WEBVTT 1 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:12.640 I lived in a ranch house about ten miles south 2 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:19.000 of Eldorado, Texas, or As at Elderado, Texas. Eldorado, Eldoredo, 3 00:00:19.079 --> 00:00:21.920 who knows. My wife and I liked sitting on a 4 00:00:21.960 --> 00:00:25.160 screened in porch at night. One night we were out 5 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:28.359 there when my wife said she saw something move across 6 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:32.600 the driveway in a bank of trees. There were two shadows, 7 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:37.159 both eight feet tall. They were moving around a mountain. 8 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:39.880 Lion had been spotted near us, so I always carried 9 00:00:39.920 --> 00:00:43.359 a forty caliber pistol with me. I turned on my 10 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.119 tactical light and pointed my gun toward the figures, but 11 00:00:47.200 --> 00:00:50.320 it still couldn't make out what it was. I thought 12 00:00:50.359 --> 00:00:53.200 about shooting into the trees to spook them into the open, 13 00:00:53.640 --> 00:00:56.880 but something told me not to. We went to bed 14 00:00:56.960 --> 00:00:59.920 not long after that, and I wondered what it had been. 15 00:01:01.159 --> 00:01:03.479 A week or two later, I woke up one morning 16 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:06.239 and happened to look out my bedroom window toward a 17 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:10.920 chicken coop. There, standing in the broad daylight was a creature. 18 00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:14.879 He had the outline of Chewbacca, and he stood eight 19 00:01:14.920 --> 00:01:18.640 feet tall, with long hair from head to toe. He 20 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:21.680 was staring right at me like he'd been waiting for 21 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.159 me to wake up and see him, wanting me to 22 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:28.000 know that he was there. My friends and family think 23 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:31.200 I'm crazy, but there was no mistaking what I saw. 24 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:35.560 We moved from that house, not because of Bigfoot, and 25 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:39.719 I left there a believer. Okay, a little short story 26 00:01:39.760 --> 00:01:42.599 to kick this podcast off. Thank you guys for joining me. 27 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:47.439 Just an announcement. I uploaded a new Steve Lily story. 28 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:50.879 There will be a link in the description if you 29 00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.040 want to listen to it. It's about an hour or 30 00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:55.280 a little bit over an hour long. I thought it 31 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:57.879 was a pretty decent story, but I haven't done with 32 00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:01.120 Steve Lily in over a year and I needed to 33 00:02:01.159 --> 00:02:03.920 get one out. So I spent the last week kind 34 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:06.680 of polishing up a story I'd been working on for 35 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:10.639 six months. Could never get it right, and it's probably 36 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:13.000 still not right, but it's the best I got. So 37 00:02:13.159 --> 00:02:16.039 new Steve Lily ouse, Steve Lilly Number nineteen is out, 38 00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:18.319 and if you're not familiar with that series, it's on 39 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:23.240 another channel called the Steve Lily Journals. It's just fiction, 40 00:02:23.479 --> 00:02:28.000 fun fiction, lot of humor, story about bigfoot hunters who 41 00:02:28.039 --> 00:02:31.639 are hired by the government to exterminate the Bigfoot all 42 00:02:31.680 --> 00:02:35.879 over North America. They're mainly focused in the South. But 43 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.000 it's just a fun thing to write, so that's all 44 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:40.520 it is. So if you get a chance, go over 45 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:43.719 and look at it. Otherwise, let's move on with this podcast. 46 00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:46.759 I really appreciate you being here. All right, here we go. 47 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:53.960 I am a retired US Army chaplain and I was 48 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:58.120 based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. I owned six acres 49 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:01.919 of mountain property in Spring Cree, just south of Hot Springs. 50 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:05.439 It was off a road near a place called Dave's 51 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.000 two O nine Highway. Too. O nine was known as 52 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.680 the Rattler by local MC riders because of its many 53 00:03:12.759 --> 00:03:17.639 twists and turns through the Pisca National Forest. This area 54 00:03:17.719 --> 00:03:22.280 is known for paranormal phenomenon, the brown lights, the UFOs, 55 00:03:22.400 --> 00:03:26.639 the ghostly events, and of course, Bigfoot paraphernalia is available 56 00:03:26.680 --> 00:03:30.639 in the local shops. I had built a twenty four 57 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:34.599 foot diameter yert on my property, perfect for getting away 58 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.919 from Bragg and all the ministry work. Every week. I 59 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:41.759 had a little wire table where I could nestle pretty 60 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.560 stones and crystals so they would not fall out or 61 00:03:44.599 --> 00:03:48.360 blow away. Every time I was up there usually about 62 00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:52.039 once a month. I'd place objects on that table, pebbles 63 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:56.319 and sparkly crystals and things of that nature. This way 64 00:03:56.360 --> 00:03:59.400 they would not blow away while I was gone. When 65 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:01.800 I came back on the next visit, the items would 66 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:04.520 be gone, and in their place I would see new 67 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:08.800 pebbles and stones. This might have been a teenager tramping 68 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:12.000 over the land in my absence, because I doubt they 69 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:15.759 leave any rocks for me. Around the property, i'd find 70 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.680 interesting tree structures, such as two thirty foot long trees 71 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:23.879 twisted and wound together and wedged horizontally between two trees 72 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.240 twenty feet apart. It all looked so intentional. I half 73 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:32.639 expected to find a swing hanging from it. Not far 74 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.639 from there, something had built a teepee like structure out 75 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.360 of broken branches. I made sure to keep my distance, 76 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.920 and I continued to enjoy my polite company firm Afar, 77 00:04:43.360 --> 00:04:46.879 and I hope that they did too. On my last 78 00:04:46.920 --> 00:04:49.639 trip to the property before I sold it, someone or 79 00:04:49.720 --> 00:04:53.720 something had left me a large blue glass marble. It 80 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:56.079 was an inch and a half in diameter, and it 81 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.439 was sitting on that wire table. I love that. In 82 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:03.600 twenty fourteen, I was dog sitting for a friend of mine, 83 00:05:03.720 --> 00:05:07.680 having a beer on the porch on the summer solstice. 84 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:11.040 It was around midnight and the dogs were snoozing beside me. 85 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.360 The house sent on fifteen acres, and halfway to the road. 86 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:18.600 The three acres from the house stood a street light. 87 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:22.279 I was gazing out at the grass under that light, 88 00:05:22.439 --> 00:05:25.720 enjoying the peaceful night, the clear sky, in the great weather, 89 00:05:26.240 --> 00:05:30.240 when a black panther, plain as day meandered slowly through 90 00:05:30.279 --> 00:05:34.920 the light. I was stunned. I'm a biologist and I 91 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:38.199 know my cats. It was a panther. There was no 92 00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.560 mistaking that I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The 93 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.600 dogs quickly got the scent of it and took off 94 00:05:45.639 --> 00:05:48.160 in pursuit, so I knew I wasn't making it up. 95 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:53.000 They came back thankfully ten minutes later, exhausted and very 96 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:58.120 proud of themselves. Black panther sightings might not sound impressive, 97 00:05:58.240 --> 00:06:02.439 but the way their existence in America is denied by authorities, 98 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:05.519 you're led to believe you'll see a bigfoot before you'll 99 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:09.519 see a black panther. Thanks for your channel and for 100 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:14.360 hearing my very gentle stories. And he signs the rev 101 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:19.639 army chaplain. That's pretty cool. I've never met an army chaplain. 102 00:06:19.720 --> 00:06:22.279 I wonder what that job is like. I wonder what 103 00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:24.439 that job is like in the military. My son was 104 00:06:24.480 --> 00:06:27.040 in the Marine Corps. He never mentioned the chaplain I know, 105 00:06:27.480 --> 00:06:30.360 I know he ran into some but I've always been 106 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:33.240 curious what those guys actually do. What do they do 107 00:06:33.319 --> 00:06:35.680 all day? I don't know. But anyway, this is a 108 00:06:35.720 --> 00:06:39.319 great story. He had an episode of gifting that he 109 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:42.279 thinks could possibly be a bigfoot. He didn't say that, 110 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.160 but I think that's what he's alluding to. Very interesting. 111 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:50.079 And then the black panther sighting. Everybody sees a black panther, 112 00:06:50.839 --> 00:06:54.120 I believe they're here. I think I tend more to 113 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:57.240 believe that black panthers are here more than I would 114 00:06:57.319 --> 00:07:01.000 say bigfooter here, at least around my proper because I 115 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:04.959 see big tracks. I can tell a cat of a 116 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:09.839 feline track over a canine track. The lobes in the 117 00:07:09.920 --> 00:07:12.279 back of the foot are a little different, and the 118 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:15.000 way their tracks look her different. I actually looked it 119 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:17.839 up one time. I looked it up because I had 120 00:07:17.839 --> 00:07:20.959 a friend of mine who In this Steve Lily story, 121 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:24.120 there is a seventy nine year old man who lies 122 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:26.639 all the time. He's just kind of a fun character, 123 00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:30.720 I added to the story. But this person I saw 124 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:34.120 her posting. She lives out in the country, posting stuff 125 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:38.480 on Facebook, and she is a big liar. She lies 126 00:07:38.519 --> 00:07:41.759 about everything. I've known her for years and years and years, 127 00:07:41.759 --> 00:07:45.000 and I like her. She's fine. She just tries to 128 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:49.439 make a huge deal lot of everything she sees. And 129 00:07:49.720 --> 00:07:53.600 she puts some pictures of tracks on I think it 130 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.319 was Facebook, and she was saying it was a mountain lion. 131 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:58.720 Well I looked at them. They were dog tracks. I 132 00:07:58.759 --> 00:08:00.959 didn't know that at first, but looked up the difference 133 00:08:00.959 --> 00:08:04.600 between dog and cat tracks and it was absolutely a 134 00:08:04.639 --> 00:08:07.560 dog track. So that's how I know. And I never 135 00:08:07.639 --> 00:08:11.160 confronted her whether it just confirm what I know that 136 00:08:11.240 --> 00:08:14.879 she's just a big liar, she's an attention hog. We're 137 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:18.279 still friends. Everything's fine. But that's the way some people are. Anyway. 138 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:22.879 Let's move on to a next story. Okay, here's a 139 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:27.680 short little story about a Mexican bigfoot. Twenty five years ago, 140 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:30.160 the youth group of the church I attended went on 141 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:37.759 a retreat to Busta Monte Nuevo Leon in Mexico. Bust 142 00:08:37.759 --> 00:08:41.080 de Monte has a spring in the canyon. It has 143 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:44.799 several pools and lots of nature to enjoy. It's also 144 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:48.919 known for its legends and tales about witches and goblins. 145 00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:51.759 One day, I went with a group of girls for 146 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:54.639 a height and we took our time ascending the trail, 147 00:08:54.960 --> 00:08:59.679 taking breaks often and in no real hurry. At one point, 148 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:01.399 I want I need to catch up with a different 149 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.120 group that had left us behind, So while the girls 150 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:07.720 sat and drank water, I ran ahead, promising that I 151 00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:11.919 would wait for them further up the trail. I climbed 152 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:14.200 and kept an ole on where my group was for 153 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:16.960 as long as I could, and after a while I 154 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.799 stopped looking back and kept moving until I reached the 155 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:23.159 side of the canyon. In the distance, I saw my 156 00:09:23.240 --> 00:09:27.480 group still talking and hydrating, so I kept going. Not 157 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.480 long after that, I reached a point that jutted out 158 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:33.759 over a hill to one side. I walked a few 159 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:36.840 meters out to the point and I heard something loosely 160 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:42.159 resembling laughter in women's voices. I figured it was my group, 161 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:44.840 who had somehow managed to catch up with me in 162 00:09:44.879 --> 00:09:47.840 a short time, so I shouted out that I heard 163 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:50.879 them and that I wasn't far away, and when I 164 00:09:50.919 --> 00:09:53.200 turned to walk back on the trail, I saw a 165 00:09:53.240 --> 00:09:55.519 figure on the other side of the rock that I 166 00:09:55.559 --> 00:10:00.120 had passed. It had a round head and bulb like shoulder, 167 00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:03.399 and it was covered in thick red hair and was 168 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:07.720 at least two meters tall. I stayed silent. I turned 169 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:10.759 my back on it, and I felt a chill. I 170 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:14.519 didn't know what to do besides slowly backing out. The 171 00:10:14.559 --> 00:10:18.080 strange women's voices and laughter stopped, and when I turned 172 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:22.279 to steal another glance, the figure was gone. A couple 173 00:10:22.320 --> 00:10:24.679 of minutes later, I heard the distant sound of my 174 00:10:24.759 --> 00:10:27.879 group catching up to me. I didn't know what to think. 175 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:30.960 I'd like to say that it was bigfoot, but I 176 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:34.759 haven't heard reports of them in Mexico. It couldn't have 177 00:10:34.759 --> 00:10:36.799 been a bear because the shape of its head and 178 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:40.480 shoulders was all wrong, and the sound it made it 179 00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:44.720 was totally unnatural. And whenever I talk about it, even now, 180 00:10:44.960 --> 00:10:49.279 even writing about it now, I get chills. Oh man, 181 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.879 that's cool. That's one of those brief moments that people 182 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:57.639 have when they're all alone out in the wilderness and 183 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:02.159 they see something they know, they see something they know, 184 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:05.840 they didn't imagine it. They turn around and it's gone. 185 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.759 There are so many stories like this, and it really 186 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:13.360 intrigues me because I can't think of anything in particular 187 00:11:13.639 --> 00:11:16.000 like that that's happened to me, but I know it has. 188 00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:19.120 It's like you look, you look, you see a deer, 189 00:11:19.720 --> 00:11:21.840 You think you see a deer, You see a deer, 190 00:11:21.919 --> 00:11:24.840 You see a deer, You turn your heads, you look 191 00:11:24.879 --> 00:11:26.879 back in just a fraction of a second, and the 192 00:11:26.919 --> 00:11:30.120 deer's not there. Or a turkey or a skunk, or 193 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.440 an armadilla or a raccoon, doesn't matter. That's happened to 194 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:37.120 me before. So why couldn't that happen, Whether cryptid like 195 00:11:37.159 --> 00:11:40.240 a bigfoot or some other creature, I don't know. This 196 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:45.320 story was just interesting me. I thought it was great. Okay, 197 00:11:45.320 --> 00:11:48.679 this story is a little bit strange, a little bit strange, 198 00:11:48.720 --> 00:11:51.799 but I think you're gonna enjoy it. So let's go. 199 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:55.399 Let's go. Let's get on with the story. I was 200 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:59.120 in Dougway, the High Plains desert of Utah and the 201 00:11:59.159 --> 00:12:02.279 spring of next year. It was late and I had 202 00:12:02.320 --> 00:12:04.279 just gotten off work and I was headed to my 203 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:08.080 vehicle for the long drive home. I noticed it was 204 00:12:08.120 --> 00:12:10.639 a new moon, so i'd need my brights to see 205 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:13.759 the road out there. It got even darker as I 206 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:17.200 pulled away from the work site. I drove carefully, my 207 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:21.559 eyes peeled to avoid hitting any local wildlife. As the 208 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:24.399 lights faded behind me, I saw a figure rise through 209 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.120 the road's surface at the edge of my high beams. 210 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.600 I blinked and I shook my head. I had to 211 00:12:30.600 --> 00:12:34.440 be seen things. It didn't come from either side of 212 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:37.399 the road. It just rose straight up from the asphalt. 213 00:12:38.320 --> 00:12:40.840 It startled me enough to slam on the brakes and 214 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.159 veer into the oncoming lane to avoid hitting it. I 215 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:48.519 caught it silhouette as I drove past. It looked like 216 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:52.559 a pale, fleshy, large and naked person sitting on its heels, 217 00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.960 hugging its legs with its head resting on its knees. 218 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:59.960 As if that weren't disturbing enough. In the three seconds 219 00:13:00.159 --> 00:13:03.360 it took me to drive past, I watched it morph 220 00:13:03.559 --> 00:13:07.759 into a large canine and disappear again, right back into 221 00:13:07.759 --> 00:13:12.000 the asphalt. Well. I chalked it up as weird, though 222 00:13:12.039 --> 00:13:16.279 not the weirdest thing I've experienced out there, not long 223 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:20.200 after this, my headlights lit up in adolescent coyote next 224 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:22.320 to the guard rail on the side of the road. 225 00:13:23.320 --> 00:13:25.840 I slowed down in case it darted in front of me, 226 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:29.360 but it stayed put, staring at my car as I passed. 227 00:13:29.799 --> 00:13:32.559 Its mouth stretched open as wide as it could go. 228 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.679 It looked like there was an invisible stick prying its 229 00:13:36.799 --> 00:13:40.039 jaw open, or like I'd caught it in mid yawn, 230 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:45.559 jaw stretched wide and unmoving, except theyng did not end. 231 00:13:46.279 --> 00:13:50.519 Its mouth just stayed wide open, unnaturally so, and its 232 00:13:50.519 --> 00:13:54.080 eyes were fixed on me the whole time. There was 233 00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:56.840 nothing I could do besides keep driving, so I chalked 234 00:13:56.840 --> 00:13:59.919 it up as another weird thing and I kept going. 235 00:14:00.759 --> 00:14:03.679 But the night wasn't done with me yet. A little 236 00:14:03.679 --> 00:14:06.360 while later I saw another codey on the side of 237 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:09.279 the road, and it's jaws stretched open as white as 238 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:12.080 they could go, just like the first one, and its 239 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:15.000 eyes were fixed on me as I slowly drove past. 240 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:19.080 I made it home okay that night, but I'll never 241 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:22.279 forget those images and get them out of my head. 242 00:14:22.519 --> 00:14:25.480 Oh man, I bet you won't get those images out 243 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.720 of your head. That is so cool, That is Oh 244 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:30.879 that story just good. I could just see all that 245 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:34.320 happening as I'm reading it. I can see it. I 246 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.360 don't know, it's just that's creepy. What a great story, 247 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:41.960 great story, thanks for sending it. The other day, I 248 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.759 was on the front porch listening to your podcast when 249 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:49.039 my great grandfather Elijah walked by. He heard you talking 250 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:52.000 about Bigfoot, sat down in the rocker next to me 251 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:55.960 and listened to the entire story. Our family tends to 252 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.679 get into the late nineties before age catches up with us, 253 00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:03.960 but ninety four, my great granddad is still sharp and 254 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:08.480 has all his wits about him. After the podcast ended, 255 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.480 he asked me if I believed in Bigfoot. I told 256 00:15:11.559 --> 00:15:13.679 him I had never seen one, and I asked him 257 00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:17.360 the same. He answered me with a tail from his youth, 258 00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:22.600 one I'd never heard before. When great granddad Elijah was 259 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:25.240 a boy, he was glued at the hip to his 260 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:29.120 two best friends, Thomas and James. The three of them 261 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:33.240 had befriended a hermit whom the town nicknamed Crazy Joe, 262 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:37.159 who lived two miles away near the Swampland. Joe would 263 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:41.200 occasionally come to town to trade herbs and hides and carvings 264 00:15:41.200 --> 00:15:44.639 that he had made. The boys would make multiple trips 265 00:15:44.720 --> 00:15:49.000 each week to his shack, where he taught them to trap, fish, hunt, 266 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:53.120 and gather wild plants save to eat. Joe taught them 267 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:56.559 to tan hides and make Indian buckskins, as well as 268 00:15:56.600 --> 00:16:00.799 some words of a far away native tongue. One day 269 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.600 in the early spring, when all three boys were about 270 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:08.039 to turn sixteen, Joe disappeared. The door of his shack 271 00:16:08.200 --> 00:16:11.919 was open, the floor was busted up, all the furniture 272 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:15.039 was pushed against the walls, and his wagon and mule 273 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.120 were gone. Four weeks later, a man rode into town 274 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.279 right up to the inn. His hair and beard were 275 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:25.600 long and unkempt, but his clothing and his two horses 276 00:16:25.639 --> 00:16:28.759 were top of the line. He asked for the best 277 00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:32.200 room and the largest steak and potato the keeper could 278 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:35.720 stir up, and when the meal was ready, the stranger 279 00:16:35.799 --> 00:16:38.960 came out of his room, a clean shaven new man. 280 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:42.679 The next morning, all three boys were sitting on the 281 00:16:42.720 --> 00:16:46.000 steps of the Sheriff's office across the street from the inn, 282 00:16:46.440 --> 00:16:49.879 to catch a glimpse of the stranger. He came out, 283 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:52.039 and he looked at them, and he walked straight over. 284 00:16:53.080 --> 00:16:56.080 Elijah stood up and greeted him, and then nearly fell 285 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:59.720 over when the familiar voice of Joe greeted him back, 286 00:17:00.200 --> 00:17:04.599 and good morning to you, boys, Joe said. The boys 287 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:08.400 made a ruckus and jumped up and celebrated their friend's return. 288 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:12.640 And then the questions poured out. Where had he gone? 289 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:16.119 Where did he get the fancy clothes and the horses? 290 00:17:17.359 --> 00:17:20.400 Joe told them to meet him at his shack after 291 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:23.640 their chores that day, and not to tell anyone about 292 00:17:23.640 --> 00:17:27.279 his return. Later. When they got there, they found him 293 00:17:27.319 --> 00:17:30.519 sitting on the back of a new buckboard wagon, and 294 00:17:30.519 --> 00:17:33.440 in the corral nearby were two large mules and three 295 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:37.000 more horses, just as striking as the two he'd brought 296 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:41.319 into town. Joe reached into his saddle bag and tossed 297 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:44.319 each boy a nugget of gold the size of a thumb. 298 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.480 While they stood around, slack jawed, Joe told them the story. 299 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.480 When he was a younger man, he headed west with 300 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.680 two of his friends in search of gold. When they 301 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:59.119 made it all the way to Idaho, they walked up 302 00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:04.000 to three on kemped harry trappers and buckskins whipping. A 303 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:08.599 young Native American male nearby, tied to a wagon wheel 304 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:13.759 was a young Native female screaming and crying. Without hesitating, 305 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:17.480 Joe and his companions took the trapper off guard. One 306 00:18:17.519 --> 00:18:20.319 of the trappers was shot, and the other two held 307 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:23.799 at gunpoint, were tied to the wagon. Joe and the 308 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:28.119 others freed the captives and led them to safety. That night, 309 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:30.799 they set up camp, and they cared for the young man, 310 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:34.359 intended to his wounds. The next morning, they woke up 311 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:38.799 surrounded by a pack of Native warriors. Just as Joe 312 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:42.880 and his companions thought their lives were over, a statue 313 00:18:42.920 --> 00:18:47.359 of a man, a great war chief Pocatello, walked forward. 314 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:52.480 Another man stood behind him. Speaking broken English. He told 315 00:18:52.519 --> 00:18:54.559 them the young man and the woman that they had 316 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.039 saved were the chief's son and bride to be. When 317 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:04.200 the translators asked why had trespassed on Shoshone land, Joe, Samuel, 318 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:09.200 and Arthur apologized profusely, explaining that they had no idea 319 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.240 and meant no disrespect, and were just searching for gold. 320 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:17.200 The chief seemed satisfied by the answer and asked to 321 00:19:17.240 --> 00:19:21.119 be taken to the two remaining trappers. Joe and the 322 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:23.359 others stood by as the chief and two of his 323 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:28.079 warriors sliced the trapper's abdomens open, threw a rope around 324 00:19:28.119 --> 00:19:31.200 each of their necks, and then drabbed them off into 325 00:19:31.240 --> 00:19:35.799 the forest. Once the war party had left, the translator 326 00:19:35.880 --> 00:19:39.720 introduced himself as long Tooth and said the chief instructed 327 00:19:39.799 --> 00:19:43.000 him to take them to the valley of the Ancient Ones. 328 00:19:44.359 --> 00:19:47.559 After two days of traveling, Long Tooth led them through 329 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:51.119 a hidden passage in a mountain side to an open valley, 330 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:54.440 and while Joe and the others tied up their horses 331 00:19:54.440 --> 00:19:57.599 and gathered wood for a fire, Long Tooth walked to 332 00:19:57.640 --> 00:19:59.880 the center of the valley and began to sing and 333 00:20:00.119 --> 00:20:04.480 dance until well after dark. When he returned, he explained 334 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.240 that he was asking the Ancient Ones for permission to 335 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:11.400 hunt there and to search for the shiny rocks. They 336 00:20:11.440 --> 00:20:14.799 stayed there for months, chopping down trees for a cabin 337 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:17.559 and building a corral and a small barn for the 338 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:21.799 animals They gathered and stored hey for the winter. They 339 00:20:21.880 --> 00:20:24.519 hunted every few days and learned to skin and tan 340 00:20:24.680 --> 00:20:28.200 the animal fur for insulation and heavy coats for the 341 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:33.079 coming cold months. When spring came, Long Tooth returned to 342 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.519 his people, sure that Joe and the others could manage 343 00:20:36.519 --> 00:20:40.160 in the valley without him. Before he left, he told 344 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:42.799 them never to harm the ancient one and never to 345 00:20:42.920 --> 00:20:45.920 pursue them, and if they saw one, they were to 346 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:50.480 turn their eyes away. Long Tooth returned on the next 347 00:20:50.519 --> 00:20:54.039 full moon with several others from the tribe. They brought 348 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.440 along a bull in, three cows, mules, chickens, and other supplies. 349 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:02.680 The next morning, Joe cooked for the visitors, making sure 350 00:21:02.759 --> 00:21:05.480 to heave a serving of the meal on the rock 351 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:09.079 where they'd received the elk. The next morning, the food 352 00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:13.039 was gone and three gold nuggets sat on that rock. 353 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:16.759 Almost every day after that, gold nuggets were left for 354 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:20.119 them on the rock, a gift exchange that continued for 355 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:25.200 the next three winters. Long Tooth and the three travelers 356 00:21:25.240 --> 00:21:30.079 became good friends. Joe, Samuel, and Arthur learned to speak 357 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:33.440 Shoshone and learned the dance Long Tooth performed each time 358 00:21:33.480 --> 00:21:37.440 he returned to the valley. Eventually, the three men said 359 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:40.839 goodbye to Long Tooth and the valley, promising to return 360 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:44.200 one day. There were different men on their journey home. 361 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:48.720 They had become long bearded, weathered trappers. Their goal stored 362 00:21:48.839 --> 00:21:51.440 in the false floor of the wagon covered by a 363 00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:55.680 layer upon layer of furs and buckskin. When they had 364 00:21:55.720 --> 00:22:00.160 reached the Missouri, Arthur grew deathly ill, forcing Joe to 365 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.240 ride to the nearest town to fetch a doctor, and 366 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:06.400 while Samuel and Author waited for them to return, a 367 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:09.960 group of men from the Southern States had found them. 368 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:13.920 When Joe returned with the doctor, he found them both dead, 369 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:19.240 hanging from a nearby tree, their backs whipt raw. The 370 00:22:19.319 --> 00:22:22.440 murderers had taken the best of the fur Pelts, but 371 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:26.599 rode off without the wagon or mules. Joe buried his 372 00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:30.319 friends and proceeded on to Tennessee with the wagon, his 373 00:22:30.440 --> 00:22:34.119 world in disarray. He was so depressed he took his 374 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:37.599 wagon of gold, rode out to the swamplands and buried it. 375 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:40.400 He built a shack on top of it and rarely 376 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:44.440 spoke to anyone after that. One day he woke up 377 00:22:44.480 --> 00:22:48.519 and decided that he was done grieving. Tennessee no longer 378 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:51.559 felt like home, and he was going back west, back 379 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:55.559 to the valley of the ancients. He tore his shack apart, 380 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:59.920 gathered his gold, and decided to start new. When Joe 381 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:03.480 finished telling Elijah and the other boys this story, he 382 00:23:03.559 --> 00:23:07.359 made a proposal. He was heading west the next morning, 383 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:12.079 and he invited them to come. They unanimously agreed, and 384 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:15.039 they left notes for their families and started the long 385 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:19.200 journey with Joe. They took a steamboat all the way 386 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:22.240 to Saint Paul, and then a train to Montana and 387 00:23:22.400 --> 00:23:25.480 horseback there all the way to Fort Hall, which had 388 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:30.519 become a reservation for the Shoshawone. Shortly after their arrival, 389 00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:34.319 a Shoshone man greeted Joe with hugs and tears of joy. 390 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:39.000 Joe introduced him to the boys's Long Tooth and told 391 00:23:39.079 --> 00:23:41.440 him he was going to show them the ways of 392 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:45.519 the valley. The next morning, the five travelers set out 393 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:48.200 for the Valley of the Ancients, and when they finally 394 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.839 made it, they found the cabin almost as Joe had 395 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:54.640 left it. While Elijah and the others settled in and 396 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:57.720 found the wood for a fire, Long Tooth and Joe 397 00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:00.000 went to the center of the valley and began down 398 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:03.960 and singing, and when dinner was prepared, two of the 399 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:06.839 boys placed a large portion of meat on the rock 400 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:10.640 for the ancient ones. The next morning they found several 401 00:24:10.720 --> 00:24:15.079