Mythusmage Opines

A Meditation on Ray Wallace and Sasquatch

Part Four: Finding What You’re Looking For

In our last installment we saw how the Patterson-Gimlin Film happened to get made, with a look at how the stories of it being faked just don’t hold up. In this installment we’ll be looking at those claims of fraud based on Patterson’s attempts to raise money for a sasquatch film.

According to this section of this page Patterson wanted to do a film on the sasquatch, what we would call a docudrama. Patterson’s intent was to dramatize the various sasquatch stories coming out of the Bluff Creek area in the hopes of sparking interest in the scientific study of the animal. So he obtained loans from various people. Unfortunately, as things turned out, he was not able to repay those loans. Naturally this alienated people, who became inclined to view the man in an unfavorable light.

When sasquatch denier Greg Long went to interview people he was able to find a number who had convinced themselves that Roger Patterson was deliberately hoaxing people. Being convinced already that the Patterson-Gimlin Film was fraudulent, Mr. Long preferentially selected those stories that agreed with his beliefs.

At this moment let us take a look at a priori reasoning.

When the researcher engages in a priori reasoning he is taking a predetermined conclusion and looking for evidence to support it. This can lead to the researcher to discard evidence that points away from his conclusion. An honest researcher will accept what contrary evidence is telling him and so alter or discard his original conclusion. A dishonest researcher will disregard evidence that says he is wrong. From his behavior, Greg Long acted more as a dishonest researcher.

Roger Patterson?

Yes, he believed in the sasquatch. Yes, he was doing a film on the sasquatch. Yes, the temptation to fake evidence was there. But, that alone does nothing to prove the Patterson-Gimlin Film was faked. Sometimes when a researcher goes out to prove his point he actually finds evidence supporting it.

That, according to the footage, is what Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin found at Bluff Creek. Using a rented camera, and forgetting to note vital details, they filmed a sasquatch walking along a part of Bluff Creek. In our next installment we’ll take a look at the men’s reaction, especially Patterson’s.

Up next: “I Told You We Needed To Acclimate That Horse to the Costume”