WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:10.240 This is a bigfoot story from Alabama. The writer says 2 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:12.679 that he grew up deer hunting with his dad in 3 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:17.480 Barbara County, Alabama. He says, deer season was a religion 4 00:00:17.600 --> 00:00:21.679 for us. We hunted a five hundred acre family property 5 00:00:21.719 --> 00:00:25.199 that was all woods and fields and ponds and swamps. 6 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.839 Things have changed, but in nineteen ninety eight it was 7 00:00:28.839 --> 00:00:33.159 some of the most inaccessible land around the south Side 8 00:00:33.280 --> 00:00:35.759 was all swamp except for one nice little patch of 9 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.359 land planted for deer. The does would move into that 10 00:00:39.439 --> 00:00:42.920 field thirty minutes before dark, but the bucks would stay 11 00:00:42.920 --> 00:00:46.920 in the woods until well after dark. Dad had the 12 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:49.719 idea to go fifty yards into the woods toward the 13 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:53.039 swamp and put a ladder stand there. He had a 14 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:55.560 lot of luck hunting from that stand, but I wasn't 15 00:00:55.600 --> 00:01:00.079 so fortunate. Finally, I decided to take a portable climbing 16 00:01:00.119 --> 00:01:03.119 stand and go deeper toward that swamp than Dad's stand, 17 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:05.920 and I found a great spot that was close enough 18 00:01:05.920 --> 00:01:08.840 to the swamp to hear anything moving through the water, 19 00:01:09.359 --> 00:01:11.920 and a good view of the clearings near the swamp 20 00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:16.239 where I could get a clean shot. One afternoon in 21 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:19.879 early January, I snuck into the stand at one thirty 22 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.920 in the afternoon. I hunted my way in like Dad 23 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:27.959 always taught me, typical of Alabama weather. It was in 24 00:01:28.040 --> 00:01:30.439 the fifties when I went in, but I knew it 25 00:01:30.480 --> 00:01:33.200 would drop into the thirties once the sun went down. 26 00:01:34.040 --> 00:01:37.439 There was no wind. Plus being up twenty feet, I 27 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:41.000 didn't have to worry about my scent. I saw birds 28 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:44.959 and squirrels, and other than that, everything was quiet. There 29 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:47.200 was a tension in the air that seemed to deepen 30 00:01:47.239 --> 00:01:50.879 as the day went on. The closer it got to dark, 31 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:53.439 the fewer animal noise as I heard, and the more 32 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:56.920 my emotions began to turn melancholy, and it was as 33 00:01:56.959 --> 00:02:01.920 if nature itself was sad. At dusk, I heard something 34 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:05.200 coming through the swamp. It was forty yards behind and 35 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:08.840 to the east of my stand. It was the unmistakable 36 00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:12.439 sound of walking, or should I say, wading and crying, 37 00:02:13.360 --> 00:02:18.120 waiting and crying. Was someone lost? Well? I turned to look. 38 00:02:18.479 --> 00:02:21.039 I didn't see a beam of light of a flashlight. 39 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:25.080 A hunter would have had a flashlight right. I was 40 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:27.599 certain that I was the only person anywhere near that 41 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:30.680 swamp on either side of the property, and who in 42 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.159 their right mind would be this far out in the woods, 43 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:37.319 swishing through the swamp without a flashlight and crying. If 44 00:02:37.360 --> 00:02:40.960 not a person, what was it. It wasn't a beaver. 45 00:02:41.319 --> 00:02:44.199 They don't make noise unless they're scared, and they certainly 46 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:47.800 don't cry. It wasn't weasels, and it wasn't a deer, 47 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:50.159 so it had to be a person. And when a 48 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:54.599 human walks through water, our steps make an alternating swishing sound, 49 00:02:55.159 --> 00:02:58.439 and that's the sound I was hearing. And again it 50 00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:02.759 was crying. It was very still and quiet that day, 51 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:06.120 and there was nothing else to distort the sound. The 52 00:03:06.240 --> 00:03:09.159 cry I heard was anguish, and it was mixed with 53 00:03:09.240 --> 00:03:13.560 some kind of unintelligible words. It was like someone who 54 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:16.919 could not hear properly, to form their words correctly, but 55 00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:20.240 who had experienced a great loss. And I felt its 56 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:22.639 loss as I heard it, and I didn't want to 57 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:27.719 yell out and intrude. I just wanted to shrink away. Finally, 58 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.560 it was night, and with it an overwhelming sense of dread, 59 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:34.879 and except for the creature, all was silent and still, 60 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.719 and I sat there frozeness, tears of compassion round down 61 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:43.080 my face. It passed behind me into my left and 62 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.240 its steps swished slowly through the water as it continued 63 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:49.800 to cry and express its grief in some guttural language 64 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:54.479 that I could not understand. It was the funeral procession 65 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:59.280 of a single soul. Eventually it moved out of hearing range, 66 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:01.639 but I continue to sit there for over an hour. 67 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:06.599 I was overwhelmed by my own grief, and slowly fear 68 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:09.360 of having been heard began to set in, and I 69 00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:12.039 wondered what it was, or if I'd actually heard it. 70 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:15.599 Could I have been mistaken? How could I turn on 71 00:04:15.680 --> 00:04:19.720 my flashlight and climb down into that horrible, mournful silence. 72 00:04:20.959 --> 00:04:23.199 As the sounds of the night began to return, I 73 00:04:23.240 --> 00:04:25.680 realized it was time for me to go, and I 74 00:04:25.720 --> 00:04:29.160 somehow made my way back to the truck. I don't 75 00:04:29.199 --> 00:04:32.319 remember much about the walk back. My mind was on 76 00:04:32.360 --> 00:04:36.839 what happened. I've been back there to hunt many times, 77 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:40.079 although I've never seen a buck of a lifetime that 78 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:43.399 I was sure existed back there. And now I'm in 79 00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.120 my late forties and age has brought home to me 80 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.800 how much grief this creature was truly expressing. I've been 81 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.759 with family and friends who have lost loved ones, and 82 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:56.800 their experience was no greater than what the creature was 83 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:01.160 feeling that day. I've often wondered why I've never spoken 84 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:04.800 of this to anyone before, and I realized now that 85 00:05:04.920 --> 00:05:08.079 it is a matter of honor. I shared its grief 86 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:11.720 for a few minutes. I felt it disrespectful to talk 87 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:16.040 about it. Even now, as I remember and re embrace 88 00:05:16.199 --> 00:05:20.040 that day, the tears come to my eyes at the memory. 89 00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.279 Nothing in those woods could wade through the swamp water 90 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:26.879 like a person. No person could move through that swamp 91 00:05:26.920 --> 00:05:30.759 without a flashlight, and nothing in those woods would cry 92 00:05:30.920 --> 00:05:34.720 like a person. Nothing could bring me to the depths 93 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:38.720 of sympathy I felt that day except a person. Well, 94 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:47.439 I think something did the House in the woods. It 95 00:05:47.480 --> 00:05:50.600 was the summer of nineteen eighty five when we found 96 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:53.639 the house in the woods. My friend and I decided 97 00:05:53.639 --> 00:05:58.040 to backpack in near his house in the Missouri countryside. 98 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:02.079 We were both armed twelve gate shotgun and rich with 99 00:06:02.160 --> 00:06:06.360 a Ruger ten twenty two semi auto rifle. We figured 100 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:08.959 on shooting a squirrel or two while we were hiking. 101 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.560 We must have walked a couple of miles when we 102 00:06:12.600 --> 00:06:16.839 cut across this old, overgrown trail in the woods. It 103 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:19.120 was still early in the day and we hadn't had 104 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:21.879 any luck with the squirrels, so we thought we might 105 00:06:21.959 --> 00:06:25.959 explore the trail that was the entire point of the 106 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:29.439 expedition anyway, to check out the land in the area. 107 00:06:30.439 --> 00:06:32.639 Neither of us had ever gone into the woods in 108 00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:35.319 that chunk of land, since it was pretty tangled up, 109 00:06:35.959 --> 00:06:38.439 not an easy place to hike, but we figured that 110 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.959 deer and squirrel would be plentiful. We weren't sure who 111 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:45.560 the land belonged to, but everyone that lived in the 112 00:06:45.680 --> 00:06:49.399 area thought it was government land. There were no conservation 113 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:53.319 signs and no signs to warn off trespassers or anything, 114 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:57.519 just a four strand barbed wire fence that had seen 115 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.560 better days. So that was all the invitation that a 116 00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:06.720 couple of curious country kids needed. We both had backpacks 117 00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:10.759 with a couple of baloney sandwiches apiece, two canteens of water, 118 00:07:11.279 --> 00:07:14.800 our army surplus ponchos in case it rained, and a 119 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:19.560 first aid kit. Richie's mom insisted on the first aid kit. 120 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:23.079 We both had our deer hunting camouflage on and we 121 00:07:23.160 --> 00:07:28.639 wore booney style military hats. When we first cut the trail, 122 00:07:28.759 --> 00:07:30.879 I asked rich if he had ever seen a gate 123 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:33.959 or road on the land anywhere. He said that he 124 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.680 couldn't remember seeing anything like that, so we figured it 125 00:07:37.759 --> 00:07:42.040 might be an old logging trail from the fifties or so. 126 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:44.519 We noticed that the trail to the left kind of 127 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:49.319 went uphill, so we figured we'd start that way. I 128 00:07:49.399 --> 00:07:52.680 remember noticing that the place was quiet, but I just 129 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:55.279 assumed that rich and I made so much noise that 130 00:07:55.319 --> 00:07:58.839 we scared the animals off. We'd gone about a half 131 00:07:58.879 --> 00:08:01.879 a mile on this road when we found an old plow. 132 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.839 We decided to check it out. It was old. It 133 00:08:05.879 --> 00:08:10.839 was completely rusted, with wooden handles mostly rided away. The 134 00:08:10.959 --> 00:08:13.399 left side handle looked like it had been broken off 135 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.720 about a foot from the end. It was a kind 136 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:19.319 of plow you pulled behind a mule or a horse, 137 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.720 not the kind you pull with a tractor. Other than 138 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:24.920 being old, it looked like it was in fairly good 139 00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.360 shape when it was abandoned. Richie said that we should 140 00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:30.519 come back with his dad's pick up and drag it 141 00:08:30.560 --> 00:08:34.080 to the house. It wasn't antique and probably worth a 142 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:39.000 pretty penny. While we munched down a beloney sandwich and 143 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.720 drank some water, I noticed that it was still extremely quiet. 144 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.399 Richie noticed it too, and when we kind of started 145 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.559 to look around a bit, the woods were thick, with 146 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:52.559 a lot of brambles and undergrowth, but the only sound 147 00:08:52.639 --> 00:08:56.200 besides us was the wind. It was kind of spooky. 148 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.879 We started on up the trail again when we heard 149 00:09:00.240 --> 00:09:03.120 sound up ahead in the trees. It was a sort 150 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.440 of a grunt or a snort. I looked at rich 151 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:10.639 and he smiled, that's a buck, he whispered. We weren't 152 00:09:10.639 --> 00:09:13.159 loaded for deer, so we decided to just look and 153 00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:15.399 see if it was big enough to come back for 154 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:19.279 when the season came around, maybe locate a place to 155 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.720 put in a couple of deer stands or a blind. 156 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:25.919 If this land hadn't been hunted since the nineteen fifties, 157 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:28.440 then there should be more deer than we could take 158 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:32.799 in a lifetime. We walked another half mile or so 159 00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:35.799 without seeing the buck when we saw something in the 160 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.559 tall grass ahead. It looked like a car, and when 161 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:41.639 we got closer you could tell that it was an 162 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:45.799 old junk car. It was completely rusted, no paint left 163 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.039 on the thing. The interior was all gone, and there 164 00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:52.759 wasn't any glass left in it at all. Looks like 165 00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:57.240 Grandpa's old Chevy. I said, yeah, but older, replied Rich. 166 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.240 Grandpa's Chevy was a fifth ffty three and was still 167 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:05.559 in really good shape. Rich was right, though this one 168 00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:09.039 did look older. The doors were still in place and 169 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:11.200 the engine was still in it. When we lifted the 170 00:10:11.240 --> 00:10:15.080 old hood, all the old hoses and stuff were long 171 00:10:15.159 --> 00:10:18.480 since gone, though it was just an old rust heap. 172 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:23.039 We heard that grunt or snort again, only this time 173 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.399 it was behind us and closer. I grabbed up the 174 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.200 shotgun and turned around to look, but we couldn't see 175 00:10:29.200 --> 00:10:32.679 a dang thing. The tangles were so thick it could 176 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:34.960 have been fifty feet away and we would have never 177 00:10:35.080 --> 00:10:39.720 seen it gone get Rich yelled. We figured we'd hear 178 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:41.960 a deer running off through the woods, but we only 179 00:10:42.000 --> 00:10:45.120 heard the wind. This place is starting to give me 180 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:50.159 the creeps, Rich, I said, this place is really quiet. Ah, 181 00:10:50.279 --> 00:10:52.720 come on, he replied, let's just go on a little 182 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:56.440 further and see what we find. We found the ply on, 183 00:10:56.559 --> 00:10:59.720 now the car. Maybe there's an old homestead around here. 184 00:11:00.960 --> 00:11:04.399 I shrugged and started on up the trail. Neither of 185 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:09.240 us was talking. Now by unspoken agreement, I watched one 186 00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:12.080 side of the road while he watched the other. We 187 00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.480 hadn't gone more than a quarter of a mile when 188 00:11:14.519 --> 00:11:17.559 we saw a house through the trees ahead. It was 189 00:11:17.600 --> 00:11:20.840 an old two story place. The paint was gone and 190 00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:23.240 there wasn't a piece of glass left in any of 191 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:27.000 the windows. The front porch was half collapsed and the 192 00:11:27.039 --> 00:11:31.120 front door hung off at an angle. There was another old, 193 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:33.879 rusted out car in the tall grass near the house. 194 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:36.600 It was an old ford by the look of it. 195 00:11:37.240 --> 00:11:41.000 The barn had fallen in on itself years ago. There 196 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:44.480 weren't any telephone poles anywhere around here, so the place 197 00:11:44.600 --> 00:11:47.360 had to have been built back before there was electricity 198 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:50.159 in the area, and that was in the forties. According 199 00:11:50.200 --> 00:11:53.559 to my dad, the place looked like it could have 200 00:11:53.600 --> 00:11:57.399 been older than that. Though. Rich started towards the house 201 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:00.240 and I grabbed his arm. You aren't planning on goe 202 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:04.000 in there, are you sure? He replied, Lord only knows 203 00:12:04.039 --> 00:12:06.720 what we might find in there. They left behind a 204 00:12:06.759 --> 00:12:09.320 plow in two cars. There's no telling what else might 205 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:14.279 be in that house. Reluctantly I followed him. The porch 206 00:12:14.399 --> 00:12:16.679 was rotten and we had to watch our footing to 207 00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:20.399 get in the door. The place was a wreck. One 208 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:23.679 of those old wood fired cook stoves was in the kitchen. 209 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:28.159 There was a porcelain basin, but no faucet. There must 210 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:30.399 be an old well with a pump on it around 211 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:35.159 here somewhere, I said quietly. Rich nodded and kept poking around. 212 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:38.840 There were a few pieces of old furniture, but nothing 213 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.879 that was in any kind of shape. The old cook 214 00:12:41.960 --> 00:12:45.360 stove was in surprisingly good shape, but I bet it 215 00:12:45.360 --> 00:12:49.159 weighed four or five hundred pounds. It was cast iron. 216 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:51.360 We weren't going to be able to move it without 217 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:55.759 a truck and several strong men. In one room with 218 00:12:55.759 --> 00:13:00.120 some animal scat, it was big and in piles. What 219 00:13:00.240 --> 00:13:03.279 kind of animal dropped that, I asked. That's way too 220 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.759 big for a coon or a coyote. Must be a 221 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:10.360 cow or something. Rich said, maybe a horse. Well I 222 00:13:10.440 --> 00:13:13.840 wasn't convinced, but I didn't argue. I couldn't think of 223 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.240 a thing that could do that and still fit in 224 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:20.360 the door of the house. It also smelled funny, not 225 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:24.159 like deer scatter horse apples. I took out my hunting 226 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.080 knife and poked into one of the piles, and in 227 00:13:27.200 --> 00:13:30.039 the scat was some hair and what looked to be 228 00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:34.879 a tooth. Rich, this was a meat eater. See this tooth, 229 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:37.799 and there's hair in it too. I heard there were 230 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:40.679 bears in the woods around here, He replied. That must 231 00:13:40.759 --> 00:13:44.399 be it. Shotgun or no shotgun. A bear was not 232 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:48.279 something I wanted to run into. I only had squirrel shot, 233 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:52.000 not slugs. All I could do would be to make 234 00:13:52.039 --> 00:13:55.919 one mad, and the twenty two wasn't much better. My 235 00:13:56.039 --> 00:13:58.679 dad always said you couldn't out run a bear, and 236 00:13:58.720 --> 00:14:02.080 that then I had to outrun Rich and he was fast. 237 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:05.559 Come on, Rich, let's get out of here. I think 238 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:09.679 we best head towards home. Not yet, he replied, let's 239 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:13.159 check upstairs first. I don't think that's a good idea, 240 00:14:13.240 --> 00:14:16.120 I said, this place looks like it could collapse. We 241 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:20.759 might fall through the floor. Na, he insisted, this old 242 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:24.000 place is pretty solid. The porch is about shot, but 243 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:30.200 the floors feel solid enough. Besides, it'll only take a minute. Slowly, 244 00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:34.919 I followed him up the old steps. Unfortunately, he was right, 245 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:39.919 they did feel solid. Once upstairs, we both started looking around. 246 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.559 The furniture up there was all gone. There was more 247 00:14:43.600 --> 00:14:46.639 scat up here. It looked about the same as the 248 00:14:46.679 --> 00:14:53.039 stuff downstairs. Hey, come check this out, called rich. In 249 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:56.039 The next room was what looked like a nest, only 250 00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:59.120 it was bigger. It was made of long grass and 251 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:04.120 leaves woven together with tree branches. There was more scat 252 00:15:04.200 --> 00:15:07.960 in this room, but none in the nest. There were 253 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:10.399 a few bones in the nest. It looked like a 254 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:13.519 rabbit or a squirrel. It was easy to see that 255 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:17.360 it was a small game. As I was kneeling to 256 00:15:17.399 --> 00:15:20.679 look at the bones, we heard that grunt or snort again. 257 00:15:21.399 --> 00:15:23.639 This time it was right outside the house and it 258 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.440 was very loud, sounded angry, and then something hit the 259 00:15:27.480 --> 00:15:29.759 side of the house hard enough that we felt the 260 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:33.759 floor shape. What the hell was that, I yelled, I 261 00:15:33.799 --> 00:15:37.440 don't know, but it don't sound friendly. I pointed the 262 00:15:37.480 --> 00:15:41.799 shotgun out the window and let fly around. The loud 263 00:15:41.879 --> 00:15:45.360 boom of the twelve gage was immediately followed by another 264 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:49.480 grunt and a growl, and we heard something crashing off 265 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.600 through the tall grass and into the trees. We both 266 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:55.879 took the stairs as fast as we could, and we 267 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:58.840 jumped out the window in the living room. We ran 268 00:15:58.960 --> 00:16:01.879 down the road, passed the cars, and didn't stop until 269 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:05.440 we reached the old plow. When we reached the plow, 270 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:09.000 we stopped to catch our breath. What the hell was that, 271 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:13.879 I asked, gulping down air. God only knows, man rich replied, 272 00:16:14.159 --> 00:16:16.360 but whatever it was, I'm sure it didn't take too 273 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.720 kindly to us being in that old house. I was 274 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:22.399 just about to open my mouth to reply when a 275 00:16:22.519 --> 00:16:25.480 rock the size of a bowling ball came flying out 276 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:28.879 of the trees and slammed into the plow blade right 277 00:16:28.919 --> 00:16:32.919 next to us. It bounced up knocked Richie off the 278 00:16:32.919 --> 00:16:36.799 plow where he was sitting on the handle. Right then 279 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:41.000 came the most horrendous roar from the trees. It sounded 280 00:16:41.080 --> 00:16:43.799 like a line or something, but it was just inside 281 00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:48.159 the tree line. The roarer lasted for a good ten seconds. 282 00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.399 While it was roaring. I couldn't do anything but stare 283 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:54.080 at the tree line where the sound was coming from, 284 00:16:55.200 --> 00:16:57.840 and when it stopped, I grabbed rich and pulled him 285 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:02.559 to his feet. Can you walk? Ask hell, No, he replied, 286 00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:06.640 I can run. Though About that time, there came a 287 00:17:06.680 --> 00:17:10.279 noise in the trees like something was tearing up the brush. 288 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.759 Limbs were breaking and cracking. Rich leveled IS twenty two 289 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:18.839 at the area and fired off three rounds. The sharp 290 00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:21.400 crack of the rounds going off must have scared it, 291 00:17:21.440 --> 00:17:24.559 because the sound stopped and we could hear something tearing 292 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:28.839 off through the trees. We took off like rabbits, heading 293 00:17:28.880 --> 00:17:31.680 for the spot where we could cut the trail. It 294 00:17:31.720 --> 00:17:35.000 didn't take long to make it. We stopped there because 295 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.359 neither of us was in any hurry to go into 296 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:39.799 the trees. We were going to have to go through 297 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:42.440 the woods for a couple of miles to get back home. 298 00:17:43.960 --> 00:17:47.160 We listened for any sounds or signs of whatever the 299 00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:50.880 hell we'd heard back at the plow. After a couple 300 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:53.599 of minutes, when we hadn't heard anything, we decided to 301 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:56.960 go for it. Just as we were entering the trees, 302 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:00.400 we heard a sound from back towards the plow, like 303 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:06.200 someone banging on wood against wood, not three times. After 304 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.599 a couple of seconds, we heard it again, only from 305 00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:12.480 the other side of us, deeper in the trees, and 306 00:18:12.519 --> 00:18:14.960 by this point we were so scared out of our 307 00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:18.240 minds that we couldn't even talk to each other. I've 308 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.640 been in and out of the woods of my entire life, 309 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:24.839 and I'd never experienced anything like this, and neither had Rich. 310 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.759 We kept up as quick a pace as we could 311 00:18:28.799 --> 00:18:32.319 in the thick underbrush. We hadn't gone far when we 312 00:18:32.359 --> 00:18:37.119 heard that roar again, and it was close appointing my 313 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:39.960 twelve gage in that direction, and I fired off around. 314 00:18:40.680 --> 00:18:43.480 The boom of the shotgun was almost deafening in the 315 00:18:43.559 --> 00:18:47.440 thick woods. Instead of it running off like before, it 316 00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:52.480 roared again and started throwing tree branches at us. Rich 317 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.680 and I got a good look at it, but just 318 00:18:54.759 --> 00:18:57.799 for a few seconds. It was about thirty yards away, 319 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.640 and it looked like a big man. He was covered 320 00:19:00.680 --> 00:19:03.960 in black hair from head to foot. The face looked 321 00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:06.839 more like a gorilla than a man. We had black 322 00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.079 skin and not much of a neck to speak of. 323 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:13.039 The head looked kind of pointed, not like a cone 324 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:15.759 or anything, just like it sloped back towards the back 325 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:18.440 of the head, kind of like the hood on a poncho. 326 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:21.519 And it was big too. It had to have been 327 00:19:21.559 --> 00:19:24.880 close to seven feet tall and had a huge chest 328 00:19:24.920 --> 00:19:29.480 in arms, like a bodybuilder or something. Rich fired at 329 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:32.119 it with the twenty two, and we're sure he hit 330 00:19:32.240 --> 00:19:35.799 it because it grunted and disappeared into the trees. But 331 00:19:35.839 --> 00:19:38.480 there wasn't any sound of it running off, so we 332 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.920 knew it had just taken cover. About that time, we 333 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:46.279 started getting branches tossed at us from the other side. 334 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:49.880 Without even looking. I fired off the shotgun that way 335 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:53.440 and we heard whatever it was crashing into the thicker trees. 336 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.680 Rich and I decided that it would be a good 337 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.400 idea to move a little faster. This went on for 338 00:20:01.519 --> 00:20:04.920 quite a bit, with one side tossing rocks or sticks, 339 00:20:05.039 --> 00:20:08.000 until we fired off our guns, and then it would 340 00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:11.279 come from the other side. They're trying to get us 341 00:20:11.279 --> 00:20:14.559 to run out of ammo, Rich yelled. I knew he 342 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:17.480 was right, and it was working. I was down to 343 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:20.920 about five rounds left for the shotgun, and Rich had 344 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.920 two more magazines for the twenty two, and we were 345 00:20:23.960 --> 00:20:27.440 close to panicking. We knew we had to be close 346 00:20:27.480 --> 00:20:29.400 to the fence where we had come on to the 347 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.599 property in the first place, and we decided to make 348 00:20:32.640 --> 00:20:36.319 a break for it. I fired one way and he 349 00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:39.880 fired the other way, and we started running. Instead of 350 00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:44.680 them running away, it sounded like they were running after us. 351 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:48.559 Looking back at it now, I think they knew we 352 00:20:48.559 --> 00:20:52.400 were close to getting away. The undergrowth was thick, and 353 00:20:52.440 --> 00:20:54.400 we knew that they could be right on top of 354 00:20:54.480 --> 00:20:57.599 us before we could see them, so we just started 355 00:20:57.640 --> 00:21:02.039 firing blind. He emptied the magazine of the twenty two 356 00:21:02.200 --> 00:21:04.720 and I was pumping in my fourth round into the 357 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:08.759 chamber when we saw the fence. Rich dove over it 358 00:21:08.839 --> 00:21:11.680 and came up to his feet. I wasn't much of 359 00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.839 a jumper, so I got ready to climb through or over. 360 00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:19.559 The crashing was right behind us. I tossed the shotgun 361 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:22.240 over the fence to Rich, and he shouldered it and 362 00:21:22.279 --> 00:21:25.799 aimed behind me. I could see the look of terror 363 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:30.119 on his face. I grabbed the fence and started over, 364 00:21:30.400 --> 00:21:32.680 and that's when I felt something tug at the back 365 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:36.119 of my shirt. It only tugged for a second, and 366 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:40.279 Rich fired the shotgun right over my shoulder. I planted 367 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:43.640 my foot and I flipped over the fence. I grabbed 368 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:46.000 the twenty two off the ground and got to my feet. 369 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:49.640 Rich fired off my last round and the shotgun, and 370 00:21:49.680 --> 00:21:52.480 we took off the gravel road as fast as we could. 371 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:57.039 We could still hear them crashing through the trees alongside 372 00:21:57.079 --> 00:22:01.599 the road. Rich and Ice witch guns while we ran, 373 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:05.559 and he loaded his last magazine in the twenty two. 374 00:22:05.759 --> 00:22:08.640 The things in the trees were getting closer. We were 375 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:11.599 still more than a mile from Rich's house, and we 376 00:22:11.680 --> 00:22:14.160 knew that there was no way that we would make it. 377 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:19.799 We were already exhausted and almost out of AMMO, and 378 00:22:19.880 --> 00:22:23.640 then we heard a horn. One of Rich's neighbors was 379 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:27.079 coming up the road in his pickup. The sounds in 380 00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:29.880 the tree stopped as the truck caught up with us. 381 00:22:30.119 --> 00:22:33.039 Mister Bridges leaned out his window and he smiled at us. 382 00:22:33.559 --> 00:22:37.359 You boys want to ride? He asked, yes. We shouted 383 00:22:37.359 --> 00:22:41.480 and jumped into the bed of his pickup. Mister Bridges 384 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:44.079 dropped us off in front of Rich's house, and we 385 00:22:44.200 --> 00:22:48.039 thanked him profusely. He waved at us and drove off. 386 00:22:49.200 --> 00:22:52.319 The woods stopped down the road from Riches's house, so 387 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:57.039 we were safe. We didn't hear or see anything. Both 388 00:22:57.039 --> 00:22:59.680 of Rich's parents were gone to town, so we went 389 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:03.440 in and cleaned the guns. We were both still shaking. 390 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:06.920 I went to the refrigerator to get a coke and 391 00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:12.000 Rich gasped. I spun around and I said, what is it, man, 392 00:23:12.119 --> 00:23:15.839 Look at your back. I pulled off my shirt and 393 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:20.079 I looked across the back were four slashes, side by 394 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.400 side that had been the tug I felt before I 395 00:23:23.480 --> 00:23:27.200 crossed the fence. My shirt was slashed, but it hadn't 396 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:31.119 reached my skin. We locked all the doors and reloaded 397 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.799 the guns. Rich went and got the Marland thirty thirty 398 00:23:34.839 --> 00:23:40.279 and he loaded it. I loaded slugs into the twelve gage. 399 00:23:40.440 --> 00:23:43.079 We spent the rest of the afternoon watching the tree 400 00:23:43.119 --> 00:23:46.559 line through the windows. For the next two weeks, every 401 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:50.400