WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.839 --> 00:00:11.279 I have a story to tell of a Bigfoot non encounter, 2 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:16.519 more like a sensory evidence event than anything else. It 3 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:20.359 is both unusual and entertaining in that it took place 4 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:24.600 before I knew of the reality of Bigfoot. There I 5 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:27.480 was in the woods, confronted with the evidence of that 6 00:00:27.640 --> 00:00:32.520 exact reality, and was utterly unable to process it. It 7 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:35.920 was a summer of nineteen seventy five in the northeastern 8 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:41.000 United States. I was hiking the Northville Lake Placid Trail 9 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:45.759 in New York's Adirondack State Park. Just for scale, I'll 10 00:00:45.799 --> 00:00:48.600 tell you that the Adirondack State Park is a bit 11 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:51.799 larger than the entire state of New Jersey, where I 12 00:00:51.880 --> 00:00:55.600 was living then. I was hiking alone for a few days, 13 00:00:55.679 --> 00:00:59.439 letting my pioneer spirit have its way. I was on 14 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:02.560 my first day. I was in good physical shape and 15 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:06.879 the miles melted under me. The hike was fantastic, and 16 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:10.000 the trail was in very good repair. I felt as 17 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:13.879 though I was bounding along. Nature was all around me, 18 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:17.640 and thankfully the black flies had not yet appeared. As 19 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:21.319 long as I kept moving, the sweat I produced evaporated 20 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:25.599 nicely with the occasional forest to breeze. So far, I 21 00:01:25.640 --> 00:01:29.239 had met no one, My pack didn't feel too heavy, 22 00:01:29.319 --> 00:01:32.920 and I was really enjoying myself. I had arrived on 23 00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:36.120 the trail around one PM after the drive up from 24 00:01:36.200 --> 00:01:39.920 New Jersey, and I walked the afternoon until near dusk, 25 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:43.359 and then I set up camp. I didn't build a fire, 26 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:45.959 so I was able to watch and see the forest 27 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:49.200 around me without the glare of the fire's bright wall 28 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:52.519 holding back the night. No need for a tent fly. 29 00:01:52.840 --> 00:01:57.120 The weather was perfect, the stars were everywhere. So far, 30 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:02.799 what a trip to evade some persistent mosquitoes, I went 31 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:06.079 into the tent and zipped the mess shut. I settled 32 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:08.599 on top of a sleeping bag, and I took out 33 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:10.960 my map and pen like for a once over of 34 00:02:11.039 --> 00:02:15.719 tomorrow's trek. Reading the contour lines, I saw that there 35 00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:19.479 were some interesting looking spaces along the way, a little 36 00:02:19.479 --> 00:02:22.960 over three miles off the trail. I really don't know 37 00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.360 the reason I chose to go there. It just looked interesting, 38 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:30.039 that's all. Looking back, I like to feel that I 39 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:32.800 was drawn there for some reason. I don't know. I 40 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:38.120 loved orienteering and I just needed somewhere to go. Perhaps subconsciously, 41 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.479 I hoped I would find something later. After I cooked 42 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:45.719 my supper on a white gas stove inside the vestibule 43 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.400 of the tent, I removed my compass from its leather case, 44 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.400 and I began to develop bearings away from the trail 45 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:55.520 for the next day's height. When I'm alone, I like 46 00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:58.199 to do things to break up the monotony, and for 47 00:02:58.319 --> 00:03:02.159 tomorrow this would be it. I settled back into a 48 00:03:02.199 --> 00:03:06.919 happy sleep and awaited the dawn, anticipating the map adventure 49 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:11.360 to come. I awoke alert and rested, and I felt 50 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:14.520 as though I had been sleeping on a cloud. It 51 00:03:14.560 --> 00:03:17.759 was more of a recollection of a night than a feeling. 52 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.439 If you can imagine that, it's something you strive to 53 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:26.159 get again. Usually there's a noisy dawn chorus of birds 54 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:29.039 to start the day, but all I heard that morning 55 00:03:29.080 --> 00:03:33.919 were crows. I ate a fast breakfast of coffee, cold 56 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:37.080 hard bulled egg, washed up, packed up, and I was 57 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:39.639 eager to get on the bushwhack, as we called it 58 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:42.599 back then, when one leaves the trail and goes off 59 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:46.560 into the woods, fading into the tree line. I hiked 60 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.039 on down to a stream which showed up on the 61 00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:51.759 map as crossing the trail, and I filled up my 62 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.800 gray water bottle for boiling later. I had enough water 63 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:59.840 for the trip off trail and back. I turned right, 64 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:03.520 walked a few steps, turned around, and took a back 65 00:04:03.560 --> 00:04:06.520 bearing on the trail, using it as my baseline for 66 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:10.639 the return. I had everything well mapped out on paper, 67 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:13.360 but there's nothing like being really sure of things when 68 00:04:13.400 --> 00:04:17.800 you're alone. So I ducked my head and left the trail, 69 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:21.079 taking a bearing on a large oak, and I started 70 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:24.720 walking towards it. That's what you do when you're hiking 71 00:04:24.759 --> 00:04:29.240 off trail. You go via object bearing, object bearing, object 72 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:32.879 bearing until you can see further. Then it's still the same, 73 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:35.839 only the objects such as a tree, a large rock, 74 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.839 or some other feature on the landscape stands out. The 75 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.439 course wasn't exactly a straight line. I had planned it 76 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:45.839 that way to add a little more of a challenge 77 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:48.199 to it, so I had to pace off a few 78 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.040 out of view objects until I was back in line 79 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.600 and back on course to the terminus of my bushwhack. 80 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:59.079 I was playing soldier and I was really enjoying myself. 81 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.199 After I left the trail, I started hearing the birds again, 82 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:07.600 also scurrying squirrels, who hated the stranger that was in 83 00:05:07.680 --> 00:05:10.920 their world. Now, when you're off trail, you can tell 84 00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:13.199 a whole lot better what kind of woods you're in. 85 00:05:13.879 --> 00:05:16.800 The briars and berry bushes get culled from the trail 86 00:05:16.920 --> 00:05:21.160 during routine trail maintenance. Sometimes that sort of gives the 87 00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:25.160 trail a generic park kind of look. I don't like that, 88 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:29.199 but the walking is easier. I guess we humans liked 89 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:32.120 to make parks, but parks in the woods seem out 90 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:36.879 of place. The trees were fairly dense, and vines were about, 91 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.759 and the leaf litter was pretty noisy. As I walked. 92 00:05:40.600 --> 00:05:43.680 There were humid areas in some of the darker, more 93 00:05:43.759 --> 00:05:47.000 sheltered gullies, but as long as I moved along, it 94 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.639 wasn't too much of a discomfort. I stopped often to 95 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:54.199 admire and investigate the flora and the fauna along the way. 96 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:58.279 There were flowers, there were vultures up high, birds, bugs 97 00:05:58.319 --> 00:06:02.279 and rodents, and they all worth a look. By now, 98 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:04.279 I was about an hour and a half into the 99 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.759 trip and was a bit tired from all the stooping 100 00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.040 I had been doing with the now heavy pack. I'm 101 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:12.639 six foot six, and in some places I had a 102 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:16.240 lot of bending to do. I needed to drink and 103 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:18.879 took off my pack to sit down. I was a 104 00:06:18.920 --> 00:06:21.360 little more winded than I thought I was, and wasn't 105 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:24.879 really paying attention too much. I just wanted a little 106 00:06:24.920 --> 00:06:28.399 rest in a drink of cool water. I flopped down 107 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:31.879 on a high rock and excelled in relief. I raised 108 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.480 my water bottle to drink, and as the cool, clean 109 00:06:34.560 --> 00:06:37.600 water went down my parched throat, I saw a dark 110 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:40.160 shape up in the air, just a little off to 111 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:44.160 my right. Gradually, as I began to get rested and 112 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:48.120 gather my humidified wits about me again, I could see 113 00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:50.319 that I was just on the edge of, and a 114 00:06:50.360 --> 00:06:54.000 little above, what could be described as a clearing in 115 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:58.639 the loosest of terms. Actually, it looked like someone had 116 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:01.680 tried to build a fort or something, but they just 117 00:07:01.720 --> 00:07:05.480 couldn't get it right. There were tree trunks which looked 118 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:08.519 like they were deliberately placed, but not in the right 119 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.680 way to make them into something definite. Wait a minute, 120 00:07:13.240 --> 00:07:15.720 I was looking off to the left now and was 121 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:19.439 really a bit amazed at the same time and disturbed 122 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:22.680 by what I saw. There was a tree about a 123 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:25.600 foot and a half or so across which had its 124 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:28.680 bark scraped off. I think it was an oak, but 125 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:31.920 it could have been something else. I was looking at 126 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:35.480 the scraped part. It was lighter than the rest of 127 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.160 the tree, which went from about four feet off the 128 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.839 ground to about a foot path where I could reach, 129 00:07:41.079 --> 00:07:45.399 making it ten or eleven feet up, no problem, except 130 00:07:45.439 --> 00:07:49.199 there were claw marks on it, four claws together at 131 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:52.160 nearly right angles to the trunk all the way up. 132 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:57.319 I was astounded when I saw that. My hackles immediately 133 00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:59.279 went up, as I thought it may have been a 134 00:07:59.360 --> 00:08:03.560 grizzly or a large brown bear. I started looking around 135 00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:08.439 in real earnest. It had gotten very very quiet. Those 136 00:08:08.519 --> 00:08:11.240 claw marks were at least I would say, a minimum 137 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:15.040 of a quarter inch wide, sometimes a little more into 138 00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:19.279 the wood. The tree was green, it was not rotted 139 00:08:19.319 --> 00:08:22.759 in the least. I couldn't make those marks easily with 140 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.120 a saw and an axe if I had to. What 141 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.240 was I looking at? What made those marks? I never 142 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:34.000 found out. Today I would have taken pictures with my 143 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.200 cell phone, but back then we didn't have cell phones. 144 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:40.960 I've never seen anything like that again, and I had 145 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:44.840 never seen it before that. At that point, I needed 146 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:48.320 to look at this thing closer. I had successfully gotten 147 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:51.080 my jaw back into place from looking at the tree 148 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:54.840 trunk when it fell open again, this time by virtue 149 00:08:54.840 --> 00:08:58.240 of what I saw up in the crutch of a tree. 150 00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.519 There again, ten or eleven feet up in the air 151 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.480 was a very big heavy tree stump dirt, and all 152 00:09:06.120 --> 00:09:09.159 that thing weighed three hundred pounds if it weighed an ounce. 153 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:12.440 I had done some logging as a teenager, and I 154 00:09:12.519 --> 00:09:15.639 knew my wood weights. They could kill you if you 155 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:19.480 misjudged them. You can rely on it that I got 156 00:09:19.519 --> 00:09:23.480 the stumps weight right. It was a biggin. I look 157 00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:25.720 for more stumps in the air, but there were none. 158 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:29.519 By now you can imagine how all was feeling, not 159 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:33.559 quite flight or fight yet, but approaching something close to it. 160 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:37.360 None of the large, close to one foot or more 161 00:09:37.440 --> 00:09:41.360 diameter logs which were stuck up in trees or crisscross 162 00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.039 standing on the ground had been sawn. They had been 163 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:49.000 broken off and placed there. I couldn't find the sockets 164 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.919 that they belonged in either back when I was logging. 165 00:09:53.120 --> 00:09:54.879 If we were to have done such a thing, it 166 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.559 would have taken a log skiter and many feet of 167 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:01.279 cable and chain to get the logs up there. I 168 00:10:01.320 --> 00:10:04.039 took my time. I walked about the area and I 169 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:07.480 looked for signs. I really had no idea what to 170 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:10.559 look for, and I poked and I searched. Then I 171 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:13.639 sniffed the air, and I did all the chemo sabby 172 00:10:13.759 --> 00:10:17.000 stuff and came up just as clueless as when I started. 173 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.720 I kept telling myself that there has to be something, 174 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:24.679 but I never found it. The crime scene was clean, 175 00:10:25.279 --> 00:10:27.480 the bodies were there, but there was no sign of 176 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:32.720 a weapon. It looked like the perpetrator got away. Remember 177 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:36.240 this was nineteen seventy five and there was no internet. 178 00:10:36.559 --> 00:10:39.879 There were no cell phones, no way to snap a picture. 179 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.360 I had no idea what I was observing. I just 180 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:47.159 knew it was darned odd. So I sat down on 181 00:10:47.240 --> 00:10:51.200 that rock and surmised and contemplated, and I guessed and 182 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:56.080 formulated and worried at what I was seeing. At that time. 183 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:59.639 In those years, everything was supposed to have a logical, scientific, 184 00:10:59.679 --> 00:11:03.679 exit explanation, so I sat down to make one. And 185 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:07.919 my theory was that it was a micro tornado. Yeah, 186 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.480 that was the ticket. But wait, there was too much 187 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:14.600 mass thrown about in too little of an area, with 188 00:11:14.759 --> 00:11:18.519 too little damage to the surrounding trees, so it couldn't 189 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:22.919 be that. After sitting there and pondering and wondering for 190 00:11:23.080 --> 00:11:25.919 most of the afternoon, I had to return to the 191 00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.440 trail and I needed to get going. I burned my 192 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:32.720 brain for days after trying to come up with something 193 00:11:32.759 --> 00:11:36.679 to explain it, but I couldn't. Everyone I explained it 194 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:40.200 to couldn't grasp the scale of the scene, so no 195 00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:46.240 new offerings or explanations arose. Today, I would almost immediately 196 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:50.759 say it was definitely a bigfoot. Time is a funny thing. 197 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:55.039 I hope your audience can understand the land of Oz 198 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:59.320 I found myself in so suddenly on that day. Even 199 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:03.080 back then, it was obvious that something big had happened there, 200 00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:06.519 and whatever did it could just as easily do it again. 201 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:10.279 And no, I definitely do not have an explanation for 202 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:14.279 the scratches either. Over the years, I have noticed that 203 00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:17.200 possibly the only thing that could have made the marks 204 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:21.879 like that was a giant tree sloth. But why, I'd 205 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:24.399 like to apologize and say that I cannot give this 206 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.840 story a more cogent ending like seeing a bigfoot, But 207 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:31.240 I like to think that maybe he or she was 208 00:12:31.279 --> 00:12:35.399 there somewhere watching and laughing at me the whole time. 209 00:12:38.840 --> 00:12:41.559 My name is Joe, and I live in East Texas. 210 00:12:42.320 --> 00:12:45.039 We have a small farm where we keep cattle, goats, 211 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:48.480 and a few horses and other small animals. And we 212 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:51.759 grow of vegetables for our family and ourselves, and a 213 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.320 couple of big fields of millet or corn to help 214 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.879 feed our stock. I'm not a big farmer or rancher. 215 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:01.679 I just love this life. I grew up this way 216 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:05.080 on a larger farm my grandfather runs to this day. 217 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:07.919 I bought a few acres from him when I was 218 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:10.360 in my twenties and just carried on with what I 219 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:13.720 grew up doing. All that said, I don't make a 220 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:17.120 living off this like my family does. I travel and 221 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:21.320 I work pipelines. I'm a welder. Sometimes I'm gone for 222 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:24.039 a month or more, traveling to wherever the money is 223 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:27.320 at the time. My wife is able to take care 224 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:29.799 of things at home with my two sons and my 225 00:13:29.919 --> 00:13:33.639 father's help. I have one neighbor about a mile down 226 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:36.039 the road. I tried to get to know the guy, 227 00:13:36.080 --> 00:13:38.919 but he is one of these homesteadter types, you know, 228 00:13:39.000 --> 00:13:41.440 the people who never worked the land or animals in 229 00:13:41.480 --> 00:13:44.480 their life. They buy ten acres in the country and 230 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.799 set up a house, and they try to go back 231 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:50.200 to the early nineteen hundreds or eighteen hundreds by working 232 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:56.399 the land with a hoe, yes, I know the type. 233 00:13:56.600 --> 00:13:58.639 They buy a few chickens and goats, and then they 234 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:00.799 tell you how hard they were and how much they 235 00:14:00.840 --> 00:14:05.320 know about everything agricultural. Don't get me wrong, I'm all 236 00:14:05.360 --> 00:14:08.200 for folks going back to the land and living that way. 237 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.679 But a lot of these homesteaders are real goofball know 238 00:14:11.799 --> 00:14:14.960 it alls, and they annoy me. There are probably a 239 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.279 few good ones. I have asked him to be available 240 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:20.799 to help my wife with things she might need if 241 00:14:20.840 --> 00:14:23.840 she gets in a buying I mean we are neighbors. 242 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.320 He says he will, But when she called him once 243 00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:29.399 to help her catch one of our horses that had 244 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.559 gotten out, he refused because he said he was down 245 00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.240 in his back. That is all it took from my 246 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:38.519 wife to nix that idea. But he sure has no 247 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:41.399 problems asking me to use one of my tractors to 248 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:44.600 do a job the very next weekend. Then he does 249 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.759 a YouTube video showing everyone how hard his life was 250 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:51.000 getting that hundred by hundred foot field ready to plant. 251 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.399 I watched the video, and his back seemed fine to me. 252 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.480 It may sound like I'm going off on a tangent 253 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:00.480 here with these homesteaders, but I'll get back to him 254 00:15:00.600 --> 00:15:04.679 in a minute. Here's the thing. We have wild pigs 255 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:07.519 in our county. We have a lot of them. On 256 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:10.200 winter nights, my sons and I like to scope out 257 00:15:10.200 --> 00:15:13.960 a field with our night vision scopes and shoot them. 258 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:18.080 We try to kill as many as we can. First, 259 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.600 it's a lot of fun. Second, they are a very 260 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:26.159 destructive animal around here and all over Texas. Really, last, 261 00:15:26.200 --> 00:15:28.799 who wouldn't like shooting feral pigs at night with an 262 00:15:28.840 --> 00:15:33.840 effing night vision scope? Last January, around New Year's I 263 00:15:33.879 --> 00:15:36.000 had taken off a few weeks to spend with my 264 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:40.240 family over the holidays. My two teenage boys were getting 265 00:15:40.320 --> 00:15:42.600 rowdy and wanting to go to some party one of 266 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:46.679 their buddies was throwing a few miles away. I didn't 267 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:49.840 like the idea. They had gone to several parties in 268 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.600 the past, but for some reason, my wife and I 269 00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.559 both didn't feel good about this one and told them 270 00:15:55.600 --> 00:15:57.759 I was going to shoot up a field that night 271 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.879 and they were welcome to come along. Look, these boys 272 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:05.080 are seventeen year old twins by the way, and they 273 00:16:05.159 --> 00:16:08.720 lived to hunt, and they canceled their party plans right there. 274 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:12.000 I knew they would, and my wife smiled at me 275 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:15.000 when she saw their response. Boy, do I know how 276 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:18.480 to work those teenagers. We got to one of my 277 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:22.200 grandfather's fields around ten pm and set up under an 278 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:27.200 irrigation system. The field has a slightly downhill slope with 279 00:16:27.279 --> 00:16:29.879 a line of sight all the way to the woods 280 00:16:29.919 --> 00:16:34.360 that line the bottom land about three hundred yards away. Oh, 281 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:37.000 and we had piled up corn in that field for bait. 282 00:16:37.519 --> 00:16:41.320 That always guarantees a good shoot. We threw out some 283 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.159 square haybells for rifle rest, and we set up. There 284 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:47.600 had been pigs there when we drove in, and it 285 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:50.120 took an hour or so for them to all come back. 286 00:16:50.279 --> 00:16:53.720 After the distraction we caused driving in and setting up, 287 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:57.559 the first half dozen trotted back to the corn pile. 288 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:00.200 It was not long before there were a third thirty 289 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:04.519 or forty pigs chowing down on the bait. I let 290 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:07.119 my boys start shooting, and they knocked down four or 291 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:11.359 maybe six pigs. We could clearly see our targets with 292 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:14.920 these scopes. Most of the pigs left and we waited. 293 00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:17.599 We knew they would be back soon and we would 294 00:17:17.640 --> 00:17:22.240 start the process all over again. The boys were drinking 295 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:25.119 cokes in the interim, and I was sipping on coffee 296 00:17:25.119 --> 00:17:27.759 from a thermous and we were all eating some of 297 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:31.680 my wife's world famous pecan pie. It was a good night. 298 00:17:32.279 --> 00:17:35.519 I loved doing these things with my boys, and life 299 00:17:35.559 --> 00:17:38.960 was really good that night. One of the boys leaned 300 00:17:39.000 --> 00:17:42.319 back over the bail and scope the field. I just 301 00:17:42.400 --> 00:17:44.440 happened to look over at him, and he lowered his 302 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.799 rifle to the bail and looked into the field intently. 303 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:52.240 Are they back for more? I asked him. He didn't answer. 304 00:17:52.480 --> 00:17:55.160 I just watched him move his head back into position 305 00:17:55.359 --> 00:17:59.599 to look through his scope. Everything got really quiet. We 306 00:17:59.640 --> 00:18:02.079 figured it was shooting time again, and we headed back 307 00:18:02.119 --> 00:18:05.440 to the bells. Then my son raised his head again 308 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:08.559 in the darkness, and he said, Dad, there's something in 309 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:11.720 that field, but it's not a pig. I looked through 310 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.640 my scope and illuminated in white was a large figure 311 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:19.640 close to the ground. These scopes do not show images 312 00:18:19.720 --> 00:18:22.640 that are not there. There was something crawling on the 313 00:18:22.680 --> 00:18:26.119 ground in the mud, towards the pigs we had killed 314 00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:31.240 thirty minutes before. Everything about it was strange, but mostly 315 00:18:31.279 --> 00:18:35.000 the way it moved. It acted like it was sneaking 316 00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:37.880 up on the dead pigs. It was hard to make 317 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:40.400 out exactly what this thing was, and none of us 318 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:43.759 even thought about taking a shot at it, just our 319 00:18:43.880 --> 00:18:46.880 luck it would be some sort of endangered predator and 320 00:18:46.920 --> 00:18:49.519 we would go to jail for killing it. But it 321 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:52.440 was the way it moved it was hard to explain. 322 00:18:53.440 --> 00:18:55.359 The only way I can convey it to you is 323 00:18:55.400 --> 00:18:58.480 to refer back to some horror movies I've seen, were 324 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:01.680 these ghosts and people move in a real jerky type 325 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:05.519 stop motion. It would creep slowly on all fours and 326 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:08.680 then speed up, then slow down, and it looked like 327 00:19:08.759 --> 00:19:11.160 it would turn its head and body back towards the 328 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:15.319 tree line, as if it was looking at something behind it. Well, 329 00:19:15.359 --> 00:19:18.519 needless to say, the pigs that were there all scattered. 330 00:19:19.640 --> 00:19:22.000 It soon made it to the dead pigs, which were 331 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.039 also illuminated in our scopes. They were still warm on 332 00:19:26.160 --> 00:19:30.039 this cold night. It reached out and grabbed a pig 333 00:19:30.200 --> 00:19:33.759 and started back to the woods. We just watched it, 334 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.119 and then it stopped fifty or sixty yards from the 335 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:40.519 tree line. It stood straight up and through the pig 336 00:19:40.680 --> 00:19:43.920 by the leg. The whole distance back to the trees. 337 00:19:44.640 --> 00:19:47.759 We could see the pig lofted in the air, flipping 338 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:50.960 end over end, and I could actually hear it break 339 00:19:50.960 --> 00:19:54.160 through the limbs and hit the ground. Then this thing 340 00:19:54.279 --> 00:19:57.440 stood up and was standing on two legs like a man. 341 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.079 It stood fully erect and through the pig like it 342 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:04.759 was a softball, with a long, arcing side arm motion. 343 00:20:05.519 --> 00:20:07.799 I don't know how tall it was, but it was big. 344 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:11.480 I moved my rifle a few inches to the right, 345 00:20:11.880 --> 00:20:14.799 and I could see several more of these things inside 346 00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:18.000 the thick woods, rushing towards the pig that had just 347 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:21.680 landed in the mud. They were all standing straight up, 348 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:25.440 they weren't crawling like this one. There were maybe four 349 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.200 or five of them, And the boys saw all of 350 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:32.440 this too, and never said a word. This thing then 351 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:36.000 turned back on all fours. It began making its way 352 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:38.640 back to the dead pig still laying in the field, 353 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:41.880 moving at a greater rate of speed than before, in 354 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:46.279 that freaky, jerking sort of way. It looked like it 355 00:20:46.400 --> 00:20:51.039 was a crab. Actually, what the hell is that thing? Dad, 356 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:53.640 one of the boys to ask, I don't know, just 357 00:20:53.680 --> 00:20:57.480 be quiet. Let's see what this thing does. We watched 358 00:20:57.519 --> 00:21:00.400 as the thing went through the whole process of reving 359 00:21:00.519 --> 00:21:03.920 pigs one at a time and returning to throw it 360 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:07.319 into the woods for its buddies. I could see one 361 00:21:07.400 --> 00:21:09.880 last pig in the field, and the creature was moving 362 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:13.039 towards it. One of the boys must have moved because 363 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.079 a coke can fell off the bail and landed on 364 00:21:16.119 --> 00:21:19.799 an AMMO box laying on the ground, making a clanking sound. 365 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:22.920 I looked over at my son and he was looking 366 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.119 down at the ground. No big deal, I thought, No 367 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:28.799 way this thing heard that as far away as we were. 368 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:31.400 When I leaned over to get my eye back in 369 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:34.920 the scope, I saw the creature standing beside the last pig. 370 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:38.960 But he was standing upright, and he was looking straight 371 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:42.519 at us. None of us said a word, but we 372 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:47.079 all knew we had been made. It dropped to all 373 00:21:47.160 --> 00:21:50.359 fours and started moving at a very fast rate of 374 00:21:50.400 --> 00:21:54.759 speed right at us. It was running on four limbs 375 00:21:54.839 --> 00:21:58.920 like a gorilla does, sometimes skipping one arm or the other, 376 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:03.640 like it was run on three legs instead of four. Boys. 377 00:22:03.880 --> 00:22:06.480 Get in the truck and get it started, I said. 378 00:22:07.079 --> 00:22:10.160 I never took my eye out of that scope. The 379 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:13.519 boys didn't need encouragement. I could hear them moving quickly 380 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:16.759 to the truck a few yards behind us. Then I 381 00:22:16.799 --> 00:22:20.000 heard the truck start, and I began a backwards creep 382 00:22:20.039 --> 00:22:23.039 while keeping my eye in the scope. I didn't want 383 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.359 to lose sight of this thing. I was going to 384 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:27.880 have to take a shot to stop it. It was 385 00:22:27.960 --> 00:22:30.039 moving too fast for me to make it to the 386 00:22:30.079 --> 00:22:33.240 truck in time. I lowered the mill dot to a 387 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:36.440 few feet in front of the charging animal and squeezed 388 00:22:36.480 --> 00:22:40.119 off three rounds, kicking up mud into the oncoming beast. 389 00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:44.400 It stopped its charged about thirty yards in front of 390 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:48.000 the bales. By this time I was even with the 391 00:22:48.079 --> 00:22:51.240 lowered tailgate, and I rolled over into the bed of 392 00:22:51.240 --> 00:22:55.039 the truck and slammed my hand on the sidewalls. My 393 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:58.240 son punched the gas pedal, and off we shot down 394 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:02.720 the gravel road. I finally got myself upright in the 395 00:23:02.759 --> 00:23:05.440 bed of the moving truck and tried to look through 396 00:23:05.440 --> 00:23:08.119 the darkness and my scope, but there was no way 397 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:10.160 to get a good field of view. As my son 398 00:23:10.240 --> 00:23:14.000 tore down the gravel road, the back window opened and 399 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:16.839 one of the boys asked if I was okay. I 400 00:23:16.920 --> 00:23:19.160 yelled for them to stop the truck, and we came 401 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:22.880