More than 170 years ago, stories of a strange creature roaming the forests of Arkansas terrified local residents. Long before the modern legend of Bigfoot took hold, newspapers were already reporting encounters with what they called the “Arkansas Wild Man.”
The First Reports
One of the earliest known accounts appeared in 1846, when a newspaper reported the discovery of a massive footprint in eastern Arkansas. According to the report, the track measured 22 inches long, far larger than any normal human footprint. The discovery immediately sparked rumors that something unusual was living in the region’s forests and swamps.
Hunters Encounter the Creature
In 1851, the newspaper Vermont Watchman and State Journal published a dramatic account from Greene County.
Two hunters claimed they saw a strange figure chasing a herd of cattle. They described it as something that looked unmistakably human yet clearly wild.
According to their report, the creature was:
The hunters said the figure paused briefly to stare at them before sprinting into nearby woods. What shocked them most was its speed, it reportedly leaped between 12 and 14 feet in a single stride.
The article also noted that sightings of this mysterious Wild Man had been reported in St. Francis County, Greene County, and Poinsett County as far back as 1834.
A Survivor of a Great Disaster?
Many residents had their own theory about the creature’s identity. Some believed the Wild Man was not a monster at all, but a human who had gone feral after surviving the devastating New Madrid earthquakes.
These earthquakes were among the most powerful in North American history, shaking the Mississippi Valley and dramatically reshaping the landscape. According to local legend, one survivor may have fled into the wilderness and lived there so long that he became completely wild.
The story became so widely believed that two prominent men from Memphis organized a search party to try to capture the mysterious figure. What happened during that expedition, however, was never recorded.
A Violent Encounter in 1856
The legend resurfaced in 1856 when the Ashland Union reported another sighting near the Sunflower Prairie.
During the winter, several men spotted the Wild Man and pursued him with hunting dogs. The creature attempted to escape across the frozen surface of Brant Lake, but the ice proved too thin, forcing him back toward the shore.
One of the hunters who arrived first described the figure as:
Although the hunter had a clear shot, he chose to capture the Wild Man instead of shooting him.
It was a decision he would regret.
According to the newspaper account, the creature suddenly lunged at him, dragging him from his horse and attacking with terrifying force. The man was badly injured his eye gouged and his shoulder bitten.
Then, in a bizarre twist, the Wild Man reportedly mounted the horse himself, guiding it away using a piece of sapling as a makeshift rein before disappearing toward the mountains.
The Mississippi Wild Man
About twelve years later, reports of a similar creature emerged farther south in Mississippi.
The newspaper Cambria Freeman described an encounter near Vicksburg, where hunters tracking an unknown animal discovered a strange footprint in the mud.
The track looked human but with one disturbing detail.
One set of toes appeared to be turned backward.
When their dogs finally cornered the creature, the hunters described seeing a frightening figure:
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About the height of an average man
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Far more muscular
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Long hair hanging from its head down to its knees
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A body covered in dark brown hair
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And most disturbingly two long tusks protruding from its upper jaw
When the dogs attacked, the creature reportedly grabbed one of them and impaled it on its tusks, killing it instantly.
The hunters fired several shots, and the creature fled toward the Mississippi River. It jumped into the water and remained submerged for several minutes.
Then it suddenly resurfaced.
Witnesses said it released ear-piercing shrieks unlike any sound they had ever heard not like wolves, panthers, or alligators that were common to the region.
After surfacing and diving several times, the creature finally swam across the river toward Louisiana, disappearing into the wilderness.
Monster or Misunderstood Mystery?
Unlike earlier Arkansas stories, people in Mississippi did not assume the creature was a feral human. Instead, many believed it might be an unknown species living in the remote wilderness.
Newspapers even suggested that the rugged terrain around Franklin County with its steep hills, ravines, and dense vine-choked swamps along the Homochitto River could easily hide large undiscovered animals.
An Early Bigfoot Legend?
Today, many researchers see the Arkansas and Mississippi Wild Man stories as early examples of American “Bigfoot-type” legends mysterious hairy humanoids reported long before the modern term Bigfoot was coined.
Whether these sightings were exaggerations, misidentified animals, or glimpses of something truly unknown remains a mystery.
But one thing is certain, long before the modern Bigfoot craze, the forests and swamps of the American South already had their own terrifying legend the Wild Man.
