WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.039 --> 00:00:10.880 I was not a believer until I was twenty four 2 00:00:11.000 --> 00:00:14.599 years old. It was nineteen ninety and I was visiting 3 00:00:14.640 --> 00:00:18.280 my parents in West Virginia. As soon as I came 4 00:00:18.320 --> 00:00:20.719 into the house, my mom told me what she had 5 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:24.199 found on the property. There were eight inches of snow 6 00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.359 on the ground and a half inch of ice on 7 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:29.120 top of that, the kind you can walk on without 8 00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.119 breaking through. She had taken the grandkids out to play 9 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:37.439 when over by the well she found footprints eighteen inches 10 00:00:37.520 --> 00:00:41.000 long and seven feet apart. They came out of the 11 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:43.439 woods at the top of their yard and led down 12 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:46.439 to an artesian well, where it looked like the creature 13 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:49.079 knelt to get a drink, and then continued on down 14 00:00:49.159 --> 00:00:53.280 through the yard onto the county road. But along the 15 00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:56.600 way it stopped at my mother's feed pile. All the 16 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:59.640 snow and ice had been pushed away, and every piece 17 00:00:59.679 --> 00:01:02.560 of corn was gone, even the ones picked out of 18 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:06.799 the frozen dirt. A year or so later, I was 19 00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:09.560 deer hunting from a tree stand on the property with 20 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:13.000 my rifle when I heard something two hundred yards away. 21 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:16.120 I thought it was a big buck that I'd been 22 00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:19.760 waiting for, since it wasn't making any effort to be quiet, 23 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:23.599 but as it got closer, I started to get disappointed. 24 00:01:24.280 --> 00:01:27.799 It was walking upright, not on four legs. It was 25 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:32.560 probably just someone walking through the woods. I thought, whoever 26 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.120 was messing up my hunt was being extremely loud about it, 27 00:01:36.480 --> 00:01:41.280 cracking sticks and splitting trees. And then came that smell. 28 00:01:41.879 --> 00:01:44.439 It was so horrible that I thought I might get sick. 29 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:47.840 I listened to this guy. I ruin my hunt for 30 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:51.000 a minute, getting more and more scared with each lumbering 31 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:55.319 step that he took. Even with my rifle at my side, 32 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:58.640 I realized something wasn't right. I needed to get out 33 00:01:58.640 --> 00:02:00.760 of there, and I ran all the way back to 34 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.879 my parents. I was so upset and out of breath 35 00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:08.280 that I was shaking. My mother asked me what was wrong, 36 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:11.000 and after I calmed down, I told her and my 37 00:02:11.080 --> 00:02:14.759 dad what had happened. My dad said that I was nuts, 38 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.439 but I know what I heard and how it made 39 00:02:17.479 --> 00:02:21.319 me feel. Even though it happened thirty years ago, I 40 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.199 still get a sinking feeling when I think about it. 41 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.759 Since then, I now believe there are things out there 42 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:31.879 we know nothing about. I can't say for sure that 43 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:34.879 it was a bigfoot, but I know it's the closest 44 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.199 I ever want to come to one. I'm retired now 45 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:41.520 and I lived in West Virginia for the last twenty years, 46 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:44.439 but I still haven't gone hunting back in that place. 47 00:02:45.479 --> 00:02:47.840 Thank you for giving people like me a platform to 48 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:51.120 share our experiences and get some of this off our chest. 49 00:02:51.759 --> 00:02:59.879 God blessed Shorty. In the late nineteen seventies in southeast Missouri, 50 00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:04.199 sixteen years old and a farm had around mid July, 51 00:03:04.439 --> 00:03:08.319 I was plowing tall soybeans with a fifteen eighty six 52 00:03:08.439 --> 00:03:13.080 International tractor pulling an eight inch roll plow. That was 53 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:17.520 pretty big stuff back then. That day was payday, and 54 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.919 as the day war on, my boss told me to 55 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.759 follow him to a small, thirty acre field that I 56 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:26.120 had never been to. When I finished, he told me 57 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:29.159 that I'd be done for the day. I wasn't complaining 58 00:03:29.199 --> 00:03:32.599 about that. I could roll through thirty acres in an 59 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:36.319 hour and start my weekend early. So I followed him 60 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:39.599 out to the secluded, little fenced off farm somewhere back 61 00:03:39.639 --> 00:03:42.879 in the Boonies near an old farmhouse, and we turned 62 00:03:42.919 --> 00:03:46.919 in and got to work. I was done in an hour, 63 00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.919 and when I pulled my plow up and started back 64 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:52.840 to the entrance of the property. I noticed a five 65 00:03:52.879 --> 00:03:57.639 inch black irrigation pipe running across the dirt drive. I 66 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.639 stopped within about twenty feet of it the tractor and 67 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:03.400 park and wondered who had laid this pipe there while 68 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:07.360 I was working and for what? But I didn't care. 69 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:10.240 I was going to move it. It was Friday afternoon, 70 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:13.000 there was a paycheck waiting for me, and this thing 71 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:16.600 was in the way of me and my weekend. The 72 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.279 thing was, I couldn't see the beginning or the end 73 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:22.639 of it. One side was running through an old, overgrown 74 00:04:22.759 --> 00:04:25.360 fence line on my left, and the other end was 75 00:04:25.399 --> 00:04:28.279 coming out of the tall Johnson grass to my right. 76 00:04:29.439 --> 00:04:32.079 I climbed down from the tractor and walked within four 77 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:35.720 feet of it. When I saw it shimmer, I stopped, 78 00:04:36.040 --> 00:04:39.639 not really understanding why it would do that. Then I 79 00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:43.439 stepped back and I realized that it was moving. I 80 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:46.439 looked to my right and watched it taper off into 81 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:50.279 a tail and then slide across the drive in front 82 00:04:50.279 --> 00:04:55.240 of me. It was no pipe, It was a giant snake. 83 00:04:56.800 --> 00:04:59.759 I jumped into the cab of my tractor in one move. 84 00:05:00.519 --> 00:05:03.319 Let me tell you I needed a beer at that point, 85 00:05:03.399 --> 00:05:07.279 and I needed one now. I hauled asked to the 86 00:05:07.360 --> 00:05:10.000 shop where my boss and my uncle were waiting for me. 87 00:05:10.560 --> 00:05:13.319 They were already feeling the weekend and were ready to 88 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:17.199 go until they saw my face. My uncle asked what 89 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:19.160 in the hell happened to me and why I was 90 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.920 so pale? I ask, have either of you seen big 91 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:27.240 snakes around them bottoms down there? Hell? Yes, my boss 92 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:29.879 shouted and then told me he'd once seen one that 93 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:33.279 was six feet long. I took my check from him 94 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:37.000 and shook my head, saying that's not very big, and 95 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:41.439 then I left. People know I'm an obs kind of guy, 96 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:44.920 and when I tell the story, everyone's faces turns like 97 00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.000 a shade lighter. All of us grew up farming those bottoms, 98 00:05:49.040 --> 00:05:52.120 and many folks I know have seen some strange stuff. 99 00:05:52.839 --> 00:05:59.079 I know I've seen my share. I am an old woman, 100 00:05:59.160 --> 00:06:02.920 and I've had many encounters with all of North America's 101 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:07.680 large animals, as well as sasquatch. I've listened to lots 102 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:10.600 of stories about people going out into the woods hoping 103 00:06:10.600 --> 00:06:13.240 to have an encounter. But let me tell you this. 104 00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:16.680 If you're thinking about going out into the great outdoors 105 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.879 to try to see a sasquatch. I suggest that you 106 00:06:20.040 --> 00:06:24.519 reconsider I've known that something was out there since I 107 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:28.040 was eight years old, when one morning at five am, 108 00:06:28.240 --> 00:06:31.319 my sister and I were in our barn milking, and 109 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:36.279 one stuck at six foot long arm inside. Once, when 110 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.720 my mother and two sisters and I were down by 111 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:41.519 the river, one came out and stood right next to 112 00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:46.480 my sister while we picked berries. Always respected them in 113 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:50.240 their territory, and when I encountered one, I always left 114 00:06:50.279 --> 00:06:54.920 him alone. If you study the characteristics of this animal, 115 00:06:55.000 --> 00:07:00.120 you'll see that bigfoot is not a violent creature by nature. Well, 116 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:03.319 with that said, it could turn violent if it's surprised 117 00:07:03.399 --> 00:07:08.720 or cornered. Humans are no different. I've had close encounters 118 00:07:08.759 --> 00:07:13.040 with other animals far more violent than sosquatch. I was 119 00:07:13.120 --> 00:07:15.600 hunting mule deer one day when I walked up on 120 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:19.360 two moose and they were just five feet away. I 121 00:07:19.399 --> 00:07:22.199 took cover behind a bush and prayed they hadn't seen me. 122 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.160 It must have worked, because they kept going with my blessings. 123 00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:30.680 Anyone who knows about moose attacks knows how lucky I got. 124 00:07:31.839 --> 00:07:34.600 There was another time a cougar stalked me to within 125 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.040 twenty feet. I had my pistol in hand, and when 126 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.720 that cougar jumped out and took off, it scared me 127 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.079 so bad that I completely forgot my pistol. And not 128 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:46.720 long after that, I was surrounded by a pack of 129 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.319 coyotes when I was deer hunting. They were moving in 130 00:07:50.360 --> 00:07:53.240 for the kill when my husband showed up and saved 131 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:56.279 my life. Don't you know that I fell in love 132 00:07:56.319 --> 00:08:00.800 with my husband all over again that day. Another time, 133 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:04.279 a big grizzly bear came into our camp at five AM, 134 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:07.360 and I woke up eyeball to eyeball with that thing. 135 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:11.240 I could have petted him if I wanted to. I 136 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.199 grabbed my flashlight and I held it between his eyes, 137 00:08:14.279 --> 00:08:18.160 hoping the light would keep him calm. Meanwhile, I held 138 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:20.600 back my little chihuaba, who was trying to kill that 139 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:24.480 grizzly bear. That bear tore off like a bat out 140 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:27.040 of hades when my husband shot in the air to 141 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:31.560 scare it away. Well, here's what I'm saying. If you're 142 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.720 expecting to see a sasquatch out there in the wiles 143 00:08:34.759 --> 00:08:39.240 of America, you are far more likely to encounter other 144 00:08:39.320 --> 00:08:43.000 life threatening creatures, and it's best to never assume that 145 00:08:43.120 --> 00:08:46.320 you are safe. Like I said, if you're going into 146 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:49.600 the great outdoors just to catch a glimpse of sisquatch, 147 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.759 think again. These things stay hidden for a reason, and 148 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:57.240 if you do have an encounter, trust me, it'll happen 149 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:01.679 when you least expect it. My interactions with them have 150 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:05.440 happened over sixty four years, and every single time it 151 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:10.360 happened unexpectedly. For the times I did have an encounter, though, 152 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:14.320 it made my time out there worth it all. If 153 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:17.200 you're going out there, don't do it while drinking or 154 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:22.200 smoking dope, and you're better off going alone or split 155 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:25.279 up from the group. Silence is the key to achieving 156 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:29.320 success no matter what you're looking for. I don't think 157 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.919 it's wise to shoot one, even in self defense, and 158 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:37.279 I suggest that you don't try and remember sosquatch could 159 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:43.559 be more human, so think before you shoot. My uncle 160 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:46.639 was a mechanic for a big corporation, and during a 161 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:49.279 lunch break, one of his co workers brought up the 162 00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:54.759 subject to bigfoot. Most everyone responded with typical comments like 163 00:09:55.120 --> 00:09:57.639 now they're not real, or I'd have to see one 164 00:09:57.679 --> 00:10:01.519 to believe it. But one guy, a full blooded Choktaw 165 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:06.120 Indian shared a story that challenged all their minds. He 166 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.120 and his cousins were deer hunting when they saw a bigfoot. 167 00:10:09.720 --> 00:10:12.919 Two of them, covered in brown fur, ran off into 168 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:16.320 the timber, and the third, covered in blackford, didn't move 169 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:19.480 it all. It roared at them so loudly that they 170 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:24.000 felt it to their core, and then it charged. An 171 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.559 old tree stump was in its path, but this thing 172 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:30.039 ripped it from the ground mid sprint and hurled it 173 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:33.320 at them. At this point, they knew they were all 174 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:36.080 about to be ripped limb from limb, so they started 175 00:10:36.080 --> 00:10:39.080 shooting at it with every round of buckshot they had 176 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.960 until they finally brought it down. Not knowing what to 177 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:45.759 do next, and knowing that no one would believe them, 178 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.799 they took photos, cut some of its hair, and put 179 00:10:48.840 --> 00:10:52.559 it in a sandwich bag. Not long after, the Fed 180 00:10:52.679 --> 00:10:55.559 showed up with a truck to haul it away. The 181 00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:58.279 men stood there shocked and asked if it would be 182 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:03.279 on the evening news. The officer in charge responded, absolutely not, 183 00:11:03.919 --> 00:11:07.799 This never happened and you were never here. One of 184 00:11:07.840 --> 00:11:11.159 the cousins shot back, saying he couldn't be serious that 185 00:11:11.240 --> 00:11:13.919 it was a big deal and the whole world should 186 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:18.000 hear about this. They finally had proof that Bigfoot exists, 187 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:21.039 but the officer just shook his head and said, no, 188 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:25.639 we don't do that. The cousins argued with him about 189 00:11:25.679 --> 00:11:28.919 it until he got fed up and finally broke. He 190 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.879 told them that the big brown were herbivores, but the 191 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.559 black ones were carnivores. That means they eat any meat 192 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:39.120 they can find when they get hungry. Now understand what 193 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:43.039 I'm saying to you, The officer shouted, you are the meat. 194 00:11:43.639 --> 00:11:48.000 If the public knew about them, every hiker, camper, mountain biker, 195 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.879 or anyone in the wilderness would be armed to the teeth, 196 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.159 shooting at anything that makes a sound and killing each 197 00:11:55.200 --> 00:11:59.679 other in the process. The next day, during lunch, the 198 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.799 guy brought in the photos and the bag of black hair. 199 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:07.399 My uncle said the smell was indescribable. The guy and 200 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:10.840 his cousins never went public with the pictures. They kept 201 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:13.840 quiet about what happened, and they only tell the story 202 00:12:13.879 --> 00:12:19.240 when people start claiming that Bigfoot is not real. Okay, 203 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:22.120 this podcast is not over. I'm going to drop one 204 00:12:22.240 --> 00:12:25.440 or two short stories from the vault. Stories I've done 205 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.840 several years ago that I think you might enjoy. These 206 00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:31.120 podcasts are a little bit shorter because I'm working on 207 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:34.360 Steve Lilly number twenty. I think it's a pretty good story. 208 00:12:34.679 --> 00:12:38.039 It's going to be quite long. I'm just going for it. 209 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:40.759 I'm going for the deep dive into Steve Lily, so 210 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:43.600 I'm really paying attention to that. Plus, I've got a 211 00:12:43.600 --> 00:12:45.720 little bit of work to do with my regular job, 212 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:48.279 so I want to keep these podcasts going. I want 213 00:12:48.279 --> 00:12:51.039 to keep uploading, so I'm putting these shorter ones out 214 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:54.840 with some archived stories at the end. Hope you enjoy it. 215 00:12:55.360 --> 00:13:01.600 I really appreciate you. Thanks. My name is Kenneth and 216 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:05.639 I live in an area called Arcla, tex It's where 217 00:13:05.679 --> 00:13:10.919 the Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas state lines meet. I grew 218 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:14.000 up in Texarkana back in the nineteen sixties, and my 219 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:16.679 family and I love to go camping in the river 220 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:22.559 bottoms of Little River, Arkansas in Little River County. I 221 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:26.720 reported this event several years ago to other reporting agencies 222 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:31.679 or organizations. I went dormant afterwards due to the ridicule 223 00:13:31.919 --> 00:13:36.799 and other family members recanting from what we experienced this night. 224 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:39.879 So I'm the only one still holding on to the 225 00:13:39.919 --> 00:13:44.120 actual events that took place in August of nineteen sixty 226 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:50.679 nine when we encountered a white bigfoot. I was twelve 227 00:13:50.799 --> 00:13:53.799 years old when we had our first encounter. On a 228 00:13:53.840 --> 00:13:58.679 Friday afternoon at Cottonwood Shoals. My family and I were 229 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:02.639 excited about going on a weekend camping trip. My brothers 230 00:14:02.679 --> 00:14:05.559 and I got the family truck loaded with all our gear, 231 00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:08.960 and when my father got home from work, there would 232 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:13.120 be no delay in getting to the woods. As we 233 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.960 were leaving, a family member who lives a couple of 234 00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.200 houses down stepped out to the curb and she waved 235 00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:23.559 us down. She was my aunt's mother in law, and 236 00:14:23.639 --> 00:14:27.159 she asked us not to go camping at Cottonwood Shoals. 237 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:30.039 She said that her and her husband were there a 238 00:14:30.080 --> 00:14:33.200 couple of weeks ago and saw a hairy man peering 239 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:36.240 at them from behind some brush while she was fishing, 240 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:40.480 and it scared the hell out of her. She said 241 00:14:40.600 --> 00:14:43.080 she had run to get her husband, who was fishing, 242 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:46.120 and she told him what had happened. Well, he called 243 00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:50.919 her a crazy old one. Oh man, what a mistake. 244 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:54.279 He called her a crazy old woman, and then he 245 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:58.000 took her home. My father told her that we would 246 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:00.039 keep a lookout for this monster, and that she you 247 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:03.679 shouldn't worry about us. I'll be honest. We were all 248 00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:09.320 laughing as we drove away. We don't laugh anymore. I'm 249 00:15:09.360 --> 00:15:14.000 about to tell you why. We arrived in time to 250 00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:17.519 set up camp and have supper. My three older brothers 251 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:19.759 got their fishing gear and they went to get a 252 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:23.759 night in of catfishing. It was getting dark when my 253 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:27.039 mother and younger sister and two younger brothers crawled into 254 00:15:27.080 --> 00:15:30.039 the tent. They were ready to turn in for the night. 255 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.440 My father enjoyed sitting by the campfire, drinking beer and 256 00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:38.559 listening to country music on the radio. I wasn't ready 257 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:41.200 for bed, so I decided to take a short walk 258 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.480 down the road. The moon was bright enough so that 259 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:47.759 I could see without a flashlight, and I hadn't walked 260 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:50.840 far from the camp site, and the hare stood up 261 00:15:50.879 --> 00:15:53.720 on the back of my neck. I felt a current 262 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:57.679 of wind whiz by me. Something had been thrown at me, 263 00:15:58.440 --> 00:16:02.559 and I turned around. I didn't see anyone. For whatever reason, 264 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:06.360 the woman's story about seeing the hairy man came to mind, 265 00:16:06.720 --> 00:16:11.159 so I ran straight back to camp. My father asked 266 00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:13.480 what had me in a hurry, and I blew it off, 267 00:16:13.559 --> 00:16:15.720 saying that I was just tired and ready for bed. 268 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:20.200 Once in the tent, I noticed our dog was acting weird. 269 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:23.519 He was alert and staring at the wall like it 270 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:27.279 knew something was out there. Well, I betted down and 271 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:32.480 we slept through an uneventful night. Saturday was the big 272 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:36.720 day for swimming and fishing and exploring the area. I 273 00:16:36.840 --> 00:16:39.320 was down the road where my brothers had been catfishing 274 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:42.360 the night before and had had the place to myself. 275 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:47.080 Behind me, across the road were some pea gravel piles 276 00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:50.960 placed there by the county. From that area, I heard 277 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:55.399 noises like weird bird sounds. I looked around and I 278 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.120 didn't see any birds. This went on for several minutes. 279 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:03.200 To this day, I've never heard noises like that before. 280 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:06.759 And I noticed my two younger brothers playing behind the piles, 281 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:08.599 and all I could see was the tops of one 282 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.319 of their heads. They both had cotton white hair then, 283 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:14.759 so it was easy to see it was them, even 284 00:17:14.759 --> 00:17:18.319 though all I could see was the top of their heads. Okay, 285 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.640 I thought, it's just my brothers playing in the gravel piles. 286 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:24.720 As long as they stay over there and don't bother 287 00:17:24.839 --> 00:17:29.599 me while I'm fishing, That'll be fine. Later in the morning, 288 00:17:29.599 --> 00:17:31.720 I heard my mother calling us to come back to 289 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:34.839 camp for lunch. So I grabbed up my fishing pole 290 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.799 and I headed back. When I arrived at camp, my 291 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:42.119 brothers were there. The only way they could have beat 292 00:17:42.200 --> 00:17:46.480 me there was if they'd had gone straight through the woods. Well, 293 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:48.799 I told them they needed to stick to the roads 294 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.759 because the woods were full of snakes and chiggers. They 295 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:55.319 looked at me like I was crazy. They went on 296 00:17:55.480 --> 00:17:58.160 to say that they had not even left camp all morning. 297 00:17:58.759 --> 00:18:01.599 Of course, I thought they were with me. I had 298 00:18:01.640 --> 00:18:04.079 seen them playing close to where I had been fishing. 299 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:06.920 I let it go. We all had a fun day. 300 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:10.880 By nine point thirty that night, I was tired and 301 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.799 ready for bed. I crawled into the tent with the 302 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:17.000 others and I was drifting off when our dog started 303 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:21.000 acting weird again. We had left the dog outside to 304 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:25.200 sleep that night, and somehow, with his teeth, he had 305 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:28.920 opened the zipper door of the tent and squeezed inside. 306 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:33.240 He woke everyone up. The dog came over by me 307 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:35.759 and it was trembling like it was cold, but I 308 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:37.920 could see by the whites of his eyes that he 309 00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:41.480 was scared. My mom told me to close the zipper 310 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.920 and let the dog stay in the tent again that night, 311 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:47.559 that dog crawled in so close to me, I think 312 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.079 he was trying to get under me. At some point 313 00:18:51.160 --> 00:18:53.680 during the night, my mother woke me up. She was 314 00:18:53.680 --> 00:18:56.000 getting up to go to the bathroom and a spot 315 00:18:56.039 --> 00:19:00.960 behind the tent. A few minutes later, her scream startled 316 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:04.519 us fully awake. Well, I immediately stood to look out 317 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:07.240 the tent mesh window, and I saw my mother running 318 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.400 back to the tent with her drawers still down around 319 00:19:10.440 --> 00:19:14.680 her knees. She kept screaming, something's out there. It's watching me, 320 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:18.599 it's watching me. She made it back to the tent 321 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.319 and was screaming the same thing over and over to 322 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:24.640 my father. Well, he finally got her quiet enough to 323 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:28.160 understand what she was even saying, and then he asked her, 324 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:33.319 what's watching you? By chance? I began panting the woods 325 00:19:33.319 --> 00:19:36.559 and I saw a large figure run past our truck. 326 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:40.559 The truck rocked back and forth as it ran by. 327 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:45.359 This thing was huge. It really shook me up. And 328 00:19:45.400 --> 00:19:48.279 then my mother began to describe this thing to my father. 329 00:19:49.279 --> 00:19:52.160 She said it was a giant and it looked like 330 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:54.759 an ape. It was covering white hair, and it had 331 00:19:54.839 --> 00:19:58.119 long arms. It was only a few feet from her 332 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:01.880 when she noticed it. That's when I told them that 333 00:20:01.960 --> 00:20:04.119 I saw something run by the truck while I was 334 00:20:04.119 --> 00:20:07.519 looking out the window. So all the men walked over 335 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:11.599 to look around in that direction. Beside the truck were 336 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:17.160 giant tracks, clearly visible in the dust. My father noticed 337 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:19.480 a dent in the rear fender that had not been 338 00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:24.039 there before. When my mother had started screaming, she had 339 00:20:24.079 --> 00:20:27.319 scared the creature as much as he scared her, and 340 00:20:27.359 --> 00:20:32.119 it ran away. That was my guess, I guess, not 341 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.279 paying attention to what was in front of it, it 342 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:38.160 ran into the truck and then carried on with its escape. 343 00:20:38.319 --> 00:20:43.440 That's what I thought, but that wasn't the case. Now. 344 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:46.759 My father was worried. I could see it in his demeanor. 345 00:20:47.960 --> 00:20:50.799 Out of the truck, he pulled a shotgun and he 346 00:20:50.880 --> 00:20:53.400 handed it to my brother to stand guard while we 347 00:20:53.480 --> 00:20:58.000 packed up camp. We were leaving. This was one of 348 00:20:58.039 --> 00:21:00.720 those times when it took no encouragement for any of 349 00:21:00.799 --> 00:21:03.759 us to pack up camp. It was dark and hard 350 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:07.279 to see everything, but we started throwing things loosely into 351 00:21:07.319 --> 00:21:10.400 the bed of the truck. We had that camp site 352 00:21:10.440 --> 00:21:13.920 packed up in record time. And then one of my 353 00:21:14.000 --> 00:21:19.160 brothers yelled, out, there it is. He raised the shotgun 354 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:22.480 and he fired into the darkness, and then my father 355 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.200 yelled out, it's circling the camp. Hurry up, we gotta go. 356 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:30.759 By this time I was terrified. I know the rest 357 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:33.599 of my family was too, and we couldn't get out 358 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:37.759 of there fast enough. Finally, with all of us in 359 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:40.359 the truck, my father turned the key in, it started, 360 00:21:40.640 --> 00:21:45.079 and in a few minutes we were gone. We made 361 00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:47.759 it home in the early morning hours, and we all 362 00:21:47.799 --> 00:21:51.279 went straight to bed. It had been an exhausting night. 363 00:21:52.759 --> 00:21:55.559 The next day, our aunt came over to ask why 364 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.119 we were home early. She already knew, but she wanted 365 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:02.200 to hear about it. We all sat in the living 366 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:06.599 room comparing notes on what everyone had seen. Apparently it 367 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:11.480 was the same creature. None of us laugh at bigfoot 368 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:18.799 stories now, we take them very seriously. Back in nineteen 369 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:21.680 seventy nine, when I was nine years old, we lived 370 00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:26.119 in Angelina County in East Texas. It was about twenty 371 00:22:26.160 --> 00:22:29.920 miles south of Luvekin, near the sam Rayburn Lake area. 372 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:34.319 Both of my grandparents lived there. They were divorced, but 373 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:37.279 lived about two miles from each other. They each lived 374 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:40.799 on a typical modest farm of twenty five to thirty 375 00:22:40.839 --> 00:22:45.519 acres with lots of chickens, ducks, horses, and cows. One 376 00:22:45.559 --> 00:22:49.119 smoldering summer night at my grandmother's farm, the adults were 377 00:22:49.160 --> 00:22:53.000 engaged in their usual routine of cooking dinner before settling 378 00:22:53.039 --> 00:22:56.799 in for a night of card playing. Meanwhile, I was 379 00:22:56.839 --> 00:23:01.119 slipping outside with my brother who was eleven, who was eight, 380 00:23:01.400 --> 00:23:05.160 and my dad's ten year old brother, our uncle, to 381 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:07.440 hang out at the edge of one of the pastures, 382 00:23:07.480 --> 00:23:09.720 where the yard light on a pole made a bright 383 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:13.960 circle in the night. Beyond that halo, the world was 384 00:23:14.039 --> 00:23:17.880 inky black. Within the light was the pasture gate, where 385 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:20.759 we liked to sit and use our sling shots to 386 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:24.039 play sort of a gigantic game of marbles by shooting 387 00:23:24.160 --> 00:23:27.480 rocks out of the circle and into the night. We 388 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:29.920 were all sitting up on the gate, engrossed in our 389 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:32.920 game and cutting up and laughing as little boys will do, 390 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:36.559 when our attention was suddenly drawn in the direction of 391 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.640 the barn located one hundred yards to our left. We 392 00:23:40.720 --> 00:23:44.640 silently stared and listened as something massive and heavy came 393 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.640 running through the pasture from that direction. We shot looks 394 00:23:48.680 --> 00:23:51.240 at each other as we realized the speed at which 395 00:23:51.240 --> 00:23:54.720 this thing was running. We knew it was on two legs, 396 00:23:54.720 --> 00:23:57.519 and that brought another round of glances to one another. 397 00:23:58.599 --> 00:24:02.599 Every thump, thump, thump, those pounding steps burned itself into 398 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:05.079 my mind as we sat waiting to see what this 399 00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:08.359 thing could be. It was at the edge of the 400 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:11.039 light when it came to a complete stop, as if 401 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:14.880