WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.719 --> 00:00:10.439 Some people don't like my accent, and that's fine, So I thought I 2 00:00:10.439 --> 00:00:15.080 would do this story in a different accent, and I hope they appreciate it. 3 00:00:15.119 --> 00:00:19.760 So here we go. Hello. My name is like I Gazick, 4 00:00:19.879 --> 00:00:24.359 and I like live in Raymond County, Georgia, which is the very top 5 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:29.800 corner of the state, nestled in like the Appalachian Mountains. Like I came 6 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:34.039 across your channel a while back, and hearing all of these amazing stories has 7 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:39.119 given me like the confidence like to share my own, which has a lot 8 00:00:39.119 --> 00:00:43.960 of similarities to many I've already heard on your channel. But I can't even 9 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:48.240 stand to hear myself do that accent. Okay, back to the originally scheduled 10 00:00:48.280 --> 00:00:53.159 program. My story is a series of multiple events in the year of twenty 11 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:57.439 fifteen, when I was twelve years old. Now, I've been an avid 12 00:00:57.479 --> 00:01:02.280 hunter and fisherman my entire life, and I've spent countless hours in these hills 13 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:06.359 around every creature we have in the woods, or so I thought. My 14 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:11.079 family and I were living in a large property that was entirely surrounded by National 15 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:15.760 forest, with the closest neighbor about a half a mile away. The small 16 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:19.480 house was nestled in a bowl with a large mountain on each side of it 17 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:25.000 and a small pond and pasture near the house. The cabin we were living 18 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:27.920 in was built sometime around the Civil War, and we were the first family 19 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:33.840 to inhabit the home during the winter for at least seventy years, as it 20 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:40.959 had no heating or ac My first encounter happened around late summer of twenty fifteen, 21 00:01:41.040 --> 00:01:44.840 and I remember it as if it happened last night. I shared my 22 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:49.400 room with my parents. My older siblings had the other room in the small 23 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.959 cabin, and we were sleeping with all the windows open due to the lack 24 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.920 of ac. Well. Suddenly I woke up immediately out of a deep sleep, 25 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.200 and I looked over to notice my parents it's had woken up at the 26 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:06.480 same time. We knew we heard something, but our inside dogs that barked 27 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.840 at everything hadn't made a sound. Well. We began to listen in as 28 00:02:09.840 --> 00:02:14.080 we heard a yell coming from the woods on the side of the house our 29 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:19.199 room was on. There was also a small waterfall around fifty yards behind the 30 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:23.280 house in the same direction. My half asleep twelve year old self had no 31 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:28.960 idea what to make of it and figured that there was some drunk hillbilly in 32 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:32.960 the woods having some fun. Whatever was making this sound began to travel down 33 00:02:34.039 --> 00:02:38.400 the mountain and closer to the waterfall, and then we were able to realize 34 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:44.120 how strong this thing's vocal capacity was. It wasn't quite to the waterfall yet, 35 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:47.319 because its scream shook me in my parents' chest and the walls of our 36 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:53.240 cabin. It resonated like no other sound I've ever heard, and it sent 37 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:58.240 chills down all of our spines. We all agreed that piste off was an 38 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:01.800 understatement for the tone in which this thing was yelling. The closest thing I 39 00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:07.840 can describe to the vocalization was it was like an extremely pissed off Tarzan, 40 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:14.280 and in recent years I've heard many supposed bigfoot vocalizations that sound identical to what 41 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:19.560 we heard. It somehow was able to navigate up to the other side of 42 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:23.159 the valley within a span of what felt like five to ten minutes, which 43 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:29.479 means this thing was really moving. Once it crossed on to the other side 44 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.520 of our property, we noticed a group of dog hunters at our gate and 45 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:38.319 realized their hunting dogs were on the trail of whatever this was. We those 46 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:42.919 hunters left in a hurry, and I heard no gunshots. If only I 47 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:46.479 could get their account of what they saw that night. Now, my second 48 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:53.439 occurrence happened in late fall of the same year, again twenty fifteen, and 49 00:03:53.520 --> 00:03:57.560 it was deer season. My dad and I decided to set up a small 50 00:03:57.599 --> 00:04:00.319 coalm and tent at the edge of a pasture in order to hunt the next 51 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:03.680 morning and walk up the old logging road that ran to the top of the 52 00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:10.599 small ridge. This was the same small logging road where the hunters ended up 53 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:15.160 going the night of the previous occurrence. We froze our butts off all night, 54 00:04:15.399 --> 00:04:19.040 and in our half sleepy state, had something large come by the tent. 55 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:24.120 I'm not saying that it was a sasquatch, but we sure had that 56 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:30.199 classic being watched feeling. Before SunUp, we started walking up the logging road, 57 00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.600 checking the ground the entire half mile up in search of scating tracks. 58 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:39.079 And we sat on the top of the trail for around five minutes and for 59 00:04:39.079 --> 00:04:43.639 some reason decided to make our descent down the mountain. On the way down, 60 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:46.759 we stopped dead in our tracks. Our jaws were on the ground when 61 00:04:46.759 --> 00:04:51.360 we noticed the largest pile of scat I've ever seen in my life. It 62 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:57.959 wasn't bear scat, because I've seen that countless times running these hills. It 63 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:01.560 was a dark green and was very so of human feces, just about five 64 00:05:01.639 --> 00:05:06.040 times larger than anything a person could do. But it wasn't larger than what 65 00:05:06.199 --> 00:05:10.560 my grandson can do. I hope he doesn't hear this, but man, 66 00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:14.000 that kid can. That kid can push out the biggest turds I've ever seen 67 00:05:14.040 --> 00:05:16.759 in my life. Anyway, on with the story. It also had deer 68 00:05:16.800 --> 00:05:21.040 hair throughout the sample, and it was still steaming. It definitely was not 69 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:26.120 there on the way up the mountain. My dad still kicks himself for not 70 00:05:26.199 --> 00:05:30.879 taking a sample of whatever we found. We had left our tent up in 71 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.360 order to go back and hunt a few days later. But when we woke 72 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:39.160 up a couple of days later and noticed the tent was flattened, we figured 73 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:43.360 a limb had come down on it or the wind took it out. We 74 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:47.879 disassembled the tent and investigated, and we saw that the tent poles that snapped 75 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:53.480 together to make the frame were snapped in half, every single one of them. 76 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:57.959 My dad and I tried together to snap one, and we couldn't snap 77 00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:00.720 it. It was odd, but I've heard similar accounts as they seemed to 78 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:09.120 be extremely territorial. My third and last occurrence happened in December of twenty fifteen 79 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:14.639 or January of twenty sixteen. We were moving out of the old cabin and 80 00:06:14.680 --> 00:06:17.720 into a newer house on the other end of the county. My father and 81 00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:21.439 I were taking the last load of stuff with the U haul trailer behind our 82 00:06:21.560 --> 00:06:26.800 jeep, and it was two am. I had a brief fault before we 83 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:30.920 left, what if we see this thing on our last night here. We 84 00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:34.759 started down the long, winding dirt road and the thought had left my mind. 85 00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:39.759 We took a right turn at the first blacktop road that we reached. 86 00:06:40.959 --> 00:06:46.399 As our lights turned with the vehicle, we noticed a large bipedal figure seventy 87 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:49.879 yards in front of us, standing broadside on the road, facing down a 88 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:55.639 large thirty foot deep bank that led to a large marsh or swamp below. 89 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:01.000 This thing was around seven feet tall and had passed dark hair covering its body. 90 00:07:01.639 --> 00:07:06.480 It had large muscles, but it wasn't necessarily broad shouldered. Its face 91 00:07:06.800 --> 00:07:11.279 had the least hair in the skin looked grayish, and its eyes glowed of 92 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:15.879 vivid orange, and we're around seven or eight inches apart. This thing looked 93 00:07:15.879 --> 00:07:19.160 at us and it did a double take, and we were able to notice 94 00:07:19.199 --> 00:07:25.560 its human like expression. I've always described it as an old crap look that 95 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:29.839 it gave us, and you could tell we were absolutely not supposed to see 96 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:35.000 this thing. Another interesting bit of information is that deer would always congregate in 97 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:39.720 this exact stretch of road around the same time that we saw the creature. 98 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:45.959 Maybe that explains the deer hair and the scat. My father and I were 99 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:48.879 white as a sheath the entire way home and didn't speak a word to each 100 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:54.079 other until the next day. I've had a few more instances since then, 101 00:07:54.480 --> 00:07:59.240 but that is my most memorable set of occurrences. Now everyone is entitled to 102 00:07:59.319 --> 00:08:03.800 their own, but me and Dad know exactly what we saw. Thank you 103 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:07.680 for all the amazing work you do. Okay, he's gonna talk about the 104 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.199 channel. He likes the Channel, but this was Let's see. This guy's 105 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:15.720 name is Isaac. This is a very good story. I hope I didn't 106 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:20.639 ruin the first the beginning of your story by using an accent that I've learned 107 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:26.199 from the younger generation seeing them on YouTube and around town and listening to them 108 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:28.319 talk, and so I thought I'd try another accent out. This was a 109 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:35.159 great story. I really appreciate you, Isaac. Hi. Everyone, Welcome 110 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:39.759 to the Dixie Cryptid podcast, also known as the what If It's True Podcast 111 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.639 out on the podcast Network. That means if you have a podcast app like 112 00:08:45.759 --> 00:08:50.639 Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Google Podcast which is going away soon, 113 00:08:52.039 --> 00:08:56.320 Amazon Music, Audible, you can listen to this podcast any podcast app. 114 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:01.799 Just do a search for what If It's True. It'll be right there at 115 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:05.200 the top. It's actually that podcast is doing really good, and it's the 116 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:09.720 same stuff I upload here. I just put it out on a non video 117 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:15.039 format. There are several new people following along. I know this because I 118 00:09:15.080 --> 00:09:18.600 see it in the comment section and I get emails from people saying they enjoy 119 00:09:18.679 --> 00:09:22.919 the channel. I appreciate those emails so much, and I feel like it 120 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:28.879 is that time of year where I need to make some disclaimers on this channel. 121 00:09:28.240 --> 00:09:31.679 The goal of this channel is not to get you to believe in Bigfoot 122 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:35.639 or dog Man or any of these cryptis that people write in about. The 123 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:41.600 goal is also not to present any evidence videos blurry pictures, which they are 124 00:09:41.639 --> 00:09:46.039 all blurry pictures. This is not an evidence. But this is an entertainment 125 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.600 channel. All we do is tell stories. It just so happens that the 126 00:09:50.679 --> 00:09:56.120 stories are about monsters, and those are always exciting. So that's all I 127 00:09:56.159 --> 00:09:58.919 do. I just tell fun stories that people send me. Some er frightening 128 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:03.840 to Some people who send these stories claim they have seen some kind of creature, 129 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:09.360 some mythical creature, and they are traumatized by it. I understand that 130 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:13.600 fully. But the goal of the channel is to entertain you. So with 131 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:16.320 that being said, let's finish up this podcast. I've got several more stories, 132 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:20.320 so hold on to old weaves. All right, here we go. 133 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:35.200 All right, this is an email I got recently. It's from a seventy 134 00:10:35.279 --> 00:10:41.200 year old man, and this is crazy. You may not believe it. 135 00:10:41.639 --> 00:10:43.600 He even says at the end, you're probably not going to believe this, 136 00:10:43.720 --> 00:10:48.960 but he swears it's true, and he writes really well, and let's jump 137 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:54.679 into his story. I'm seventy four years old. Up until four years ago, 138 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:58.399 I lived in South Mississippi near the land that has been in our family 139 00:10:58.720 --> 00:11:03.240 for over two hundred year. Our farm consists of several hundred acres, and 140 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:09.000 most of it is heavily forested. The rest of it is operated as a 141 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:13.639 cattle ranch. Virtually all the land within a few miles of us is owned 142 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:16.480 by relatives. I don't want to be tedious about the layout of land, 143 00:11:16.519 --> 00:11:22.919 but it is critical to the events I'm about to describe. I've recently retired 144 00:11:22.919 --> 00:11:26.440 from my practice, and I'm more comfortable telling these stories now. There are 145 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:33.039 people that would be hesitant to entrust their care to a bigfoot nut. Furthermore, 146 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:37.559 for the benefit of non Southerners, we all aren't toothless and bread morons. 147 00:11:37.440 --> 00:11:43.919 Me and four of my parents' grandchildren have doctorate degrees. I'm not bragging. 148 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:48.679 I'm just letting you know we aren't psychotic nuts. Some of us are, 149 00:11:48.559 --> 00:11:52.399 and some of us are not. Some of us are pretty smart. 150 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:56.759 I think, you know, I think the South has in some people's minds 151 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.639 they have an image of. I don't know what they have an image of, 152 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:05.480 but this is uh. I don't I know I'm off topic here, 153 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:09.279 but I know tons of really smart people, well educated people, professional people 154 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:16.000 like this writer, doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers, architects, UH 155 00:12:16.039 --> 00:12:20.440 and so I would say, you know the demographics as far as you know, 156 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:24.799 the level of ability and the level of the job that you do is 157 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:30.519 probably the same as anywhere else in the country. It's just we talk different, 158 00:12:30.679 --> 00:12:33.679 so that makes But I can change my accent, I can. You 159 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:37.679 just heard it in the last story. I can change my accent. I 160 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:41.200 sound like someone totally different. That's right. Five years I've become the master 161 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:46.440 at audio narration. Not really, oh man, I'm just rambling. Let's 162 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:50.440 get back to the story. All of these incidents occurred in the east side 163 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:56.440 of the Pearl River in Lawrence County, Mississippi. It gets little notoriety, 164 00:12:56.480 --> 00:13:01.399 but the Pearl River swamps and bottom lands are immense. Going from Jackson to 165 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:05.639 down south to the Honey Island Swamp in Louisiana, that is well over a 166 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:11.039 thousand square miles, and if you include the connecting rivers and swamps, the 167 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:16.399 area is overdoubleedy. Yes, there are areas in the US where an accomplished 168 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:20.600 being can disappear forever, and it does happen. Once you leave the swamps. 169 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:26.320 You were in heavily forested hills with only a scattering of fields and pastures 170 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:33.039 to disrupt the landscape now. My first story is brief about the nineteen sixty 171 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:37.039 three duck hunting season. My younger brother and a close friend who was part 172 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:39.639 of the only family who lived in the swamp, went duck hunting there. 173 00:13:41.279 --> 00:13:45.559 We knew the swamp like other people there, knew their lawn. We didn't 174 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:48.440 use a p road to travel. We knew how to travel the connecting sand 175 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:54.519 burns left by the annual flooding of the Pearl River. The narrow sand hammocks 176 00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.600 provided an easy way to travel, as long as you remembered which way to 177 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:03.879 fall them through the maze. The weather was bitter cold, and occasionally spitting 178 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:07.600 a little sleep in the evening. Darkness came early because the heavy clouds were 179 00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:13.120 soaking up all the sunlight that there was. We decided to get out of 180 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:16.639 the swamp because we had not felt the need to bring a flashlight as a 181 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:20.200 crow flies. We were only about three quarters of a mile from the truck, 182 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:24.679 but we weren't crows. We were facing nearly two miles of walking in 183 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:28.279 the dry sand, and in case you don't know, walking in sand is 184 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:33.080 tough enough even if you didn't have all of your hunting equipment. We were 185 00:14:33.159 --> 00:14:37.879 less than halfway back, when the black clouds covered the sky with only an 186 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:41.679 occasional break that allowed us to take our bearings. Only a few minutes after 187 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:48.679 that, we became aware that we were not alone. These sandy paths that 188 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:52.480 we were following were not straight, but twisted and turned around the water oaks 189 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:56.840 and cypresses. Due to the serpentine path, we could only see for a 190 00:14:56.840 --> 00:15:01.879 few yards behind us, preventing us from having a clear view of what was 191 00:15:01.919 --> 00:15:05.200 making the heavy thumping in the sand. Our guide, like us, was 192 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:09.759 only in his early teens, but he was initially unflustered by whatever was walking 193 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:15.279 behind us. He said he had heard it before and partially seen something. 194 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:18.759 He had talked to his father about it, and they deducted that it was 195 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:24.399 small black bears that had been relocated into the bottoms of South Mississippi. We 196 00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:30.519 could occasionally see the hooking shadow of what was behind us. The trees prevented 197 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:35.320 us from seeing a complete silhouette in this animal. At this point we knew 198 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:39.360 it wasn't a person. We could tell enough that this was not a bear. 199 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.480 It was simply too big and tall. We could never see the legs 200 00:15:43.519 --> 00:15:46.080 to see if it was on two legs, but we could distinctly hear the 201 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:50.879 very heavy steps of two feet with a long stride, and it was closing 202 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:56.720 in on us. Our relaxed walking changed to a light trot, and in 203 00:15:56.759 --> 00:16:00.039 the end we were running. We got to the truck and we turned on 204 00:16:00.120 --> 00:16:03.639 the lights and then cranked it and we backed up until we could find a 205 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:08.240 place to turn around and get out of there. We tried telling others what 206 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:12.879 had happened, but after being ridiculed as scared kids afraid of the dark, 207 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:18.879 we never mentioned it again, even to each other. Now it may not 208 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:23.039 be related, but every few years, cattlemen in our area would have instances, 209 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:29.399 usually the same day, of livestock tearing through fences to get away from 210 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:33.200 something. And most of the cattle are gone now, so I don't know 211 00:16:33.200 --> 00:16:37.159 if that thing is still coming around. The cattle were so scared that sometimes 212 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:41.759 it would take two or three days for them to calm down. Now this 213 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:47.559 story will require little patience to get through, but I think the weight is 214 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:52.519 worth it. So listen on. Our farm lies about two miles from the 215 00:16:52.519 --> 00:16:56.600 Pearl River, with a small tributary running through our land. One mile north 216 00:16:56.639 --> 00:17:03.120 of us is an unusual landformation for the state of Mississippi. There's a huge 217 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.680 land elevation that can only be called an escarpment in a few hundred yards that 218 00:17:08.119 --> 00:17:12.400 most of the land rises two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet, and 219 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:17.160 in the eastern end of it, it makes a curve that is at its 220 00:17:17.240 --> 00:17:22.640 highest and does so within fifty or sixty yards. It is at this highest 221 00:17:22.680 --> 00:17:26.079 point that my event happened. There's a small creek that cuts a narrow gully 222 00:17:26.119 --> 00:17:30.160 one hundred and fifty to two hundred yards across, and it goes down one 223 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:34.079 hundred and fifty feet where it cuts a gully through a layer of soapstone, 224 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:41.000 making another gully with near vertical walls forty to fifty feet high and about twenty 225 00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:45.200 feet apart. Now these distances are an important part of what happened to us. 226 00:17:47.559 --> 00:17:52.480 The gully is a solid canopy of old growth hardwoods. They were never 227 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:56.200 cut because it was just too blooming hard to get the trees out of there 228 00:17:56.240 --> 00:18:00.960 after cutting, so they were just left of. This area is a bonanza 229 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:04.680 for wildlife. After coming down from the escarpment, the walls are much less 230 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:08.880 angled and they travel about one and a quarter miles to my aunt's land. 231 00:18:10.759 --> 00:18:15.119 I loved hunting squirrels and rabbits and raccoons in and near there. I would 232 00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:19.480 wait in calf deep water so I wouldn't give myself away. I would go 233 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:25.160 up to where the high walls of the escarpment towered off the stream, and 234 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:29.480 there I would stop. Now, the woods up there were teeming with wildlife, 235 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:33.039 but I couldn't make myself go up there. The only way I can 236 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:37.920 describe it is that it just didn't feel right. It didn't matter how bright 237 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:41.599 the sun was, but I was basically too scared to go. I was 238 00:18:41.640 --> 00:18:45.279 over six foot three tall and nearly two hundred pounds, but that place scared 239 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:51.559 me to death. In the winter of nineteen sixty five sixty six, after 240 00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:56.880 football season was over, close friends of ours were having a problem with raccoons. 241 00:18:56.440 --> 00:19:00.440 They owned a few thousand acres, some of which was on the top 242 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:04.000 of the escarpment. One hundred acres had been cleared for pasture on the north 243 00:19:04.039 --> 00:19:08.079 side of it, and going south to the brink of it. The raccoons 244 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:12.720 had discovered the feeders with the crushed corn covered with molasses, and they were 245 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:18.599 running a lot of feet. The owners two sons were two and three years 246 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:22.200 younger than me and knew that my brother and I enjoyed hunting raccoons. Well, 247 00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:26.279 we set up a meeting place on an old dirt road that went through 248 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:30.799 their land and by this large pasture, and when we got there at dusk, 249 00:19:30.920 --> 00:19:36.200 we part next to the family ancient cemetery. Walking through a cemetery, 250 00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:40.319 we'll get your blood pumping on a nighttime forest hunt into the woods, and 251 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:45.640 that'll make Sleepy Hollow look like a sunny resort. The raccoons were holed up 252 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.319 down the steep gully, so that is where the dogs went, and we 253 00:19:48.359 --> 00:19:52.359 had to hold on to trees to keep from falling into the gully. These 254 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:57.640 dogs had just returned from hunting mountain lions in Colorado. They were seasoned fighters 255 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:02.079 and there were great trailed dogs. They were ready to go, so we 256 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:06.759 turned them loose. Now there was a narrow but solid ledge where we could 257 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:08.640 walk, and we went about a half a mile. When the hunt, 258 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:15.240 so to speak, went really far south, the boorstreous hounds went suddenly silent. 259 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:21.119 They had intreated just silence, when all of a sudden all heck broke 260 00:20:21.240 --> 00:20:25.839 loose. It took a few moments to realize all the screaming like a banshee 261 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:30.680 was coming from the dogs, and then the woods became quiet until we heard 262 00:20:30.680 --> 00:20:34.559 the hounds tearing up the woodland undergrowth getting back to us. Now we were 263 00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:40.440 hunting raccoons. Our only equipment was a flashlight, a kerosene lander, and 264 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:45.240 a single shot twenty two rifle, hardly what you would call heavy firepower. 265 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:48.960 The dogs were whimpering with their tails tucked between their legs, and no amount 266 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:55.240 of kicking could get them to leave us or the kerosene lights illumination, and 267 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:59.200 we were befuddled as to what to do. So as far as what to 268 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:03.960 do, decision was made for us. We heard something opposite in the gully. 269 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:07.480 It was making no effort to be quiet, and we thought it best 270 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.359 to end the hunt there. And then we started climbing out of the gully 271 00:21:11.400 --> 00:21:15.400 with the dogs underfoot, and we had only gone a short distance when we 272 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:22.240 heard whatever it was land outside of the gully. Two things struck us. 273 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.279 One was how had it been able to jump clear across the lower gully? 274 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:32.640 And secondly, whatever it was made a huge impact when it landed. We 275 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.960 needed no further encouragement to try to pick up the pace, but the underbrush 276 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:41.559 only got thicker as we got closer to the top, and then we heard 277 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:47.640 the crunching of footsteps and the bushes just a few yards behind us. We 278 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:51.480 stopped a few times and shine the flashlight in the direction of the steps. 279 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:56.640 They would only stop for a second and then continued circling us. When we 280 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:00.799 emerged from the woods into the pasture, the dogs abandoned us and ran off 281 00:22:00.839 --> 00:22:03.799 to the distant trucks, and we had no choice but to walk out in 282 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:08.960 the pasture. But near the woods, we could still hear the footsteps just 283 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:12.599 inside the woods, but it never came out into the bright moonlight of the 284 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:18.000 pasture. At the trucks, we found the cowardly dogs huddled inside a box 285 00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:22.599 on the back of the truck, and with the truck lights lighting the area, 286 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:27.000 we spoke lightly and we drove home. Now, that was nearly sixty 287 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:32.200 years ago, and none of us has hardly talked about it since. My 288 00:22:32.279 --> 00:22:37.000 granddaughter wanted to hear the story, and I for once opened up about it 289 00:22:37.799 --> 00:22:41.000 at eight years old. She isn't judgmental about it. She just accepts it, 290 00:22:41.359 --> 00:22:45.640 and that's enough for me. I'm not expecting hardly anyone to believe this. 291 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:49.519 That is their problem, not mine. I just had to get it 292 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:57.160 out. Thank you. Well, you've actually seen this thing at some point, 293 00:22:57.279 --> 00:23:00.960 and that I think. I think you had a visual in your first 294 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:06.000 story. You knew something was circling you as y'all were coming out of those 295 00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:08.880 bottoms. But this is a great story, and I think the moral to 296 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.640 this story is I can tell by the way he writes he's reluctant to tell 297 00:23:14.680 --> 00:23:18.400 the story because he's probably told it to other people and he's been laughed out 298 00:23:18.440 --> 00:23:21.640 a lot. You know, you get a little bit of a complex when 299 00:23:21.680 --> 00:23:25.279 that happens. I can just feel it in the way he writes. And 300 00:23:26.039 --> 00:23:29.799 it was really cool that his granddaughter listened to his story and didn't judge him. 301 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:33.119 She was probably there with her eyes as big as golf balls, listening 302 00:23:33.119 --> 00:23:37.400 to her grandfather tell the story about a monster down in South Mississippi. That's 303 00:23:37.480 --> 00:23:41.079 kind of how I was when I was reading it. But it's a South 304 00:23:41.079 --> 00:23:48.599 Mississippi man looking back on sixty years and I don't guess he's had any other 305 00:23:48.839 --> 00:23:56.160 encounter since then. But it was really a good story. This story is 306 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:00.480 from a man who does not say if I can use his name, so 307 00:24:00.559 --> 00:24:03.359 I won't. This is kind of one of those stories I think will really 308 00:24:03.599 --> 00:24:07.400 entertain you because it's a good story. It's written pretty well, it's been 309 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:14.759 edited. There's been some material that was not germane to the story taken out, 310 00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:18.599 but we cut it down to actually what happened in his event, and 311 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:23.119 here we go. I have commuted on a bicycle for many years. At 312 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:29.079 night, I have so many flashing lights and reflectors that I resemble a Christmas 313 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:33.240 tree. It would be impossible to miss seeing me. More specifically, I 314 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:37.720 have a headlamp on both my helmet and handlebars. I used to ride calmly 315 00:24:37.880 --> 00:24:42.359 both night and day through the city, but not anymore. This story reminds 316 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:47.079 me of a story that I actually wrote about a buddy of mine. The 317 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.440 video is called Frank the Tank. If you guys hadn't heard it, do 318 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:55.400 a little search for it. Dixie Cryptid Frank the Tank. It's really a 319 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:59.200 funny story and it's a true story. It's one hundred percent true. So 320 00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:00.680 if you want to get a a chuckle, just do that. I might 321 00:25:02.119 --> 00:25:04.240 end screen it at the end of this video. Anyway, let's continue with 322 00:25:04.319 --> 00:25:10.839 this man's story. Being both former military and police adds to both my observation 323 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.559 skills and my awareness of my surroundings. I am aware when I'm being watched. 324 00:25:17.640 --> 00:25:19.839 Over the years, while riding close to the green belt, a creek, 325 00:25:19.920 --> 00:25:23.920 a park, or a town lake, I've occasionally had that feeling come 326 00:25:23.960 --> 00:25:29.119 over me. I figured it was a street people watching from their campsites. 327 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:34.319 One night, while riding north on Shoal Creek Boulevards south to the intersection with 328 00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:40.319 Allendale, I spotted something in the distance that appeared to be a large raccoon 329 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:44.799 that was hunting bugs under the street lamp ahead of me. Now, I'm 330 00:25:44.880 --> 00:25:49.319 quite used to seeing raccoons and other nocturnal critters at night. These used the 331 00:25:49.480 --> 00:25:56.319 storm drains for both their homes and as a subterranean highway system. They bolt 332 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:59.759 down a drain as soon as they spot me. And there's actually quite a 333 00:25:59.880 --> 00:26:03.119 ver variety of wild animals that make the city their home, and a lot 334 00:26:03.160 --> 00:26:08.039 of them are nocturnal. As I got closer, I noticed that it either 335 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:11.440 had no tail at all, or if it had one, it was very 336 00:26:11.480 --> 00:26:15.160 short, and I presumed that it had lost it in a fight with a 337 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:21.640 dog. I got closer, and I realized it was an exceptionally large for 338 00:26:21.720 --> 00:26:26.440 a raccoon and unusually rusty in color. And then it noticed me, but 339 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:32.279 it didn't run. Its eyes didn't reflect light and the same way a canine 340 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:37.480 or a feline's might. It didn't seem overly concerned by my approach, and 341 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:41.279 it kept an eye on me, but it continued to play in my fascination. 342 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:45.480 I slowed down considerably to look at it. It seemed to have no 343 00:26:45.640 --> 00:26:49.319 fear of me, and only became nervous when I stopped within ten feet of 344 00:26:49.359 --> 00:26:53.799 it. I think it was studying me as closely as I was studying it. 345 00:26:55.880 --> 00:27:00.640 I was close enough now to see that it had unusually intelligent brown eyes 346 00:27:00.119 --> 00:27:07.200 and a decidedly primate face that most closely resembled a baboon, complete with the 347 00:27:07.240 --> 00:27:11.680 short snout and large canines. Its hands and feet also resembled a baboon, 348 00:27:11.759 --> 00:27:17.960 with large, tough fingernails. It appeared to be quadrupedal, though its body 349 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:22.400 was proportioned more like a cross between a grizzly bear and a gorilla, with 350 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:27.759 broader shoulders and disproportionately long hind legs. I guessed it to be a juvenile 351 00:27:27.799 --> 00:27:33.640 that weighed around thirty five pounds. As an adult, it would likely have 352 00:27:33.720 --> 00:27:37.759 been as large as a mountain gorilla, and it should have weighed several hundred 353 00:27:37.839 --> 00:27:41.920 pounds well. We stared at each other for a while, and then it 354 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:45.039 bounded off into the darkness for the green belt. Since the grass had not 355 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:49.400 been mowed lately, I lost sight of it only after a short distance. 356 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:56.200 At this point, I was befuddled. I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of 357 00:27:56.319 --> 00:28:03.119 animals worldwide, from both books and firsthand experience, but I could not classify 358 00:28:03.160 --> 00:28:07.079 this creature. I can identify a creature by seeing only a portion of it, 359 00:28:07.480 --> 00:28:11.720 and I can provide a lot of information about it. But this thing, 360 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:15.279 I had no clue what I had seen. That made me uncomfortable. 361 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:22.480 I continued my commute through the area I felt myself being watched. After that 362 00:28:22.640 --> 00:28:26.680 sighting, I made the conscious decision to try to spot what was watching me, 363 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:32.319 and one night I spotted my little friend playing under the same street light. 364 00:28:33.079 --> 00:28:34.640 This time, I was going to try to interact with it to learn 365 00:28:34.680 --> 00:28:40.680 more about it, and I parked the bike and approached on foot. I 366 00:28:40.680 --> 00:28:45.519 squatted down and it plopped itself down on its butt. We watched each other 367 00:28:45.640 --> 00:28:51.640 while I tried to figure out how to proceed. I sat down cross legged 368 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:55.759 in the street and we began to play. This thing caught a junebug and 369 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:59.759 handed it to me. I played like I was eating it, which made 370 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:03.640 it life. For lack of a better word, at my antics, I 371 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:06.920 thought it was hilarious. When the boat crawled out of my hand and onto 372 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:11.680 my nose, I named the creature baby, That's what I called it, 373 00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:15.039 and it edged closer until it could reach out and put his hand in my 374 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:18.559 open palm. I heard an odd sound at that point, coming from the 375 00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:23.519 green belt. It seemed to have the same meaning as a human going to 376 00:29:23.640 --> 00:29:29.640 quietly get someone's attention. Baby and eyebow stood up and looked in that direction. 377 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.599 What caught in the headlamp of my helmet was unnerving. It appeared to 378 00:29:34.640 --> 00:29:40.279 be the mother, a very large mother. She looked similar to the baby, 379 00:29:40.319 --> 00:29:44.440 but she stood tall and straight and appeared to be by peedle. There 380 00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:48.319 was something intelligent in her appearance, and she acted nervous at my proximity to 381 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:53.640 her offspring. She raised her hand to block the bright light of my headlamp 382 00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:59.160 from her eyes, and then she said something a bit louder to the baby, 383 00:29:59.200 --> 00:30:03.920 who immediately bolted toward her on all fours. He left up on her 384 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:07.079 and she scooped him up to ride on her shoulder, and then she duck 385 00:30:07.160 --> 00:30:12.759 down and they both faded into the night. The small creature was a toddler, 386 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:18.160 and it appeared that I had greatly underestimated how big he would grow. 387 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:22.079 The next day, I stopped at that spot and I checked for signs. 388 00:30:22.319 --> 00:30:26.200 I was looking for footprints, hair, or anything of the creature. I 389 00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.400 remembered the sapling that the mama had been standing beside, so I checked it 390 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:33.960 out, and I realized that it was not a sapling at all. My 391 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:38.160 best estimate is that mama stid eight to nine feet tall and weighed close to 392 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:44.319 one thousand pounds. This was not something that anyone would want to piss off. 393 00:30:45.160 --> 00:30:48.759 The only sign that she had been there was the remnant of her scent 394 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.599 on the vegetation, which rivaled that of a street person who had not bathed 395 00:30:52.640 --> 00:31:00.160 in months. But it was musker and more rank. I find myself wondering 396 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:03.119 if this is the source of the werewolf legend, and where it fits into 397 00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:08.680 the pantheon of near human primates that exists throughout the world often look for my 398 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:14.240 little friend and his mother when riding through the area. I'd like to get 399 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:18.960 to know them better, since they seemed less shy than bigfoot. My encounter 400 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:23.559 was peaceful, but the strong resemblance they had to baboons and the reputation baboons 401 00:31:23.559 --> 00:31:27.880 have for being dangerous, I think these things could be dangerous as well. 402 00:31:29.519 --> 00:31:33.519 After all, baboons do kill leopards. And that's the end of his story. 403 00:31:33.599 --> 00:31:37.440 Okay, So Nioma edited this for me, and she did a great 404 00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:41.960 job doing it, and she cut right to the chase. And this was 405 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:45.240 a very good story and I appreciate the gentleman sending it in. The problem 406 00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:52.359 is I'm undecided on what exactly he saw. Nioma thinks that he probably had 407 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:55.720 to run in with a gugwey. Now, if you don't know what a 408 00:31:55.799 --> 00:32:00.319 gugwey is, you'd probably have to listen to some other podcasts because I'm not 409 00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:02.640 sure what a gugwe is, but I think it's some form of a bigfoot. 410 00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:07.079 But it's like a meaner. It seems like I remember someone saying the 411 00:32:07.119 --> 00:32:15.400 word gugwe means face eater, who's that's a nasty name, eats faces. 412 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:19.880 But you can look it up gogwe if it's on the internet. If you 413 00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:23.279 do a search, I'm sure YouTube videos will pop up. She also said 414 00:32:23.279 --> 00:32:28.079 it could have been a dog man or the writer thinks that it could have 415 00:32:28.119 --> 00:32:31.599 been a were wolf or a dog man or this is the animal that propagates 416 00:32:31.720 --> 00:32:37.720 the myth of a were wolf, so who knows. At any rate, 417 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:39.599 this was a really good story and it was interesting. I don't think i've 418 00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:44.160 read one like this where the guy finds the baby, you know, the 419 00:32:44.240 --> 00:32:47.519 toddler. They interact, they almost play with each other, and then the 420 00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:52.039 mother, who was standing off in the woods, doesn't attack. She just 421 00:32:52.119 --> 00:32:54.519 calls the baby to her and they walk off in the wood. So it's 422 00:32:54.559 --> 00:32:59.599 a good ending, great story, and thank you very much to the writer. 423 00:33:00.680 --> 00:33:05.839 All Right, this is a short little story that I think is really 424 00:33:05.880 --> 00:33:08.599 good. I actually sent it to Nioma to edit. She sent it back 425 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:13.960 and said it doesn't need any editing. So again, it's short. I'm 426 00:33:14.000 --> 00:33:16.680 just going to read you what the person writes. She absolutely says do not 427 00:33:16.799 --> 00:33:22.519 give her name, so I won't. Here's how the story goes in the 428 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:25.720 fall of two thousand and three. My youngest son and I were watching NCIS 429 00:33:27.039 --> 00:33:30.960 or some other crime show on television in the living room while my husband worked 430 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:35.640 on the computer in the back of the house. My son was sitting on 431 00:33:35.720 --> 00:33:38.839 the part of our sectional sofa that was along the wall that separated the living 432 00:33:38.920 --> 00:33:44.960 room from the kitchen. The show had just gone into a commercial break when 433 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:50.960 I heard a loud, guttural voice say get out. It sounded like it 434 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.599 came from the wall directly behind my son. I immediately got chills all over 435 00:33:55.680 --> 00:33:59.680 my body, and when I looked over at my son, he was pale. 436 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.519 He looked terrified. Are you okay? I asked, Did you hear 437 00:34:04.599 --> 00:34:08.000 something? He asked in reply, Well, yeah, I answered tentatively, 438 00:34:08.119 --> 00:34:12.480 and then I asked, what did you hear? I didn't want to add 439 00:34:12.519 --> 00:34:15.880 fuel to the fire scare him any more than he already was, so I 440 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:20.960 didn't want to come right out and say what I had heard. It said, 441 00:34:21.320 --> 00:34:24.000 get out. He told me he had heard the same thing I did. 442 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:30.119 My first thought was that my husband must be playing some computer game and 443 00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:34.039 the sound came from there. But when I called back and asked him, 444 00:34:34.079 --> 00:34:37.239 he said that he wasn't, and then he asked me why, and I 445 00:34:37.320 --> 00:34:42.280 told him, Now, my husband is not one to believe in such things, 446 00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:45.920 so he laughed it off. As for me, I was ready to 447 00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:51.239 follow the advice of the disembodied voice and move out on the spot. That's 448 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:53.559 not funny, but it is kind of funny. Of course I didn't, 449 00:34:53.599 --> 00:34:59.239 but it took some convincing on my husband's part to keep me there. He 450 00:34:59.360 --> 00:35:02.400 was always like that, though. One time he was in Virginia helping his 451 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:07.079 brother who was a very sick man. It was April and Arkansas gets a 452 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:10.480 lot of bad storms in that time of year, at least that part where 453 00:35:10.480 --> 00:35:15.719 we lived. It was round five point thirty PM and the sun hadn't set 454 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:19.239 yet, but because of the storm that was coming in, it was already 455 00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:22.719 dark outside. My son and I were in the living room again watching the 456 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:28.599 weather alerts on TV when he said, Mom, are you flashing? What 457 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:31.719 do you mean? I asked, look up the ceiling. He said he 458 00:35:31.800 --> 00:35:36.639 thought I had a piece of jewelry that was reflecting on the ceiling. I 459 00:35:36.679 --> 00:35:40.960 wasn't wearing any jewelry. There weren't any vehicles passing by, nor were there 460 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:45.800 any lights out there to reflect inside. Despite this, up on the ceiling 461 00:35:45.920 --> 00:35:50.679 was a dancing ball or a white orb of light about the size of an 462 00:35:50.760 --> 00:35:55.239 orange, moving around real fast. It lasted for fifteen seconds or longer while 463 00:35:55.239 --> 00:35:59.960 we quietly sat in awe and stared at it, and then it was gone. 464 00:36:00.519 --> 00:36:04.440 I told my son that I thought it was one of his grandparents or 465 00:36:04.480 --> 00:36:09.039 a guardian angel watching over us during the storm. Tornadoes were common in our 466 00:36:09.159 --> 00:36:14.239 area, and I thought the explanation might make him feel more comfortable, and 467 00:36:14.280 --> 00:36:17.960 it made me feel better. Anyway, Seeing an orb in person isn't quite 468 00:36:17.960 --> 00:36:22.840 the same is seeing it in a photo. I called my husband later to 469 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:27.480 tell him about it, but once again he laughed it off. These things 470 00:36:27.519 --> 00:36:30.599 always happened to you, too, he said. I'd have been happy if 471 00:36:30.599 --> 00:36:34.599 they happened to him once, and I could have been the one to laugh 472 00:36:34.599 --> 00:36:38.119 it off. I agree with her. My wife's the same way. She 473 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:44.119 sees things, hears things. She hears things on the internet. She gets 474 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:47.280 real concerned about it. I have a pretty good sniff meter. No, 475 00:36:47.360 --> 00:36:52.519 I'm not saying I'm always right, but if something sounds so outrageous, I'm 476 00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:58.239 the biggest skeptic in the world. All the banks are collapsing I don't know 477 00:36:58.320 --> 00:37:00.239 if that's true or not. I mean, you could just make up, 478 00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:05.079 you could just think of all the things that get blasted out over the internet. 479 00:37:05.800 --> 00:37:07.760 I think that has a lot to do with a lot of the censorship 480 00:37:07.880 --> 00:37:14.880 that I don't think these social media platforms trust the people to use their own 481 00:37:14.920 --> 00:37:20.920 discernment and critical thinking skills to sort stuff like that out. Again, I'm 482 00:37:20.960 --> 00:37:23.199 not very smart, but I can sniff that stuff out pretty good. So 483 00:37:23.360 --> 00:37:27.320 anyway, my wife is always like, well, always something like that would 484 00:37:27.320 --> 00:37:30.119 happen to you one time, so I understand exactly what this woman is say 485 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:36.119 For the woman who wrote the story, this was really interesting. Especially the 486 00:37:36.239 --> 00:37:40.400 voice in the first part of the in the first part of the story was 487 00:37:40.519 --> 00:37:45.239 really good. It's scary for y'all. I wonder if anything else has happened. 488 00:37:45.280 --> 00:37:49.320 I wonder if they still live in the same place. This was back 489 00:37:49.360 --> 00:37:52.000 in two thousand and three, but anyway, very interesting. Thank you, 490 00:37:52.039 --> 00:37:59.800 ma'am for the story. This is about Bigfoot. I thought this was really 491 00:38:00.159 --> 00:38:05.760 really good. It's an audible it's an audible experience she has with Bigfoot. 492 00:38:06.320 --> 00:38:08.880 It's a woman and she doesn't say to use her name, but this is 493 00:38:09.000 --> 00:38:14.679 kind of interesting. She writes my dog Zeke as a highly opinionated red healer. 494 00:38:15.599 --> 00:38:19.760 He and I live on a partially wooded twelve acre plot that sits on 495 00:38:19.800 --> 00:38:24.360 the border of Brown County in Johnson County in Indiana. All around us are 496 00:38:24.440 --> 00:38:30.159 plowed fields and thick wooded prairie that is teeming with wildlife. There's a creek 497 00:38:30.199 --> 00:38:34.320 that runs through the back part of our property, and across the road is 498 00:38:34.360 --> 00:38:37.519 a cattle farm, part of which includes one hundred acres of forest that my 499 00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:44.039 dad refers to as the Big Woods. I work second shift as a medical 500 00:38:44.119 --> 00:38:47.519 technologist at our local hospital, so naturally I get home late at night. 501 00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:52.480 Earlier this winter, I got home from my shift around midnight, like I 502 00:38:52.559 --> 00:38:58.519 always do, and I changed into some loungewear for bed. It had been 503 00:38:58.559 --> 00:39:02.519 a stressful night. I was looking forward to unwinding by listening to Da Roberts 504 00:39:02.559 --> 00:39:07.239 Wild Hunt Odin's Cough Oh. I recorded that that's cool. I'm so glad 505 00:39:07.280 --> 00:39:12.280 you listened to that audio book. Aside from having a lot to say about 506 00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:15.360 everything, Zeke has a blighter that you could set by a clock. I 507 00:39:15.440 --> 00:39:19.760 knew he was going to want out at two thirty because he always wants out 508 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.960 at two thirty am. Even if I could have laid down and gone right 509 00:39:23.000 --> 00:39:28.559 to sleep, it would have been pointless. Zeke is going to want outside 510 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:32.440 soon, I thought, And as expected, Zeke came to me at two 511 00:39:32.599 --> 00:39:37.480 thirty, jumped on the bed and said, in his own dogway, come 512 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:40.159 on open the door, lady. I did as I was told, but 513 00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:46.000 not before putting him on a leash. Australian cattle dogs are headstrong animals and 514 00:39:46.079 --> 00:39:51.440 natural herders. If a deer or a rabbit or any other creature happened to 515 00:39:51.480 --> 00:39:54.400 be running through our property, Zeke would have made it his business to escort 516 00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:59.239 it off our land and on to our neighbor's land, and maybe even all 517 00:39:59.280 --> 00:40:01.840 the way over to the the other side of the next county. But even 518 00:40:01.920 --> 00:40:06.320 on a leash, he was likely to stand in the yard like a drill 519 00:40:06.440 --> 00:40:10.599 sergeant, issue instructions to whatever animals happened to be out there. But at 520 00:40:10.679 --> 00:40:15.760 least I wouldn't have to spend a cold Indiana night chasing him around. The 521 00:40:15.880 --> 00:40:21.199 leash was as essential to keeping me from taking long walks in the middle of 522 00:40:21.280 --> 00:40:27.119 the night as it was to keep Zeke and check we stepped out onto the 523 00:40:27.159 --> 00:40:30.840 porch, and Zeke went on down into the yard to do his business, 524 00:40:30.880 --> 00:40:35.079 while I stood there taking in the cool air. It was a quiet night. 525 00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:38.880 There didn't seem to be any trespassers out there for him to complain about. 526 00:40:39.400 --> 00:40:42.960 Well, he did his thing and then hop back up on the porch 527 00:40:43.000 --> 00:40:46.559 so we could go back inside. We had turned our backs on the world 528 00:40:46.639 --> 00:40:52.400 and were stepping toward the door. With three loud, sharp wraps that sounded 529 00:40:52.440 --> 00:40:57.679 like a wooden ball bat smacking a solid tree broke the silence. I jerked 530 00:40:57.719 --> 00:41:01.400 around and stared over at the big woodos where it came from. Zeke spun 531 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:07.840 around and stared in the same direction. Instinctively, I tighted my grip on 532 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:10.960 the leash. Normally, a strange noise was Zeke's. Kew to test the 533 00:41:12.000 --> 00:41:15.239 limits of it and to bark wild insults in the direction of the intruder. 534 00:41:15.800 --> 00:41:20.920 But he didn't do that this time. He stood as still as I was 535 00:41:21.000 --> 00:41:24.000 and stared off in the same direction. We looked at each other, and 536 00:41:24.039 --> 00:41:28.320 then he turned his head back and lifted his nose to sniff the air, 537 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:31.239 and I watched him, expecting him to break out into the yard. With 538 00:41:31.320 --> 00:41:36.639 a round of loud barking, but he didn't. He turned and looked back 539 00:41:36.679 --> 00:41:39.679 at me. What the hell is it, boy, I asked. His 540 00:41:39.800 --> 00:41:45.719 expression was as lost as mine. Let's go inside, I told him. 541 00:41:45.280 --> 00:41:50.480 I barely got the door opened where he scooted through it. I closed and 542 00:41:50.480 --> 00:41:54.599 double locked the door just to be safe. I've never seen Zeke react like 543 00:41:54.679 --> 00:41:59.559 that to anything. We didn't see what made those sounds, but I'm pretty 544 00:41:59.559 --> 00:42:02.440 sure I know what it was, or I think I do. These things 545 00:42:02.480 --> 00:42:08.880 are real and anybody who goes looking for them is crazy. Oh what a 546 00:42:08.920 --> 00:42:13.920 good last sentence. Yeah. Probably, I mean, I don't get many 547 00:42:13.960 --> 00:42:16.639 stories where they're mean, but still, you know you don't want to intentionally 548 00:42:16.679 --> 00:42:20.840 go out and find a monster. But this was a great story. These 549 00:42:20.880 --> 00:42:25.239 cattle dogs are so smart. More than the noise, the fact that Zeke 550 00:42:25.440 --> 00:42:30.239 did not pursue whatever was out there making the noise when he normally would, 551 00:42:30.719 --> 00:42:36.559 because they are aggressive in corraling and hurting. I've had a couple of heelers 552 00:42:36.880 --> 00:42:42.079 before, and I couldn't let They were at a steel shop I worked at, 553 00:42:42.360 --> 00:42:45.719 and they would constantly heard my shop hands that were working for me, 554 00:42:46.039 --> 00:42:51.880 and they just heard people in different directions. They nipperture heels, they scare 555 00:42:51.960 --> 00:42:55.239 little kids. Some of them can I'm talking about healers. Some of them 556 00:42:55.280 --> 00:43:00.599 can be quite aggressive. They're just doing what they do. Which this leads 557 00:43:00.599 --> 00:43:05.679 me to another discussion about dogs. I've had a few emails where folks ask, 558 00:43:06.079 --> 00:43:08.880 how are your dogs so well behaved? The answer I have to that 559 00:43:09.159 --> 00:43:14.440 is, and I haven't always been this way, but probably the last twenty 560 00:43:14.519 --> 00:43:17.199 years, all the dogs I've had, I treat them like dogs. I 561 00:43:17.239 --> 00:43:22.480 don't talk to them much, I don't baby them much. I pet them, 562 00:43:22.599 --> 00:43:25.840 I let them know that i'm their leader and that I'm a compassionate leader. 563 00:43:27.599 --> 00:43:30.280 But I treat them like a dog, and dogs appreciate that. If 564 00:43:30.320 --> 00:43:36.000 you have dogs and you're being overly affectionate with them, you're feeding them too 565 00:43:36.079 --> 00:43:40.079 much. You're giving them too much rain. These dogs look for people to 566 00:43:40.199 --> 00:43:45.480 be their boss. They need a leader. Domestic dogs are not They're just 567 00:43:45.559 --> 00:43:50.280 not geared to make it on their own. They need human leaders. So 568 00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:53.039 to me, unless you have a crazy dog, the best way to have 569 00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:57.400 a good dog is treat it like a dog. I don't. That just 570 00:43:57.440 --> 00:44:00.559 popped in my head. I don't usually give it advice on this podcast, 571 00:44:01.000 --> 00:44:04.480 but I thought I would let you know if you've got dogs, you won't 572 00:44:04.480 --> 00:44:07.679 well behaved dogs. Give them a little freedom, but treat them like a 573 00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:10.639 dog. Don't talk to them. They don't understand English. They understand sounds, 574 00:44:10.679 --> 00:44:15.320 repetitive sounds, they understand you know. They put two and two together, 575 00:44:15.800 --> 00:44:19.760 and it's all about instinct. And so if you remember that you treat 576 00:44:19.800 --> 00:44:22.079 them like that, they'll love you for it. I'm telling you, the 577 00:44:22.159 --> 00:44:27.000 dogs will love you for it. So that's my advice on how to handle 578 00:44:27.079 --> 00:44:31.039 dogs. I'm not a professional trainer by any stretch, but I think any 579 00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:35.400 trainer will tell you treat a dog like a dog. They're a dog, 580 00:44:35.480 --> 00:44:37.519 they're not a human. All right, Enough of that. Thank you to 581 00:44:37.599 --> 00:44:43.519 the woman who sent this story in about Zeke and his his reluctance to go 582 00:44:43.679 --> 00:44:46.840 chase after whatever was knocking on that tree. Thank you, ma'am. Now 583 00:44:46.840 --> 00:44:51.920 I think that'll wind this podcast up. Thanks for listening, Thanks for listening 584 00:44:52.000 --> 00:44:55.000 to the end. Thanks for following along with the channel. I appreciate you 585 00:44:55.079 --> 00:44:59.320 all so much, and I look forward to the next podcast, which will 586 00:44:59.360 --> 00:45:02.199 be it will be so thanks for listening. I will see you guys on 587 00:45:02.280 --> 00:45:04.440 the Next One listen