1 00:00:08,080 --> 00:00:10,679 Speaker 1: My name is Kenneth and I live in an area 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:15,720 called Arcla, tex It's where the Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas 3 00:00:15,759 --> 00:00:20,000 state lines meet. I grew up in Texarkana back in 4 00:00:20,039 --> 00:00:22,760 the nineteen sixties, and my family and I love to 5 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:27,079 go camping in the river bottoms of Little River, Arkansas 6 00:00:27,239 --> 00:00:31,920 in Little River County. I reported this event several years 7 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:37,359 ago to other reporting agencies or organizations. I went dormant 8 00:00:37,479 --> 00:00:41,799 afterwards due to the ridicule and other family members recanting 9 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,920 from what we experienced this night, So I'm the only 10 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,920 one still holding on to the actual events that took 11 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:53,880 place in August of nineteen sixty nine when we encountered 12 00:00:54,119 --> 00:00:59,520 a white bigfoot. I was twelve years old when we 13 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:04,519 had our first encounter on a Friday afternoon at Cottonwood Shoals. 14 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,599 My family and I were excited about going on a 15 00:01:07,599 --> 00:01:11,359 weekend camping trip. My brothers and I got the family 16 00:01:11,359 --> 00:01:15,079 truckloaded with all our gear and when my father got 17 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,840 home from work, there would be no delay in getting 18 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:22,480 to the woods. As we were leaving, a family member 19 00:01:22,599 --> 00:01:25,599 who lives a couple of houses down stepped out to 20 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:29,040 the curb and she waved us down. She was my 21 00:01:29,239 --> 00:01:32,280 aunt's mother in law, and she asked us not to 22 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:36,280 go camping at Cottonwood Shoals. She said that her and 23 00:01:36,319 --> 00:01:39,159 her husband were there a couple of weeks ago and 24 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,000 saw a hairy man peering at them from behind some 25 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,439 brush while she was fishing, and it scared the hell 26 00:01:45,519 --> 00:01:49,079 out of her. She said she had run to get 27 00:01:49,079 --> 00:01:51,599 her husband, who was fishing, and she told him what 28 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,079 had happened. Well, he called her a crazy old one. 29 00:01:56,439 --> 00:01:59,799 Oh man, what a mistake. He called her a crazy 30 00:01:59,799 --> 00:02:04,159 old woman, and then he took her home. My father 31 00:02:04,359 --> 00:02:07,120 told her that we would keep a lookout for this monster, 32 00:02:07,239 --> 00:02:10,520 and that she shouldn't worry about us. I'll be honest, 33 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:14,840 we were all laughing as we drove away. We don't 34 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:20,960 laugh anymore. I'm about to tell you why. We arrived 35 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,000 in time to set up camp and have supper. My 36 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,919 three older brothers got their fishing gear and they went 37 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,639 to get a night in of catfishing. It was getting 38 00:02:30,719 --> 00:02:33,439 dark when my mother and younger sister and two younger 39 00:02:33,479 --> 00:02:36,840 brothers crawled into the tent. They were ready to turn 40 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,520 in for the night. My father enjoyed sitting by the 41 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:45,159 campfire drinking beer and listening to country music on the radio. 42 00:02:45,319 --> 00:02:47,840 I wasn't ready for bed, so I decided to take 43 00:02:47,879 --> 00:02:51,360 a short walk down the road. The moon was bright 44 00:02:51,479 --> 00:02:54,560 enough so that I could see without a flashlight, and 45 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,400 I hadn't walked far from the camp site, and the 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,479 hare stood up on the back of my neck. I 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,360 felt a current of wind whiz by me. Something had 48 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:07,680 been thrown at me, and I turned around. I didn't 49 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:12,199 see anyone. For whatever reason, the woman's story about seeing 50 00:03:12,199 --> 00:03:15,360 the hairy man came to mind, so I ran straight 51 00:03:15,439 --> 00:03:19,439 back to camp. My father asked what had me in 52 00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:21,639 a hurry, and I blew it off, saying that I 53 00:03:21,719 --> 00:03:25,240 was just tired and ready for bed. Once in the tent, 54 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,240 I noticed our dog was acting weird. He was alert 55 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:32,000 and staring at the wall like it knew something was 56 00:03:32,039 --> 00:03:35,560 out there. Well, I betted down and we slept through 57 00:03:35,599 --> 00:03:41,120 an uneventful night. Saturday was the big day for swimming 58 00:03:41,199 --> 00:03:44,840 and fishing and exploring the area. I was down the 59 00:03:44,919 --> 00:03:47,759 road where my brothers had been catfishing the night before 60 00:03:48,159 --> 00:03:52,680 and had had the place to myself. Behind me across 61 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,479 the road were some pea gravel piles placed there by 62 00:03:55,520 --> 00:04:00,919 the county from that area, I heard noises like weird sounds. 63 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,159 I looked around and I didn't see any birds. This 64 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:09,039 went on for several minutes. To this day, I've never 65 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:12,280 heard noises like that before. And I noticed my two 66 00:04:12,400 --> 00:04:14,919 younger brothers playing behind the piles, and all I could 67 00:04:14,919 --> 00:04:18,199 see was the tops of one of their heads. They 68 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:20,920 both had cotton white hair then, so it was easy 69 00:04:20,959 --> 00:04:23,040 to see it was them, even though all I could 70 00:04:23,079 --> 00:04:26,399 see was the top of their heads. Okay, I thought, 71 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,240 it's just my brothers playing in the gravel piles. As 72 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:32,480 long as they stay over there and don't bother me 73 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:37,160 while I'm fishing, that'll be fine. Later in the morning, 74 00:04:37,199 --> 00:04:39,319 I heard my mother calling us to come back to 75 00:04:39,399 --> 00:04:42,439 camp for lunch, so I grabbed up my fishing pole 76 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,399 and I headed back. When I arrived at camp, my 77 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:49,680 brothers were there. The only way they could have beat 78 00:04:49,759 --> 00:04:52,160 me there was as if they'd had gone straight through 79 00:04:52,199 --> 00:04:55,600 the woods. Well, I told them they needed to stick 80 00:04:55,639 --> 00:04:58,199 to the roads because the woods were full of snakes 81 00:04:58,199 --> 00:05:02,079 and chiggers. They looked at me like I was crazy. 82 00:05:02,439 --> 00:05:04,399 They went on to say that they had not even 83 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:07,560 left camp all morning. Of course, I thought they were 84 00:05:07,600 --> 00:05:10,480 messing with me. I had seen them playing close to 85 00:05:10,519 --> 00:05:13,279 where I had been fishing. I let it go. We 86 00:05:13,360 --> 00:05:17,680 all had a fun day. By nine point thirty that night, 87 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,600 I was tired and ready for bed. I crawled into 88 00:05:20,639 --> 00:05:23,000 the tent with the others and I was drifting off 89 00:05:23,319 --> 00:05:27,519 when our dogs started acting weird again. We had left 90 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,399 the dog outside to sleep that night, and somehow with 91 00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:34,240 his teeth he had opened the zipper door of the 92 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:39,839 tent and squeezed inside. He woke everyone up. The dog 93 00:05:39,879 --> 00:05:42,439 came over by me, and it was trembling like it 94 00:05:42,519 --> 00:05:44,800 was cold, but I could see by the whites of 95 00:05:44,839 --> 00:05:48,160 his eyes that he was scared. My mom told me 96 00:05:48,199 --> 00:05:50,199 to close the zipper and let the dog stay in 97 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:53,639 the tent again. That night, that dog crawled in so 98 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,079 close to me I think he was trying to get 99 00:05:56,160 --> 00:05:59,759 under me. At some point during the night, my mother 100 00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:02,240 me up. She was getting up to go to the 101 00:06:02,319 --> 00:06:06,399 bathroom and a spot behind the tent. A few minutes later, 102 00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:11,600 her screams startled us fully awake. Well. I immediately stood 103 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:13,839 to look out the tent mesh window, and I saw 104 00:06:13,879 --> 00:06:17,000 my mother running back to the tent with her drawers 105 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:21,439 still down around her knees. She kept screaming, something's out there. 106 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,519 It's watching me, it's watching me. She made it back 107 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,360 to the tent and was screaming the same thing over 108 00:06:28,399 --> 00:06:31,360 and over to my father. Well, he finally got her 109 00:06:31,439 --> 00:06:34,879 quiet enough to understand what she was even saying, and 110 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:39,399 then he asked her, what's watching you? By chance? I 111 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,480 began panting the woods, and I saw a large figure 112 00:06:42,759 --> 00:06:47,240 run past our truck. The truck rocked back and forth 113 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:51,279 as it ran by. This thing was huge. It really 114 00:06:51,319 --> 00:06:54,680 shook me up. And then my mother began to describe 115 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,199 this thing to my father. She said it was a 116 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,879 giant and it looked like an It was covering white hair, 117 00:07:01,879 --> 00:07:04,920 and it had long arms. It was only a few 118 00:07:04,959 --> 00:07:08,800 feet from her when she noticed it. That's when I 119 00:07:08,879 --> 00:07:11,199 told them that I saw something run by the truck 120 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,920 while I was looking out the window. So all the 121 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,279 men walked over to look around in that direction. Beside 122 00:07:18,319 --> 00:07:22,680 the truck were giant tracks, clearly visible in the dust. 123 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,439 My father noticed a dent in the rear fender that 124 00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,879 had not been there before. When my mother had started screaming, 125 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,399 she had scared the creature as much as he scared her, 126 00:07:34,759 --> 00:07:39,600 and it ran away. That was my guess. I guess, 127 00:07:39,639 --> 00:07:41,800 not paying attention to what was in front of it, 128 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:44,240 it ran into the truck and then carried on with 129 00:07:44,360 --> 00:07:51,040 its escape. That's what I thought, but that wasn't the case. Now. 130 00:07:51,079 --> 00:07:54,360 My father was worried. I could see it in his demeanor. 131 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,399 Out of the truck, he pulled a shotgun and he 132 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:00,839 handed it to my brother to stay and guard while 133 00:08:00,839 --> 00:08:05,480 we packed up camp. We were leaving. This was one 134 00:08:05,519 --> 00:08:08,160 of those times when it took no encouragement for any 135 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,040 of us to pack up camp. It was dark and 136 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:14,600 hard to see everything, but we started throwing things loosely 137 00:08:14,639 --> 00:08:17,639 into the bed of the truck. We had that camp 138 00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,399 site packed up in record time, and then one of 139 00:08:21,399 --> 00:08:26,120 my brothers yelled, out, there it is. He raised the 140 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,680 shotgun and he fired into the darkness, and then my 141 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:33,200 father yelled out, it's circling the camp. Hurry up, we 142 00:08:33,279 --> 00:08:37,919 gotta go. By this time I was terrified. I know 143 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,799 the rest of my family was too, and we couldn't 144 00:08:40,799 --> 00:08:45,000 get out of there fast enough. Finally, with all of 145 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,159 us in the truck, my father turned the key and 146 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:52,080 it started, and in a few minutes we were gone. 147 00:08:52,279 --> 00:08:54,960 We made it home in the early morning hours and 148 00:08:55,039 --> 00:08:57,759 We all went straight to bed. It had been an 149 00:08:57,799 --> 00:09:02,519 exhausting night. The next day, our aunt came over to 150 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:06,159 ask why we were home early. She already knew, but 151 00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:09,399 she wanted to hear about it. We all sat in 152 00:09:09,399 --> 00:09:12,480 the living room comparing notes on what everyone had seen. 153 00:09:13,159 --> 00:09:18,120 Apparently it was the same creature. None of us laugh 154 00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:26,840 at bigfoot stories, now we take them very seriously. This 155 00:09:26,919 --> 00:09:30,960 is not a bigfoot story, but a damn sure creepy one. 156 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:33,000 You can call me Ray if you want to use 157 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:36,440 my name. Let me tell you an interesting story that 158 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:40,320 happened to me. When I was twenty, I had a 159 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,240 friend that worked on a ranch here in Texas, and 160 00:09:43,279 --> 00:09:45,639 I would help the ranch out from time to time. 161 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:49,120 When the owners were away, we were allowed in the 162 00:09:49,159 --> 00:09:53,440 main ranch house. It was a big log cabin with 163 00:09:53,519 --> 00:09:57,559 a giant game room and a trophy room. The owner 164 00:09:57,639 --> 00:10:00,919 had animals mounted from all over the world. There was 165 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:04,679 a bar and a nice pool table. The cabin had 166 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,200 a huge walk around porch all the way around. The 167 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,919 cabin was made out of huge logs hauled in from 168 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:16,840 the mountains. It was an absolutely beautiful place. The house 169 00:10:16,879 --> 00:10:20,320 had a large fenced in yard with motion lights all around. 170 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:25,480 In state of the art security systems. After work one evening, 171 00:10:25,639 --> 00:10:28,080 we were hanging out and shooting a game of pool 172 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,840 before bed. The ranch dog was in there with us. 173 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:36,360 It was a huge rock whiler named Cowboy. A little 174 00:10:36,399 --> 00:10:39,879 after dark, the motion lights went off, illuminating the yard 175 00:10:39,919 --> 00:10:42,960 in the pasture. We thought it was a horse that 176 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:45,639 may have come up to the house, so we continued 177 00:10:45,679 --> 00:10:50,200 playing pool. Some time later, the lights came on again, 178 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:54,480 but there was nothing out there, and still Cowboy continued 179 00:10:54,519 --> 00:10:57,799 acting strange and he appeared to be watching something out 180 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:02,320 the window. An hour went by and the motion detector 181 00:11:02,399 --> 00:11:06,360 lights came on again. We heard footsteps on the porch 182 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,559 around the back of the house. After a detailed check, 183 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,600 we couldn't find anything, but it was still getting kind 184 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,320 of creepy. Now we were starting to think that someone 185 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,360 was messing with us, so we had one last game 186 00:11:20,399 --> 00:11:23,679 of pool, and then suddenly the lights came on again 187 00:11:23,799 --> 00:11:28,320 and Cowboy the rockweller started barking ferociously. It really got 188 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,200 our attention, and then we heard footsteps on the porch again. 189 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:35,200 They were getting close to the side door coming out 190 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:38,960 of the game room. We walked around to the gun 191 00:11:39,039 --> 00:11:42,679 cabinet and we grabbed rifles, and the huge dog crawled 192 00:11:42,759 --> 00:11:46,279 under the table and he was whimpering. We didn't know 193 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,720 what to think, but that was enough for us. We 194 00:11:49,759 --> 00:11:53,840 packed up and we headed back to town. The next 195 00:11:53,879 --> 00:11:57,240 day we went back, the owner had returned and we 196 00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:00,840 described the events to him, sure that he was going 197 00:12:00,919 --> 00:12:04,600 to say that we were crazy, but surprisingly he didn't, 198 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:08,919 and then he launched into his story even more weird 199 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,600 than ours. His daughters were riding horses on the back 200 00:12:13,639 --> 00:12:16,639 of the property a few weeks back, and it was 201 00:12:16,759 --> 00:12:20,399 just a normal ride. Later in the day, the girls 202 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,960 came back on the horses at a full gallop and 203 00:12:23,039 --> 00:12:27,879 they were terrified, in almost a panic. They told him 204 00:12:27,919 --> 00:12:30,480 that they were going down through the creek crossing and 205 00:12:30,519 --> 00:12:34,840 the horses got spooked. They looked around, thinking maybe it 206 00:12:34,879 --> 00:12:39,240 was a predator near by making the horses jumpy, but instead, 207 00:12:39,919 --> 00:12:43,279 a short distance down the creek, they saw an old 208 00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,799 Indian chief standing in the middle of the creek, and 209 00:12:46,879 --> 00:12:50,720 he was standing on top of the water. He was 210 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,960 dressed in the traditional clothing and headgear that you would 211 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,840 imagine a chief would be dressed in. It scared them 212 00:12:57,879 --> 00:13:00,679 so bad that they ran the horses full speed back 213 00:13:00,679 --> 00:13:04,519 to the cabin. We did some digging and we found 214 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:09,200 there was an ancient Indian burial ground nearby. After that event, 215 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:14,240 there would be fresh napped arrowheads found occasionally around our campfires. 216 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,399 I just wanted to share this short event with your audience. 217 00:13:18,879 --> 00:13:22,080 Odd things happen to people all the time. This is 218 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:26,320 just one of them. I believe it's true. The best 219 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,399 we could figure it was the old Indian chief walking 220 00:13:29,399 --> 00:13:32,240 around on the porch that night that we were shooting pool. 221 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:42,960 We never stayed there overnight again. Ghosts on the Colorado River. 222 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,960 I was sixteen when I had my first trip down 223 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:51,159 the Colorado River. The river runs through the Grand Canyon 224 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:55,799 between Arizona and Nevada, and, in my humble opinion, is 225 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,440 the best way to see the National Park and all 226 00:13:58,519 --> 00:14:03,080 its God intended beauty. The river is two hundred and 227 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:07,600 fifty miles of glorious water, desert, and red rock. A 228 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:10,120 great place for a kid to make some good money, 229 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,120 and absolutely nowhere to spend it. I first started running 230 00:14:15,159 --> 00:14:19,039 the river as what they call a swamper. A swamper 231 00:14:19,120 --> 00:14:21,639 is someone who gets a free trip in exchange for 232 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,519 working their way down the river and helping the river guides. 233 00:14:25,759 --> 00:14:29,080 This starts with a day long process to inflate and 234 00:14:29,279 --> 00:14:32,279 rig a two ton boat and load it with enough 235 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:36,480 provisions to last eighteen people a full week of eating, 236 00:14:36,679 --> 00:14:41,320 surfing turf most nights. That's a lot of heavy lifting, 237 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,679 and I soon became popular due to my strong work 238 00:14:44,679 --> 00:14:48,120 ethic and my strong back, and like most sixteen year 239 00:14:48,159 --> 00:14:51,080 old boys back then, I was happiest when I was 240 00:14:51,120 --> 00:14:56,360 picking up something heavy and flexing for the girls. After 241 00:14:56,399 --> 00:14:59,399 the first trip, I was hooked, and they soon gave 242 00:14:59,399 --> 00:15:01,840 me an actual job, and I was promoted to a 243 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:05,840 river guide. In training, I started running as often as 244 00:15:05,879 --> 00:15:08,519 I could, gone for months at a time, and making 245 00:15:08,559 --> 00:15:12,519 great money for a sixteen year old kid. By the 246 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:14,559 end of the season, it was hard to put on 247 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:17,159 a shirt and put away my sandals and go back 248 00:15:17,159 --> 00:15:21,360 to a boring high school life. A typical trip on 249 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,879 the river was a week long. They were divided up 250 00:15:24,919 --> 00:15:29,240 into two parts, the upper and the lower. The upper 251 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,240 group of passengers would go float for four days and 252 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,919 then helicopter out. At the same time, a new group 253 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,200 for the lower part of the river would helicopter in. 254 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,159 The upper had the best rapids, but the lower had 255 00:15:42,200 --> 00:15:47,320 more intrigue, and I'll get to that later. Passengers were 256 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,200 usually tourists from the big city who had never so 257 00:15:50,399 --> 00:15:53,279 much as set foot on a dirt trail or rock 258 00:15:53,679 --> 00:15:56,200 let alone. Spent four days in the middle of a hot, 259 00:15:56,240 --> 00:16:00,159 stinking desert, and at times US guides would crim and 260 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:02,960 just we watched them walk around like aliens on a 261 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:05,960 new planet, just waiting for them to twist or break 262 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:11,320 an ankle. The area is so remote that hikers regularly 263 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:15,320 go missing and are never found again. I once even 264 00:16:15,360 --> 00:16:17,399 had a local pilot lean over to me in a 265 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:20,360 quiet voice and say, Hey, if you ever need to 266 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,039 get rid of a body, just let me know. I 267 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,039 know where we can drop it out of my plane. 268 00:16:25,799 --> 00:16:30,200 No one will ever find it. Needless to say, that 269 00:16:30,279 --> 00:16:33,399 left me speechless. I couldn't tell if he was kidding, 270 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:35,840 and I wasn't about to dig in and find out. 271 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:41,519 But I digress. We did our best to protect our passengers, 272 00:16:41,639 --> 00:16:44,360 but I don't think they realized just how dangerous the 273 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:48,600 trip really was. Between massive rapids that can pin you 274 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,159 against the boulder and drown you, the freezing water that 275 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:56,480 can quickly put you into hypothermia, and the poisonous wildlife 276 00:16:56,919 --> 00:17:01,159 it was pretty much like walking through a minefield. I 277 00:17:01,240 --> 00:17:04,640 knew guides that had found actual bodies floating in the river. 278 00:17:05,519 --> 00:17:07,839 They just fished them out, wrap them in a tarp, 279 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:11,559 and drop them off at the next helipad. Now that 280 00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,000 I write that, I admit it sounds worse than it 281 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:18,200 really is. One thing our passengers didn't realize is that 282 00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:21,920 once you start floating down the canyon, it's nearly impossible 283 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:25,839 to get out. The river passes through some of the 284 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:30,079 most remote areas of the country, with sheer canyon walls 285 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:34,079 up to four thousand feet high. There are very few 286 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:37,480 trails up to the rim, and injured hikers or boaters 287 00:17:37,519 --> 00:17:40,920 typically die before they get help, or if they're lucky, 288 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,640 someone calls a helicopter they pluck them out of the canyon. 289 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,160 That's not as easy as it sounds, because cell phones 290 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:53,599 don't have a prayer of working here. In the old days, 291 00:17:53,799 --> 00:17:56,119 we had to wait for a commercial airliner to fly 292 00:17:56,240 --> 00:18:00,000 overhead and we'd contact them on the emergency radio channel. 293 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:03,839 They would then radio the Park Service to arrange for 294 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:08,799 a helicopter at a predetermined time and place. These days, 295 00:18:08,880 --> 00:18:12,200 satellite phones seemed to work better, but even the narrow 296 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:17,160 canyon walls can interfere with that signal. With all this said, 297 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,079 the grandeur and the splendor of the canyon is worth 298 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:25,680 all that risk. My personal favorite is the canyon walls 299 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,359 in the morning light. It is nothing less than breathtaking. 300 00:18:30,079 --> 00:18:33,599 The beauty of this place still captivates me today and 301 00:18:33,759 --> 00:18:40,480 millions who visit. The river passes through Indian reservations, the Navajo, 302 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:46,200 the Hopi, the Piute, and the Wallapie, among others. This 303 00:18:46,279 --> 00:18:49,039 story is about a night we camped on the Wallapie 304 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:53,640 side of the river. The trip had gone well up 305 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,039 to this point, and we were at the end of 306 00:18:56,079 --> 00:18:59,680 a four day and our passengers would be helicoptering alphon 307 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:03,319 Neexis morning. The group was large enough that we had 308 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,359 two boats to float the thirty passengers. These weren't the 309 00:19:07,480 --> 00:19:12,279 typical inflatable boats with oars. These are thirty foot long 310 00:19:12,559 --> 00:19:16,400 and they set two feet off the water. The design 311 00:19:16,519 --> 00:19:20,240 wasn't originally used in World War II to support temporary 312 00:19:20,279 --> 00:19:23,880 bridges over the water. They have a metal frame inside 313 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:28,160 and they weigh two tons empty. To manage this heavy boat, 314 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:31,960 there's a twenty five horsepower motor on the back. The 315 00:19:32,039 --> 00:19:35,559 engine is for some propulsion, but mostly for steering the 316 00:19:35,599 --> 00:19:40,359 beasts through the massive rapids. While these boats are quite large, 317 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,880 they don't even compare to the size of the rapids 318 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,920 in the canyon. I've seen many disappear into the rapids 319 00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:49,519 and held my breath as I waited for them to exit. 320 00:19:51,240 --> 00:19:54,480 It was getting laid. On day four, we began looking 321 00:19:54,519 --> 00:19:58,000 for a place to camp. We had lingered long enough 322 00:19:58,039 --> 00:20:00,920 at lunch than we should have. The day was quickly 323 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:05,279 getting away from us. We passed several other river trips. 324 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:07,799 Each time we would pause and ask where they were 325 00:20:07,799 --> 00:20:10,519 going to camp, and we quickly found out that our 326 00:20:10,559 --> 00:20:14,119 options were limited. We would have to camp at a 327 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:18,359 location that was less than ideal. The guy I was 328 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:22,160 with was very disappointed and even seemed on edge about 329 00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:25,799 the campsite. I was surprised, given that he was a 330 00:20:25,839 --> 00:20:28,839 twenty year veteran who had seen it all, and I'd 331 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:34,160 never seen him get agitated like that. The campsite was fine, 332 00:20:34,240 --> 00:20:37,279 but it was not great. It was rocky, with limited 333 00:20:37,319 --> 00:20:40,559 space for that many people to place their cots, but 334 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:44,640 that was okay. The passengers didn't know any different, and 335 00:20:44,680 --> 00:20:49,319 we were not about to tell them. Our predominant feature 336 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:52,680 of the site was a step and rugged canyon up 337 00:20:52,759 --> 00:20:55,839 above it. To a sixteen year old, it looked like 338 00:20:55,839 --> 00:20:59,480 an nice adventure after dinner if the light held. And 339 00:20:59,519 --> 00:21:01,920 after I finished cleaning up dinner, I told the guy 340 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:03,799 that I was going to hike or climb up through 341 00:21:03,799 --> 00:21:08,880 the canyon. He strongly discouraged me, and he told me 342 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:12,440 that there was a Wallapie Indian burial ground just up above. 343 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,680 He simply but firmly said, trust me, you do not 344 00:21:16,839 --> 00:21:20,359 want to go up there. I have to pause and 345 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,799 talk about the Waala Pie. I've come across many Native 346 00:21:23,799 --> 00:21:27,519 Americans in the canyon and surrounding areas, and many are 347 00:21:27,599 --> 00:21:31,359 guides and really great people. The Walla Pie in those 348 00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:34,480 days even used to run their own tours down the river, 349 00:21:34,680 --> 00:21:37,759 and they were always easy to get along with. But 350 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:40,519 with that said, the history of the Wala Pie is 351 00:21:40,559 --> 00:21:45,039 a bit more colorful. The way the legend goes it 352 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:47,519 is that during the Indian Wars and the mid to 353 00:21:47,559 --> 00:21:51,759 late eighteen hundreds, the Walla Pie, like most tribes, pushed 354 00:21:51,799 --> 00:21:56,839 back hard against the United States cavalry. Tensions were high 355 00:21:56,920 --> 00:22:01,960 and both began using unsavory tactics. At one point, the 356 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:06,119 son of a Wallapie chief was kidnapped in Hell for ransom. 357 00:22:06,759 --> 00:22:10,319 For some reason, the negotiations went south and his son 358 00:22:10,519 --> 00:22:15,240 was killed. Since that day, visitors began disappearing on the 359 00:22:15,279 --> 00:22:20,000 reservation and on the river running through it. Most attributed 360 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,440 it to skin walkers and the locals delving into black magic. 361 00:22:26,279 --> 00:22:28,880 I only made it halfway up the canyon before I 362 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,839 got an odd feeling like I shouldn't be there. That feeling, 363 00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:36,920 along with the fading light, made me quickly turn around. 364 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:39,559 I didn't want to be up there in the dark 365 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,359 with that I shouldn't be here feeling in my gut, 366 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,839 and I quickly turned around and I returned to camp. 367 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:49,400 I think the other Goud was relieved to see me 368 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:52,680 come back, and it wasn't until later that night that 369 00:22:52,799 --> 00:22:55,319 he told me the last guy that went up there 370 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,599 couldn't shake a bad feeling. For months. He was convinced 371 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:03,440 that the spirits of the dead Wallapie were following him around. 372 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:06,519 He was always looking over his shoulder and he felt 373 00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:10,599 like he was being watched. As you can imagine, that 374 00:23:10,599 --> 00:23:14,200 didn't exactly make me feel any better, and soon after 375 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,200 we all decided to turn in for the night. What 376 00:23:18,519 --> 00:23:23,039 ensued was one of the most restless nights of my life. 377 00:23:23,079 --> 00:23:27,119 It all started shortly before I went to bed. Most 378 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,039 of the guys slept on the boat. I was sleeping 379 00:23:30,079 --> 00:23:32,079 on the front of the boat, nearest to the shore. 380 00:23:33,240 --> 00:23:35,400 I was woken up by the sound of footsteps in 381 00:23:35,440 --> 00:23:39,000 the water. And at first this wasn't a real concern. 382 00:23:40,079 --> 00:23:43,799 Periodically we'd have a sleepless or drunk passenger walking around 383 00:23:43,799 --> 00:23:48,359 at night, exploring or a little bit lost. However, when 384 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,160 I shined my flashlight in the direction of the sound, 385 00:23:51,359 --> 00:23:55,920 I didn't see a thing. This pattern repeated itself all 386 00:23:56,039 --> 00:23:59,880 night long. I must have woken up at least every hour. 387 00:24:01,799 --> 00:24:04,599 It was just before dawn as the first hint of 388 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:07,440 light entered the canyon that I was nearly shaken out 389 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,559 of my cot. In fact, both boats were violently shaken, 390 00:24:11,599 --> 00:24:14,799 to the point that we all nearly were thrown overboard. 391 00:24:16,039 --> 00:24:19,880 Two boats, nearly six tons fully loaded, were shaken like 392 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:23,960 a toy. We all jumped up and looked around, and 393 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,720 we looked to see if perhaps river debris had bumped 394 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:30,240 into us, or maybe something fell off the boat. But 395 00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:33,319 everything looked to be in order, and these were big 396 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,200 boats that were hard to move. Maybe I was dreaming this. 397 00:24:39,279 --> 00:24:42,400 After the initial shok war off, the sleep set in 398 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:46,640 and everyone went back to bed. I couldn't sleep, though 399 00:24:46,799 --> 00:24:49,720 I'd been on edge all night, and now this happened. 400 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,079 I sat there, staring down into the brown, cloudy water, 401 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:58,279 and then I saw it. It was something just below 402 00:24:58,319 --> 00:25:02,960 the surface. It was blurry, but something was definitely there. 403 00:25:04,559 --> 00:25:06,920 I leaned in to try to help my eyes focus 404 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,000 in the dim light, and as I stared into the water, 405 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:15,039 it seemed to draw me in. Two dark spots slowly 406 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:21,160 solidified to become eyes, piercing eyes that locked into mine, 407 00:25:21,599 --> 00:25:24,440 not like looking at eyes in a picture, but eyes 408 00:25:24,519 --> 00:25:29,559 that moved to meet yours. Something with a consciousness, something 409 00:25:29,599 --> 00:25:32,880 almost like a new awareness, came over me, like it 410 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:35,759 had been there all along, but I hadn't seen it before. 411 00:25:36,519 --> 00:25:38,759 The nose and the mouth, and the forehead and the 412 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,480 chin all began to take shape. It was a face 413 00:25:42,759 --> 00:25:47,359 of an old Indian man, with weathered skin and deep wrinkles. 414 00:25:48,519 --> 00:25:51,759 He wore a full head dress with feathers and beads. 415 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:57,759 He appeared proud and defiant, almost royal. I was rattled 416 00:25:57,759 --> 00:26:01,920 by this revelation and shocked, and I jumped back and 417 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,920 when I came back to look, he was gone. Over 418 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,160 the course of the next three summers, I refused to 419 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:12,799 camp at that site. Some of it was fear from 420 00:26:12,839 --> 00:26:16,359 my experience, but most of it was out of respect, 421 00:26:17,480 --> 00:26:20,240 my new respect for the dead of that place.