1 00:00:06,879 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Listening to your channel has given me the courage to 2 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:12,599 get this off of my chest. It happened in two 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:16,519 thousand and three. I was living in a small town 4 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,199 in the central Piedmont of North Carolina. There was a 5 00:00:20,199 --> 00:00:23,839 modest brick home and a somewhat secluded area and a 6 00:00:23,879 --> 00:00:28,760 heavily wooded part of Iredale County. My nearest neighbor was 7 00:00:28,760 --> 00:00:32,000 two hundred yards away through a small patch of pine trees. 8 00:00:33,359 --> 00:00:37,759 Aside from two corn fields directly across the road, everywhere 9 00:00:37,759 --> 00:00:42,479 else was a mess of older hardwood trees. White tailed 10 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,840 deer were abundant the most every evening they would come 11 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:48,799 and eat at the edge of the fields. I made 12 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,799 it a habit to sit on my porch and watch 13 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:55,039 the deer before dark whenever I could. Twice I remember 14 00:00:55,079 --> 00:00:58,560 seeing them getting spooked and scramble across the field after 15 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,320 hearing an extremely loud sound that I can only describe 16 00:01:02,359 --> 00:01:07,120 as part moan and part scream. At the time, I 17 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:09,599 wondered if the Mountain lions were in this part of 18 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,200 the country. My neighbor was a few years older than me. 19 00:01:13,719 --> 00:01:16,760 He lived in a beautiful one hundred year old Victorian 20 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:21,879 style farmhouse that was situated on fifteen acres adjacent to 21 00:01:21,920 --> 00:01:26,439 my land. His name was James. He was ex military, 22 00:01:26,599 --> 00:01:31,560 having been discharged in nineteen ninety nine. We were pretty 23 00:01:31,599 --> 00:01:34,920 good friends. When he was away, I'd take care of 24 00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:38,359 his animals and property, and he'd return the favor. When 25 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,439 I had to leave town for work. One Saturday afternoon, 26 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,640 James called and asked if I wanted to do some 27 00:01:44,799 --> 00:01:48,359 shooting with my new air rifle. Of course, I replied, 28 00:01:49,079 --> 00:01:51,959 it was early October and the squirrel season was coming up. 29 00:01:53,079 --> 00:01:55,840 It was five o'clock that Saturday evening when I walked 30 00:01:55,879 --> 00:01:59,120 over to his house. James had an old barn that 31 00:01:59,159 --> 00:02:02,920 sat across the road and approximately seventy yards from his porch. 32 00:02:04,079 --> 00:02:06,799 He hung an old cast iron frying pan from a 33 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,360 tree that overhung a four wheeler trail beside the barn 34 00:02:10,439 --> 00:02:13,840 that we normally used for twenty two rifles, but we 35 00:02:13,879 --> 00:02:16,080 thought it might be fun to use it with the 36 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,120 air rifle. We dialed in the scope and took turns 37 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,319 shooting at the frying pan. It proved to be an 38 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,840 easy task to make it ring pretty loud with each shot. 39 00:02:28,039 --> 00:02:30,560 I had just made it ding three times in a 40 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,439 row and had the rifle in my lap. When we 41 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:36,800 heard it ding again, well, James looked at me and 42 00:02:36,879 --> 00:02:39,599 I looked back at him. We were at a loss. 43 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:44,199 It dinged two more times and stopped. James took the 44 00:02:44,319 --> 00:02:47,240 rifle and fired twice, and made it ding twice and 45 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:52,000 sat it in his lap. The pan dinged two more times. 46 00:02:53,319 --> 00:02:55,719 James looked over at the pan in the fading light 47 00:02:55,759 --> 00:03:00,400 and said, someone's messing with us. He went inside came 48 00:03:00,439 --> 00:03:03,680 back with a huge battery powered spotlight. He said, let's 49 00:03:03,719 --> 00:03:07,159 go find out who it is. We crossed the road 50 00:03:07,199 --> 00:03:09,639 and walked over to where the frying pan was hanging 51 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:12,319 at the start of the trail. He shined the light 52 00:03:12,439 --> 00:03:14,439 into the edge of the woods, but we didn't see 53 00:03:14,439 --> 00:03:18,479 anything at all. Who's there, he yelled into the darkness. 54 00:03:19,840 --> 00:03:22,800 Limbs crunched twenty yards to the right of the trail. 55 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:25,960 James swung the light toward the sound, and we both 56 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,800 saw eyes shine that was impossibly large. They were a 57 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:33,199 good seven feet from the ground. It was then that 58 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:38,000 we heard no. We actually felt a low, menacing growl 59 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,719 that vibrated through my chest. It was like a jake 60 00:03:41,759 --> 00:03:46,199 break on an eighteen wheeler, rattling my insides. We looked 61 00:03:46,199 --> 00:03:48,800 at each other and decided we needed the safety of 62 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:53,000 his porch. The next day, James went over to the 63 00:03:53,039 --> 00:03:56,280 frying pan and found several smooth rocks on the ground 64 00:03:56,319 --> 00:03:59,840 beneath our target. They had to have come from the creek, 65 00:04:00,199 --> 00:04:02,759 but the creek was a quarter mile into the woods. 66 00:04:03,879 --> 00:04:08,800 I'm thinking sasquatch like to take target practice too. I 67 00:04:08,879 --> 00:04:12,680 lived there until twenty and fourteen, and only once after 68 00:04:12,719 --> 00:04:16,040 the frying pan incident do I remember hearing a strange, 69 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:19,839 laughing type howl one night. I'm sure I'm not the 70 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:22,800 only one in North Carolina who has heard these creatures. 71 00:04:23,480 --> 00:04:26,160 After all these years, I thought I would have been 72 00:04:26,199 --> 00:04:29,600 able to forget about it, but that bone shaking growl 73 00:04:29,959 --> 00:04:33,519 is something I guess I'll never forget. I feel better 74 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,319 for having told it, and thanks for letting me get 75 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:42,199 it off my chest. I do a lot of driving 76 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,480 with my job, and I have two brothers that are 77 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,879 truck drivers. When I found your channels, I told my 78 00:04:47,959 --> 00:04:50,839 brothers and we all subscribe. Well, thank you very much. 79 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,519 I really appreciate that the story I'm about to tell 80 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,160 you I have kept secret for thirty years. I've never 81 00:04:58,199 --> 00:05:02,399 shared this with anyone. It's always troubled me, and you'll 82 00:05:02,439 --> 00:05:07,639 see wine never told anyone. I'm in my mid fifties now, 83 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,959 But when I was nineteen years old, I lived in 84 00:05:09,959 --> 00:05:14,000 the mountains of North Carolina. I hunted on public land, 85 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:15,920 and I had a place I liked to go that 86 00:05:16,079 --> 00:05:18,680 was so hard to get to that I've never seen 87 00:05:18,759 --> 00:05:22,560 anyone else up there. It was several miles from the 88 00:05:22,600 --> 00:05:25,240 closest parking area, and you had to climb up the 89 00:05:25,279 --> 00:05:29,160 side of a ridge to get there. The first time 90 00:05:29,199 --> 00:05:31,639 I went there, the squirrels would hang down from the 91 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:35,240 tree limbs, just curious as to what I was. I 92 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:39,439 don't think they had ever seen a human before. Once 93 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,040 at the top, there's a leveled off place where a 94 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,079 huge oak tree grew and you could see clearly for 95 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,680 one hundred yards before it got thick with laurel bushes. Again, 96 00:05:50,319 --> 00:05:52,560 I was up there on a Saturday and I found 97 00:05:52,639 --> 00:05:55,360 where an old, hollowed out oak had broken off five 98 00:05:55,399 --> 00:05:59,360 feet above the ground. One side had a huge crack 99 00:05:59,439 --> 00:06:02,199 running down to the ground. And I got inside and 100 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,040 even hunkered down, and I could see the open area clearly. 101 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:10,040 It was a perfect blind and I was standing in 102 00:06:10,079 --> 00:06:13,160 this blind watching for deer when I heard a commotion 103 00:06:13,399 --> 00:06:16,079 coming from the other side of the ridge north of me. 104 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,120 I squatted down and I watched through the big crack. 105 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:25,040 A small dough came over the ridge toward me, but 106 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,319 I knew immediately something was wrong with her because she 107 00:06:28,439 --> 00:06:32,920 was dragging her back legs. My first thought was that 108 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,920 she'd been shot by another hunter and crippled. And then 109 00:06:36,959 --> 00:06:40,000 I heard something else coming across the ridge, and it 110 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,199 was not being quiet at all, and I couldn't believe 111 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:48,240 what I was seeing. A reddish colored si squatch five 112 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:52,560 to six feet tall came across the ridge. I'd never 113 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,000 seen one of these, and although I was only nineteen 114 00:06:55,079 --> 00:06:58,120 at the time, I had spent an amazing amount of 115 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,800 time in the woods. I'd even camped up here with 116 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:06,000 no fire or tent. Ever, I had friends who had sightings, 117 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,360 but I never believed them. I thought they had just 118 00:07:10,439 --> 00:07:14,279 misinterpreted what they had seen. But here one was right 119 00:07:14,279 --> 00:07:18,920 in front of me and only sixty yards away. The 120 00:07:18,959 --> 00:07:22,160 deer was trying to drag herself away, but the squatch 121 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,519 would grab her and drag her away's back and then 122 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,240 let her go again. Every time it would grab her, 123 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:30,480 she let out. I guess you would call it a 124 00:07:30,639 --> 00:07:34,519 sort of a scream. It was hard to watch. Then 125 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,160 the squatch put its foot right on the doe's head, 126 00:07:37,720 --> 00:07:40,399 and then it looked up into the sky and started laughing. 127 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:44,319 Now I know this sounds crazy, but that's what it 128 00:07:44,439 --> 00:07:48,600 was doing. It was laughing. And then it let go 129 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,439 of the dough and when she got so far away, 130 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,399 it dragged her back. And this went on for twenty minutes. 131 00:07:57,600 --> 00:08:00,720 The more I watched this, the more angry I got. 132 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:05,879 This beast was torturing this deer, and he was enjoying it. 133 00:08:07,319 --> 00:08:10,319 I decided that I'd had enough, and I decided to 134 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:12,720 shoot the deer, and if this thing came after me, 135 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,959 I would put it down as well. And I pulled 136 00:08:16,959 --> 00:08:19,519 my rifle up and it put its foot on the 137 00:08:19,519 --> 00:08:23,680 doe's head and it started laughing again. I don't know 138 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:26,639 what happened in my thought process, but when I pulled 139 00:08:26,639 --> 00:08:29,800 the trigger, it was at the squatch, not the deer. 140 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:35,320 I put around in its left die and it dropped instantly. 141 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,559 My honest first thought was, damn, it was a good shot. 142 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:46,039 My second thought was I need to reload. I slid 143 00:08:46,080 --> 00:08:48,600 another round in my seven bag and then I heard 144 00:08:48,639 --> 00:08:51,840 a freight train coming from the same ridge that the 145 00:08:51,919 --> 00:08:56,320 dough and squatch had come from. Topping the ridge was 146 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,360 a huge, nine foot tall monster. She was huge and 147 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:05,639 solid black. She stood only for a second before seeing 148 00:09:05,639 --> 00:09:09,799 what had to be her child. She jumped over to 149 00:09:09,879 --> 00:09:12,559 the younger one, and she knelt down, and she pushed 150 00:09:12,559 --> 00:09:15,279 the smaller one and made a kind of cooing noise, 151 00:09:15,919 --> 00:09:20,000 and then she made a blood curdling roar. Right then 152 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,679 the dough tried to get up again. She was on 153 00:09:23,799 --> 00:09:26,039 it in a second, and she picked up the dough 154 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,559 and started beating her against a nearby tree, like someone 155 00:09:29,639 --> 00:09:33,440 beating out a rug. I could barely breathe, and I 156 00:09:33,519 --> 00:09:38,000 sunk lower and lower where I was. This thing was 157 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:42,679 throwing a tantrum like no other. She finished with a 158 00:09:42,759 --> 00:09:45,600 doe who was in no way still alive, and started 159 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,080 ripping up three to six inch saplings and breaking them 160 00:09:49,159 --> 00:09:54,720 like toothpicks. After twenty minutes of running back and forth, 161 00:09:54,759 --> 00:09:57,600 she started to wear down, and she went back to 162 00:09:57,679 --> 00:10:01,039 the smaller one and laid down beside it, and then 163 00:10:01,159 --> 00:10:04,720 started what I can only describe is crying. And it's 164 00:10:04,759 --> 00:10:08,919 one of the saddest things I've ever witnessed. Her moaning 165 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:12,320 will haunt me for the rest of my life. She 166 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,799 picked up her child and went back over the ridge, 167 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,399 howling with sadness, and as her wails of pain gradually 168 00:10:19,399 --> 00:10:22,200 faded off in the distance, I got up and I 169 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:26,840 left the area. I've never been so scared in my 170 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:30,679 life since then, and I've never been back to that area, 171 00:10:30,799 --> 00:10:35,120 but I do still hunt. I've never shared this because 172 00:10:35,159 --> 00:10:39,399 I'm ashamed of what I did. I'm certainly not excusing 173 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,759 my actions, but anyone in my shoes could have done 174 00:10:42,759 --> 00:10:46,200 the same thing. I'm not saying they would have, but 175 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:49,679 they could have. Well that's all I have to say. 176 00:10:49,799 --> 00:10:52,639 Thanks for reading my story. Keep up the great work. 177 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:56,960 We really love the Steve Lilly stories. And he's saying 178 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:05,039 he signs the email. In nineteen seventy four, my family 179 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,320 had an experience with Bigfoot near Marango Caves in Indiana. 180 00:11:10,320 --> 00:11:13,480 I was only four years old then. I don't remember 181 00:11:13,519 --> 00:11:16,799 everything about the event, but the family has talked about 182 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,600 it for years. We lived on her road with all 183 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:24,200 our family, and there were several houses lying down this road, 184 00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:28,240 and we were all kin. My aunt Chloe lived alone 185 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:32,440 across the road from us. Her husband had died years earlier, 186 00:11:33,159 --> 00:11:35,919 and at almost ninety years old, she did pretty good 187 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:39,480 for herself. She was a tough old country girl who 188 00:11:39,519 --> 00:11:42,480 was never afraid to work. She would put in a 189 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:47,480 nice garden every year all by herself. Sometimes she needed help, 190 00:11:47,519 --> 00:11:50,720 and my family was always there when she needed us. 191 00:11:51,919 --> 00:11:54,840 Late one night, we heard a gunshot from her yard. 192 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,240 My father ran across to see what was going on. 193 00:12:00,279 --> 00:12:03,279 On the back porch was Aunt Chloe, with smoke rolling 194 00:12:03,279 --> 00:12:06,519 out of the shotgun barrel. Aunt Chloe, what are you 195 00:12:06,559 --> 00:12:09,639 shooting at It's a big hairy man was out here 196 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:12,960 eating mightamatis. I never saw so much hair on a man. 197 00:12:14,559 --> 00:12:16,799 We lived a way out in the country, and with 198 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:21,480 our area being inhabited by family, we never saw anyone 199 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:26,039 out there who didn't belong or wasn't family. A stranger 200 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,919 in one of our yards required us to see who 201 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:32,320 it was, and people sure didn't walk around our gardens 202 00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:37,519 at night picking and eating vegetables. My father looked around 203 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,519 and the garden had been trampled. Some of the tomato 204 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:45,200 plants looked bare of fruit. Aunt Chloe wasn't lying or 205 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,440 imagining this. Something had been there. My father and my 206 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:53,600 uncle Red told Aunt Chloe to get inside and lock 207 00:12:53,720 --> 00:12:56,639 the door. Then they took off in the woods behind 208 00:12:56,639 --> 00:13:00,639 the house looking for this man. They found a path 209 00:13:00,759 --> 00:13:04,120 where the man had apparently traveled. It looked like an 210 00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,799 elephant had torn a path behind Aunt Chloe's house. Limbs 211 00:13:08,799 --> 00:13:11,720 were broken up as high as seven feet, but they 212 00:13:11,759 --> 00:13:16,279 never found the man. The night finally settled down and 213 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:19,519 everyone went back to sleep, but they were on alert 214 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,320 for a few days. The topic of discussion was about 215 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,960 the hairy man Aunt Chloe had shot, but as far 216 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:29,879 as I know, an event like this never happened again. 217 00:13:31,639 --> 00:13:36,159 After this, my father watched and read anything in everything 218 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,559 to do with Bigfoot or other cryptids. I don't remember 219 00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:43,159 a time when he was not interested in the subject. 220 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:48,159 That one event captured my father's imagination for the rest 221 00:13:48,159 --> 00:13:51,320 of his life. And you know, that's how it goes. 222 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:53,639 I mean, we've got a couple of stories just in 223 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:58,159 this podcast where people are they see these things and 224 00:13:58,200 --> 00:14:02,200 they're consumed. This man didn't even see it. He just 225 00:14:02,279 --> 00:14:05,000 knew that his aunt had shot at one and it 226 00:14:05,120 --> 00:14:07,720 still consumed him, and he read about it for the 227 00:14:07,759 --> 00:14:12,080 rest of his life. It fascinates me how these experiences 228 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,600 really captivate people and set them on a road of 229 00:14:15,639 --> 00:14:19,559 almost obsession to learn and read about these things. It's 230 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,720 amazing to me. That's one thing that I've really gathered 231 00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:25,279 through the three years that I've put these stories together. 232 00:14:25,799 --> 00:14:28,720 When that dog gets on this trail, it won't get 233 00:14:28,759 --> 00:14:36,000 off of it, if you know what I mean. In 234 00:14:36,039 --> 00:14:39,399 the nineteen sixties, the Texas county I was born and 235 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:43,720 raised in covered five hundred square miles. We had one 236 00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:47,679 school for the entire county, and all twelve grades were 237 00:14:47,960 --> 00:14:52,799 tached buildings connected by the cafeteria. At that time, all 238 00:14:52,840 --> 00:14:56,720 of the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex had a population of 239 00:14:56,799 --> 00:15:01,519 one point five million people. The same area now has 240 00:15:01,600 --> 00:15:06,120 seven point six million people as of twenty eighteen, and 241 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:11,320 now I'm thinking it's probably over ten million. Fort Worth 242 00:15:11,440 --> 00:15:14,039 was the closest large town to us, and it was 243 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,360 a full day trip. Only once or twice a year 244 00:15:17,399 --> 00:15:21,240 would we make that trip. We didn't have indoor plumbing 245 00:15:21,279 --> 00:15:24,360 or running water, and that's how it was for ranchers 246 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:28,480 in rural Texas. We lived on a section of land 247 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:32,000 that had been in my family since the Texas Revolutionary 248 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,519 War when it was deeded to my family for participation 249 00:15:35,679 --> 00:15:41,200 in that war. We owned one square mile of land. 250 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:47,080 September of nineteen sixty five was unusually wet. Our property 251 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,360 bordered the Brazos River and there were several runs in 252 00:15:50,519 --> 00:15:54,639 creeks that had been flooded for many weeks. It was 253 00:15:54,679 --> 00:15:57,519 impossible for me to meet up with my closest friend 254 00:15:57,559 --> 00:16:00,360 that lived nearly a mile away across the past in 255 00:16:00,399 --> 00:16:03,960 the wooded creek ravines. So one day I finished my 256 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,919 chores when I got home from school, and I saddled 257 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,559 up my horse to meet up with Eric in an 258 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:14,159 open area between our properties. It was a lowland area 259 00:16:14,279 --> 00:16:17,440 and it flooded with only modest runoff from the rain. 260 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,879 It was fenced off to keep our livestock from getting 261 00:16:20,919 --> 00:16:24,960 into and sinking in the mud. Yes, cows are that stupid. 262 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,720 I saddled up and was headed to see Eric. When 263 00:16:28,759 --> 00:16:31,799 I reached their usual meeting point and he wasn't there. 264 00:16:32,759 --> 00:16:36,080 That was not altogether unusual, due to our chores taking 265 00:16:36,159 --> 00:16:40,799 longer some days than others. Three gates and forty five 266 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:43,559 minutes later, I arrived at his house, where he was 267 00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,559 finishing up work on a tractor with his father. It 268 00:16:47,639 --> 00:16:50,279 was also about that time that his mother rang the 269 00:16:50,279 --> 00:16:53,240 dinner bell for them to come and eat. I was 270 00:16:53,279 --> 00:16:56,279 invited to join them, as was the custom, and we 271 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,600 washed up and took a seat at the table. While 272 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,639 we were eating, the rain started again, and I knew 273 00:17:02,639 --> 00:17:05,160 my ride home would be a wet one. Yet it 274 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:09,759 was nothing I had not done. Before I finished eating, 275 00:17:09,759 --> 00:17:12,599 and I thanked missus Emma for my dinner, and I 276 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:15,039 asked to be excused to make my way back home. 277 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,000 I was asked to spend the night or Eric's father 278 00:17:19,039 --> 00:17:22,319 would give me a ride home. I could pick up 279 00:17:22,319 --> 00:17:25,799 my horse from the barn the next day. They said, well, 280 00:17:25,839 --> 00:17:27,799 I was pondering what I wanted to do, and I 281 00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,599 remembered that I had not removed the saddle from Ivan, 282 00:17:30,839 --> 00:17:34,640 my horse. Eric and his father walked with me out 283 00:17:34,680 --> 00:17:36,960 to the barn, and the rain had quit and the 284 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:41,240 sky was clear and a full moon shone overhead. I 285 00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,079 could cut my travel time in half if I went 286 00:17:44,160 --> 00:17:47,359 straight through the ravines. It was a straight line from 287 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:50,960 where I was to our house. I told Eric's father 288 00:17:51,079 --> 00:17:53,279 that I would take the north Pass and that would 289 00:17:53,279 --> 00:17:55,839 take me two hours. And I told Eric that I 290 00:17:55,839 --> 00:18:00,079 would see him at school the next day. Ivan and 291 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:02,880 I took off at a full gallop across the pasture 292 00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,519 nearest the bar, and reached the first gate in no time. 293 00:18:07,599 --> 00:18:12,319 After closing the gate, I turned south. I reached the 294 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,839 south end of the pasture, and I turned east where 295 00:18:14,839 --> 00:18:17,319 I came to a fence line. There's a cut in 296 00:18:17,359 --> 00:18:19,839 the fence that Eric and I used all the time. 297 00:18:21,279 --> 00:18:24,680 The bright moonlight was blocked by the trees, but still 298 00:18:24,799 --> 00:18:27,279 I knew my way, and my worry was how much 299 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:30,680 runoff there had been from the rain. I knew the 300 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,920 first creek crossing would be the hardest. The banks were 301 00:18:33,960 --> 00:18:37,319 soft and usually hard for a horse to climb, but 302 00:18:37,359 --> 00:18:40,720 the second crossing would be easier. The creek bottom was 303 00:18:40,799 --> 00:18:44,440 rock and gravel there. When I got to the first 304 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,920 creek crossing, I was surprised it had not topped its banks. 305 00:18:48,839 --> 00:18:53,039 It looked easier than I had anticipated. Ivan and I 306 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:55,799 made our way upstream to a point just below a 307 00:18:55,839 --> 00:18:59,119 bend in the creek, where it got shallow, and Ivan 308 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:03,839 knew the route. He waded in without hesitation. On other 309 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,599 crossings in the past, the water was never up to 310 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,640 his girth strap, but this time it was now. I 311 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,000 pulled my feet from the stirrups and I gave him 312 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,480 his head. He knew where he was going, and after 313 00:19:15,519 --> 00:19:20,039 crossing that creek, the barn was only a quarter mile away. 314 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:23,799 We arrived at the second creek crossing that was fifty 315 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:26,559 yards from the fence that would lead me to the barn. 316 00:19:27,559 --> 00:19:29,920 The creek bank on the west side where I was 317 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:32,680 entering was low but a bit rocky, and Ivan would 318 00:19:32,759 --> 00:19:35,880 sometimes place his hoof two or more times before he 319 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:37,880 was happy with his footing, and then he would take 320 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,640 the next step. We had a full creek in fifteen 321 00:19:41,759 --> 00:19:45,200 yards to reach the other bank, and beyond that there 322 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,759 were mesquite trees that lined the banks, and it made 323 00:19:48,759 --> 00:19:53,559 the last fifty yards completely dark. We made it to 324 00:19:53,599 --> 00:19:56,160 the bank and I gave Ivan his head again and 325 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:58,400 he picked up speed to climb out of the river. 326 00:19:59,119 --> 00:20:02,000 It was muscle memory for him because we had crossed 327 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:06,400 there many times. With my head down and leaning into 328 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:10,119 his climb, Ivan leveled out and trotted toward the trees. 329 00:20:11,319 --> 00:20:14,519 We entered that last stretch under the darkness of the trees. 330 00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:20,400 Ivan was only a horse length into the darkness, and 331 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,680 he stopped. Had I not been holding onto the saddle horn, 332 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,200 I would have launched over his head. Ivan snorted and 333 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:33,160 shook his head and started moving backwards. It was dark, 334 00:20:33,400 --> 00:20:38,240 but I immediately saw what spoke to my horse. In 335 00:20:38,279 --> 00:20:41,519 front of us and slightly to the right was something 336 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:45,319 I had never seen. In the saddle, my head was 337 00:20:45,359 --> 00:20:48,519 over seven feet off the ground, and this head was 338 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:53,559 higher than mine. Fear is not something that comes natural 339 00:20:53,599 --> 00:20:55,920 to those of us that grow up in the country, 340 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,720 and even at nine, I was doing my best to 341 00:20:58,799 --> 00:21:03,079 evaluate my situation. I knew every inch of the ground 342 00:21:03,079 --> 00:21:06,039 that I was traveling and every animal that was there, 343 00:21:06,599 --> 00:21:09,079 and I had worked that land with my father from 344 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:11,359 the time I was big enough to sit on his lap. 345 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,200 Ivan backed up until he felt his left rear hoof 346 00:21:16,319 --> 00:21:20,160 slip and he froze in place, still snorting and shaking 347 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:24,799 his head. I was trying to understand what I was seeing, 348 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:28,720 and then a lightning strike lit the area and I 349 00:21:28,759 --> 00:21:33,640 could see the eight foot tall creature. The huge head 350 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:37,200 and the long arms are what imprinted in that fraction 351 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:41,240 of a second of light. I felt fear as the 352 00:21:41,279 --> 00:21:44,559 thunder rumbled, and I rained Ivan to the left and 353 00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:48,000 headed north along the west bank with no concern of 354 00:21:48,039 --> 00:21:51,759 my own safety. My mind was still reeling and trying 355 00:21:51,799 --> 00:21:55,799 to understand what I had seen. Ivan got us to 356 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,400 the fence line where it crossed the creek on his own, 357 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,480 and I turned Ivan's out down the fence line to 358 00:22:01,559 --> 00:22:04,680 the gate, and I could feel my horse's urgency in 359 00:22:04,759 --> 00:22:09,079 fear under me. I didn't go to the barn. I 360 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,799 rode right up to the back door that entered the mudroom, 361 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,440 and I didn't bother taking off my boots. I walked 362 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,400 into the house where my mother was cleaning up after dinner. 363 00:22:19,279 --> 00:22:21,640 That moment she looked at me. She stopped what she 364 00:22:21,799 --> 00:22:25,880 was doing, and she said, Dan, what's wrong. My father 365 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,920 was in earshot, and he came into the kitchen within 366 00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:33,359 a few seconds. If you are a boy in the South, 367 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:36,400 there is a mistake that you will make only one time. 368 00:22:37,079 --> 00:22:39,880 I do not recall my age when I made that mistake, 369 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:43,000 but I was no older than five years old, and 370 00:22:43,039 --> 00:22:47,079 the only time I ever lied to my father. When 371 00:22:47,079 --> 00:22:49,920 I told him the events that I just told you, 372 00:22:50,519 --> 00:22:54,839 he asked me only two questions. One was to repeat 373 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,640 what exactly happened when Ivan stopped and started backing up. 374 00:22:59,519 --> 00:23:01,640 I told her that he backed up until there was 375 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:04,759 no safe footing for him, and he continued to snort 376 00:23:04,799 --> 00:23:07,799 and shake his head, even with my hands and the reins. 377 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,400 The second question was are you sure it was not 378 00:23:12,559 --> 00:23:15,440 a man? And I told him that I was sure. 379 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,440 Dad walked towards me and he said, let's go in 380 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,200 the mudroom. He put on his boots and hat, he 381 00:23:23,319 --> 00:23:25,519 strapped on his gun belt, and he grabbed a rifle. 382 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,880 He handed me the shotgun. Dad checked ivan over and 383 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:32,759 then he told me to meet him at the barn. 384 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,599 When I got there, my father had his horse, Dixie, 385 00:23:37,720 --> 00:23:40,680 saddled and ready to go. And for the first time, 386 00:23:40,759 --> 00:23:45,000 I asked, what is that? Dad? He lit a kerosene 387 00:23:45,079 --> 00:23:47,519 lantern and he said, Dan, I don't know, but I've 388 00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:52,599 heard stories about these things from grandpap Rod. Now grandpap 389 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,799 Rod was my grandfather. He lived till he was one 390 00:23:55,839 --> 00:23:58,880 hundred and seven years old, and he died in nineteen 391 00:23:59,039 --> 00:24:03,480 seventy two. We took a different route to the place. 392 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:07,000 We were heading through the north gate. I had no fear. 393 00:24:07,319 --> 00:24:10,440 I was with my father. He had been a cowboy 394 00:24:10,559 --> 00:24:12,880 all his life and had worked this land with his 395 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:17,680 father and his grandfather. Dad held the lantern over his 396 00:24:17,799 --> 00:24:21,039 head from time to time. The floods early in the 397 00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:24,480 month had left to breathe in the treetops and in 398 00:24:24,519 --> 00:24:28,160 the light of the lantern, it was a surreal scene. 399 00:24:28,279 --> 00:24:31,160 My father watched the ground in front of Dixie, and 400 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:36,960 then his hand raised and we stopped. My father quietly dismounted, 401 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,640 and when his colt in his right hand and a 402 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,559 lantern in the other, he made his way to where 403 00:24:42,599 --> 00:24:46,119 I saw the creature. He was low and he was 404 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,319 following tracks on the ground. He turned the corner, going 405 00:24:50,319 --> 00:24:52,799 into the woods where Ivan and I had been when 406 00:24:52,799 --> 00:24:55,559 we saw it, and when he did, I lost sight 407 00:24:55,599 --> 00:24:59,200 of him. I was in the dark alone again, and 408 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,160 it felt like an But finally I saw the lantern 409 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,480 light moving through the trees. Dad had it held high 410 00:25:06,519 --> 00:25:09,799 over his head. Dan, come on back here, I heard 411 00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:15,039 him say. I dismounted and I started walking. I could 412 00:25:15,079 --> 00:25:17,400 see him just ten feet ahead of me, holding the 413 00:25:17,519 --> 00:25:21,799 lantern up and looking at something in the tree. And 414 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,799 in the light I could see a deer had drowned 415 00:25:24,799 --> 00:25:27,160 in the flood, and it was hung up in the 416 00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:31,359 tree eight or ten feet up. Debris was hung in 417 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:34,400 its antlers, making its head look bigger than it was. 418 00:25:35,279 --> 00:25:38,359 The body was bloated and rotting, and it smelled horrible. 419 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:42,359 We never found the creature I saw, but I think 420 00:25:42,359 --> 00:25:46,240 this rotting deer is why it was there. I know 421 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,079 that is not the ending most people were hoping for, 422 00:25:49,319 --> 00:25:51,559 but that is exactly how it happened.