WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.960 --> 00:00:11.199 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