> The author says he spoke with at least 30 natives there who may have seen them. A very small population of secretive homininins would fit that bill. Lets do

> The author says he spoke with at least 30 natives there who may have seen them. A very small population of secretive homininins would fit that bill. Lets do a thought experiment. If I went to CT and talked to 100 dudes in various bars, do you think I could get 30 of them to say they had seen bigfoot in their area? Authors and journalists citing stuff like "30 natives" makes me uncomfortable. In August 1895 Connecticut, a journalist with an imagination and a predilection for hoaxes named Lou Stone invented a story about a "wild man" who appeared to Town Selectman Riley Smith. The story spread like fire, appearing in newspapers all over the country and further igniting the imagination of the locals, who reported their own sightings of the Wild Man. Residents attempted to explain the Wild Man, claiming it was actually not an unknown beast, but perhaps a gorilla, or an escaped mental patient. In many sightings, villagers swore to have seen details. Mrs. Culver describes a "savage face, almost brute in expression." Eventually, the reporter admitted the truth: he just wanted to sell papers. And indeed he sold papers, and tourism, and put Winsted, Connecticut on the map.