WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.839 On the west edge of the small town of Five 2 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:13.119 Lakes lies or Lake Road. It is a narrow, ruddy, 3 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:18.239 twisted lane that runs between small and waverly roads. On 4 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:21.440 one side, the land is heavily forested and rises higher 5 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:24.480 than the church steeple, and on the other side, the 6 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:28.280 land slopes down to or Lake, a large dank, lily 7 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:33.520 covered wetland beyond. On both sides, the land is wooded, dark, 8 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:36.880 and as silent as a grave. They say it always 9 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:40.640 feels cold on or Lake Road, even on the hottest days. 10 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:44.520 Some say the road is haunted, that a wild man, 11 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:47.719 a creature, or even a witch lives in the forest. 12 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.399 The first person to notice something strange on or Lake 13 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:56.159 Road was young Master John Rumley Sky, one of the 14 00:00:56.280 --> 00:01:00.920 richest family in Five Lakes. One day, as Rumley later 15 00:01:00.960 --> 00:01:03.679 told the tale, he was riding down the road when 16 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.239 halfway through he saw an old, withered woman sitting on 17 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.359 a stump paring an apple. He didn't recognize her as 18 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:15.480 anyone he knew, so he dismounted to address her. Once 19 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:18.760 he was on the ground, the woman had vanished stumping. 20 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:24.480 All after that, there were disappearances at least three known 21 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:28.599 to the people in Five Lakes, people traveling alone down 22 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.799 or Lake Road who went onto the lane and never 23 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:38.400 came out. Legend, of course, added another two. On Waverley Road, 24 00:01:38.439 --> 00:01:42.599 there was a small country store called Miller's Market. Mister 25 00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:45.640 Miller owned this old time general store and had for 26 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:49.920 many years. He was a respected man in Five Lakes. 27 00:01:50.159 --> 00:01:53.120 He didn't believe the Or Lake stories, though he did 28 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.560 acknowledge that, yes, over the years, there had been some 29 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:59.840 disappearances in the area, and that what they all seemed 30 00:01:59.879 --> 00:02:03.920 to have in common were people traveling on Oor Lake Road. 31 00:02:05.319 --> 00:02:09.120 Mister Miller had a daughter named Mary. His wife had 32 00:02:09.159 --> 00:02:12.560 died some years before, and Mary was very dear to 33 00:02:12.599 --> 00:02:17.199 her father. Like her mother, she had rich, thick hair, 34 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:21.439 dark as coal, eyes a gem like blue, and lips 35 00:02:21.560 --> 00:02:26.120 red as summer berries. She was a lively, dutiful girl 36 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:30.759 and a renowned sixteen year old beauty. Many people would 37 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:34.439 stop at Miller's Market just to see Mary, maybe buy 38 00:02:34.479 --> 00:02:37.199 a coke or a sandwich as an excuse to pause 39 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:40.280 a while and talk with her. One of the people 40 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.319 was a big, husky young man named Daniel Martin. Dan 41 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.560 would stop every day after work to spend time with Mary, 42 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:51.400 and one day mister Miller asked Mary about the braid 43 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.719 and her hair, and she told him it was what 44 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:57.800 they called a love Not on the other end of 45 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:01.439 our lake road was Small Road, and the last house 46 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:05.919 on Small Road was owned by the Wilmos family. As 47 00:03:05.960 --> 00:03:10.319 it happened that winter, the Wilmos baby took sick. Doctor 48 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:12.719 Kepler went out there to find the infant to be 49 00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.919 very sick, indeed, so he phoned in a prescription to 50 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:20.520 be delivered immediately. The delivery boy from the pharmacy in 51 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.719 Five Lakes went out on Waverley Road and stopped at 52 00:03:23.719 --> 00:03:27.800 Miller's market. When he learned from mister Miller that he 53 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:30.000 would have to take or Lake Road to reach the 54 00:03:30.039 --> 00:03:33.599 Wilma's place on Small Road, he declared that he was 55 00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:37.639 afraid and he wouldn't do it. It's your job and 56 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:41.080 your duty, mister Miller told him. But the boy said no, 57 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.120 he wouldn't travel on or Lake Road. Had they never 58 00:03:45.199 --> 00:03:50.240 heard the rumors about the place. Confounded rumor boy said, 59 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.199 mister Miller, you might be saving that child's life with 60 00:03:53.280 --> 00:03:56.479 this medicine, and I might be losing my own in 61 00:03:56.560 --> 00:03:59.919 doing so. The boy replied, and he set the package 62 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:04.520 down on the counter and ran out. It happened that 63 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:07.759 Dan Martin was in the store just then talking with Mary. 64 00:04:08.439 --> 00:04:12.599 He heard the conversation and watched the boy leave. Mister 65 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:17.199 Miller stood there, almost quivering with disgust. He started to 66 00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.399 take off his shop apron and said, Mary, I'm off 67 00:04:20.399 --> 00:04:22.759 to the Wilma's place. You mind the store for me, 68 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.959 and just do as we always do and close at six. 69 00:04:27.560 --> 00:04:31.360 This was December and it was already dusk. The sun 70 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:36.560 was a cold ragball on the splintered western horizon. Dan 71 00:04:36.680 --> 00:04:40.040 Martin stepped up and said, mister Miller, here, give it 72 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:43.160 to me. I'll deliver the package. The Wilma's house is 73 00:04:43.160 --> 00:04:46.920 that blue house, right, yes, said mister Miller. It's the 74 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.959 last house on small road, and as soon as you're 75 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.120 off four Lake Road, it's that house. You sure you 76 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:58.000 want to do this, Dan, Well, I'm not sure, said Dan. 77 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:00.360 But it's better for me to go than you, with 78 00:05:00.399 --> 00:05:03.279 your business and all. And if I leave now, I'll 79 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:06.839 be back no later than midnight. And so that's when 80 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:11.839 Dan Martin left. But he didn't return at midnight, and 81 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.879 he didn't return at dawn. In fact, he never returned 82 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:20.240 at all. What we do know is that he did 83 00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:24.120 reach the Wilmos house sometime around ten o'clock because he 84 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:28.639 delivered the medicine that saved the Wilma's boy. That baby 85 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:31.600 was Ron Wilmos, and his son Ray now owns the 86 00:05:31.720 --> 00:05:36.000 dry cleaning shop in Five Lakes. But Dan Martin never 87 00:05:36.079 --> 00:05:39.120 returned from his errand that saved Ron Wilmos, and he 88 00:05:39.199 --> 00:05:42.319 never returned to Miller's market, and he never returned to 89 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:46.920 Mary with the dark love knot in her hair. Many 90 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:50.680 years passed, the water table rose, and the rising waters 91 00:05:50.720 --> 00:05:54.040 of or Lake nibbled away at or Lake Road, and 92 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:57.319 they had to close it. No one had traveled that 93 00:05:57.439 --> 00:06:00.680 road for a long while. Anyway, the store worries about 94 00:06:00.680 --> 00:06:04.680 the creature, the wildman or the witch persisted. There was 95 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:09.519 a new story about the disappearance of Dan Martin. Mister 96 00:06:09.600 --> 00:06:13.720 Miller took sick. A few years after this happened. He died, 97 00:06:14.040 --> 00:06:17.680 and dutiful Mary took over the market. She was known, 98 00:06:17.839 --> 00:06:20.759 like her father, for kindness and for her beauty, though 99 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.040 they said something seemed to have gone out of her 100 00:06:23.120 --> 00:06:27.240 after Dan Martin disappeared. She never married, though it is 101 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:31.319 said she had many offers. Some time later, Mary died 102 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:34.160 when she was in her early forties and there was 103 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:38.519 no one left to take over the store. Five Lakes 104 00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:42.120 has changed over the years, but not much. The land 105 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.959 indoors or a lake indoors and has in fact grown. 106 00:06:46.920 --> 00:06:50.000 There is still a deep gnarl dark forest where Ora 107 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:54.680 Lake Road once lay. Eventually, over the years, the stories 108 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:58.680 about the wildman, the creature, the witch, even about Dan 109 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.720 Martin ceased. Things change and go on what do you do? 110 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:09.120 But sometimes on dark December nights, between twilight or his 111 00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:13.079 latest midnight, the people that still live along Waverley Road 112 00:07:13.480 --> 00:07:17.120 swear they can see a shadowy figure, a big man, 113 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.319 walk out of the woods where or Lake Road once lay. 114 00:07:21.519 --> 00:07:24.279 He walks to the ruins of Miller's Market, which is 115 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:27.439 now abandoned and boarded over, and he walks to the 116 00:07:27.480 --> 00:07:30.519 market and looks around as if someone is waiting for him, 117 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:35.360 expecting him. If you go to or Lake Road today, 118 00:07:35.680 --> 00:07:38.279 you can still find a remnant of the road where 119 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:43.399 John Rumley met the old woman on the small roadside. 120 00:07:43.439 --> 00:07:46.639 The Wilma's house is long gone, and there's an orchard 121 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.759 and a day spa there. Now on Waverley you can 122 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.959 see the old Miller's Market building washed gray by the 123 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:57.920 years and back by a tangle of thorns. Be careful 124 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:00.560 if you walk around the building the thorn you're thick 125 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:04.439 and sharp as knives. But above all, don't spend much 126 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:08.040 time pondering oor Lake Road. You just might wind up 127 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:14.839 writing a story about it. I got a message on 128 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:19.720 Facebook from someone who follows my page, or is who's 129 00:08:19.879 --> 00:08:24.439 liked my page, and they posted a series of articles 130 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:28.680 on a some kind of creature down in Smith County, Mississippi. 131 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:32.399 This caught my attention and it's a whole series of articles, 132 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:34.240 and I thought i'd just share it with you guys. 133 00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:38.960 The name of the publication is The Morning Call. I 134 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:41.320 don't know where that paper was based out of, but 135 00:08:41.399 --> 00:08:47.360 the first article was issued on September one, nineteen twenty nine, 136 00:08:47.480 --> 00:08:51.320 on a Sunday, and the big headline is big posse 137 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:55.120 will seek wild woman this morning. So I'm just gonna 138 00:08:55.159 --> 00:08:57.159 start at the first article, and I'm gonna read them 139 00:08:57.159 --> 00:08:59.840 all to you because I don't know why, but these old, 140 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:04.480 older articles really interest me. But here we go. Let me. 141 00:09:04.720 --> 00:09:07.000 I'm just reading this off my screen, so y'all bear 142 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:10.519 with me. Here a wild woman reported in the swamps 143 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.799 in Smith County. Scores of citizens from Smith and Jones 144 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:18.639 Counties are expected to gather at Taylorsville Sunday morning, when 145 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:21.279 a hunt will begin at eight o'clock for a wild 146 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:24.679 woman reported to be in the swamps near that town. 147 00:09:25.759 --> 00:09:30.759 Marshall TE. Blankney of Taylorsville informed the Call Saturday night. 148 00:09:31.799 --> 00:09:34.480 Whether the affair will be a wild woman chase or 149 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.279 a wild goose chase remains to be seen. At any rate, 150 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:41.200 a lot of people who have never before chased wild 151 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:44.840 women are expected to be on hand. Quote. We are 152 00:09:44.960 --> 00:09:48.600 extending a special limitation to our Laurel friends to come 153 00:09:48.639 --> 00:09:53.320 out and join us in this hunt. Marshall Blankney stated, quote, 154 00:09:53.399 --> 00:09:56.440 we intend to comb the swamp where she is reported 155 00:09:56.480 --> 00:10:00.720 to be until we find her. That Marshall can continues on. 156 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:03.720 We will begin our search. We will not use dogs 157 00:10:03.759 --> 00:10:07.080 to track her down, but should it become necessary in 158 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:11.159 order to locate her, we will probably secure some good hounds. 159 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:15.000 Some of this is real faded on the article, so 160 00:10:15.440 --> 00:10:18.039 I'm having a strain to read it. The search for 161 00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:21.039 the wild woman reported to be inhabiting the swamps near 162 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:26.879 Taylor Taylorsville follows the account which PA Walker, a farmer 163 00:10:27.080 --> 00:10:30.399 tells of having seen such a creature and talked with 164 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.399 her several days ago at his farm. According to mister 165 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:38.320 Walker's description, the woman, who was nude except for a 166 00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:42.159 cloth girdle, was covered from head to foot with hair 167 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:47.000 about four inches long. From mister Walker's description, she has 168 00:10:47.080 --> 00:10:49.720 more the appearance of an animal than a human being. 169 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:53.960 Mister Walker states that he questioned the woman when she 170 00:10:54.279 --> 00:10:57.080 suddenly appeared near him at the edge of the swamp 171 00:10:57.120 --> 00:11:00.519 where he was chopping wood. She told the Smith County 172 00:11:00.559 --> 00:11:03.960 farmer that she was reared in Alabama about six years 173 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.480 ago and became mentally deranged. Since that time. She has 174 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.960 reported to have said she has lived in the Smith 175 00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:15.639 County swamp, where she has shot her food and eaten 176 00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:18.799 it raw. We have heard no definite reports of the 177 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:22.919 woman since she was seen by mister Walker, Marshall Blakeney 178 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:25.720 told the call, but we have reason to believe that 179 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:29.039 she is still in the swamp where she was first reported. 180 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:33.600 That's the first article. The second thing of the Gentleman 181 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.960 sent me is another article says big Posse fails to 182 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:42.039 find trace of wild woman. If there's a wild woman 183 00:11:42.120 --> 00:11:44.720 in Leaf River Swamp in Smith County, one hundred and 184 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:49.039 fifty citizens from that and adjoining counties failed Sunday morning 185 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:53.200 to find hair nor height of her, and from all reports, 186 00:11:53.399 --> 00:11:57.120 she has plenty of the lighter and maybe presumed sooner 187 00:11:57.240 --> 00:12:00.519 or later to shed some of that hair near her lair. 188 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.120 Gathering at the home of Pa Walker, Smith County farmer, 189 00:12:05.159 --> 00:12:08.159 who reported several days ago that the wild woman had 190 00:12:08.240 --> 00:12:11.919 visited him at his farm, a large posse led by 191 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:16.039 Sheriff TJ. Tullis, Smith County, began a search for the 192 00:12:16.080 --> 00:12:20.519 harry Swamp Dennison. About eight o'clock, members of the posse 193 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:24.519 stationed themselves fifty paces apart and proceeded up to swamp 194 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:28.039 until they reached a vacated mill house, where the woman 195 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:33.039 told mister Walker she spent her nights. Nowhere was there 196 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:35.759 a trace of the wild woman found, and before eleven 197 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:39.080 o'clock the posse decided that it might be engaged in 198 00:12:39.159 --> 00:12:42.559 a wild goose chase instead of one for a wallwoman, 199 00:12:42.720 --> 00:12:46.559 and abandoned the search. No further efforts will be made 200 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:50.399 to apprehend the weird creature, officers state unless she again 201 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:54.320 makes her appearance. In such a case, dogs will be 202 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:58.600 secured and put on her trail. Failure of the posse 203 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:02.440 to find the wall woman was the greatest disappointment in 204 00:13:02.519 --> 00:13:05.360 the lives of a lot of Laurel County people who 205 00:13:05.399 --> 00:13:09.159 have been preparing themselves for a look at the unusual lady. 206 00:13:09.799 --> 00:13:12.240 From all the descriptions, she is covered from head to 207 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:16.039 foot with brown hair about four or five inches long. 208 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:19.399 Her face is covered with hair two inches long, and 209 00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:23.240 for six years, as the wild Woman's story goes, she 210 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:26.759 has been living in Leaf River swamp, shooting her food 211 00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:32.200 and eating at raw That's a second article. Here's another article, 212 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:34.519 and I don't I guess it's from the same newspaper. 213 00:13:34.600 --> 00:13:39.080 Call offers reward for a wild woman. The Morning Call 214 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:42.440 will pay one hundred dollars in cash to any person 215 00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:45.960 or persons delivering to the office of this newspaper a 216 00:13:46.080 --> 00:13:49.879 wild woman found in a Smith County swamp, whose body 217 00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:53.000 is naturally covered with brown hair between four and five 218 00:13:53.080 --> 00:13:56.559 inches long, and whose face is covered with hair one 219 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.399 inch long, whose hair drops down over her wrist us 220 00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:04.000 to her knuckle joints, and that on her feet trails 221 00:14:04.039 --> 00:14:07.799 in the dust as she walks to and fro. Provided 222 00:14:07.879 --> 00:14:12.879 these conditions are carefully observed, Number one, said wild woman 223 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:16.000 must be securely tied and delivered at this office. We 224 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.600 don't propose to have our whole staff laid up in 225 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.919 the hospital. She must be brought directly to this newspaper 226 00:14:22.960 --> 00:14:27.000 office after she is found. Note. If her clothing or 227 00:14:27.080 --> 00:14:31.000 absence of it is ultra modern, she may be taken 228 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:35.039 first to a dress shop and guarbed. However, the lady's 229 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:38.679 wishes shall be abided by in this case. If she 230 00:14:38.720 --> 00:14:44.039 doesn't care well, we aren't particular either. Number three, Any 231 00:14:44.080 --> 00:14:47.399 and all newspaper interviews with her must be secured by 232 00:14:47.559 --> 00:14:51.600 representative of the call. We may have to employ a 233 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:55.759 special reporter to handle this assignment. Our regular staff is 234 00:14:55.799 --> 00:14:59.879 skittish of the wild woman. Number four The said l 235 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:05.799 must be really wild. That is wilder, wilder than the 236 00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.279 wilder than women usually are. We don't want her if 237 00:15:09.320 --> 00:15:12.759 she's just crazy. A lot of people are that way. Okay, 238 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:17.159 this gets better as we go. Okay, here's another one. 239 00:15:17.679 --> 00:15:21.240 I can't see the title of it. Let me zoom out. Okay, 240 00:15:21.559 --> 00:15:27.840 Smith County Man seeks wild Woman Naked in the Woods, Taylorsville, 241 00:15:27.919 --> 00:15:31.720 August thirty first. Apparently this was written before the first 242 00:15:31.799 --> 00:15:34.639 article I read you, but here we go hopes had 243 00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.240 not been abandoned Friday night in the search for a 244 00:15:37.279 --> 00:15:39.720 wild woman who is reported to be living in the 245 00:15:39.759 --> 00:15:43.399 swamps a few miles below here. The first reports were 246 00:15:43.399 --> 00:15:47.360 given last Wednesday, when Pink Walker, a farmer who lives 247 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.240 below here, said that the woman approached him where he 248 00:15:50.399 --> 00:15:53.639 was at work in the woods. A search was made, 249 00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:57.200 but no trace of her was found. Rumors were spread 250 00:15:57.279 --> 00:16:00.360 Friday that other people living in that vicinity he had 251 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:04.120 seen a wild woman. Walker is said to have stated 252 00:16:04.159 --> 00:16:08.039 that she had long hair, she was manlike, and wore 253 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:13.519 very little clothing. Okay, that's another. Here's one more again. 254 00:16:13.600 --> 00:16:15.799 I'm assuming this is from the call, but it says 255 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:19.879 wild woman eludes Smith County posse. All right, this is 256 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:24.399 September two, the day after the first article. Smith County's 257 00:16:24.440 --> 00:16:27.320 wild woman is still at large, roaming the woods of 258 00:16:27.320 --> 00:16:31.399 that county at will and eating raw rabbits and other tidbits, 259 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:35.200 unmolested by the rules of etiquette and unhampered by the 260 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:39.519 criticisms of society. Efforts of a posse is said to 261 00:16:39.559 --> 00:16:42.120 have contained at least one hundred and fifty seekers for 262 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.519 the wild woman and determined to catch her, have returned 263 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:51.159 to their homes solely disappointed and painfully unrewarded they didn't 264 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:55.480 find her. The posse was headed by Sheriff TJ. Tullis 265 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:59.320 and Town Marshall Borough Blakeney of Taylorsville in the name 266 00:16:59.360 --> 00:17:02.639 of the law to capture the wild Woman of Leaf 267 00:17:02.759 --> 00:17:06.079 River Swamp or know the reason why they now know 268 00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.640 they couldn't find her. The party formed at the home 269 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.960 of Pa Walker, who reported seeing the demented woman who 270 00:17:13.000 --> 00:17:16.359 claims to have lived in the swamps the past six years, 271 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:18.880 and took to the lowlands of the river at eight 272 00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:22.960 thirty o clock space fifty paces apart. The party moved 273 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:26.240 down the river for several miles to the abandoned sawmills 274 00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:29.359 site where the young woman claims to have lived, without 275 00:17:29.440 --> 00:17:32.640 seeing any trace of her. The search was given up 276 00:17:32.680 --> 00:17:36.240 about ten thirty o'clock and the party made its way 277 00:17:36.359 --> 00:17:39.839 back to the starting point. It is likely that no 278 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.559 further effort will be made by a posse to run 279 00:17:42.599 --> 00:17:45.720 the woman to earth, but that if she reappeared, it 280 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.680 is planned to secure dogs and put on her trail. 281 00:17:49.480 --> 00:17:52.759 The woman, extremely muscular, is said to be covered in 282 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.079 short brown hair. That's the end of that one. And 283 00:17:56.119 --> 00:18:01.000 here's one more. I don't see the title for it, mitral, Okay, 284 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:04.079 the title is wild woman. I'm sorry. Unmolested by the 285 00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:07.880 rules of etiquette and unhampered by polite society, a wild 286 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:10.599 woman has been eluding all searchers in the woods of 287 00:18:10.640 --> 00:18:14.519 Smith County, famous now as the wild Woman of Leaf 288 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:18.000 River Swamps. She dines on raw rabbits and other tidbits, 289 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:21.720 wears little if any clothing, and is covered with short 290 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:25.839 brown hair, and has been seen several times but never captured. 291 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:28.599 And I think that's the last article. But anyway, I 292 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:32.079 thought that was interesting, and you all may not think 293 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:37.160 it is. But I have so many people, most of 294 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.039 them that I know are dead now dead and gone, 295 00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:45.200 but uncles and aints and just people I grew grew up. 296 00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:48.559 This team down there around Amy and the tom Bigbee 297 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:52.240 River bottoms. That's where my people lived, and I would 298 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.559 love to have them around and ask them if they 299 00:18:54.640 --> 00:18:57.359 remember this, because a lot of them were live in 300 00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:04.160 nineteen twenty nine. I'm not interested in bigfoot research whatsoever. 301 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.480 I'm not interested in camping out to look for them, 302 00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:10.839 gathering evidence of anything that has anything to do with 303 00:19:10.960 --> 00:19:14.720 looking for them to prove they exist. I know they exist. 304 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:18.160 I've seen them. There is at least one clan that 305 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:21.000 lives in this particular area, and I'm not the only 306 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.960 one who has seen them. You could say that all 307 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:26.240 the farmers who live in this area have seen it, 308 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.440 and we all know they're here. We choose to leave 309 00:19:29.480 --> 00:19:34.559 them alone. I am other than a farmer, a paranormal investigator. 310 00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:37.559 I live on my family farm that has been in 311 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:41.599 my family for over two hundred years. This particular house 312 00:19:41.640 --> 00:19:45.759 that I live in was built in eighteen sixty. Of course, 313 00:19:45.799 --> 00:19:48.680 it has gone through many updates through the years, and 314 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:51.920 it also happens to be haunted, but that's not really 315 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.799 why I'm sending this. This property borders the largest land 316 00:19:56.880 --> 00:20:00.400 state park in this state. There are thousands of ares 317 00:20:00.440 --> 00:20:02.720 of forest in this area, which a lot of people 318 00:20:02.759 --> 00:20:07.240 find surprising for this area of Illinois. Our fields are 319 00:20:07.279 --> 00:20:09.720 spread out a bit in this area, and instead of 320 00:20:09.759 --> 00:20:12.359 taking the highway, we would cut up over the ridge 321 00:20:12.359 --> 00:20:15.079 and end up on the blacktop road that ran behind 322 00:20:15.119 --> 00:20:18.680 the park. I've heard about Bigfoot all my life, and 323 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:22.160 sometimes the other farmers in the area would mention seeing 324 00:20:22.240 --> 00:20:24.920 one or catching a glimpse of one from time to time. 325 00:20:25.599 --> 00:20:27.880 I didn't pay much attention to it because at the 326 00:20:27.960 --> 00:20:31.920 time I never had had an encounter. I would sit 327 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:34.000 out on the back deck at night and I would 328 00:20:34.039 --> 00:20:37.000 hear wood knocks in an occasional wound, but I never 329 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:40.599 saw one. Sometimes I would take a baseball bat and 330 00:20:40.680 --> 00:20:43.000 hit a tree or even the railing of the deck, 331 00:20:43.160 --> 00:20:46.559 and sometimes I would get an answer. In the late 332 00:20:46.680 --> 00:20:49.440 nineteen nineties, I cut up over the ridge and I 333 00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:52.519 was on the blacktop. I was almost to the back 334 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:55.440 entrance of the park when this huge creature jumped the 335 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:58.720 fence along the park. It was on my right and 336 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.680 it stood in the road. I had to slam on 337 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:04.160 my brakes or I would have hid it. And when 338 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:06.759 I stopped, I could not have been more than twenty 339 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:11.200 feet away. This thing was huge, and I'm guessing it 340 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:13.640 was seven and a half feet tall and three feet 341 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:17.160 across at the shoulders. It had dark brown hair all 342 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:20.440 over its body except on its face. It had a 343 00:21:20.440 --> 00:21:24.759 broad nose, wide set eyes, and a protruding forehead, and 344 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:28.240 its arms almost appeared to be normal from the shoulders 345 00:21:28.240 --> 00:21:31.519 to the elbows, but from the elbow to the hands, 346 00:21:31.559 --> 00:21:35.000 the arms were long. It stood there and we made 347 00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.359 eye contact for what seemed like a full minute. I 348 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:40.519 had the window down on my truck, and there was 349 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:42.759 a slight breeze, and I caught a whiff of a 350 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:46.920 strong odor. It was almost like a bad body odor, 351 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:50.079 like someone who had not had a bath in months. 352 00:21:50.640 --> 00:21:53.599 It never made a move towards me. It just stood there, 353 00:21:53.839 --> 00:21:56.400 and then suddenly it crossed the road and went down 354 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:59.839 the hill to my left. I tried to see where 355 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:02.279 it was going, but the trees were so thick and 356 00:22:02.319 --> 00:22:05.359 I couldn't see it. It was almost like it vanished. 357 00:22:06.200 --> 00:22:08.880 The sun was setting, but it was not quite dust, 358 00:22:08.960 --> 00:22:11.480 so there were still plenty of light. The sun that 359 00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:15.079 was left was behind me. I rolled up my window 360 00:22:15.119 --> 00:22:17.319 and I locked my doors, and I turned around and 361 00:22:17.359 --> 00:22:20.240 I went back home. When I got home, I told 362 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:23.240 my mom what I had seen, and she never said 363 00:22:23.279 --> 00:22:27.680 a word. She just nodded. Her response made me think 364 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:30.960 she had seen it, or at least knew of its existence. 365 00:22:31.960 --> 00:22:34.480 We never had problems with them coming down to the 366 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:37.960 farms and bothering our livestock. But I think that's because 367 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.680 there are so many deer around here and there's no 368 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:44.240 need to come raid a farm, but listening to them 369 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:47.200 you can tell there are more than one. You will 370 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.000 hear a tree not coming from one direction, and it 371 00:22:50.039 --> 00:22:53.359 will be answered from another, the same with the whoops. 372 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:57.720 This farm sits near the Mississippi River, and in December 373 00:22:57.720 --> 00:23:01.440 of twenty fifteen, we had you might call a freak 374 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:05.279 of flood. We have flooding in the spring, but never 375 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:08.799 in the winter. It was flooding our land, so my 376 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:12.640 mother and I moved into a house in town. Three 377 00:23:12.680 --> 00:23:16.119 weeks later, the floodwaters receded enough that we could have 378 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:18.599 moved back, but we decided to spend the rest of 379 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:22.680 the winter in town. We had a hired hand and 380 00:23:22.759 --> 00:23:25.160 he called one day to say that he had seen 381 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.200 a bigfoot crossing one of the pastures near the house. 382 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:31.319 This was the first time he had seen one, so 383 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:35.599 he was very excited and even afraid. I went down 384 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:38.480 there to check things out and to assess any damage 385 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:41.640 from the flood. It had snowed a couple of inches 386 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:45.400 the night before, not much. My farm hand and I 387 00:23:45.480 --> 00:23:48.240 went to the house and there were these huge footprints 388 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:50.880 that looked like it had walked around the house and 389 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:54.359 had even stopped to look into four of the windows. 390 00:23:54.880 --> 00:23:57.880 I believe they know who belongs here, and since we 391 00:23:57.880 --> 00:24:01.200 were gone, it was looking for a us. I know 392 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:05.160 it sounds silly, but that's my opinion. This is the 393 00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:07.400 only time I know of that one has come to 394 00:24:07.480 --> 00:24:10.960 one of our houses. We and the other farmers in 395 00:24:11.000 --> 00:24:13.680 this area have not been bothered by them, except for 396 00:24:13.720 --> 00:24:16.960 a sighting now and then, one either crossing a field 397 00:24:17.000 --> 00:24:21.440 or walking along the woodline or along the river. Sometimes 398 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:24.200 while out hunting there will be reports of a sighting. 399 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.000 I'm not saying we see them every day, but we 400 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:29.119 do see them. When they decide to come out of 401 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:32.400