy! The artists brought to life the stories on these pages: RobRoy Menzies, Alex Evans and David Claerr. Thank you so much for your talent and dedication. Bobbie and I were working closely on the completion of her book. There are some moments that take your breath away...her passing was such an event, for me and for so many others. Sasquatchery was greatly diminished that day. It is a privilege to at last present the book she worked long and hard to complete. To uphold her tradition of the free flow of information, it is presented in installments, on her website without charge. Bobbie never allowed advertising on her site, though it was offered to her. She didn’t want researchers to be distracted by such things. Nor did she charge for access to the massive amount of information she accumulated over the years. People within Sasquatchery can work together. We did so in order to pay tribute to a very special human and her decades of dedication to the North American Ancient Aboriginal People, a term coined by Bobbie and her dear friends, Steve Summar and Chris Murphy. Bobbie, your mission was accomplished. - Molly Hart Lebherz 1 Editor’s Advance Apology: I ask for a loose rein from the readers of this book for any foibles you may run across. I salute anyone who has written a book or plans to! There will, no doubt, be typos and other errors I have overlooked. Following this Premier Installment, additional chapters will be posted every two months or so. Over four hundred pages of ‘Behaviors’ will be posted next. My main intent was to get this material out there. Essentially, I have put it together as originally written and cannot vouch for the validity of the information. Your own good sense, and what has been learned in the ensuing years since Bobbie wrote her book should help establish what is valid and what may be questionable. I sincerely hope you enjoy Bobbie’s book. 2 3 4 The de facto Sasquatch is dedicated to my children and grandchildren that they might know what I knew someday... Love and heartfelt thanks to Chris for his technical support and believing in me... Molly Hart Lebherz for her positive encouragement and editing... M.K.Davis for his help with photos... Peter Byrne and Peter Guttilla for their generous contributions... Doug Hajicek, Chuck Prahl, Randy and Ray Brisson, Lloyd Pye, Alex Evans, Mary Lutz Esq., Jon Nichols, Wayne McKinney, Anne Carr, Larry Kaniut, Diane Stocking, Cliff Olson, Doug Tarrant, John Morley, Dr. Henner Fahrenbach, Shannon D. Baker, In memory... Vance Orchard Rene Dahinden Rich Grumley Scott McClean Archie Buckley Charlie Edson Richard Greenwell Leo Selzer Henry Moon Fred Bradshaw 5 Foreword by Steve Summar Bobbie Short...used to say "the only subject more enigmatic than the Sasquatch peoples...is Sasquatchery". Sasquatchery is an encompassing term for folks interested in, or actively researching the global phenomena of the Sasquatch peoples. The Bigfootencounters website, bridges the difference between knowing and believing: Those of us who have experienced a face to face encounter or a clear unequivocal daylight sighting, which changes one's perspective from belief to knowledge in the clarity of the moment. We know the Sasquatch peoples, are real flesh and blood, bipedal, primal people. Sasquatchery, includes those folks, who believe the Sasquatch peoples are real, spending time, blood, and treasure, validating their beliefs. Bobbie Short's website www.bigfootencounters.com is a compendium of data, sighting reports, articles, academic papers, and folklore a splendid testament and legacy of data, free of cost or advertising. Bobbie's manuscript, "The de facto Sasquatch" was finished but un-edited, at the time of her passing. Her grandson, has maintained the website to date, in honor of her legacy. Bobbie's family agreed to the editing, and posting in a PDF format, of "The de facto Sasquatch", free of cost to the interested public, as an enduring tribute to her memory and legacy. Bobbie Short, was a champion of governmental recognition and protection from hunting and harassment of the North American Ancient Aboriginal Peoples, they are deserving of our respect and peaceful co-existence...live and let live... Bobbie Short, was a mother, a grandmother, a nursing professional, and superb researcher, she was a remarkable woman, I treasured our relationship, I think of her daily...Rest In Peace...Baby Doll. May God bless all who knew and loved her...Amen Some folks in Sasquatchery are legends in their own minds...Bobbie Short...was a legend in her own time. 6 The phrase "de facto" is Latin; the term is used to characterize something that must be accepted but is yet prohibited and denounced. I first heard the words “de facto” used in a videotaped interview John Bindernagel did with a Canadian television crew. So that the record is clear – I unashamedly hijacked John’s terminology; the words he used, “de facto Sasquatch” struck me as fitting and despite our differences – I’m a strict conventionalist and John, an ape theorist, the term he used seemed apropos! The North American Sasquatch is widely reported to be an upright walking humanoid that ranges from the southern forested Sierra Madre Range in Mexico north to the far-reaches of the Canadian Northwest Territories, the Yukon and beautiful, wild Alaska. Recorded cases come from the eastern seaboard of the United States west to the Pacific coastal waters and all states and provinces in-between. There are no existing reports from the State of Hawaii but the Hawaiian culture as a whole has a history of the giant man they call, Aikanaka as well as Little People whose height is 2½ feet to 3 feet tall. This book speaks to these life forms, those areas they inhabit and no other. Statistics tell us that the foot size of the child Sasquatch ranges from infant/child-size of four to six inches to 9 inches cast by Roger Patterson in summer of 1967. The adult at an average height of 7 to 8 feet tall; with a few listed much taller. Most adult track imprints range from 14 inches to a staggering report of 22-inches. All manner of weight guessing goes on in research but no one really knows. Guesstimates center on an adult weight between 450 to 800 pounds. The Sasquatch has been described as having either a prolific amount of body hair or in many cases sparse to little bodily hair; the descriptive verbiage covering hair-length is endless. Both male and females have been described as bearded; though most witnesses do not notice facial features. Hair color varies, but the standard is black, auburn or dark brown with an occasional light or white Sasquatch being reported - two cases that I have with blue eyes and one green- eyed red haired, bearded adult from Arizona. My stats reflect the eyes being described as dark in color with whites of the eye obvious. The sclera of the human eye is white in contrast to an ape’s eye where the pigmented sclera is dark brown to black. From east to west, south to north, the skin tones range from Caucasian to varying colors in African American coloring. Little is known about how the Sasquatch are able to thrive in adverse conditions, yet they apparently do in some manner modern humans haven't figured out yet. They are for the most part; shy, illusive, reclusive and withdrawn. Anecdotal accounts suggest the Sasquatch prefer seclusion and isolation. They go out of their way to avoid contact with civilized man with very few exceptions. The volume of evidence comes from chance encounters. No credible evidence has ever been documented by the long term relationships claimed by habituators or other inter- actors with the Sasquatch. Domesticated Sasquatches are unheard of in research. Driven by what appears to be an insatiable curiosity about human activity; they often give themselves away and are seen in their natural settings gawking at us. The bulk of sighting reports state informants are startled to such a degree that they either don’t remember details or don’t stick around long enough to determine details; there are a few exceptions though. 7 DNA may tell give us their genetic makeup but it won't tell us anything about their social structure, their culture or what they consider acceptable behavior. The Sasquatch is generally regarded as passive and stand-offish, but there have been reports of aggression and outright hostility when challenged or threatened. Usually the hostility comes after a member of a Sasquatch family unit has been shot at or killed. They will apparently retaliate with brute force when provoked. There are reports of rage and resentment that no man would want unleashed in their presence.