Daniel Boone had a memorable encounter with the beast.  It was huge, fur-covered, and stood on two legs. 

Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Skunk Ape:  I admit I wish their existence to be true.  When I was younger I was sure they were out there.  As the years of my life went by, I lost hope in the beast.  The main reason was that surely by now, a skeleton of one of them would have been found.  Somewhere!  Or even a skull would have been nice.  

I have tried to keep up on new Sasquatch news and as far as I know, no bones have been found.  The only evidence is eyewitness accounts, stories once and twice removed, tracks, and occasional fur.  I did catch a story one time where the fur was analyzed and the result was that it belonged to no known animal.

Momo—that is what a Bigfoot was called in these here parts.  This stands for Missouri Monster.   Years ago, the very uttering of the name Momo would cause a much younger family member to go into fits of terror.  Most sightings of Momo were around Louisiana, Missouri, in the Seventies—sometimes by extremely reputable people.  I guess Momo has been sorely offended because he has retreated back into the wilderness and has not been seen much since.

Not too far away, in Kentucky, one of Missouri’s eight border-states, they have their own version of the creature.  He is known as The Hillbilly Beast.  There are long lists of upstanding citizens who have encountered him.  In addition, there are hikers, mushroom gatherers, hunters and clandestine lovers that have seen him in the deep woods.  

The Hillbilly Beast is 8-10 feet tall and weighs approximately 800 pounds.  His long fur drips with the dank water of cypress swamps.  He has been known to steal and devour livestock, throw rocks at territorial intruders, beat tree trunks with sticks to make a frightening racket. 

Sometimes he watches silently with a powerful, yellow-eyed gaze.  Others have heard his distinctive howling and yelping in the distance.  A very few believe he can communicate with thought-waves.  Some claim to have dental and skeletal evidence, but nothing has been produced for further scrutiny by scientists.

There is no good photographic image of The Hillbilly Beast of Kentucky—he is camera shy—but he has been known to flip unoccupied automobiles completely over, and destroy camera and recording equipment, either alone or with the cooperation of others of his kind.

He continues to confound the residents of a corner of Appalachia.   He has been around for a long time.  The Cherokee peoples were the first to describe him—he had supernatural powers.

Daniel Boone had a memorable encounter with the beast.  It was huge, fur-covered, and stood on two legs.  It chased him through the hills of Kentucky.  Who would not believe an eyewitness account given by Daniel Boone, himself?

Sara Marie Hogg is the author of the award-winning It Rises from the Pee Dee. Please click HERE to find the book on Amazon.