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WE OFTEN RUN ACROSS references to Marco Polos account(c.1285) of a possible orang pandek (a little ape-man) sighting. It is

interesting to see exactly what Marco said, so here it is:

It should be known that what is reported respecting the driedbodies of diminutive human creatures, or pigmies, brought from India,is an idle tale, such pretended men being manufactured in this islandin the following manner. The country produces a species of monkey,of a tolerable size, and having a countenance resembling that of aman. Those persons who make it their business to catch them shaveoff their hair, leaving it only about the chin, and those other partswhere it naturally grows on the human body. They then dry andpreserve them with camphor and other drugs; and having preparedthem in such a mode that they have exactly the appearance of littlemen, they put them into wooden boxes, and sell them to tradingpeople who carry them to all parts of the world. But this is merely animposition, the practice being such as we have described; andneither in India, nor in any other country, however wild (and littleknown), have pigmies been found of a form so diminutive as theseexhibit.1 Sufficient have been said of this kingdom, which presentsnothing else remarkable, we shall now speak of another, namedSamara. - Book III, Chapter 12, On the Second Kingdom, Named Basman

1 [Editors footnote]. At a period when the eastern part of the world was little knownto the people of Europe, who were credulous in proportion to their ignorance, it is

by no means improbable that such impositions were practiced by the travelingMahometian and Armenian traders who visited the islands where the orang utan orpong (simian satyrus) was found, and might have been in the practice of selling theirstuffed carcasses to the virtuosi of Italy, for the mummies of a pigmy race of men.

From what I can gather from this, I really dont think Marco saw anylive creatures. He likely saw dead ones, both processed and waiting to be processed.Nevertheless, whatever the creatures were, I am surprised that one of the stuffed bodies has notcome to light in some museum.

However, on this point Loren Coleman has done someconsiderable research and he has some excellent material on what are

termed carnival gaffs on his website. Such are fabricated man/creatureoddities that include both animal parts and other types of material. I havepreviously discussed two of these things that I have personally seen.One is Jake the Alligator Man, which is at Marshs FreeMuseum in Long Beach, Washington, and the other is a littlemermaid at The Trading Post in Banff, Alberta. The practiceof making these curiosities has been going on for hundredsof years. Nevertheless, I have never seen one that is simplya tiny man (human) as Marco Polo implies, and which I envision would look somewhat like theorang pendek illustration shown above. (Please wade in here, Matt Crowley.)

A modern rendering of theorang pendek; 70.75 cmequals 27.9 inches.

THE MURPHY FILE NEWSLETTER #26

March 1, 2007C. L. Murphy - cmurphy101@shaw.ca

PLEASE EMAIL ME IF YOU WISH TO BE ADDED OR REMOVED FROM MY EMAIL LIST.

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JUST FOR FUN, I had another look at the first Planet of the Apesmovie.I remember seeing it about 39 years ago, so I refreshed my memory.The movie is copyright 1967, but I believe it was released the followingyear. I know its been said many times, but theres absolutely nosimilarity between the ape costumes used in the movie and the creatureseen in the P/G film. As a matter of fact, with 39 years under my belt, themovie costumes are really pretty funky. Nevertheless, if you have a mind

to get the movie, pick up The Day After also, and watch it first. Thencheck back on what Odette Tchernine wrote, which I presented in mylast newsletter. (Look thy last on all things lovely)

BOB HEIRONIMUS STATES in Greg Longs book, The Making of Bigfoot(page 344): "I think the feet [of the costume] were made of old house slippersyou used to see around that looked like a big foot with toes on them. They hadwrinkles on the bottom of them, you know. Now, I do remember slippers likethat back in the 1960s, and indeed put a pair on when I visited a friend. Theywere made of fake brown fur and were naturally quite large. I cant find a photoof them on the net, so if anyone in their travels runs across one, I would

appreciate a copy. Better still, check grandmas attic, you might find a pair.

ON PAGE 108 OF Meet the SasquatchI show the castBob Titmus gave to the Vancouver Museum andmention the note on the back. Shown here is a photo Itook of the note, which reads, This is an actual cast ofBigfoot imprint made Oct. 2, 1958 in Bluff Creek inHumboldt County, California. Bigfoot is not a hoax.

Bob Titmus, Taxidermist, Anderson, Calif.

Titmus found a lot of tracks and dedicated a large part ofhis life in his quest for the sasquatch. This year (July 1)marks the 10th Anniversary of his passing.

THERE HAVE BEEN MOUNDS of material written about what Roger Pattersonsaid of his and Bob Gimlins experience at Bluff Creek. But what did Rogerspecifically say (write) himself? A few months after the event (probably February1968) he put out a newsletter, and here is exactly what he wrote and signed:

Pattersonsnewsletter lo o.

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We can see from this information that the two men arrivedin area about October 11 or 12. Bob Gimlin seemed to think theyhad been there somewhat longer, but I dont think so.

THIS PHOTOGRAPH taken in Park des Sept Chutes (Seven

Chutes Park), Quebec, June 2005, continues to intrigue me.All of the information is on Rob Gaudets website:

What we see appears to be a baboon-like creature thatis carrying something. Another baboon-like creature wasallegedly filmed (video) in Texas. I have the photos, but theowner does not wish them released. (A hoax is suspected,but it is odd that someone would choose to use a baboon-man headpiece rather than a bigfoot.) Then, last year I got aninquiry as to what I knew about devil dogs, which weredescribed as baboon-like creatures seen in the southern U.S.And then to top it off, a few months ago I got a call fromJoedy Cook in Ohio, who found part of an odd skull that hasbeen identified by the Cincinnati Zoo as being that of a

baboon. Joedy is sending me photos of the skull and I will share them. Just how a baboon wouldmeet its fate in the Ohio outback is a bit of a wonder. I suppose some people might keep suchanimals, and one could have escaped. (Can you imagine seeing a baboon coming down the trail?)

As to the Seven Chutes photo, Dr. Meldrum points out that itis likely a tree stump that has taken on suggestivecharacteristics as a result of light/shadows and so forth. Iagree that this could be so; however, when researcherswent to the spot, there was nothing of that nature there. Ifyou enlarge this photo, you will see a man waving in thelower right corner (arrow)that is the spot. Rob Gaudet hasmany photos in this connection on his website. All I can offerhere is that the researchers did not go to the right spot, butthis appears unlikely.

REMARKABLY OLD MARCO POLO says something odd about thepeople of the Island of Angaman that is somewhat baboonconnected. Here is what he says:

Angaman is a very large island, not governed by a king. The inhabitantsare idolaters, and are a most brutish and savage race, having heads,eyes, and teeth resembling those of the canine species. Theirdispositions are cruel, and every person, not being of their own nation,whom they can lay their hands upon, they kill and eat.

Well, I hardly think so. Nevertheless, baboons are canine-like, so youpeople out there in Quebec might keep a sharp eye in case some of theAngaman folk trotted over to North America with bigfoot.

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ONCE DURING MY LONG career with the B.C. TelephoneCompany (now Telus), I was asked to do a presentation to thepresident, Brian Canfield, and the companys executive, on asupply operations department process I had developed. When Igot up to speak, I prefaced my talk with, Well, gentlemen, withthis group, I hardly know where to start. I was interrupted by BrianCanfield who said, Well Chris, just pretend were all idiots and

start there. This I did, and most certainly much information Iprovided that I thought was common knowledge was new to manyin that group. My point here is, that with knowledge, whats newis totally relative. If you were born five minutes ago, theneverything in the world is new.

I see one individual, commenting on a bigfoot presentation Imade, stated that I wasted an hour or so of his life. Another,commenting on Meet the Sasquatch, said, not much new. Bothare certainly correct from their vantage points. Indeed, if this

newsletter was being sent just to the likes of Green, Perez, Meldrum, Coleman, Steenburg, and soforth, I would not bother getting into the old hat.

JAN SUNDBERG directed me to further information on the eagle/ foxaltercation photo I posted in newsletter #24. The photo was taken inFinland by Pekka Kome, a wildlife photographer. Dr. Darren Nashoriginally posted the photo, and he has astounding information on thesubject of eagles killing large animals on his website, shown below. Insummary Darren tells us: big eagles, most notably the golden eagleAquila chrysaetos, are able to attack and kill mammals substantiallybigger than they are. Wild individuals will attack and kill deer (includingreindeer, roe deer and white-tailed deer) and pronghorn, and there are

ridiculous, authenticated cases where golden eagles have killed domestic calves exceeding 100 kgin weight. Trained individuals in Kazakhstan kill wolves. The photo shown here is also fromDarrens website. > http://darrennaish.blogspot.com/2006/12/when-eagles-go-bad-one-more-time.html<

GERRY MATTHEWS of West Coast Sasquatchhas kindly volunteered to feature a presentationon his website that I have prepared (painstakinglyedited by Roger Knights) on my sasquatch exhibitat the Museum of Natural History in Pocatello,Idaho. Many of you, I am sure, will not be able toget to that neck of the woods, so I am providing avirtual tour. Please go to Gerrys site, as shownbelow. A link to the presentation is shown on thefront page of the site under Latest News.

I didnt work at theheadquarters building, butwas often there.

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IN THE FUHRMANN files, I foundthis interesting newspaper accountof the April 1982 track-find inWashington. A footprint cast on onetrack, produced from a mold by RickNoll, is seen below (see page 105of Meet the Sasquatch). Dr. Henner

Fahrenbach mentioned to me thathe investigated the prints found inthat area at that time, and therewere many half-tracks and so forth,which definitely indicated a naturalfoot had made them.

Nevertheless, again we findourselves pondering the hoaxquestion and trying to sort out howthe tracks could have beenfabricated. It is certainly easy to saythey were hoaxed, but quite anotherto show howand around andaround we go.

You may not have been a believer in the infamous myth of

Sasquatch or Bigfoot, but after having taken a look at the moldof a print found Wednesday, April 21, one might be leaning

toward such a belief. Sheriff Dennis Morrisette, right, andDeputy Denny Heryford, one of the investigating officers, hold

the seventeen by seven-inch mold of a print found onWormans Bar in the Satsop River, near the end of Brady Loop

Road. The print, which is shown in the accompanying photobefore being lifted for a mold, was found by Dan Makeviney, a

Shelton logger. From the depth of the print it is indicated thatwhatever made it would have to weigh about 650 pounds. A

250-pound deputy sheriff was unable to create a similar depthof footprint. Heryford said that several hairs were found

between the toes of the print, and they were to be analyzed. Healso said that two or three Sasquatch experts were anxious to

examine the footprint mold. Earlier that same day, another setof large footprints were found near the Ventron plant south of

Elma on Highway 8. Morrisette noted that if the several sets offootprints were indeed a hoax, Someone went to an awful lot

of trouble and expense,

Cast from print found atAbbott Hill, Washington. It is

15 inches long.

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SOME RESEARCHERS, including Loren Coleman, Mark Hall, and Matt Crowley now presentfurther arguments that Ray Wallace and/or his associates probably faked the 1967 Blue CreekMountain and Onion Mountain prints.

Coleman provides the information gathered on his website (address shown below). Healerted me to the information, and I subsequently got into discussion with him and Matt Crowley onthis issue. If the evidence provided is correct, then indeed we must proceed in the way Colemanrecommends. I have started to look into the matter, and will present my findings as I move forward.

Please visit Loren Colemans website for full coverage on this subject.>http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/wallace-line/