WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:11.240 Imagine dining in a restaurant and overhearing someone's waitress say 2 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:14.839 to their table, my nickname since I was a little 3 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:19.399 girl has been Little Yetty. Her table had apparently been 4 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.480 talking bigfoot when she walked by. Wait What, one of 5 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.519 her customers asked as she was headed down the drink station. 6 00:00:27.359 --> 00:00:29.960 Their waitress turned back at them and smiled, I'll be 7 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:34.119 right back. After a few minutes of which probably seemed 8 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:37.960 like an eternity to those people, Little Yetti returned to 9 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.240 their table. What did you mean, asked one of the 10 00:00:41.280 --> 00:00:43.920 men at the table. Have you ever seen a bigfoot 11 00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:47.799 around here? I sure have, she said many times, in 12 00:00:47.960 --> 00:00:50.880 part that's how I got my nickname. I've sort of 13 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:54.280 grown up with them. The three people at the table 14 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:58.039 just looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces, 15 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:01.960 she continued. One morning, when I was younger, I looked 16 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:04.599 out the window of our family cabin as my uncle 17 00:01:04.760 --> 00:01:08.040 was outside playing with his two dogs. It was about 18 00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:11.799 then that he noticed they were nowhere in sight. After 19 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:15.519 repeatedly calling their names and also looking behind the cabin, 20 00:01:16.120 --> 00:01:19.959 he spotted them cowering under his pickup truck in the driveway. 21 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:23.680 He called to them, but they wouldn't even look at him. 22 00:01:24.159 --> 00:01:27.319 What's going on, he wondered out loud, and then he 23 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:30.359 noticed the direction they were looking was to the trees 24 00:01:30.519 --> 00:01:34.560 less than fifty yards directly behind him. At this point, 25 00:01:34.680 --> 00:01:38.200 everyone at my table continued to eavesdrop on the conversation 26 00:01:38.879 --> 00:01:41.840 as their waitress paused for a moment and just looked 27 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:45.319 at each other. For her customers, Everyone at my table 28 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.959 continued to eavesdrop on this conversation as their waitress paused 29 00:01:49.959 --> 00:01:52.959 for a moment and just looked at each of her customers. 30 00:01:53.840 --> 00:01:58.480 The man in a green hat asked, Okay, what happened next? Well, 31 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:01.079 before my uncle even turned turned around, the hair on 32 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:04.959 his neck stood straight up. He was almost too afraid 33 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:08.639 to turn around as he slowly gazed down at the 34 00:02:08.680 --> 00:02:11.879 dogs again to see if they were still looking behind him. 35 00:02:12.280 --> 00:02:15.759 He slowly reached inside the truck and grabbed a Savage 36 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.360 thirty six hunting rifle. Once more, he checked with the 37 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:24.879 dogs before he finally began to turn around. Little Yetti 38 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.639 stopped her story to add that the woods around their 39 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:32.000 family cabin has a long history of visitations from coyotes, 40 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:36.120 black bear, elk, mule, deer, Bobcat, mountain lion, and if 41 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:40.919 you believe some people, wolves and grizzly bear, whatever was 42 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:44.599 behind her uncle was scary enough to spoop those dogs, 43 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:50.639 Little Yettie continued. My uncle cautiously swiveled his upper body 44 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:53.800 towards the woods, holding the gun close to his chest, 45 00:02:54.520 --> 00:02:57.400 and then he saw it. Just outside of the trees 46 00:02:57.479 --> 00:03:01.080 stood a seven to eight foot hairyman watching him and 47 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:04.360 his dogs. He was covered in brown hair and he 48 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:08.439 stood motionless. I watched through the window as my uncle 49 00:03:08.599 --> 00:03:11.599 slowly lifted the rifle to his shoulder so he could 50 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:15.000 look at this man through a high powered scope. Just 51 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:17.240 as he put his eye to the scope, the creature 52 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:20.960 turned and ran into the woods. Wow, said one of 53 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:24.000 the men at the table. Yeah. It took a couple 54 00:03:24.080 --> 00:03:26.759 of minutes before his dogs felt safe enough to leave 55 00:03:26.800 --> 00:03:29.280 the shelter of the truck. Okay, can I get you 56 00:03:29.319 --> 00:03:32.719 folks anything else? Each of the three men at the 57 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:35.520 table looked at each other, and then one ask, so 58 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:40.159 why is your nickname, little Yetti? Oh yeah, that's another story, 59 00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:44.080 well sort of, she said. They all laughed and chimed 60 00:03:44.080 --> 00:03:48.319 in together. Well we're not going anywhere, so carry on, okay, 61 00:03:48.319 --> 00:03:51.280 but let me check on my other tables first. Are 62 00:03:51.319 --> 00:03:53.800 you sure you don't need anything else while I'm here? 63 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:57.960 We're sure? How about another round of that delicious root beer? 64 00:03:58.360 --> 00:04:02.360 And she replied, coming right up. While she was away, 65 00:04:02.439 --> 00:04:04.879 the three of them just sort of looked off out 66 00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:08.599 the windows, probably imagining what it could have been like 67 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:12.719 to experience a sasquatch up in those mountains, especially when 68 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.920 your two dogs are apparently unable to confront it. Seriously, 69 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:20.000 many people go hiking with their dogs hoping it will 70 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:23.399 protect them. Maybe they would, but against a close encounter 71 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:27.160 with a sasquatch. My friends and I looked at each 72 00:04:27.199 --> 00:04:30.879 other and we smiled, Yeah, we're not going anywhere either. 73 00:04:31.199 --> 00:04:35.000 This is too good. It wasn't long before their waitress 74 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:39.439 returned with three large root beers and little YETI said, okay, 75 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:42.120 so where were we? One of the men said, we're 76 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.879 wondering where you got your nickname? Laughing, She said, oh, yeah, 77 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:49.279 that the encounter I just told you wasn't my first 78 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.000 time seeing one of these creatures while growing up at 79 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:56.519 my parents' cabin. In fact, I've seen that particular sasquatch 80 00:04:56.600 --> 00:05:00.279 many times before, so I'm not afraid of him. My 81 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:03.720 uncle though that was his first time. He'd heard some 82 00:05:03.879 --> 00:05:06.199 of my stories over the years, but never had a 83 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:10.079 personal experience before that. He didn't want to shoot it, 84 00:05:10.319 --> 00:05:13.240 just get a closer look. This will probably sound a 85 00:05:13.240 --> 00:05:17.160 bit unusual and maybe unbelievable, but when I was seven 86 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:19.680 years old, my parents and I were sitting in the 87 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:22.319 living room of the cabin with the windows and the 88 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:25.480 front door open. It was about the same time of 89 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:28.279 year as now, so having the windows and door open 90 00:05:28.560 --> 00:05:32.680 allowed cool air to circulate through the house. Suddenly, my 91 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:35.839 mother said, listen, do you hear that? And we all 92 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:40.160 stopped moving and tuned our ears towards the outdoors. There 93 00:05:40.439 --> 00:05:43.519 that did you guys hear it? We all jumped up 94 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.040 and we ran outside to get a better listen, and 95 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:48.759 my dad said, that sounds like an elk calf calling 96 00:05:48.800 --> 00:05:51.720 out to its mother. And we all looked at each 97 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:55.240 other and began moving towards the sound. It didn't seem 98 00:05:55.240 --> 00:05:58.480 that far away, possibly just inside the trees where my 99 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.879 uncle saw the hairy man. When we arrived to where 100 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:04.560 we thought the sound was coming from, my mother said, 101 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:08.000 it now sounds like it's over there, pointing to our left. 102 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:12.279 Another thirty or forty yards away. Once more, we stopped 103 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:14.439 where we thought the sound was coming from, but we 104 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:17.839 didn't see anything there. It is again, my mother said, 105 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:21.600 as she pointed back in another direction, What is going on? 106 00:06:21.759 --> 00:06:24.160 My father said, it's like moving us around, but we 107 00:06:24.279 --> 00:06:27.319 can't see it. And this continued for quite a while, 108 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:29.959 and before we knew it, we were quite a distance 109 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.000 from the cabin, and then we heard the crying sound 110 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:36.720 coming from the edge of a cliff. That cliff was 111 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:39.959 nearly a mile from the cabin, and my mother said, 112 00:06:40.120 --> 00:06:43.879 I don't get it. Where is this baby elk? My 113 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.240 father walked to the ledge and he looked down. What 114 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:51.759 the heck he blurted out, come look at this. My 115 00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:54.000 mother and I ran over to the edge of the 116 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:56.639 cliff and looked down to see what he had seen. 117 00:06:57.439 --> 00:07:01.560 There on a small ledge was an elk calf. Somehow 118 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:04.639 it became trapped about twenty five feet down on a 119 00:07:04.759 --> 00:07:09.399 really small outcropping. And then my dad asked, okay, how 120 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:11.800 would this selk get all the way down there without 121 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:15.240 going over the edge. He didn't wait for an answer. 122 00:07:15.319 --> 00:07:17.639 I'll be right back. I'm going for a rope. You 123 00:07:17.680 --> 00:07:20.240 two stay here and keep an eye on it. My 124 00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:23.600 father disappeared back into the woods. Our cabin was now 125 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:26.160 a mile away, so it would take a while before 126 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.439 he returned. My mother and I sat down on a 127 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:33.319 fallen tree and just looked down at the baby. Mom, 128 00:07:33.759 --> 00:07:35.480 how do you get down there? And how could we 129 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.720 hear it all the way through the woods to our house? Well, 130 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:42.199 I don't know, honey. It didn't take my father as 131 00:07:42.279 --> 00:07:45.560 long to return as I thought it would. He appeared 132 00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:49.079 on the ranger with ropes in the back. He said, 133 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.560 you'll never guess what I found on the way to 134 00:07:51.600 --> 00:07:55.560 the cabin. The baby's mother is dead and her carcass 135 00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:59.199 has already been chewed on by coyotes. She's not far 136 00:07:59.279 --> 00:08:03.120 from here, just over that way. Dad tied a rope 137 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:05.680 up to his harness into a nearby tree and then 138 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:08.879 lowered himself down to the elk. My mom and I 139 00:08:08.920 --> 00:08:11.639 stood above him and asked, can we do anything to help. 140 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:14.279 I'm going to lift the elk above my shoulders and 141 00:08:14.360 --> 00:08:16.839 try to climb back up. I need you guys to 142 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:19.120 keep the rope to the side of the tree root 143 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:23.120 so it doesn't get hung up. Okay, can you do that? Sure? Honey? 144 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:26.800 My mother replied, It took my dad about five minutes 145 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:29.600 to get the baby up to safety. He was exhausted 146 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:32.519 and sat down to catch his breath. The three of 147 00:08:32.600 --> 00:08:35.440 us just sat there looking at the calf. It was 148 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.960 probably relieved too, but it didn't run off. It just 149 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.120 laid down in the shade of my father. The waitress 150 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.799 stopped there, and she looked at her watch and said 151 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:48.759 she'd be back for the rest of the story. One 152 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:51.200 of her orders had appeared to be up, so she 153 00:08:51.320 --> 00:08:54.720 needed to take someone's food to the table. While she 154 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:58.080 was gone. One of the customers said, poor baby. Yeah, 155 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.360 I wonder how this story ends, said another guy. It 156 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:06.200 was about fifteen minutes before she returned to finish the story. Okay, 157 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:08.159 we have to hurry with the rest of the story. 158 00:09:08.200 --> 00:09:11.600 I have more tables coming in, she said. We all 159 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:15.240 piled into our UTV and took the baby elk back 160 00:09:15.279 --> 00:09:17.960 to the cabin. I was the lucky one who got 161 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:21.240 to hold it. During the ride. My dad slowed the 162 00:09:21.320 --> 00:09:25.000 UTV down at one point and pointed up ahead, that's 163 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:29.159 the mother carcass right there. My mother then suggested that 164 00:09:29.240 --> 00:09:32.360 maybe the baby ran for safety but ended up trapped 165 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:35.759 over the edge. Maybe, said my dad, but there's no 166 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:38.639 way it should have landed on that small outcropping and 167 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:42.840 not fallen into the ravine below. Dad, do you know 168 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:45.240 how we could hear it crying from way out there? 169 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.399 I asked, I sure don't. A lot of this doesn't 170 00:09:48.440 --> 00:09:51.879 make any sense at all, he continued. For now, we 171 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.320 need to figure out what to do with this self. 172 00:09:55.159 --> 00:09:57.600 We all remained silent the rest of the way back 173 00:09:57.639 --> 00:10:00.519 to the cabin. Bring the elk inside with you, my 174 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:03.039 dad said, as he took the machine out back and 175 00:10:03.120 --> 00:10:06.240 he parked it, and then little YETI said, Okay, guys, 176 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.679 to make a longer story shorter. The elk stayed with 177 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:12.759 us until it was older, much older. In fact, it 178 00:10:12.799 --> 00:10:16.559 was too large to stay indoors. Can you imagine a 179 00:10:16.600 --> 00:10:21.039 long legged elk walking around inside your house. One thing 180 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:24.639 became clear over time. The more and more we talked 181 00:10:24.639 --> 00:10:27.639 about the details of what happened, the more the only 182 00:10:27.720 --> 00:10:31.200 thing that really made sense didn't make any sense at all. 183 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.120 The cow elk was killed and the baby needed shelter. 184 00:10:35.639 --> 00:10:38.840 There's absolutely no way we would have heard its cries 185 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:42.159 for help at that distance. We even tested it by 186 00:10:42.279 --> 00:10:46.080 yelling and playing loud music from the ranger We couldn't 187 00:10:46.120 --> 00:10:49.519 hear anything from that far out, even at night. So 188 00:10:49.639 --> 00:10:51.720 what are you saying, one of the guys at the 189 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:56.799 table asked, I'm suggesting that the brown haired sysquatch helped 190 00:10:56.840 --> 00:11:00.840 us find the baby. We also found as lord footprints 191 00:11:00.919 --> 00:11:03.600 near the ledge when we went back to test sound 192 00:11:03.679 --> 00:11:07.879 traveling back to our cabin. That one bigfoot came around 193 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.480 a few years following our return with the calf. It 194 00:11:11.600 --> 00:11:13.919 was as if he was checking to make sure that 195 00:11:14.039 --> 00:11:18.759 we had it home safely. Additionally, there's no realistic way 196 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.879 the baby would have survived the fall twenty five feet 197 00:11:21.960 --> 00:11:24.720 down to the tiny landing in which we found it on. 198 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:29.200 We think that sasquatch was mimicking the baby's cries to 199 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:32.559 get our attention, and from a distance we could hear it. 200 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:35.919 Then it lured us closer and closer to the ledge, 201 00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:39.120 where we believe it placed the baby so no predators 202 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:42.519 could get at it. The waitress stopped for a breather 203 00:11:42.759 --> 00:11:45.480 and let it sink in with her customers, who just 204 00:11:45.559 --> 00:11:49.879 stared at her. Wow, that's an amazing story. But how 205 00:11:49.879 --> 00:11:53.120 did you get your nickname? One of them asked. The 206 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.720 waitress just smiled at him as the baby elk needed 207 00:11:56.759 --> 00:12:00.000 to be taken care of and watched after. My parents 208 00:12:00.080 --> 00:12:03.360 started calling me little Yetti as I took care of 209 00:12:03.399 --> 00:12:06.840 the calf like the hairy Man looked after it. Over 210 00:12:06.879 --> 00:12:11.840 the years, the name just stuck. Her customer started laughing, Yeah, 211 00:12:11.879 --> 00:12:14.919 that makes sense. Thanks for sharing your story with us, 212 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:18.360 No problem, she said, There's more to the story, and 213 00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:22.240 I have other experiences up at our family cabin, but 214 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:25.159 I have to get back to work. Have a great night, 215 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:28.720 and thanks for coming in for lunch. My two friends 216 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:31.559 and I just sunk deeper in our booth as we 217 00:12:31.600 --> 00:12:36.039 looked at each other and smiled. What a story. Huh yeah, 218 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:38.799 I replied, you think it's true? I mean, do you 219 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.759 think the sasquatch really led them to the baby elk? 220 00:12:42.519 --> 00:12:45.519 Why not? She even said, there's more to the story. 221 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:52.559 I can't imagine what else happened. I've never run into 222 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:55.840 a bigfoot head on, but indirectly, I'm pretty sure that 223 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:59.600 I've had two encounters over the years. I am an 224 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:03.559 old Marie. I'm eighty years old, and I've hunted and 225 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:08.080 camped all my life, from California to Colorado to Kansas 226 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:11.720 and back. I was born in Corpus CHRISTI in the 227 00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:14.840 war years. This is about the start of what we 228 00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:17.960 call the Valley. And I've hunted the Gulf Coast all 229 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.399 my life, from white winged doves on the King Ranch 230 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:25.159 to whitetailed deer in East Texas to the big mule 231 00:13:25.240 --> 00:13:28.960 deer in West Texas. When I was younger, I mostly 232 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:32.320 hunted by myself, but occasionally I would gather up my 233 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:37.080 two brothers with me, more for company than hunting. They 234 00:13:37.120 --> 00:13:40.360 gave me maybe three chances before they decided that they 235 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:43.240 had had enough. They didn't seem to like hunting in 236 00:13:43.320 --> 00:13:47.200 a rainstorm. How was I to know that? And then 237 00:13:47.240 --> 00:13:49.720 there was the time I forgot all the groceries. They 238 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:52.399 thought I was trying to starve them to death, and 239 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.000 maybe sleeping on the ground under the pickup bed was 240 00:13:55.039 --> 00:13:58.080 too much for them. Well, at least I gave them 241 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:02.360 a chance. One year I was getting ready to hunt. 242 00:14:02.879 --> 00:14:05.159 I had a great place I had found. It was 243 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:09.000 out of Goodrich, Texas, off a county road which intersected 244 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:13.159 with Highway fifty nine. This was before Lake Livingston had 245 00:14:13.159 --> 00:14:15.720 been developed, and there was a lot of logging going on, 246 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:17.960 and you could get on one of these roads and 247 00:14:18.080 --> 00:14:20.320 ride until you found a place you wanted to hunt, 248 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.759 and then set up camp and enjoy the outdoors. On 249 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.600 this one night, I was walking back to camp. I 250 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:30.720 had been out all day scouting for robes and scrapes 251 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:33.879 before the deer season. There was a big moon out 252 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:36.720 and it was lit well, and I kept hearing something 253 00:14:36.799 --> 00:14:39.960 running in front of me. There was enough light from 254 00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.159 the moon that I didn't need a flashlight to see 255 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:44.919 my trail, so I kept it off until I was 256 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:48.120 parallel with my camp site, and when I turned it 257 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.080 on there was a little red fox that had been 258 00:14:50.159 --> 00:14:54.000 leading the way. I turned into camp and kept going, 259 00:14:54.399 --> 00:14:57.159 and about this time a scream like none I had 260 00:14:57.159 --> 00:15:00.399 ever heard before came out of the woods behind my camp. 261 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:04.360 Hunting in these woods all my life, I pretty much 262 00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.240 heard every sound that can be made, and I know 263 00:15:07.440 --> 00:15:10.080 when a squirrel is fussing at me as they moved 264 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:13.120 through the heavy brush, to the scream of a bobcat. 265 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:15.960 And this sound didn't belong to anything that I had 266 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:20.240 ever heard. I couldn't get inside my pickup fast enough, 267 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:23.320 and I started it up and the lights on bright, 268 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:25.799 and I backed up and scanned the woods, but I 269 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:29.799 never saw anything not being for sure what was out there. 270 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:33.679 That night was spent inside the truck without any supper. 271 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:37.440 The next morning, I got up and fixed some coffee 272 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:40.360 and breakfast, and I went back out scouting again, waiting 273 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:42.399 for one of my little brothers and his new wife 274 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:46.320 to show up. Around noon. They showed up and I 275 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:49.320 helped them get their camp areas set up, and after 276 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:51.440 a light lunch, I took them out and showed them 277 00:15:51.480 --> 00:15:55.519 some good places to hunt. Later that evening, we had 278 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:58.000 a nice campfire with a good supper, and it was 279 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:00.759 very peaceful and with a good cup of coffee, we 280 00:16:00.879 --> 00:16:04.759 enjoyed each other's company until nine o'clock when we turned in. 281 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.600 I never said anything to them about the sounds I 282 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:11.200 had heard, and I hoped for the best that there 283 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.759 were no more screams. But there were a few knocks 284 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:16.480 that night, but they were in the distance. So we 285 00:16:16.519 --> 00:16:20.240 had a great two day hunt with no problems. I 286 00:16:20.279 --> 00:16:23.039 often wondered about what I had heard that night, knowing 287 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:26.559 that whatever it was had to move on, But where 288 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:32.600 did it go. My next encounter was at Stubblefield Late Campgrounds, 289 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:35.320 which is at the north end of Lake Conroe on 290 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:39.720 Highway forty five and County Road thirteen seventy five. I 291 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:42.159 always get to the campgrounds a couple of days early 292 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:44.200 to get camp set up and do a little fishing 293 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:47.440 before my son and grandson come up for hunting season. 294 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:51.039 I went out before it got to late one evening 295 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.679 to get some firewood. While I was down the road 296 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:57.960 gathering firewood, that sixth sense clicked in and I since 297 00:16:58.039 --> 00:17:01.799 something was not right, something was wrong, and I was 298 00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:05.279 in danger. So back inside the pickup I went, and 299 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:08.519 then I took off. I left half my firewood in 300 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:12.279 the middle of the road. Only twice in my life 301 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:15.119 have I been spooked, and these are the two times. 302 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:19.759 Sam Houston National Forest has over one hundred and sixty 303 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:23.319 three thousand acres to play in with the Lone Star 304 00:17:23.400 --> 00:17:26.000 Hiking Trail that runs through it, which is over one 305 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:29.200 hundred miles, and this is where many sightings have been. 306 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:33.039 So when that sixth sense clicked in, this is all 307 00:17:33.079 --> 00:17:35.640 I could think about. It must have been Bigfoot, and 308 00:17:35.680 --> 00:17:39.720 it must have been close watching me. The next night, 309 00:17:39.799 --> 00:17:42.240 I went back to the same place and gathered up 310 00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:45.400 my wood, and I had no bad feeling, so whatever 311 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.480 had been there was gone. About the most dangerous animal 312 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.200 we have in these woods would be a rabid raccoon. 313 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.799 I've had a friend that's hunted up there for over 314 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.640 forty years, and he met one while he was out 315 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:03.000 hunting one morning without any problems. This sighting was back 316 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:06.240 in the nineteen eighties. Now, I've known Ron this many 317 00:18:06.359 --> 00:18:09.000 years and he's never lied to me, and I truly 318 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.920 believe every word he said. I know exactly where he 319 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:16.880 was hunting that day. And in February, after hunting season 320 00:18:17.000 --> 00:18:20.119 is over and with the woods clear of guns, I 321 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:22.359 have recruited a team that is going with me to 322 00:18:22.440 --> 00:18:25.279 the place where he had his encounter to see if 323 00:18:25.279 --> 00:18:28.319 we can find some evidence, or maybe I can get 324 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:32.759 me a card playing Scotch drinking buddy. According to Ryan, 325 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.799 when Bigfoot stepped out, he moved a couple of six 326 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.319 inch pine trees to the side. He looked at him 327 00:18:39.480 --> 00:18:42.880 and made two light grunts, and then turned and walked away. 328 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:46.640 Ryan said that he was still sitting on his butt 329 00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:50.000 on the ground, leaning up against this big pine tree 330 00:18:50.039 --> 00:18:52.880 that he had climbed over when he had slipped down, 331 00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:56.200 and he never even unslung his gun to watch the 332 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.799 creature walk away. Well, his hunting was through for that 333 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.920 and Realizing what had just happened, he decided to hunt 334 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:06.920 in one of his other places, not wanting that experience 335 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:10.640 ever again, and he says, PS, this is for you. 336 00:19:10.720 --> 00:19:12.799 It can be read if you choose to. Well, I'm 337 00:19:12.799 --> 00:19:15.359 gonna go ahead and read it. How can a person 338 00:19:15.480 --> 00:19:18.559 listen to you and not believe in Bigfoot? Hey, let 339 00:19:18.640 --> 00:19:21.400 me stop here. Don't believe in Bigfoot because of me? 340 00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:24.920 I am a skeptic. I'm a total skeptic. I'm not 341 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.680 saying they don't exist, but I'm not saying they do anyway, 342 00:19:29.799 --> 00:19:33.200 onto his PostScript, I guess I have gotten older and 343 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:36.160 I've gotten braver or maybe not too smart, and that 344 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:39.279 is why I'm going out Bigfoot. Honey. I've seen so 345 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.119 many people go out looking for Bigfoot, and when they 346 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:45.720 find him, they run away. If he throws a rock, 347 00:19:46.039 --> 00:19:49.000 throw one back, and if he growls that, you growl back. 348 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.240 And if he screams, you need to scream back. You 349 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:54.400 need to do these things to see what kind of 350 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:58.000 response and reaction you get back. You need to try 351 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.880 to understand what he's doing and what you're going after 352 00:20:01.319 --> 00:20:05.839 and trying to accomplish, but also protect yourself just in 353 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:09.079 case things take a turn for the worst, and he writes, 354 00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:12.799 thanks again, Rick, that actually sounds like a guy in 355 00:20:12.839 --> 00:20:17.119 the Marine Corps. If he screams, actually screamed back. Normally 356 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:19.799 it would be if he screams at you killing. I mean, 357 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:23.400 Marines are killers. That's what they're trained to do, tear 358 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:27.079 stuff up and kill people. This was a great story. 359 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.599 I ran across it this morning, and I wanted to 360 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:32.000 make sure that you guys heard it. I thought it 361 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:36.240 was interesting. Eighty year old Marine Corps veteran, I appreciated 362 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:43.119 him sending this story to me, Thanks sir. In September 363 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:47.920 or October of nineteen seventy, my battalion had been called 364 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:52.200 up for deployment to Vietnam. In preparation, we were doing 365 00:20:52.240 --> 00:20:56.680 some intensive training in the heavily forested areas of Fort Jackson. 366 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:00.359 The night was so dark underneath the canopy of old 367 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:03.920 growth trees that we could barely see our faces. I 368 00:21:04.039 --> 00:21:06.480 was on the left side of the main body, and 369 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:09.079 the orders came down for my six man squad to 370 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:12.359 move ahead of the main body and scout for aggressors 371 00:21:12.359 --> 00:21:16.160 and booby traps. In the darkness. We had to rely 372 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:19.480 on our first generation night scopes to get our bearings. 373 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:22.519 We had moved ahead three hundred yards of the main 374 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:27.039 body when I spotted a really large tree. I moved 375 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:29.720 to it and got into a prone position, and from 376 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:32.480 there I could use my night scope to scan ahead. 377 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:36.440 I laid there for five minutes, scanning the area, but 378 00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:39.480 I didn't see anything, so I decided to get up. 379 00:21:40.200 --> 00:21:43.599 I placed my left hand down to push myself up, 380 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:47.839 and all hell broke loose. I had put my hand 381 00:21:48.160 --> 00:21:52.480 on a bugger's toe. He screamed and roared so loud 382 00:21:52.480 --> 00:21:55.720 that my ears rang for ten minutes, and I stumbled 383 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:58.960 backward at I screamed retreat, and I began firing my 384 00:21:59.200 --> 00:22:03.720 M sixteen in all directions. Thank god, they were all blanks. 385 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.319 I was heading backwards as my company was charging toward me, 386 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:10.079 and the booker took off, crashing through the woods like 387 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:13.640 a t rex, leaving a path of destruction in his retreat. 388 00:22:14.680 --> 00:22:19.359 Twenty minutes later, four black suburbans pulled up, and some 389 00:22:19.400 --> 00:22:22.759 guys dressed in black fatigues got out and they took over. 390 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:26.000 They took me to the medical tent, where I was 391 00:22:26.039 --> 00:22:29.759 examined and then grilled about what happened. They told me 392 00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:33.480 never to tell anyone about what I saw. There would 393 00:22:33.480 --> 00:22:36.799 be a penalty of a court martial. While I was 394 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:39.960 in the tent, the others were taking measurements, looking for 395 00:22:40.039 --> 00:22:44.440 hair casting tracks, and who knows what else I saw. 396 00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:47.599 Six heavily armed men had off tracking the big fella, 397 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:51.759 but I doubted they would find him. Later, my platoon 398 00:22:51.799 --> 00:22:55.119 sergeant told me that it had measured eight foot eleven 399 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:59.680 and it weighed a thousand pounds. All in all, I 400 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:02.559 don't think he was there to hurt anybody. I think 401 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:05.799