Bigfoot - Sasquatch Field Notes - Blood on Bigfoot Mountain

The Great Sasquatch Conspiracy or Blood On Bigfoot Mountain
A major Sasquatch novel by J. Hector Beelart

Two buddies fish the body of an accidentally-killed Bigfoot out of the Columbia River. What ensues demonstrates what might really happen if such an event actually occurred, nicely wrapped around an engaging story line, excellent character development, and a rich textural painting of the rugged beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Contains illustrations by famed Sasquatch artist Rob Butler and 4 appendices, including Ray Crowe's Best of the Track Record. This book is bound to become a must-have in the libraries of all Bigfoot believers - Cybersquatch Internet Bigfoot Library

The back cover says it all: "A little something for everyone: SEX (mild allusions to), VIOLENCE (sort of Shakespearean), and BIGFOOTS (the terrestrial variety).

"Plus a cast too big to mention - well ok, we'll mention a few: mobsters, Native Americans, lawyers, tabloid, timber, religious, small town, and secret government agency people among many others........ appendixes full of facts and opinions, and finally, the Best of the Track Record! "

Book Contents:

Novel: The Great Sasquatch Conspiracy or Blood on Bigfoot Mountain by J. Hector Beelart

Appendix A: A Brief History of Bigfoot
Appendix B: The Best of The Track Record
Appendix C: Sasquatch Safaris
Appendix D: Bibliography With Notes
And don't forget about the wonderful Rob Butler drawings sprinkled throughout the book.

ISBN 0-9670797-0-5
Copyright 1998 by Joseph Hector Beelart, Jr.
355 pages, 7 X 10", printed on 24# acid-free paper
Price: $19.95 postpaid

Publisher/illustrator contact information:

Publisher:
Western Bigfoot Society
Ray Crowe, Director
225 NE 30th Ave.
Hillsboro, OR 97124-7055
(503) 640-6581
RayCrowe@aol.com

Illustrator:
Rob Butler
Sasquatch Artworks
11721 SE Home Ave.
Milwaukie, OR 97222
(503) 654-0425
squatch56@webtv.net

Reviews:

Review by John Horrigan, Bay State Bigfoot Society

Bravo For Beelart's Book

Let me first say that I knew of this book when it was in its treatment stage and professed to Ray that it was indeed a worthwhile endeavor. A supposition about a captured bigfoot and the subsequent human nature and greed that would accompany such a find. Kind of like that lottery ticket scam we had back here when a store owner kept a lottery ticket for himself. Joe put alot of heart and soul into it - but alos alot of guts. What a great premise! IF A BIGFOOT BODY IS EVER RECOVERED - I bet that the sequence of events would unfold parallel to Beelart's book. The humor is inviting, a driving narrative and speculation and paranoia rear their head. You can't help but like Joe's main character. He knows his stuff. It is great how Beelart weaves a tapestry of popular bigfoot lore and myth, as well as some famous encounters into his book. This is a breakthrough effort. Here is an author offering up a piece of fiction that is not pure conjecture but more like a probable series of events that would play themselves out in time of a spectacular find as such. If you collect bigfoot books or memorabilia, then there is a void in your library right now until you pick up your copy. Beelart gets five stars. Here then is a new genre of bigfoot literature. Uninhibited postulation woven from the consciousness of contemporary America. Beelart's perception of how certain authorities would react in time of this startling discovery is the true gem within this work. The character nuances, the jargin, the reactionary diatribe spouted by those who have dark intentions and the innocence of those not "in the know". Ah, Joe - this is a screenplay-in-waiting buddy. If you have not begun to circulate this in Los Angeles you are doing a "grave" injustice to yourself, the study of bigfoot and entertainment in general. Mark this - this will get picked up and put up by a producer within two years. And selfishly Joe, I would love to audition for one of the roles. This book is a game winning goal.

The bonus of this book is the "Best of The Track Record" section. I only subscribe to Crowe's "Track Record" and Keatings "Bigfoot Report". I proudly boast that I have every single issue of both of their newsletters. Keating knows Ohio upside down/ inside out and keeps you posted on what is going on in the topographical expanses of Ohio. Don is a"just the facts please" investigator and rarely deviates or specualtes if at all. The "Track Record" is a wonderful read, blending legends, fourth-hand stories, scientific theory and eyewitness accounts with the major players in the Pacific Northwest like Rene, Peter and Larry. Rob Butler's depictions make him the best Sasquatch artist on the continent. Ray and Don have produced these magnificent newsletters (at a loss I'm sure) for years. I really don't need all of this on-line stuff if I get their newsletters. If you have not subscribed to the WBS or EOBIC by now I can urge you now to do so. I have read their editions to the blind on my "Tails" program in Marshfield for almost five years now and they are quite popular to people that can only HEAR them.

To conclude this stroke session, pick-up Joe's book. You get two-for-one: a great tale with historical accuracy and the most intriguing bigfoot accounts found anywhere in the "Track Record".

John Horrigan
Bay State Bigfoot Society

Review by Craig Heinselman

What would you do if you had in your possession a genuine Bigfoot body? Would you sell it to the highest bidder or give it away for the sake of science? Would there be any cultural, sociological, economic or religious after affects to the disclosure of the body? These are the questions put forth in this atypical novel by J. Hector Beelart.

Limited to a small printing run of an initial twenty copies and five authors copies, this novel was offered as a fund raiser to the Western Bigfoot Society and has their society as the publisher. The first batches are signed by three persons, J. Hector Beelart (the author), Ray Crowe (the director of the WBS) and Rob Butler (the illustrator). Included with the novel of 289 pages, there are also several appendixes that have been formed from an unpublished nonfiction book The 1999 General Bigfoot Season. The appendixes cover reports, histories and search tips, including notations and explanations on the idea of Standard Sasquatch Areas (SSA's). The main emphasis of the book is the novel.

The story is told from two perspectives, one of the humans (or Jakes as they are called by the Bigfoot in the story), and Bigfoot (or Bigfeet when multiple Bigfoot are being used within the story). Although this concept is not a new one, it is utilized in this case to a large extent to demonstrate the perception of each of these species in regards to each other. Essential the story unfolds as two men are fishing on the Washington side of the Columbia River. In the event of fishing one of these men catches hold of a big one, the body of a Bigfoot that has died and is floating in the water (from the Bigfoot perspective the story of how the dead one came to be is revealed, and accident during a time of play).

Now the idea of what to do with the body comes into play. Do they decide to cut it free, notify Fish and Game or keep it? This initial decision acts upon the rest of the story. Eventually the fellows decide to keep the body, and bring it home. But, the problem is it is two heavy and the weather is to harsh to allow the boat and body to get out of the water. So the body gets chopped up into more accessible pieces and eventually it is stored in a freezer. From there it is basically decided that the body will not be given away, but will become the subject of bidding. Whoever bids the highest of the people contacted, will be the ones to have the body.

In the course of events environmental organizations are contacted or hear of the body included are: logging companies, museums, a religious group, the tabloid press, Native Americans, a secret government organization and a group of Bigfooters. Each wanting the body for a specific reason whether to avoid logging bans due to this disclosure of the existence of Bigfoot, the reaction to religion if the Bigfoot is an evolutionary link, and the sanctity of the Bigfoot in Native American culture. Perhaps the most curious inclusion is of a group wanting not the body, but to hunt living Bigfoot in their environment. These are rich hunters who have hunted the world (possessing a Yeti, Congolese dinosaur, Saber-tooth Cat, and more).

As one can imagine the ramifications of these mingled groups can caused heated atonement. At one point a brawl between religious seekers, museum persons, tabloid reports, Bigfooters, and Native Americans breaks out. All the while a secret government agency is watching it all like Big brother. Eventually the situations get settled out, but not without death and the lose of some of the bidders.

It should also be noted that the human characters are presented at times as extensions of real people. Various Bigfooters are portrayed in the novel, without their names being presented:

"The two hunters were looking at a tall man, crisply dressed in real safari gear. He had on sturdy ankle high boots that had seen days of trail time. His shirt had epaulets and they bulged like they had been actually used. He was wearing an ascot. He walked straight, not hunched like many men in their early sixties. He was clean shaven and wearing a good felt hat with flat rim and a small plain leather band."

This is Peter Byrne being described, although his name is not mentioned directly. Also mentioned in is the Western Bigfoot Society, Grover Krantz, Jeffrey Meldrum and others. Ray Crowe's The Bigfoot Bar & Grill is written of in passing as well. So for a historical representation of some famous Bigfooters, the story does offer a little.

As the human saga is carried out, the Bigfoot one is continuing as usual. They are presented as a family group that moves depending on the food availability and the nearness of man. They are shown as caring, for the most part, to their kin and a tight group in order to survive. The concept of the Bigfoot behavior is fairly straightforward with the idea that the young must be taught how to survive, where to get food, and how to hide from humans. There are various areas of thought tossed in as to how the Bigfoot handles their dead:

The group had special places to put the cold ones and the places were where the forest cats, coyotes, winged things and the clumsy wallowing furry forest beings could not find the cold one and eat their members. These places were mainly in special rock crevices far back in the lava tubes, especially the ones that went down and down. On the north end of the group's territory, there were some old places dug into the stone by the bothersome Jakes. They made especially good places to put the cold ones. When let down some of those holes, a cold one would fall and fall and then would come up a hollow, echoing "whoomp."

Sometimes they used the marshes and the thick mud when someone went cold, but, they could only use those places when it was cold weather. If they put a cold one in the marsh when the sun was in the north and it was warm, they would pop up in short time with a huge stomach. Sometimes when they went to move the risen cold one, the stomach would suddenly break and a lot of stuff would blow out and the smell and icky mess would be very bad. From time to time, an old one would get sick and go cold, but that was not as often as for the young ones."

These paragraphs show a theory that the dead are disposed of in an orderly manner, this way to hide the bodies from scavengers. But, it also demonstrates a thought process as to when to use a particular spot. These ideas are unsupportable, but interesting suppositions as to the behavior of the Bigfoot as a group.

One highly controversial inclusion in the story to the Bigfoot is the ability to telepathically communicate. Much has been made of this idea in relation to other fictional works (John Darnton's Neanderthal, Random House; New York; 1996). In humans the ability to telepathically communicate is not proven to exist, in other animals it is likewise an unknown. Typically a species communicates with another through body language and vocal iterations, although other sound makings are used at times (like tree hitting). The usage of telepathy in the book at hand is but only a side note, wherein it is mentioned but dealt with off hand as a common behavior in order to communicate with another without being heard, or warn another without having to speak. Whether Bigfoot actually possesses this ability is unknown, and in all likelihood would be unknown even after a specimen were to be found.

…but two things were missing from her Bigfoot culture. The first was a complex spoken language that could communicate social and natural history. Of course, except for crude carve marks, writing was not existent. With some history, the group would know about and pass on to her, knowledge about the killing and eating of their kind by Jakes of the distant past. They would also known about the disease that the Jakes passed on when contact was close in the far past and especially when the white Jakes came not long ago. When the white Jakes came and started turning over the soil and taking down the trees, thousands of Bigfeet quietly died from simple disease. They would also know that the white Jakes' diseases were what wiped out many of the dark, traditional Jakes that left the land and the Bigfeet alone. While they could not pass on these reasons, the avoidance instinct was mightily strong because of them.

The second thing that was missing was the lack of fire. With fire and a stable fire hearth, many things would change for the Bigfeet.

The youngster would live from instinct and a few values. The elders would teach her self-reliance. Family values were basic - if there was a geography suitable to supporting a group. In a group situation, the instinctive values were to eat, but not necessarily to share. This was especially the case in the pursuit of small animals like hares and rodents or in the taking of vegetation."

And in that the further outline of behavior is determined. The Bigfoot is hence drawn by instinct instead of history. This is viable when compared to behavior associated with the great apes, wherein behavior is instinctive with some teaching of a limited degree. More to the point though, the relationship of the Bigfoot with Native Americans is shown, where the Native Americans are shown as separate from the behavior of the white settlers. This can be carried over into the Native American traditions of Bigfoot type creatures, and the reverence shown for them. Equally as important is the notation of diseases wiping out the populations of Bigfoot. This did happen with many Native Americans whose immune system was not suited to handle the myriad of alien ailments brought by the white settlers to the continent. To pass this historical fact onto the Bigfoot groups is only a small stretch, first their immune systems must be akin to a human system in order to contract a human based disease, and second they must have close contact with the white settlers. Historic records of encounters from the early 1800's and late 1700's are scant, so the proximity of the settlers to the Bigfoot groups is unknown, as is the immunology of Bigfoot.

Essentially the Bigfoot are portrayed as instinctive creatures that react to a situation in an established manner. They scavenge for food, and at times hunt larger game. They refrain from interactions with humans, and violence is utilized only against an aggressor, be it another Bigfoot or a human. They are portrayed as extensions of reports and a mingling of theories as to behavior.

The novel itself is atypical due to its treatment of what if to the body of a Bigfoot? And the after effects of what could happen upon its discovery. In the vein of fictional works pertaining to Bigfoot, The Great Sasquatch Conspiracy deals with the subject matter in a humorous, but straightforward manner.

Craig Heinselman
Milford, NH USA
cheinselman@msn.com

Ray Crowe's release announcement in The Track Record

MEDIA, BOOKS AND STUFF
June 10, 1999

* Well...it’s finally out. Joe Beelart has the first 20 copies hot off the press that are special editions and have been donated generously to the WBS. For sale, postpaid, $19.95. “The Great Sasquatch Conspiracy” or “Blood On Bigfoot Mountain,” Is one really terrific read. The general topic is a dead Bigfoot, fished from the Columbia River, and how to keep the body out of the hands of Federal and State officials, and sell it to the highest bidder. Of course there are religious fanatics, tabloids, museums, native Americans, timber people...all trying to convince the finders the corpse should go to them. There ends up being a fist fight (yeah...a popular Bigfoot Society buff gets beaten up) when all congregate at the same time...a really well written melee. Hate to tell you any more of the story line though...don’t wanna’ ruin it. Should mention though that the story is told from two perspectives...that of the humans and that of the Bigfeet.

Also, there is also a special appendix containing “The Best of the Track Record,” and other non-fiction reports. Lots of nice art, especially on front and back cover by Rob Butler, The Sasquatch Art Works. The 355 page book, 10 X 7 inch soft-cover book special has been autographed by Joe, myself and Rob. Order yours now...before they’re all gone!! It’s first come...first serve, and there are 6 gone the first day (note: this was 6/10/99 - all autographed first editions have been sold).

Ray Crowe, Director
Western Bigfoot Society

Ordering information:
Available only from:

Joe Hector Beelart, Jr.
3412 Ponderosa Loop
West Linn, OR 97068
joebeelart@cs.com

Unfortunately, the first and all subsequent editions of Joe's self-published book have completely sold out through the sixth printing. However, putting your name on the waiting list by sending him an email or note helps Joe judge when he should print up another 40 or 50 copies. The usual wait from one printing to the next is about six months. The cost remains $20 plus postage.