The history of the sasquatch in Maryland can be traced back to the early 1600's when Native American tribes inhabited the land. In particular, there were the Piscataway Indians who inhabited the area in southern Maryland which is currently known as Charles County. Allegedly, all Indian tribes of Maryland worshipped "Okee", a shape shifting spirit whom was often referred to as a "monster". The Piscataway Indians were said to fear this spirit while simultaneously attempting to fashion themselves in its image; they even wore tattoos of this "monstrous looking devil."
As pointed out in Mark Opsasnick's 'The Maryland Bigfoot Digest' (available from Xlibris Publishing) the Maryland sasquatch has a wide variety of names by which Maryland residents have dubbed him. Some of the best include: Dwayyo, Apple Creature, Snarly-Yow, Long Leggety Beastie, Snallygaster, Egg People, Blueberry Hill Monster, Mt. Airy Marauder, Cowman and the dreaded Eelpoot. Another 17th century story comes courtesy of Beauchamp Plantagenet who explained that "in the head of the Chesapeake Bay was seen a Camell Mare, brown black skin, seven foot high, of which three-hundred mile westward are a store of them, their skins bought and sold by the Indians to confirm it." From this account it would appear that if the mysterious Camell Mare was indeed a sasquatch, then it was hunted by the Native Americans. One interesting fact about Maryland is that according to famed bigfoot researcher John Green's own statistical database ending 2001, Maryland ranks 5th in the nation for bigfoot sightings! The only states with more sightings are Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington, and California!
For those unfamiliar with Maryland's terrain, western Maryland is dominated by the Allegheny and Appalachian mountain ranges while southern and parts of central Maryland are noted for their swamp and marsh areas. The Chesapeake Bay runs from the Atlantic ocean up to Cecil county in central-northern Maryland, cutting off the Eastern shore. Maryland has three major river systems, the Potomac river in the west, the Patuxent river running from central to southern Maryland, and the Patapsco in the northern-central. Not surprisingly, many of the alleged sasquatch sightings have occurred in and around these river systems.
The most famous sightings in Maryland date back to 1973 and took place in Sykesville, a town on the southern edge of Carroll county slightly to the west of the Liberty Reservoir and Patapsco Valley State Park. The first sighting on record occurred in March when a man was driving along Rt. 32 when he saw a "huge beast on two legs with glowing eyes". During the next few months Sykesville would become a hotbed of activity. On June 4th, there were three independent sightings by three separate witnesses stating that they saw a bigfoot like creature near the railroad tracks behind Schoolhouse Road. More validity can be attributed due to the fact that the previous night the creature was seen along this very same road. The local police chief even took a plaster cast of a footprint which measured 13 inches long and 7 inches wide.
During this same period, Prince Georges County had the infamous Goat-Man episode. The Goat-Man episode has taken on epic proportions within the county and is a story which most residents know about. There has been much speculation as to what exactly the Goat-Man was; from stories about a labratory worker mixing his DNA with the DNA of a goat to stories of a crazy homeless person, there is some evidence which points towards the possibility that Goat-Man was infact a lone-sasquatch, or a hoax. The area where many of these sightings came from is near the Patuxent River.
Another famous 'sighting' occurred in July of 2000: The Arundel Mills Incident. Located in Hanover, Maryland, Arundel Mills is located on the Northwestern edge of Anne Arundel County. The surrounding area had seen little development prior to 1998. The area consisted of a large section of natural forest which originally had been designated as a State Park. The ever increasing population of NSA, military, and central government employees in the area quickly changed the forests destiny. According to the story, a few construction workers had an encounter with a 12-foot-tall creature. They quickly exited the area and contacted the police. Around 3 a.m., a police officer, in the company of the workers, caught a glimpse of the creature lying on a hill near a pond. He reported seeing two animal-like eyes in the dark. The officer later found a footprint which was estimated between 15 and 20 inches long. Officials from the Department of Natural Resources quickly hushed things up by claiming the unknown creature to be a bear, for two bears had been seen along Rt. 295 not too far from the area. The incident made local television and paper news and I even remember seeing a blurb about it on the National news. In my opinion, even though I am not privy to all of the information which was gathered, I feel that a cover up occurred to protect the development of the Arundel Mills Mall and surrounding merchants. I am not stating that this was indeed a sasquatch, although some evidence points to this, but either way, the authorities were worried about the possible loss of business which could have occurred had the story remained in the headlines.
Mainstream reports have been nonexistent since this incident, although there have been reports submitted to on-line databases. I do feel that Maryland could provide a suitable environment for the sasquatch, whether it be in the mountainous regions of western Maryland or along the three major river systems. Is the sasquatch a flesh and blood creature, or is he mere folklore. The past few years have brought on a few members of the mainstream science community to the former view. Perhaps time will tell and one day, this creature will be identified one way or another.