THE MOGOLLON MONSTER, SASQUATCH IN ARIZONA
In the study of Bigfoot, researchers studied sighting reports and found Bigfoot ranges across not only the United States and Canada, but all around the world. The locals of each respective area have their own names for the Bigfoot creature. Sasquatch comes from the North West areas of the US and is the name used by many Native Americans. The Skunk Ape is believed to live in the swamps of Florida and the South east of America. Ohio has the Grassman, and the many Indian Nations refer to the creature as the Hairy man. Australia has the Yowie, and the Yeti is in Tibet. In Arizona, it became known as the Mogollon Monster.
The name Mogollon comes from the early Spanish Governor of New Mexico (1712-1715)Don Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollón. The Mogollon Rim is a large plateau that extends from Flagstaff through Arizona into New Mexico and is actually part of the south end of the Colorado Plateau. It is the home of the world’s largest stand of Ponderosa Pine trees. This forest of Ponderosa Pines is very similar to the Pacific Northwest minus the total rain fall.
The name of the Mogollon Monster was coined by the Boy Scouts of America attending Camp Geronimo located just under the Mogollon Rim near Pine, Arizona. The Boy Scouts have a traditional tale of the night when a horrible monster visited the camp destroying everything in its path injuring and anyone who got in the way. One of the story versions states a Scout Master had his face ripped off, and later died from his wounds.
Going back in history we find one of the first accounts of the Mogollon Monster appearing in the Grand Canyon. The incident was reported by the Arizona Republican, Phoenix, AZ, Wednesday morning, on June 3, 1903. In this account, the creature is described as “…a man with long white hair and matted beard the reached his knees…He wore no clothing, and upon his talon-like fingers were claws at least two inches long. A coat of grey hair nearly covered his body, with here and there a spot of dirty skin showing.”
Does the Mogollon Monster exist? This intriguing topic will be discussed in follow up articles.
Web sites:
www.MogollonMonster.com, http://azcro.lefora.com/
The Mogollon Monster, Arizona’s Bigfoot by Susan Farnsworth, 2010,
DVD/Movies:
Chasing the Mogollon Monster, Arizona's Bigfoot
Bigfoot in Arizona Documentary, Part 1
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