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I was at the deer hunting and
fishing cabin that my grandfather and my great

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uncle Mick built after they came home
from World War Two. The cabin was

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in Glennie, Michigan, on the
Ausabal All Sable River. I know I

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pronounced that wrong, but hang with
me. I had gone up to the

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cabin the week before rifle season started
so I could get in a week of

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bow hunting and cut some firewood and
do some late season fishing and relaxed before

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Grandpa and Uncle Mick and Uncle Jim
showed up for opening day of rifle season.

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I was born and raised in Arizona, and I had been an officer

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with one of the city departments for
five years at the time of the incident.

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I took three weeks off every November
to go to Michigan for deer season.

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I had been going to the cabin
for years. When I would visit.

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When I was a kid, there
were black bears around, but I

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had only ever actually seen one,
but it'd seen tracks in scat a handful

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of times. I believe the most
dangerous critters up there were the mosquitoes.

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For the most part, there was
nothing up there that would ever give me

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the heavy gebis, and I'm not
prone to getting the creeps. I worked

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in a decent sized city, so
I was pretty well honed in on what

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real danger was, and I was
pretty well stressed and oculated by this time

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in my life. I was on
my third day by myself. I hadn't

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been able to get into the woods
to hunt because there was almost no firewood,

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and I spent the first two days
cutting a dead fall pine and stacking

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it. I kept getting the feeling
that I was being watched while I worked.

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I couldn't put my finger on it, but it felt or seemed like

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every time I turned my back to
the encroaching woods fifty feet from the cabin,

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the hairs on the back of my
neck would stand up. It wasn't

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a feeling I was unaccustomed to,
but in the context of being at the

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cabin, where I was always totally
relaxed, it was out of the norm.

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But still there was nothing identifiable out
of the ordinary, no strange sounds

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or smells, nothing that I could
put my finger on. But I made

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sure I had my pistol on my
belt when I was out and about,

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And this is something I just never
did at the cabin. Even if there

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was a bear track or a pile
of scat, I never felt the need

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to be armed. I got the
wood cut and stacked by late morning on

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the third day, and I went
out to the front of the cabin,

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which was on the water front,
and I put up a paper target on

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haybells we used for verifying zero on
our rifles and bows. The bells were

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to the left or the southeast and
nearly to the woodline. I fired five

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rounds from my thirty thirty rifle at
fifty yards, which was actually a long

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shot for this area. The woods
were so thick a twenty five yard shot

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on a deer was normal and often
less because you flat couldn't see any further

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than five to ten yards most places, except along the power lines that serviced

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the area. After I verified zero
on my rifle, I heard fifteen rounds

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at the same target with a ten
millimeter glock pistol I was actually planning on

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hunting with that year. My pistol
was good to go too. I reloaded

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the pistol and the rifle. When
I was cleaning up the brass, I

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heard a strange guttural umph sound from
inside the tree line behind me. The

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cabin was closed in by the woods
on three sides and there was only a

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half an acre cleared, so unless
something was outside the tree line, you

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weren't going to see it. I
thought it could have been a bear,

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and that didn't bother me. I'd
been making plenty of noise so it wouldn't

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be startled or surprised that I was
there. I finished up and went in

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to get some food. Halfway back
to the door, I heard the oomph

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again, only this time it was
louder and it seemed to be closer.

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Well, now I was getting a
creepy feeling about the whole thing, more

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than I had over the last couple
of days. This was palpable, and

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then it hit me. I never
heard a bear, a deer, a

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beaver, or any other critter make
a sound with a definite f sound at

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the end. My cock brain went
to someone has to be messing with me,

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so I yelled out, okay,
I hear you. This isn't a

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great place to be effing around.
You better show yourself or get well.

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I heard the oomph again, and
then definite heavy footfalls going away from where

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I was toward the back of the
property to a swampy area behind the cabin.

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It wasn't really a swamp, but
it was always wet and muddy,

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and if you tried to get in
there you were likely to lose a boot.

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And the need mud and that sticky, black, silty soil. The

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footfalls were definitely heavy and bipedal.
Again, my brain that looks for logical

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answers thought person in heavy hunting boots. But I also thought that whoever was

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messing with me was in for a
nasty surprise if they went into that wet

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area. I figured it was a
bow hunter or a young airman from the

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air base, and a Skota screwing
around with me, which wasn't unusual in

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our area. I figured it was
over, and I finally went inside the

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cabin through the screened in porch at
the front door, and put my things

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away. I fixed lunch, and
I half dozed in a chair by the

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big fireplace. I had not been
dozing long when a big boom startled me

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right out of my chair. I
had no idea what the noise was,

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but I was on my feet.
I thought it had to be one or

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two of the little A seven jets
from the air base going low in fact,

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over the river. They did that
once in a while, and it

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could really shake the windows in our
cabin because we were right on the water.

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I reoriented myself and realized I had
to use the restroom. There was

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a bathroom in the cabin, but
it had an old style chemical toilet,

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and that was mainly for women when
they came up. The men didn't use

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it because you had to empty it
after every u so we all used the

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outhouse out back for things that required
a seat, and a handy tree for

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business that could be done standing up. The only rule was that you had

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to step off the back porch,
and I decided I needed a seat,

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and I walked the thirty feet or
so to the big outhouse which faced out

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into the swamp, and I sat
down to take care of business. And

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I heard the damn umph again.
Someone was definitely screwing around with me now,

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and I was getting pissed. I
started back to the back porch,

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cussing a blue streak. I went
back inside and sat at the kitchen table,

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and I lit a cigarette and I
started a pot of coffee. I

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sat at the table drinking my coffee, and I cleaned my rifle in my

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pistol. I made a fire in
the fireplace, and I put in a

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movie, and I had some dinner, and then I went to bed.

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The inside of the cabin, or
the main part before the addition, was

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twenty four feet by twenty four feet. It was built from ten to twelve

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foot logs, and the kitchen bumped
out off the back, and there were

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two bedrooms in the bathroom bumped out
on the sides, and those were two

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by six framing. Nothing fancy,
but it was comfortable. My bed was

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in the corner of the big room, right by one of the windows,

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and one wall was a big stone
fireplace, and there were several comfortable chairs

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and four old freeby couches in different
spots. Now I usually sleep like a

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baby, but I tossed and turned. I think I was bent out of

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shape for being messed with, and
just generally irritated. When I finally couldn't

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sleep, I went back to the
chair and I started another movie. And

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then came another boom, except it
was more of a huge slap on the

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side of the cabin that made the
whole wall shape. I grabbed my flashlight,

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my pistol, andine I headed out
the front door. I heard fast

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footsteps going away from me, and
I put the beam of light down that

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side of the cabin, but I
couldn't see anything. I could hear it,

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but it was full dark, and
unless you have been there at night,

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you don't know what dark is.
Now. I was seriously pissed.

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I mean, I was heated.
But there wasn't anything I could do at

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that point, so I went back
in and put it in another movie,

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and at some point I fell asleep. The next morning, everything was dead

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quiet. When I got up and
made coffee, I went outside of your

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night and there were no birds chirping
or chittering. It was so quiet that

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it was eerie. But I finished
and I went inside to have my coffee

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and get dressed. It was feeling
like snow in the air, and I

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wanted to bring in a bunch of
firewood. And I dressed and put my

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pistol into its holster and went out
back to the woodpile. I had made

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three or four trips, and when
I came back out the last time and

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stepped off the porch, I caught
fast movement behind the outhouse. It was

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fast enough that I thought it had
to be a crow or something. I

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got a few steps further and it
stepped out from behind the outhouse, and

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I stopped dead, still looking right
at a big foot. I am six

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foot four inches tall, and this
big bastard had at least a foot on

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me. It was so thick and
muscular it looked like a brownish red body

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builder. It was just so massive. There was no other way to describe

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it. If I had to make
a guest, there was no way it

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could have weighed less than seven hundred
fifty pounds. Three times would I weighed

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it to fifty hell it was probably
more because of its sheer massive width.

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It had no whites to its eyes, and the nose was really wide and

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flat. The face looked like a
flatter version of a gorilla, but with

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a human like nose and really thick, large cheek bones and a heavy brow

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above its deep set black eyes.
It didn't have the pronounced muzzle of a

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gorilla, but rather more like a
human, but with a massive and thick

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lower jaw. In the same way, the nose was more human like than

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gorilla, similar but still distinct.
I can see it just as clearly now

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as in the moment I was looking
at it. It had a conical head,

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or at least a big tuft of
hair on top of its head that

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made it appear conical, but there
was no length to its neck. The

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head sat so low it gave the
impression that it sat directly on its shoulders.

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I think I said, oh shit, or I dropped the F bomb.

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Well, then it sniffed the air
and it looked at me and it

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went oomph again, not threatening per
se, just almost like questioning me.

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I really don't know. The impression
on me was like when a dog wolfs

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it you. It's not barking,
like it's scared or threatening, but like,

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I'm here and I'm not sure how
I feel about you. Yet I

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was only ten yards from it.
It could just reach out and grab me

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with one step forward from where it
stood rocking on its thick legs. It

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moved just a little more to its
left side, like it was deciding which

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way to run. But then it
looked at me again with a change in

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expression, like it was deciding what
to do to me. Now instead of

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running, we both stood there staring
at one another. Now, I've had

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subjects look at me that way pursue
it too, and a rest. The

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change in its expression was a pre
assault of queue, and I recognized it

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for what it was. I put
my right hand under my fleece vest and

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I grabbed my pistol, thinking that
if that big bastard moved toward ben Inch,

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I was going to put sixteen rounds
into its chest as fast as I

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could and then reload while I was
making a run for the cabin. When

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I put my hand on my gun, it let out a different noise that

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went through my chest like a loud
basse beat. It was a muh that

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cracked at the end. It looked
like it grew six inches taller, and

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we stared at one another for a
few seconds, and then it looked off

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to its left and it ran into
the woods, crashing through the brush.

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It moved faster than I thought something
that big could move. I don't know

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how long I stood there. It
seemed like hours, but it could only

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have been a few seconds. Now. I drew my pistol to low ready

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and backside step and scanning around me
all the way to the cabin. My

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heart was pounding when I got back
inside, and I was adrenaline pumping so

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bad that I was shaking I locked
the door, which in retrospect seemed silly

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because it was just a wooden door
with a large window in it and an

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old dead bolt that wouldn't stop anyone
who wanted to get in. I had

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no idea what I should do.
I only knew what I could do.

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I reverted to my training and made
sure the old Remington pump shotgun we kept

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in the cabin was loaded with slugs. I pulled the thirty thirty out of

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the rack and levered around into the
chamber, and then I loaded another round

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into the magazine to top it off. I made sure the shotgun was close

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at hand wherever I was for the
rest of that day, and made damn

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sure I was back inside by dark
and had the kitchen light and back porch

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and front porch lights on. I
tried to sleep, but I only dozed

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lightly because every brought me to full
wakeness. I even traded my bed by

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the window for one of the couches
that was backed up to the solid log

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wall, and I even remained dressed
with my boots on. I knew it

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could get in, but it would
have to make a hell of a lot

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of noise doing it, and that
would at least give me a reactionary gap

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to shoot it a bunch of times
before it really got pissed off and ate

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me or whatever it planned to do. Either way, if it got me,

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I would be surrounded by empty shotgun
shells and ten millimeter brass. I

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know it sounds like I'm making light
of it, but those were the thoughts

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that went through my head. It
was the Cops Gallows humor at work.

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Grandpa showed up in the morning before
Uncle Mick and the rest. I helped

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him unload his blazer and we went
inside for coffee. He asked me why

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the shotgun was on the kitchen counter. The whole incident spilled out of me.

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He sat there with his hands around
his coffee cup, looking into it,

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and then look up into my eyes
and said, I know. Grandpa,

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and I looked all around the cabin
area for tracks. The leaf and

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pine needle cover was so thick,
and other than a couple of large,

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poorly defined impressions where it stood facing
me, there was nothing that had any

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detail. If I hadn't been right
there to see it, I wouldn't even

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know what the impressions in the clutter
were, or even pay them any mind

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at all. I think I was
really looking for any evidence that I hadn't

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totally lost my mind. I wasn't
prone to unreasonable fear at work, and

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I was used to dealing with predatory
humans and high stress and high threat situations

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and gangs and narcotics. I'd been
in critical incidents and I had handled them.

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I was rattled that I was so
rattled. Yes, it was a

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bigfoot, but it was also just
a flesh and blood animal. I was

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raised around animals, and I worked
around predators. It makes sense that this

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would affect me the way it did. There was a big part of me

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that wanted to pack it in and
head back down to the Flint area and

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spend the next two weeks with my
grandma instead of staying at the cabin.

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It was also the part of me
that wouldn't let a big monkey chase me

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out of a place where I had
spent so much good time with my grandpa.

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You can call it ego or self
image. Wanted to be able to

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look at myself in the mirror and
not see a coward. And all those

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things made me stay and made me
go out in the woods and hunt like

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I always had I was definitely more
alert to anything out of the ordinary,

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and most especially I was alert to
sudden, deafening silence. But nothing else

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happened. I even forced myself to
stay out until dusk so I would have

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to make a part of the walk
from my blind to the cabin in the

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dark. Now I am not so
arrogant as to say that I was scary

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to a bigfoot. But thirty years
of reflecting on the incident and going over

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it, and reading other accounts by
people whom I consider to be credible,

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I had become convinced that it was
when it saw me open my vest and

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put my hand on my pistol that
it decided to run. Yes, it

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had to have seen and heard me
shoot earlier. It made noise and alerted

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me to the presence of what I
thought was someone messing with me. But

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it saw and it heard the guns. I had my pistol under my vest,

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so it didn't see a gun until
I put my hand on it,

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and that's when its demeanor changed again
and it ran. I got a nice

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six point on the seventeenth. Grandpa
and Uncle Mick and Uncle Jim all got

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a dire as well. Nothing else
happened, and Grandpa and I didn't talk

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about it anymore until a few years
later, when he came to visit me

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in Arizona. He told me that
he had also been alone at the cabin

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in the mid seventies when he saw
something big and dark brown cross the road

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as he was driving out. It
turns out that that was our last trip

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to the cabin. It nearly burned
down in a wildfire the following summer.

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Grandpaul and okemag decided to sell the
land and hunt with friends in another location

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after that. As of June this
year, I hadn't been back to the

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old property for almost thirty years.
I had to go to Michigan for a

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family reunion and I drove up with
my wife and on a whim, I

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decided to go back to the old
property. It looked completely different going in.

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There were a lot of newer,
glamour cabins, and they had high

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dollar water and trail toys and luxury
SUVs parked around them. There wasn't anything

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left that I recognized on our old
property. Everything including how I felt about

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the place, had changed. But
I was glad I had my forty five

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on my belt just the same