Hoax v. Truth
By
David Soloman
The 16 Point
Analysis
What follows is the 16 point argument for why the Dewey Lake Monster is real and NOT a hoax. Maybe it's a Kodiak bear, maybe it's an escaped gorilla, maybe it is a bigfoot, maybe something else, but one thing is for sure ... it is not some dude running around in a hairy costume.
And here is why ...
1. LOCATION:
Random
appearances in remote, isolated areas, which would have revealed a planned
stunt e.g. parked card on isolated road is difficult to miss.
2. HUNTERS:
What
kind of hoaxer, even a dumb one, would jump out at hunters (with quick access
to guns)?
3. DOG:
Even the best “bigfoot”
costume would offer no protection from a full-grown attack dog. So, smacking and injuring a dog dressed
as a bigfoot would have a very embarrassing ending for the hoaxer..
4. ODOR:
The
consistent issue of “smell” as any number of people smelled the strong odor of
the thing.
5. WITNESSES:
The
people who reported this did not want to.
They were reluctant to do what they felt they had to as they saw
something dangerous. But certainly
none of them were looking for fame.
In fact, gaining the reputation for “seeing monsters” in a small town
has an inherent deterrent. Yet, “respectable”
people – with considerable careers still came forward.
6. TOURISM:
Dewey
Lake Monster did not reap the tourism exploitation of the Loch Ness Monster or
Roswell UFO, yet the incident had considerably more documentation at the time
of its “initial” sighting. So, if
it was done for tourism – they certainly did not reap the benefits.
The
local area (Sister Lakes) basically reaped one month of increased tourism; then
none of local businesses promoted the “monster” thing anymore. And to this day do not “capitalize” on
the notoriety. Which does not
sound like an organized publicity stunt.
7. INACCESSIBILITY
The
monster was seen in pretty inaccessible places e.g. briar patches, swamps,
prior to the 1964 incident wherein I got its name “Dewey Lake Monster.”
8. HISTORY
A
remarkably similar animal was recalled and documented by French Fur traders in
that part of Western Michigan, centuries prior. This thing was consistently defined as having the same
characteristics as the thing from Dewey Lake e.g. bad odor, stringy-matted
reddish-brown hair, 8 to 10 feet tall, etc.
9. ARCHIVES
The
books, the drawings, the diaries found which articulated the monster by locals,
years prior to the most famous sighting.
10. MOLTING
The
evolving hair along seasonal lines, which is consistent with organic animal
fur-growth and shedding.
11. TIMING
The
Dewey Lake Monster sighting (1964) was a full three years prior to the
Patterson–Gimlin (1967). So, they
were obviously not copying that.
12. HOAXER?
Contradicting
assertions of person behind a hoax still surface. The manager of the Dewey Lake Monster Facebook Page has
received more than ten (10) messages from persons claiming that the Dewey Lake
Monster was a hoax; however each of them site a different person or persons as
the hoaxer – and none of them are the same. This lack of consistency speaks more to the absence of
knowledge rather than any believable insight.
13. SPEED
Distance
traveled between sightings without car – impossible to achieve by a person.
14. DEVELOPMENT
Development
explosion in the Sister Lakes area at that time may reasonably account for an
indigenous animal being dislodged from a much more secretive lifestyle.
15. NO
BONES
Water
habitat of a low-volume creature may account for lack of bones, DNA, etc., in
that if you sleep in the water like a crocodile with the ability to roam the
land to hunt like a bear, the number of skeletal remains is greatly decreased
and in an area where decomposition is more likely to take place before
discovery, i.e. you live in seclusion and eventually die in the thicket of
inland Michigan lake or swamp.
Consider the strangeness of the Platypus or false extinction of the
Coelacanth, Jerdon Tree Frog, etc.
Ultimately, if a small tribe
of these “things” die in the inland lakes – how would anyone ever discover
their bones?
16. SIZE
A
10 foot tall creature, which can “run” like a man would be difficult to
construct and impose in a non-controlled situation, present day. How much more difficult to generate
back then? The reports indicated
an organic creature proportional to a man-bear with intermittent fur and lizard
skin with long arms. No one ever
remarked it was a “6 foot tall man with a 4 foot tall head,” which is what 10
foot tall hoax would look like.
Because there is no way a man on stilts can run as fast as was witnessed
and fight off dogs.
