According to an article published in the Newbern Weekly Journal of Commerce on August 21, 1875, the North Carolina locale of Kit's Swamp (which seemingly no longer exists) had been being terrorised by a hairy humanoid creature which was said to usually emerge from the edges of the thick surrounding forests 'between sundown and dark'. Nobody was able to get near enough to the hirsute horror to accurately describe its appearance until an African-American man named Asa Grundy had an all-to-close encounter with the entity on the 19th of that month...
Kidnapped in Kit's Swamp[]
Image from here which I felt fit the description of this entity pretty well.
The monster, referred to as a 'nondescript' by the newspaper article, was said to have been devouring local poultry, garden vegetables and green corn for several weeks before the 19th. When the fateful Thursday morning rolled around, Asa's five-year-old daughter was playing in a corn crib with a neighbour's child while Asa himself was 'at work stripping fodder in the field nearby'. However, it would not be long before the serene Americana-esque morning was disrupted by the sounds of screaming. Asa suddenly heard the frantic screams of the children, as well as the panicked barking of the dog and his wife apparently 'crying for resistance'.
Fearing for the safety of his family, Grundy made a beeline to the source of the uproar - the edge of a cornfield - where he almost immediately came face-to-face with the entity about which he had presumably been hearing stories for weeks prior. He described the creature as having a face comparable to that of a 'Wanderoo' (presumably a lion-tailed macaque) adorned with a 'long snowy beard or mane'. Its body resembled that of a baboon, while its feet and legs were almost identical to those of a human 'from the knees down'. It was said to be roughly 5ft in height, while its chest would apparently 'eclipse the Cardiff Giant' in terms of volume. Much to Asa's everlasting horror, the monster in question was carrying the two children - 'one in each paw' - and beating a swift retreat into the nearby forest.
Seemingly startled at the sudden approach of Mr. Grundy, the apeman briefly halted and partially turned to adjust its direction of travel before being struck by a 'well directed blow' and collapsing to the ground. The children were able to escape without injury during this process. However, before the seemingly-incapacitated creature could be secured and shipped off to PT Barnum's circus as the author of the newspaper article seems to be extremely sure it should be, it leapt from the ground 'with lightning rapidity' and bolted into the forest. Although the woods for miles around were promptly thoroughly searched, no trace of the entity's whereabouts could be obtained.
The article finishes by saying that fear and excitement is growing the region of the country in question - and even implores 'young men fond of adventure' to congregate into groups and set out into the forest with the aim of securing this creature so that it can be captured and 'rendered harmless'.