1 00:00:07,960 --> 00:00:11,199 Speaker 1: Hey, Cam, I have a pretty unbelievable story for you. 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,640 Even I find it hard to believe. And it's my story. 3 00:00:15,839 --> 00:00:19,239 In nineteen seventy four, my family moved from Missouri to 4 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,719 a small town in Kansas. Sometime that summer, the movie 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:26,800 Legend of the Boggy Creek finally came to our town, 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,760 and my father took my two older brothers and me 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,000 to see it. I was close to eight years old, 8 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:36,000 and it scared me so much that I remember curling 9 00:00:36,079 --> 00:00:38,200 up with my face pressed into the back of the 10 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:40,520 seat so I wouldn't have to look at the monster. 11 00:00:42,399 --> 00:00:44,920 A few weeks later, I had a flashback from when 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,439 I was a toddler, back when we were still in Missouri, 13 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,119 and I remember sitting up and talking to three little men. 14 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:56,640 I could see them clearly, even though it was dark 15 00:00:56,679 --> 00:00:58,880 in my bedroom, and I could hear them even though 16 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,079 they weren't moving their mind they talked right into my head, 17 00:01:03,119 --> 00:01:06,439 and that's how I answered them too. They were gray, 18 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,640 they had large, elongated tear drop eyes, and they were 19 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,159 only as tall as the front rail of the bed, 20 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:15,799 which made them just a few inches taller than I 21 00:01:15,840 --> 00:01:19,680 was at that time. I remember looking from one to 22 00:01:19,719 --> 00:01:22,120 the other as they spoke to me and not being 23 00:01:22,159 --> 00:01:25,280 afraid of them. They visited me a lot, and I 24 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:27,879 liked them because I knew they were happy to see me. 25 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:32,000 I didn't like the tall ones. Though they rarely came 26 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,319 into the house anyway, they always came out of the 27 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:38,840 kitchen right next to my bedroom door. I didn't mind 28 00:01:38,879 --> 00:01:41,040 them coming in, but I hated when I had to 29 00:01:41,079 --> 00:01:43,359 go into the kitchen and out the back door with 30 00:01:43,439 --> 00:01:46,439 them because it went by the basement door, and that 31 00:01:46,519 --> 00:01:51,799 door terrified me. My mother was an alcoholic and was 32 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,439 cata tonic for most of my childhood. One day I 33 00:01:55,519 --> 00:01:58,519 was left on my own wandering around the house looking 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,159 for my brothers and sisters. I couldn't find anyone in 35 00:02:02,159 --> 00:02:04,359 the house, so I decided to look in the basement 36 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,159 and I opened the basement door and I leaned on 37 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:10,360 the wall beside the stairs. It was a long way 38 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,000 to the bottom for such a small child. There was 39 00:02:14,039 --> 00:02:16,560 a window to the left that let them light into 40 00:02:16,599 --> 00:02:19,479 the room, but an inky darkness covered the far end 41 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,479 of the space. There were two large barn doors that 42 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,879 opened out into the backyard to the far right, and 43 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,280 in the darkness was a work bench. I slowly went 44 00:02:31,319 --> 00:02:34,479 down those stairs, scooting down each one on my bottom 45 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,560 because I was so small. The dim light from the 46 00:02:37,599 --> 00:02:40,840 window reflected off the big crank washer that was a 47 00:02:40,879 --> 00:02:44,039 few feet from the bottom of the stairs, but otherwise 48 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,719 it was too dark to see much of anything. I 49 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:49,919 realized that no one was down there, and that they 50 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,759 must have been outside playing. But I would have to 51 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:54,879 get my little legs all the way back up those 52 00:02:54,879 --> 00:02:57,400 stairs and out the back door through the kitchen to 53 00:02:57,439 --> 00:03:01,280 get to them. I sat on the bottom stairs, making 54 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:04,560 up my mind about what I would do. Something by 55 00:03:04,599 --> 00:03:08,439 the work bench, and the darkness caught my attention. I 56 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,199 was too young to have been afraid of much, even 57 00:03:11,199 --> 00:03:13,360 in the darkness, so I got up and walked over 58 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,240 to the bench, and that's when I saw the feet. 59 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:19,560 There were big feet, maybe bigger than I was at 60 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:22,360 the time if I had laid down next to them. 61 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,240 And then I saw the brown, hairy legs that went 62 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:28,000 up and up, and I had to lean my head 63 00:03:28,039 --> 00:03:30,039 back as far as it would go to see the 64 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,800 top of this thing. It was a fuzzy man who 65 00:03:33,879 --> 00:03:37,000 was so tall that his shoulders hit the ceiling and 66 00:03:37,039 --> 00:03:40,759 his head was bent down looking at me. I remember 67 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,159 his huge hands coming at me, and then everything went blank. 68 00:03:44,919 --> 00:03:47,879 I can't tell you what happened next, because fear either 69 00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:51,719 erased that memory or buried it so far down that 70 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,280 I wouldn't have to relive it. I had always wondered 71 00:03:55,319 --> 00:03:58,360 where my fear of heights came from, and now I 72 00:03:58,360 --> 00:04:00,879 think I know it came from the beast in the 73 00:04:00,919 --> 00:04:05,400 basement picking me up. My oldest brother came back from 74 00:04:05,439 --> 00:04:09,439 Germany right as the Vietnam War stopped, just before he 75 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,719 was to ship out. He had always thrown me up 76 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:14,680 in the air and caught me before he left on 77 00:04:14,719 --> 00:04:17,279 the tour. But when he came back that time, he 78 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:20,600 tossed me up like he always did. But that time 79 00:04:20,639 --> 00:04:23,639 I screamed and I begged him to stop. I was 80 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,279 terrified of being even a few feet off the ground. 81 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:29,959 We had a ladder with three steps on it that 82 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:33,120 we used to climb into a pear tree in the backyard, 83 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,879 but I couldn't use that anymore. Even on the first step, 84 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,120 I would freeze in terror. In retrospect, I don't think 85 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,600 the beast in the basement meant to hurt me or 86 00:04:43,639 --> 00:04:46,560 anyone else. But I was a little kid, and he 87 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,959 was so huge that it frightened me. All of us 88 00:04:50,040 --> 00:04:53,360 knew about him, but that is a story for another time. 89 00:04:54,399 --> 00:04:57,240 One night after my encounter in the basement, the three 90 00:04:57,279 --> 00:04:59,519 little men told me that I didn't have to be 91 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,319 afraid because the big men wouldn't come around and scare 92 00:05:02,399 --> 00:05:05,759 me anymore. And try as I might, I never could 93 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:08,800 remember everything that they talked to me about on all 94 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,279 their visits to my room while the rest of my 95 00:05:11,399 --> 00:05:15,800 family slept. Looking back now, though, it's difficult to say 96 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,480 which memory is more disturbing, the beast in the basement 97 00:05:19,879 --> 00:05:22,519 or the three men who visited me in the middle 98 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,279 of the night. Thank you for reading my story. It 99 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,720 took me a while to find the courage to write it. Well. 100 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,120 Thank you, ma'am. She wants to be anonymous, so I 101 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,800 won't thank her by name, but she'll hear this. This 102 00:05:35,879 --> 00:05:39,600 is an older email that I got. What an experience 103 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,839 for a little bitty kid through It's like aliens talking 104 00:05:43,879 --> 00:05:46,800 to her at the foot of her bed, big aliens 105 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:51,079 coming in, possibly a bigfoot in the basement. That's really 106 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,519 a crazy story. And some of you may think it's 107 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,959 just a bunch of wahoo, but maybe it's not. You know, 108 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:00,279 the name of my podcast is what if It's true? 109 00:06:00,319 --> 00:06:03,399 What if this story's true? What was this young what 110 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:06,319 was this little girl dealing with in that house? Her 111 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,160 mother was a drunk, catatonic all the time. Maybe she 112 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:12,399 was in a Maybe she was in a Maybe she 113 00:06:12,839 --> 00:06:17,040 was a vulnerable kid. And that's who these alien type 114 00:06:17,079 --> 00:06:20,120 beings pray on. I don't know, but it's a very 115 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,399 interesting story. I hope you're doing okay now and those 116 00:06:23,439 --> 00:06:26,120 memories don't come back and scare you too bad. It's 117 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,560 a great story. I appreciate you sharing it with us. 118 00:06:31,319 --> 00:06:33,959 All right, all right, how about a new podcast, not 119 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,720 an archive. I know some people may be a little 120 00:06:37,759 --> 00:06:40,000 frustrated that I'm putting let me get my mic here, 121 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,360 here we go. Mike was like a foot two feet 122 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,720 from my mouth. Some people get a little annoyed at 123 00:06:47,759 --> 00:06:50,439 the archived videos. But there's a lot of people who 124 00:06:50,519 --> 00:06:54,480 haven't heard those stories. And I've been away from the podcast. 125 00:06:54,560 --> 00:06:58,480 I've been working on Steve Lilly Night and Day. People 126 00:06:58,519 --> 00:07:01,160 hounded me for a year to get another one out. Well, 127 00:07:01,199 --> 00:07:04,519 I put three out in the span of about seven days. 128 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,040 If you haven't heard eighteen, it'll be available tonight. I 129 00:07:09,079 --> 00:07:12,120 think around six Central times, so you can listen to 130 00:07:12,199 --> 00:07:15,000 that tonight. We listen to this one first because it's 131 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,360 full of really good stories, and thank you for clicking 132 00:07:18,399 --> 00:07:24,319 on the video. Certainly do appreciate you. It was late 133 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,759 summer of twenty nineteen and the peak camping season had passed. 134 00:07:29,759 --> 00:07:32,879 My wife and two kids had reserved a primo campsite 135 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:38,000 at a fairly remote campground in Kern County, California. Oh 136 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,959 that's a mouthful. Kern County, California. Kern County, California, Kern County, California. 137 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:48,240 Try to say that three times this excuse me. This 138 00:07:48,319 --> 00:07:52,879 campground had no electricity, running water, or sewer hookups, just 139 00:07:52,959 --> 00:07:55,680 pit toilets that forced you to hold your breath as 140 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:59,240 long as possible, do your business and get your feed 141 00:07:59,319 --> 00:08:02,639 out of there. There was a mountain spring that some 142 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,160 folks thought was safe to drink. Otherwise it was several 143 00:08:06,199 --> 00:08:08,240 miles down the road to fill up your jugs with 144 00:08:08,319 --> 00:08:11,399 good old holes water. But that's what the old folks 145 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,519 liked roughing it. The occasion, however, was a somber one. 146 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,680 The previously mentioned old folks had passed on and we 147 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,319 were burdened with the task of scattering the remains of 148 00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:27,319 my wife's grandparents and their dog into the river, the 149 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,120 same river to which they had already committed two of 150 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,840 their boys in the past year. This spot was a 151 00:08:33,879 --> 00:08:36,679 special one, and my wife had been going there since 152 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,879 she was an infant, and her mom's family long before that. 153 00:08:41,159 --> 00:08:43,600 I had always enjoyed hiking in the mountains as a 154 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,720 boy's scout, and I went along with them when we 155 00:08:46,799 --> 00:08:50,120 first started dating to the spot, and we continued the 156 00:08:50,159 --> 00:08:56,399 tradition with them. Sadly, the tradition almost faded away. It 157 00:08:56,440 --> 00:08:58,919 was one last hurrah and I wanted to go tent 158 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:03,200 camping for old time say. Our camp site had a 159 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:05,639 good view of the other side of the river, which 160 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:08,879 was miles and miles of empty land that eventually hooked 161 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,720 up with the Sierra Nevada National Park. It would take 162 00:09:12,759 --> 00:09:16,799 some incredibly rough and rugged individuals to truck across such 163 00:09:16,799 --> 00:09:20,279 a landscape, and if a sasquatch felt like getting a 164 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:23,440 view of campers, it was the perfect spot for them 165 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:27,039 to do it. We stayed at the campsite for a 166 00:09:27,080 --> 00:09:31,519 few nights, but my hopes of squatch watching never materialized. 167 00:09:32,399 --> 00:09:35,000 On our last night, we had a lovely camp for 168 00:09:35,039 --> 00:09:37,320 our dinner, and I slept with the roar of the 169 00:09:37,399 --> 00:09:42,120 river lulling me to sleep, and life was good. The 170 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,799 next morning we had to pack up and go, and 171 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:47,639 as usual, we took our time, waking up, long after 172 00:09:47,679 --> 00:09:50,039 the chill of the night was replaced by the sun 173 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:54,879 warming our tent. We made coffee on the ancient persnickerty 174 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:58,480 Coleman stove, and as the deadline approached for us to 175 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,000 clear out of the campground, we leisurely packed up and 176 00:10:02,039 --> 00:10:04,919 watched the early risers drive off and head to wherever 177 00:10:05,039 --> 00:10:09,440 home was. When we were alone in the campground and 178 00:10:09,519 --> 00:10:12,360 our kids were waiting for us in the car, my 179 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,759 wife and I marveled at how cool it was to 180 00:10:14,799 --> 00:10:17,679 be there with no other campers at all, and that 181 00:10:17,799 --> 00:10:21,159 had never happened, as our traditional camping time was the 182 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,600 peak summer right around the fourth of July. But our 183 00:10:25,639 --> 00:10:29,720 feeling of coolness quickly turned to a feeling of oddness. 184 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:33,159 It had only been a few minutes since the departure 185 00:10:33,279 --> 00:10:35,919 of the rest of our neighbors when we both got 186 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:40,240 the distinct impression that something wasn't quite right. Do you 187 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,080 I started to ask my wife, not exactly sure how 188 00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:47,759 to phrase the strange sensation of fight or flight that 189 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,120 had quickly come over me. Yes, she said, looking at 190 00:10:52,120 --> 00:10:55,480 me with a mixture of worry and confusion. I feel 191 00:10:55,480 --> 00:11:00,519 it too. We became consumed by the need to pack 192 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:03,080 up and get out of there as quickly as possible. 193 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:06,200 We never heard or saw anything, but it didn't make 194 00:11:06,240 --> 00:11:09,919 the experience any less disturbing. It was like we had 195 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,639 been covered by a wet blanket of fear, and it 196 00:11:12,759 --> 00:11:15,679 was the strangest thing, and neither of us had ever 197 00:11:15,759 --> 00:11:19,960 experienced anything like this. It was weird to be in 198 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,679 such a beloved place all along and then suddenly so 199 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:27,399 put off as we hot tailed it out. If there 200 00:11:27,399 --> 00:11:30,080 had occurred to me that maybe I had my sosquatch 201 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:34,120 watching experience. After all, I've heard about the fear other 202 00:11:34,159 --> 00:11:37,399 people have experienced, and how it comes out of nowhere, 203 00:11:37,759 --> 00:11:40,919 and how it violates your space and encompasses you in 204 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,960 an inexplicable, terror fueled urge to run for your life. Well, 205 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,440 that's exactly what this felt like. I haven't been back since, 206 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,840 but not out of fear, or so I tell myself. 207 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,320 Pummeling humans with the fear is probably intended to keep 208 00:11:58,399 --> 00:12:02,480 us away, but it's the opposite effect on me. I 209 00:12:02,519 --> 00:12:05,559 actually can't wait to go back, maybe in the off season, 210 00:12:05,919 --> 00:12:09,840 and this time be better prepared. But next time the 211 00:12:09,919 --> 00:12:13,240 fear hits, I won't be so quick to run. I 212 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:16,039 hope I don't regret that. Oh dude, I hope you 213 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:21,159 don't regret that too. I don't know. I've never had 214 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,679 a feeling in my life like I should just run, 215 00:12:25,519 --> 00:12:29,879 and that must be a strange sensation for people, because 216 00:12:29,919 --> 00:12:34,879 I've never felt that. There was a day in the 217 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:38,360 last two weeks I was telling my wife that you 218 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,799 all know, I ride my bike around all these woods 219 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,840 around my house, and we were back there, riding around 220 00:12:43,879 --> 00:12:47,960 some ponds and across some levees, and it was so quiet. 221 00:12:48,159 --> 00:12:52,639 It was it's like the middle of August, it's really hot. 222 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,720 Maybe it was right before it was either right before 223 00:12:56,879 --> 00:12:59,000 or right after all that rain got pushed up here 224 00:12:59,039 --> 00:13:03,440 by the hurricane that landed just three or four weeks ago. 225 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,840 It was so quiet that it was weird. And normally 226 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,399 I don't stop to listen to the noises unless I 227 00:13:12,519 --> 00:13:15,879 hear noises, then you kind of listen for them. But 228 00:13:15,919 --> 00:13:18,840 it just and then I just it just felt strange 229 00:13:18,919 --> 00:13:21,799 and my dogs were like looking around off at nothing. 230 00:13:21,919 --> 00:13:24,039 It's like they would both stop. Their heads would be 231 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:27,279 turned looking in the same direction, their ears would be 232 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,240 perked up, and they would just stand there when they're 233 00:13:29,279 --> 00:13:33,720 normally running around like wild hyenas. But they would eventually 234 00:13:34,120 --> 00:13:37,159 move on and we'd ride on and everything would be fine. 235 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,759 But I have had those experiences in my life, very few, 236 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,559 very few. But I didn't mean to make this about 237 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:46,919 me and talk about myself. But that's how we relate 238 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:50,720 to these things. We kind of compare other people's experiences 239 00:13:50,799 --> 00:13:54,559 to our own, and then we talk about ours, and 240 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,200 it kind of fleshes it out a little bit. So 241 00:13:57,240 --> 00:13:59,159 I guess that's why I do that. I don't care 242 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:02,039 that y'all know that I felt weird that day, so 243 00:14:02,039 --> 00:14:04,200 I'm not trying to talk about myself. I just kind 244 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:07,799 of popped in my head. Squirrel. All right, Thank you 245 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:09,720 to the writer for this. This was very good. I 246 00:14:09,759 --> 00:14:18,559 appreciate it. Greetings, my white brother. I'm sending you this 247 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:21,639 story because I believe it may give me some relief 248 00:14:22,039 --> 00:14:24,320 and getting it off my chest will help me come 249 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:28,159 out of the shadows. I'm a part of the ute nation, 250 00:14:28,679 --> 00:14:31,159 or at least what is left of it, as we 251 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:35,240 are a nation of decreasing numbers. I'm a traditional bow 252 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,039 hunter and have harvested more record bucks and bull elk 253 00:14:39,240 --> 00:14:41,399 than ninety nine percent of the hunters here in this 254 00:14:41,559 --> 00:14:45,639 state or neighboring states. One might say that I have 255 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,679 a vested interest in the ancient ways of my people 256 00:14:48,759 --> 00:14:51,960 when it comes to hunting. I have made my own 257 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:54,879 bow from a cedar tree and arrows from a choke 258 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,799 cherry tree, and I made my own airheads by napping obsidian. WHOA, 259 00:15:00,039 --> 00:15:03,360 that is cool. My bow is somewhere between seventy five 260 00:15:03,399 --> 00:15:06,279 and ninety pounds pull and has only been pulled back 261 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,480 to full draw by myself and my father. Nobody else 262 00:15:10,519 --> 00:15:13,519 that we are acquainted with has been able to pull 263 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:17,440 it to full draw. As deer season approaches, I prepare 264 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,600 for my hunt the two weeks prior to going out 265 00:15:19,679 --> 00:15:22,399 to the woods, and in that time I only eat 266 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:25,840 fruits and vegetables, and I refrain from consuming any meat 267 00:15:25,879 --> 00:15:29,519 of any form. I fast for the last twenty four 268 00:15:29,559 --> 00:15:32,360 hours prior to going into the woods, and I spend 269 00:15:32,399 --> 00:15:35,320 that time in a sweat lodge to cleanse my body 270 00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:38,559 of the smell of a meat eater, and I bathe 271 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,080 in a soap made from the yucca plant and other 272 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,080 roots for the week prior, as well as wash my 273 00:15:44,159 --> 00:15:47,679 hunting clothes and equipment in a mixture of dried yucca 274 00:15:47,679 --> 00:15:51,240 and other plants native to the region. I do all 275 00:15:51,279 --> 00:15:53,799 this to remove any scent of a predator being in 276 00:15:53,799 --> 00:15:57,519 the woods, and I give myself the scent of the forest. 277 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:00,919 At this point, I am one with the forest and 278 00:16:00,960 --> 00:16:04,159 I'm ready to hunt, and this practice helps me get 279 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:06,679 close to the prey without them having any clue that 280 00:16:06,759 --> 00:16:10,559 a predator is only feet away. I take my old 281 00:16:10,639 --> 00:16:14,519 nineteen seventy four Chevy C twenty Camper Special, which is 282 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:18,360 orange over white, and it's more rust and metal now, 283 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,519 but it runs better than anything else on the roads here, 284 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,519 and it tears down the trails in old mining and 285 00:16:24,519 --> 00:16:27,799 logging roads like a mule, and it eats like one 286 00:16:27,919 --> 00:16:31,799 two about eight gallons to the mile. I park and 287 00:16:31,840 --> 00:16:34,200 walk the last two miles to where I want to hunt, 288 00:16:34,559 --> 00:16:37,799 usually prior to the sun coming up, and I wear 289 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:42,320 the traditional soft soul moccasins and buckskin pants which protect 290 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:45,519 my legs from the briars and thorns, and a camouflage 291 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,480 top of some nature. I either use a swing tight 292 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:53,879 tree stand or I stalk my prey. I learned how 293 00:16:53,879 --> 00:16:57,039 to hunt from my elders, but mostly from my grandfather, 294 00:16:57,240 --> 00:17:00,159 who is one of the elders of our tribe. It's 295 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:02,519 been known to be the best hunter for over two 296 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,079 hundred years, and when hunting, I have learned to only 297 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:10,160 be seen if I want to be seen. It was 298 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,720 almost a year ago now, and I went through my 299 00:17:12,839 --> 00:17:15,839 normal routine and I got out to the woods before dawn. 300 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,319 I had positioned myself just below a ridge where I 301 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,640 knew a game trail ran. I had taken quite a 302 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:26,720 few nice meal bucks from this location over the past years, 303 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,599 and I had the expectation of taking another record breaking 304 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,400 buck again this year. This was simply going to take 305 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,400 patients and waiting for the right one to walk over 306 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,480 the ridge. I knew there were going to be some 307 00:17:40,599 --> 00:17:43,440 younger bucks and does, and maybe a bear, maybe a 308 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,079 mountain lion or other critters, but I would just have 309 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:49,720 to sit tight and stay true to my goal. Just 310 00:17:49,839 --> 00:17:52,480 after dawn, I saw a large dough and her two 311 00:17:52,559 --> 00:17:55,519 yearlings walk down the trail at the top of the ridge. 312 00:17:56,039 --> 00:17:58,160 I gave them a free pass and A couple of 313 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,559 minutes later, after she dropped over the other side of 314 00:18:01,559 --> 00:18:06,160 the ridge, she wailed out in pain. The two year 315 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:09,640 lings ran past me in reckless abandon and I wondered 316 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,160 what had grabbed her. I didn't know if it was 317 00:18:12,160 --> 00:18:14,559 a mountain lion or a bear, so I just sat 318 00:18:14,599 --> 00:18:17,559 tight and I kept my ears and eyes open. I 319 00:18:17,599 --> 00:18:21,000 didn't want to interrupt a mountain lion's breakfast or a 320 00:18:21,079 --> 00:18:24,880 grizzly's mid morning snack, because it would only end badly 321 00:18:24,960 --> 00:18:28,240 for one of us. Just a few minutes after the 322 00:18:28,279 --> 00:18:31,839 commotion and struggle had stopped, I heard a roar, paired 323 00:18:31,880 --> 00:18:36,440 with what sounded like King Kong pounding his chest. I 324 00:18:36,519 --> 00:18:40,799 split second later another roar answered the first. I had 325 00:18:40,839 --> 00:18:43,599 never heard this sound in the mountains before, but I 326 00:18:43,599 --> 00:18:46,160 could tell that it was two different animals by the 327 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:50,000 pitch and tone of their voices. The volume was so 328 00:18:50,279 --> 00:18:53,319 intense that it made my stomach turn and my handshake. 329 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:56,119 And then I heard a crash that sounded like two 330 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:59,759 bull elephants smashing their heads together. And I could hear 331 00:18:59,799 --> 00:19:02,039 the rush getting torn out of the ground and being 332 00:19:02,119 --> 00:19:05,200 rolled over, and I could see tops of trees being 333 00:19:05,279 --> 00:19:08,559 shaken and knocked around, and then I heard some kind 334 00:19:08,599 --> 00:19:11,920 of chattering from just over the ridge, and it reminded 335 00:19:11,960 --> 00:19:15,279 me of a group of kids in the schoolyard encouraging 336 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,759 and egging on a fight. And I had never heard 337 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:21,960 any of these sounds in the mountains before, and the 338 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:26,359 noise was unsettling, so I sat tight where I was 339 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:28,799 and I listened to the battle from over the top 340 00:19:28,839 --> 00:19:31,000 of the ridge, and then I got to look at 341 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,799 what was making all the noise. Two beasts that were 342 00:19:34,799 --> 00:19:37,960 bigger than any grizzly bear I had ever seen before, 343 00:19:38,319 --> 00:19:42,400 bit and punched and pulled at each other's hair. They 344 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,720 looked like giant hairy men with huge mouths and enlarge 345 00:19:45,799 --> 00:19:50,200 canine teeth. Their arms were longer than a human's and 346 00:19:50,319 --> 00:19:55,480 move like sledgehammers as they relentlessly hit each other. The 347 00:19:55,519 --> 00:19:57,559 fight rolled back over the top of the ridge and 348 00:19:57,599 --> 00:19:59,920 out of sight, and it sounded like one had finally 349 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,960 I managed to dominate the other, and I heard one 350 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,839 of them being slammed into a tree, and then another, 351 00:20:06,319 --> 00:20:08,839 and I heard one of them moan in pain and 352 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,240 the other growl and rage, And then came what I 353 00:20:12,279 --> 00:20:15,359 can only describe as a death whale. The likes I 354 00:20:15,400 --> 00:20:19,319 have never imagined from any living animal, and I heard 355 00:20:19,319 --> 00:20:23,000 some sort of cry for mercy, and then a final thud. 356 00:20:24,759 --> 00:20:27,039 There was a brief moment of silence, and then an 357 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:30,319 eruption of noise from the other side of that ridge. 358 00:20:30,880 --> 00:20:33,759 First came a roar from the victor, followed by the 359 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:38,000 unfamiliar chatter of a strange language that I could not understand. 360 00:20:39,559 --> 00:20:42,279 I stayed in my stand for almost thirty minutes after 361 00:20:42,319 --> 00:20:45,440 that commotion settled down. Before I eased back down and 362 00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,559 snuck to the top of the ridge, and even before 363 00:20:48,599 --> 00:20:51,359 I looked over the side, a horrific smell of death 364 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:55,799 and blood mixed with raw sewage filled my nose. And 365 00:20:55,839 --> 00:20:58,559 then I looked over and I saw several hairy beasts 366 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:02,119 ranging in size from massive to only a few feet tall, 367 00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:06,480 gathered around the dough which had been torn apart, and 368 00:21:06,559 --> 00:21:09,279 it looked like they had ripped the internal organs out 369 00:21:09,319 --> 00:21:11,640 of her and torn the legs off and were sitting 370 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:15,599 around eating the meat right off the bone. Another group 371 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,240 of beasts gathered around the loser of the battle. They 372 00:21:19,279 --> 00:21:22,240 had torn its stomach open and they were eating its 373 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:26,119 organs and sucking the marrow out of its ribs. The 374 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,519 loser's head had been twisted backward, and its legs were 375 00:21:29,559 --> 00:21:32,359 contorted in a way that they were not intended to 376 00:21:32,440 --> 00:21:37,680 be positioned. The massive, bloodied victor was sitting off to 377 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:40,920 the site, surrounded by a couple of smaller females, and 378 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,880 they were stroking his head and back. He was at 379 00:21:43,960 --> 00:21:47,960 least ten feet tall and maybe a thousand pounds. The 380 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:51,440 females were much smaller, but still taller and wider than 381 00:21:51,519 --> 00:21:55,799 any human. I backed out slowly, and I was able 382 00:21:55,839 --> 00:21:59,200 to drop over an adjacent ridge without being seen. And 383 00:21:59,279 --> 00:22:01,400 I ran most of the way back to my truck, 384 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:05,640 and I drove straight to my grandfather's house. He told 385 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,720 me that I had encountered the I can't pronounce the word. 386 00:22:09,799 --> 00:22:14,440 He says, here as sea sack. It's a s apostrophe s. 387 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,240 I'm sorry, let me go back. It's se apostrophe s 388 00:22:19,759 --> 00:22:23,839 x ac, and then he writes, or sisquatch. And I 389 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,000 was lucky not to have been seen. And he reminded 390 00:22:27,039 --> 00:22:29,359 me of the stories that had been passed from a 391 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:34,160 generation to generation about the sisquatch, mostly during the spring 392 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:37,799 bear dads and celebrating the coming of spring each year. 393 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:42,759 Well My head was swimming with questions. Why were those 394 00:22:42,759 --> 00:22:46,680 two males fighting? Was it a challenge over breeding rights 395 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:51,480 or an invader who ventured into another clan's territory? Was 396 00:22:51,519 --> 00:22:53,839 it over who got the choice of pieces of meat 397 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,640 for the kill? Was this just a clan passing through 398 00:22:57,839 --> 00:23:00,720 or did they live there a year round? Do these 399 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,319 large males kill each other often? Is it that they 400 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:07,039 ether did and that's the reason we never find a 401 00:23:07,079 --> 00:23:11,480 skeleton or remains. I did not return to the woods 402 00:23:11,519 --> 00:23:13,960 last year, and I'm trying to get my nerve back 403 00:23:14,039 --> 00:23:17,359 to hunt this year. I've never hunted with a firearm, 404 00:23:17,400 --> 00:23:19,920 but if I finally get the courage up, I will 405 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:22,720 be taking my Smith and Wesson five hundred with me. 406 00:23:23,799 --> 00:23:27,960 Oh what a this guy? This is like a story 407 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,920 of all stories everybody, you know. We had one story 408 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:34,359 where somebody was just they had a feeling of seeing 409 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:36,519 a bigfoot, and then we go right to a story 410 00:23:36,559 --> 00:23:39,680 where a guy watches this whole clan kind of like 411 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,480 a schoolyard fight, and these two big males beating a 412 00:23:42,519 --> 00:23:46,160 crap out of each other. You heard it all. There's 413 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:48,759 nothing I can add to it. And he's got a 414 00:23:48,839 --> 00:23:53,119 thousand questions he's really inquisitive about this. I'm sure he 415 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,880 wanted to ask his grandfather, grandfather all this stuff. But man, 416 00:23:58,039 --> 00:24:01,799 it's just a great story. And when I first read, 417 00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,920 when I first read the first sentence, when he said, 418 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,960 greeting's my white brother. I got a comment from somebody 419 00:24:09,839 --> 00:24:12,440 maybe in the last two months, and uh, you know, 420 00:24:12,519 --> 00:24:15,720 I never know the race of the person who's commenting ever. 421 00:24:16,279 --> 00:24:18,680 I mean, there's no way to know even if there's 422 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:22,359 a picture of a I don't know, maybe a person 423 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:27,640 from India or a First Nation's person, or a black 424 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:30,640 person or a white person. You know, they could put 425 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,839 any kind of picture up there. But this person had 426 00:24:33,279 --> 00:24:35,680 had the image of a black person, so I'm assuming 427 00:24:35,759 --> 00:24:39,000 it was them. And they ask, why aren't there any 428 00:24:39,039 --> 00:24:42,480 black people into this bigfoot subject? And that's a good question. 429 00:24:43,079 --> 00:24:47,240 There are a few. I've actually I've actually met three 430 00:24:47,319 --> 00:24:51,880 or four people black folks who actually follow this topic. 431 00:24:52,039 --> 00:24:55,960 And I think, I think, so there are people who 432 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,759 follow it, you just don't see them doing stuff on 433 00:24:59,799 --> 00:25:03,880 you like all the Bigfoot channels. Do you know anyway 434 00:25:04,039 --> 00:25:06,960 that's neither here nor there. It just made me think, Oh, 435 00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,160 I was so excited that I was getting an email 436 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,880 from a from a black guy or black woman, and 437 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:15,119 I was gonna be able to share it and tell 438 00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:19,240 this person, see, black people have experiences too. However, I'm 439 00:25:19,319 --> 00:25:21,920 just as excited that it was a First Nations guy 440 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:25,559 from the Ute Nation. They are so in tune with nature. 441 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,680 You read his the first part of the story where 442 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:32,000 he takes great care to hunt in the ancient ways 443 00:25:32,039 --> 00:25:34,799 that his ancestors did, and I think that is so cool. 444 00:25:34,920 --> 00:25:37,480 You know, that makes hunting a lot harder. I mean, 445 00:25:37,519 --> 00:25:41,119 if you actually make your own weapons, you make your 446 00:25:41,119 --> 00:25:44,960 own clothes, you go to so much care with fasting 447 00:25:45,160 --> 00:25:49,039 and making sure you know, the predator smell gets off 448 00:25:49,079 --> 00:25:51,480 of you from eating meat. I never thought about that. 449 00:25:51,559 --> 00:25:56,119 Do we smell like meat eaters? And then it's just 450 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:59,680 really impressive the way this any any He makes his 451 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,599 own arrowheads out of what was the name of that 452 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,720 of the stone they used, But it's that kind of 453 00:26:06,759 --> 00:26:09,960 stone you if you just crack it, it's like a 454 00:26:10,039 --> 00:26:12,200 razor blade that you know, a little piece of shell 455 00:26:12,319 --> 00:26:15,839 comes off and you could skin a mule deer out 456 00:26:15,880 --> 00:26:17,519 with a piece of it. I wish I could remember 457 00:26:17,559 --> 00:26:19,039 the name of it's in the story, but I'm not 458 00:26:19,039 --> 00:26:23,079 gonna look it up anyway. This wasn't from a black person. 459 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:27,359 It was from a First Nation's brother, and I appreciated 460 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,440 him sending it. It was a great story, one of 461 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,000 the best stories I've read in a long time. Giant 462 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,440 Bigfoot fight right in front of him. Unbelievable. Thanks for 463 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:39,960 the story. Okay, that's three good stories. All three of 464 00:26:39,960 --> 00:26:42,440 them I thought were great. They kind of reached from 465 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:46,160 one spectrum to the other aliens and Bigfoot, and then 466 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,680 the fear of Bigfoot, and then an actual bigfoot encounter 467 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:53,599 and a witness to a bigfoot fight. It was so cool. 468 00:26:54,160 --> 00:26:56,559 Thank you all for watching this video. I appreciate it. 469 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:59,000 Jump over to the Steve Lilly channel. I'll put a 470 00:26:59,039 --> 00:27:02,559 link in the discretion if you haven't found the Steve 471 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,440 Lily Stories. There a fictional set of stories that I've 472 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,319 been writing for about three years. I think there's eighteen 473 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,240 episodes up now, seventeen right now. There'll be eighteen tonight 474 00:27:12,279 --> 00:27:14,480 at six o'clock. But go check that out if you 475 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:20,039 like cool, high impact, lots of action fiction. The Steve 476 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:22,799 Lily Journals, or you can just search it the Steve 477 00:27:22,839 --> 00:27:25,400 Lily Journals that'll come up on YouTube, or on the 478 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:28,319 podcast network. All right, I'm gonna quick running my mouth. 479 00:27:28,400 --> 00:27:31,240 Y'all have a good week. We'll see on the next one. Thanks.