http://www.monsterhunter.us/newsletter/Mon...%20Addition.htm

Having trouble posting the whole news letter.

I think it's too big. I'll try posting it in two parts. It's a good read when you get some time on your hands.

Welcome to the Second Addition of the

Monster Hunter Newsletter



After debate with members along with contributing authors we have decided we would offer the Newsletter for free to all who are interested. The information provided will hopefully make all more aware of what we do as an organization along with other interests outside of Bigfoot. Articles submitted are by those trusted individuals I know personally as woodsmen, researchers, hunters or have specific talent or formal training in the articles along with materials they present.



Sit back and enjoy the varying articles. All articles along with photos or videos are for the sole purpose of entertainment and sharing.



Our interest is in discovery





New Information Found on the Patterson Film

By M.K.Davis





Using stabilization techniques some of the previously barely viewable, “shaky” parts of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film have been rendered decipherable. Embedded in the blurry smeared images are very good frames that when stabilized; create a coherent picture of the subjects behavior that has become quite surprising to some. The creature in the film seems to walk unencumbered at a brisk pace up until, for some reason, its behavior, and its direction change dramatically. Patterson takes the film in two sessions that I call “walk sequences.” The first walk sequence ends with the creature dramatically and very quickly, changing postures and speed. The last frames of the first walk sequence seem to indicate that the creature bends very far over, and dramatically picks up its forward speed. While the hands cannot be seen to actually touch the ground due to being hidden behind a rise of ground, the line of sight clearly is along the back, with the rear end, with spread butt cheeks, pointed directly at the camera. This is reminiscent of a scamper type of motion with the head held down low. The first walk session then ends.

Patterson resumes filming the creature again, out in the open on the sand bar, along the creek. This begins the second walk sequence. Patterson then attempts to position himself to get good film of the creature. In doing so, a large limb from a downed tree, appears directly in front of the camera. Patterson passes to the left of the limb, and then realizes that the object is in the way. He backtracks himself, to go around the pile of limbs or logs. In doing so, the camera pans the ground behind Patterson, still filming. The camera records what appears to be a single Sasquatch print. The camera pans the ground again, and records Patterson’s own boot prints in the sand. Both the apparent Sasquatch print, and Patterson’s boot prints lay at the periphery of the film frame. Only the master copy of the film contains this. The first generated copies of the film are “cropped” versions of the film. This was done to make the creature appear larger. The information on the periphery, or outside edges of the frames, was cropped out of the film. The version of the film that was recently broadcast by the National Geographic Channel was either the master copy, or a scan of the original master. The NGC broadcast film; contained on the tail of the film, hand written wording. When I imported the film into my computer and aligned the lettering, it said: “American Bigfoot.” Patterson had loaned the “original master” copy of the film to a company called “American National Enterprises.” Patterson had previously been employed by American National to attempt to take another film of a Bigfoot or Sasquatch. This was to belong to American National. They were eventually unsuccessful at taking a second film, and American National decided to use the footage that Patterson and Gimlin had taken on October 20, 1967. They never returned the reel of film to Patterson. It was this reel of film that contained the footprints in the periphery of the frames.

I mentioned earlier that there was a dramatic change in the creature’s posture and style of walking between the first and second walk sequence. When the second sequence begins, the creature walks over a fragment of wood and actually rakes its left foot across the wood fragment, as if on purpose. The general posture of the creature is more upright in the second walk sequence, with a slight limp on the left side. The style of walking in the second walk sequence seems to show the left foot and knee turned out, with the creature pushing off with the left foot turned somewhat sideways. The left arm of the creature swings very little, with the exception of when it looks back at the men; it uses it for balance and extends it then. Recent images show great detail on the subject. Back muscles moving, skin stretching, and the famous mid tarsal break predicted by anatomical expert Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University. The mid tarsal break term means that the foot has limited grasping ability, and creates pressure ridges in its tracks by bending the foot in the middle. Humans do not have this hinged foot design. This type of design also makes partial tracks possible. Interestingly enough, Jim Lansdale several years ago, based on observations of tracks found in his research area in Northwest Louisiana noted this same type of partial track. It seems that similarities do exist with what is observed in different areas of the country.

The Patterson film continues to yield much good information about this wonder of nature that we call Bigfoot or Sasquatch. New examination techniques may yet clarify this film more and we can all see more clearly this wonderful creature. M.K. Davis

This sequence of stills taken from the Paterson footage demonstrates this animal going from a bipedal gait to becoming quadruped. Photo I: arms extending forward, arching of the back. Photo II: continuation of extending the arms with back arched. Photo III: the animal clearly going down to a quadruped gait. Look closely, you can see the crack of the butt as it goes down on all fours with arms extended for support



Of Ivory-Billed Woodpeckers and Bigfoot

By Steve Conroy



EasTexSteve takes a hiatus from Booger Road to address a more current discovery, and to offer commentary and comparison. He will be back on Booger Road in future issues.

"Listen!" my Grand pap said in a whisper. "It sounds like there are three or four of them puddled up just beyond that big cypress over there."

We moved stealthily through the river bottom that morning as the fog was starting to lift. Grand pap was in his seventies now, but he could still move through the woods like a cat, and shoot like Wild Bill Hickock. I was doing my best to walk along the edges of the water and stay out of the deep dark swamp muck, and also keep from stepping on something that might bite back. As a kid, it seemed like I never could keep a pair of rubber boots that didn't leak. All this, while keeping my shotgun barrel out of the mud in the process.

"Remember," Grand pap whispered again, "when they jump, you take the ones to the right. If something flies from the side of a tree, make sure it's a woody, and not one of those big ol' red-hammers."

And, so began a hunting ritual that my grandpa and I shared often in the river bottom. If we were lucky, we might end up getting a few wood ducks and have ourselves a real treat for lunch. Obviously as my grandpa indicated, the key to success relied heavily on not accidentally shooting a red-hammer. I couldn't be sure if accidentally wasting a shotgun shell on a red-hammer would irritate my grandpa's sense of thriftiness, or bring out his sense of wildlife conservation. Especially today, I wished I knew. My grandpa knew many things about the outdoors that I never learned. I wonder what insight he may have had regarding those huge bottomland woodpeckers that we would see and hear occasionally. They were not only unmistakable in their marking, but also in their flight and in their size. Not to mention, the noise they could make hammering on the trunk of a tree. Hence, the name of "red-hammer" that the old-timers like my granddad called them. It wasn't until after my granddad's death that I learned that the big woodpecker we would see occasionally navigating through the cypress tops was the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker.

As I grew up, my trips into the bottom became less frequent as my responsibilities increased. I eventually moved back into the big city for a while, and began leading the life of adult. All this time, I never really gave the red-hammer much thought. I was not even aware that wildlife experts considered the bird extinct. When I finally learned this, I chuckled to myself and thought that I could probably go right back down to some of our old haunts and see the big bird again. Oh, it was not an everyday occurrence to see one, but it was not that unusual to see one, either. I guess that growing up in the country in the 60's had its special moments.

The news that a red-hammer (Ivory-billed woodpecker for you educated types) was recently captured on video intrigued me. I knew from my memories of the bird as a kid, that this was no easy task. I was fortunate enough to catch the video on the network news. It wasn't a very good video. It was grainy, fuzzy, and only lasted a few seconds. However, it looks like an Ivory-bill to me. The spokesperson for the scientific community was quick to proclaim that this video was undeniable proof that the Ivory-bill exists.

At that point, my skepticism kicked in. How can one fuzzy, short video prove beyond a doubt that an animal exists? In comparison, how much so-called video footage or photographs do we have of Bigfoot? Not to mention the untold hours of sightings? Yet, this same scientific community has yet to accept Bigfoot as being a real animal. Certainly, their eyes and ears aren’t any better than mine. What's the difference?

Now, in all fairness, there is a big difference. We know that the ivory-billed woodpecker did exist. We have old photographs and film. We have actual scientific and forensic studies. We even have a few preserved birds in museums.

However, none of this evidence answers one question: Do these people actually know what they are looking at when they see an Ivory-billed woodpecker? Now, let me again emphasize that the video convinces me. When I saw it, it immediately brought back memories of my time spent as a kid in the river bottoms. However, I wasn't on the expedition. I wasn't the one pointing the camera. I wasn't there. Most importantly, I'm not the one making the claim. Who are these people? Have any of them actually seen a real Ivory-billed woodpecker? Have any of them actually seen one in flight? Perhaps they have actually seen one mounted in a museum. Those taxidermists can do marvelous things. The jackalope hanging on the wall down at the Catfish Kitchen has certainly got me convinced. I still have an eye out for one of those elusive suckers. (Just joking, folks.)

In a quest to have my question answered, I logged onto the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website. From what I can gather, these people sponsored and carried out the expedition that resulted in re-discovering the Ivory-bill. There is a great deal of information here regarding the expedition and the participants. I immediately went to the section that listed the biographies of the team leaders, and those that filmed and observed the “extinct” bird.

Researchers, coordinators, experience with other endangered species, credentials in art and videography, experts on other birds around the world, distinguished professors, and the list goes on. Impressive. Very impressive. However, not one of them ever mentioned having seen a living breathing Ivory-bill before now. Hmmm. . . .
In comparison, there are many claimed first time Bigfoot sightings. However, the scientific community doesn't seem to be very convinced by these. And, some of the sightings are made by individuals who claim multiple sightings. Moreover, some of these people are what I would call “trained observers.” Lifelong hunters. Law enforcement personnel. Professional wildlife personnel. Last but not least, people who actually live in the woods. Or, in close enough proximity to the woods that they spend a great deal of time there. Strangely enough, even in the face of all of this evidence, the scientific community has failed to embrace the existence of Bigfoot. On the other hand, they seem ready to accept the existence of the Ivory-billed woodpecker based upon one short video of poor quality. That's strange. I thought Science was all about consistency. Evidently, not when it comes to Ivory-billed woodpeckers and Bigfoot.

Of course, we still have the argument that we know the Ivory-bill did once exist. This brings me to another question for the experts who thought the bird was extinct: How did you know that it was extinct?

You see, I have a problem with how some wildlife "experts" come to their conclusions. Allow me to venture off the path for just a moment. I spent over 10 years as a lease warden on a large hunting lease in East Texas. One day, the timber company wildlife biologist drove down from the big city and told me that the company was going to start stocking eastern wild turkeys. I told him I thought that was a great idea. He told me that they would release the birds sometime in the next month, and that I should observe and keep track of any that I saw. He then climbed back into the comfort of his air-conditioned truck and headed back to the security of his office in the big city. About eight months later, he scheduled a meeting with me and a handful of the hunting club members. He wanted to find out from us whether or not we had seen any turkeys. The club members asked me how they should respond to his inquiries. I told them that I believed that the company wanted to open a spring turkey hunt the next year. However, I didn't think the current turkey population could withstand the hunt. I hadn't seen many birds, and the ones I did see were not offspring, but the original pen birds because they weren't very spooked by me when I encountered them. They ask me what they should do to encourage more turkeys. I told them the answer was simple. Don't tell the biologist that you have seen any turkeys. That way, the company may hold off another year before they open a hunt.

Well, not only did the company postpone the hunt, they stocked more turkeys. The biologist drove down from the big city again, drove around the roads a bit, and then stopped and asked me if I had seen any turkeys. I asked him how he was attempting to assess the turkey population. He replied that he was driving around the lease roads hoping to see one cross the road, but he had not been successful. He then returned to the big city, and the company later stocked even more turkeys. Not only was I seeing turkeys, I was starting to see turkeys cross the highways five or more miles from the lease. There was no doubt that we now had plenty of turkeys. However, I don't know if the biologist ever figured that out.

Back to the Ivory-billed woodpecker. I reiterate my question: How do the experts who thought the bird was extinct come to this conclusion? How many expeditions have they personally carried out previously on their own initiative to prove this one way or the other? Or, was this latest expedition simply a result of a multiple number of sightings by local people? Hmm. . . . Hasn't this happened with the Bigfoot phenomenon? Where are the sponsored expeditions? Where are the experts? Can there really be Bigfoot experts who have never seen a Bigfoot? How can the people who supposedly shot the video of the Ivory-bill be considered experts? How can they make a positive identification if they have never seen a living breathing Ivory-bill until now?

All these questions are starting to make my head hurt. All I know for sure is that the red-hammer appears to be alive and well in the river bottoms in Arkansas. I saw him in the Cornell research team video. I have no doubt that such is the case in the river bottoms were I spent countless days as a young hunter and fisherman. Obviously, the Ivory-bill was never extinct. The one captured on video by the Cornell team had a mama and papa somewhere. Thinking about this makes me content in that, hopefully, some things will never change, and that science never has all the answers. As I said before, I am in no way trying to burst the bubble of the Cornell research team who observed and videoed their elusive quarry. I am extremely happy for their success. I am just as happy whenever my wife opens one of her blue bird nesting boxes and discovers a new batch of fledglings. I am equally as happy whenever I hear that rare, low-pitched “whoop” on still winter evenings that sounds like no owl I have ever heard.

However, regarding the Ivory-billed woodpecker, all they had to do was ask.



- EasTexSteve




Painting of Ivory-billed woodpeckers

Origin unknown




Compilation of Multiple Field Reports

By James Kane



At the request of Jim Lansdale, I have been asked to talk about my experiences at Monster Central over the last 4 years. With that in mind, I will try to relate to you the events that have happened to me during that time period.

I continue to find it very strange and somewhat funny that whenever we get together around a campfire at Monster Central we discuss these animals and our theories and ideas concerning them. We know for a fact that they exist, we have seen them multiple times and have interacted with them many times, yet modern science doesn’t accept their existence. If some of these people would spend the time and resources to experience the same things we have, they would be convinced of these animals existence as we are. If a group like Nature or National Geographic would spend the time in this area, there is no telling what they would come out with as far as pictures and audio of vocalizations. They would definitely come back with some terrific audio of the intense vocalizations that occur in this area. I have been in many areas that are suspected of harboring Bigfoot activity, but none have the vocalizations of Monster Central. However, it just won’t happen until these animals are already proven to exist through the efforts of people like us. Then they will come in and try to take the credit for all our hard work. And you wonder why we don’t share information liberally with others outside our organization.

I first started coming up to Monster Central in about 2001. I was somewhat hesitant at first, but soon learned that the sole reason that these people get together is to try to prove the existence of these animals by varying means. I have spent a lot of time in deer stands and on the ground, but mostly in climbing tree stands 30 to 40’ up a tree. Once settled in, the goal is to spend the night, monitoring the area with night vision and thermal imaging equipment.

In my assessment, success is defined as having contact with these animals by either seeing them through the equipment or hearing the intense vocalizations that, through experience, we believe are indicative of these animals. Things like the bionic birdcall, whistles, clicks, whoops and other vocalizations that are attributable to these animals. However, there are other calls that we have heard over the years that may or may not be from these animals. We know they mimic other animal’s calls. There are times we have heard various strange sounds, deep in the woods, far away from where these sounds would normally be heard. I have personally heard the cackling of a chicken 20 yards from me in dense pine thicket that a man would have a hard time traversing, 5 miles from the nearest farmhouse that may or may not even have chickens. The whinnying of a horse coming from dense pine thickets. The deepest, most sinister growls that you can image. Long drawn out growls. The kind that vibrate in your chest for minutes. And my personal favorite the roar, something straight out of a Jurassic Park movie that you would hear from a Spielberg version of a T-Rex. This has happened to me on two separate occasions that I will detail.

Over the years there is one particular animal that has a very peculiar vocalization that I have heard during the night and at daybreak many times. This particular animal has an apparent travel route, because whenever I hear him, it is always in one of two places. It’s hard to duplicate sounds in writing, but I will try. This particular animal makes a yelling sound that sounds like this: WHOOOP, WHOOOP, WHOOOP, WHOOOP, EEEEEYO ,EEEEEYO, EEEEEEYO. The lung capacity must be enormous; because the volume is deafening and you can feel the screams vibrate through your entire body. I have been as close as 40 yards from this particular animal when it began its chorus and it will get your heart pumping. While I have never seen one of these animals actually vocalize, there is truly no other animal in the woods that have the lung capacity to make these sounds. I have been around alligators during mating season, wild hogs, elk, deer, bear, owls, cranes etc. and have never heard any of these sound with one exception. I have heard these exact sounds in the monkey house at our local zoo. These primate sounds sound very much like the lemurs and howler monkeys. I can honestly say that I have never heard chimps, gorillas and orangs make these same sounds. Here I am talking about the intense, very loud screams and yells only. I have heard chimps, gorillas and orangs make growling and huffing sounds at the zoo. With this in mind, I will attempt to relay some of my experiences regarding these intense vocalizations.

In the last newsletter I wrote of my experiences of being shaken violently inside a tower stand and watching what I perceived as a young female walking bipedal with a young toddler on all fours at her right side. I won’t touch on those again as they are already in print, only the events surrounding the things that I have heard while in an observation position.

I should point out here that I have tried unsuccessfully to record, both digitally and analog these sounds. The problems that exist when trying to record are numerous. The background sounds of the insects and tree frogs are deafening. They tend to override any other sounds that get recorded. Also, when the vocalizations happen, they usually last only about 10 seconds or so. So you really have to be on the ball when you first hear them to be able to flip the record switch. Besides, the sounds are just way to cool when you are blessed to hear them, that you want to continue listening. Sometimes, you can hear the animal moving through the brush while vocalizing and your concern is more on that animal’s location than on trying to record the sounds. Perhaps more sophisticated electronics would help to solve this background noise problem. Once again, a well- funded organization could get some incredible audio and possibly video if they were so inclined.

My first trip to MC occurred back in September of 2001. On this trip I was introduced to the bionic birdcall. Our group had hunters out and the rest of us were sitting around the campfire talking about these animals. I was all ears, trying to learn all I could from these experienced researchers. All at once, everyone ran away from the fire. In the distance you could hear the whistling that we attribute to the bionic birdcall. One animal to the east would call out, and one to the west would answer. You could hear them walking through the brush heading from the north to the south to get into the river bottoms where they hunt for the night. This was a shock to me to hear these animals in obvious communication with each other. That night when the hunters were extracted, they told us that they had a group of anywhere from 4 to as many as 11 animals come in on them. They obviously had detected the hunters presence because the animals would not come close to the hunters and actually threw a stick at one of the hunter’s trees. This group of animals clicked and whistled to each other, but would not come close enough to be seen, but could be heard milling around in the brush. One mans eyes were as big as saucers when I helped him out of his tree. He was visibly shaken by what had happened to him.

The next night was very quiet, with no sounds heard. However, I slipped away from the fire to talk to a researcher from Oklahoma. As we were talking, a chicken started to cackle. We looked at each other and laughed. What was a chicken doing this far away from a farmhouse and stuck deep into a pine thicket? It was then that we learned about these animals’ abilities to mimic other animals. That next morning, we walked into the area of the thicket that we had heard the chicken cackle. About 20 yards in, we both noticed an area of the forest floor that had been disturbed and the smell of heavy ammonia or urine in the air. It smelled just like an elk wallow, very earthy and urine filled. This was the end of my first trip to MC.

Subsequent trips up to MC lead to an increased understanding of these animals behavior patterns by listening to the other researchers and spending time in the bottoms, tracking and observing different types of structures created by these animal. I learned to identify the teepee structures, x-structures, dens, bedding areas, limb twists and the like. Once an understanding is gained of what these anomalous structures look like, it became quite easy to spot them in other areas. There is a huge difference between naturally occurring deadfalls and tree-breaks than those that are generally attributable to these Bigfoot animals.

The largest set of tracks that I had ever followed was about 19.5” long and 7” wide. These tracks contained 4 toes on each foot with a bulbous big toe on each. I followed these tracks for almost 200 yards, before the tracks vanished. All that was left were a few scuffmarks. I assumed that the animal had gone down on all fours and continued on. 19.5” tracks indicate a huge animal. Interestingly, this is the same general area that one of our researchers saw the silhouette of a huge animal upright on a road just after dark, watching him as he assumed a defensive position with 3 other animals growling at him from the nearby tree line when he was there all by himself. Lesson learned, don’t go the MC by yourself. He was very relieved to see some others come back to camp after eating dinner in town.

The year of 2002 only allowed me to come up to MC a few times. Work and family life certainly can get in the way of Bigfoot researching. I began to notice that when I would come up, within about 15 minutes of my getting to the designated camping area, that trees would start swaying violently and sometimes you would hear the sharp crack of one breaking. I was always the first one at the camp and I assumed that these animals were announcing their presence to me. I always arrived during the afternoon, during daylight hours, and never had any aggressive behavior exhibited towards me.

I spent one night about 30’ up a tree overlooking a food plot that had recent signs that one of these animals had been feeding here and eating the corn. It was a very dark night, very little ambient light, so the night vision was virtually useless. I was also monitoring a trail behind me that you could drive a VW bug through, it was so wide. I had nothing else to do up in the tree all night, but listen because the night vision was useless.

That afternoon, I had noticed cow patties in the area and asked Jim if cattle were grazing in this area. He said no, but that 2 cows had gotten separated from the herd a few days ago and were stuck on this side of the fence. As the night wore on, I heard a bionic bird call about 40 yards behind me by the old spring, the same general area where I heard the chicken cackle the year before and the area that an animal known as Goofy lives. When this animal gave the birdcall, an animal just 30 yards in the brush in front of me gave a birdcall back and broke brush like a bulldozer for about 10 yards. I took this to be possibly a juvenile answering back to a dominant male animal. As the time wore on, all was quiet except for the gentle calling of the2 lost cows that were separated from the herd. The lost cows would call out gently, and the herd would answer. This happened in a very consistent and non-threatening manner

Around midnight, about 40 yards to my back left, the animal that I described earlier that I have heard many times before sounded off at a deafening level. WHOOOP WHOOOP, WHOOOP, EEEEEEEYO, EEEEEEEEYO, EEEEEEEEYO. As this animal was yelling, he started running through the brush from the east to the west at a high rate of speed. He sounded like a bulldozer going through the brush and must have covered 200 yards in 30 seconds. He was loud, fast and definitely had someplace to get to in a hurry. He was definitely heading toward the separated cows. After a few more seconds, a new group of about 6 “cows” began mooing about 50 yards to the south of the original herd. It was very obvious that these could not be the same group of cows, because they sounded off about 100 yards south of the original herd. They sounded like cows, but obviously weren’t, they just didn’t sound right. The separated cows started to move to the south responding vocally to the new “cows”. Once the separated cows got close to the new “cows”, I heard the loudest most aggressive ROAR that I have ever heard. It was louder than any lion could possibly roar. It lasted about 15 seconds. Scared the fool out of me. The separated cows then began to become very stressed, mooing very fast and chaotically. Then one of the separated cows vocalizations began to get very soft and soon, all I could hear, was just one cow mooing. The attack only lasted about 30 seconds before the second cow became quiet. After a few seconds, the only remaining cow rejoined the original herd and everything was OK again. I believe that I had heard a group of these Bigfoot animals mimic a herd of cows to coerce the two separated cows into coming deeper into the brush. These animals then brought down one of the cows, killing it, probably through suffocation.

There were a group of people around the campfire and they could hear these cows calling and stressing out, but couldn’t hear the rest of the activity that I had heard. A few days later, Jim went into the area of the suspected kill and although he couldn’t find any signs of a kill, could smell a decaying animal. Did I hear a group of these animals mimic a herd of cows to draw in the separated cows in order to make a kill? While I didn’t see anything, I certainly heard enough to justify to myself that that is indeed what I had heard.

That same year, I heard the same huge ROAR that I had heard earlier, but this time it came from way to the north. I had to smile, because I knew who the king of the southern jungle really was.

In January of 2003, it is common knowledge that one of these animals may have been wounded and subsequently escaped. I want to relate to you my experiences relating to that night. I was put up in a tripod stand overlooking a corn feeder just before dark, about ½ mile to the north of the bottoms. I was in an area of significant activity and not too happy to only be about 15’ off the ground. Doing the math, 8’ monkey, 5’ arms equal a 13’ arm reach. I didn’t like being within arms reach of an animal unknown to science in the dark. But I continued to wait. About 7:20pm, a shot was fired. I decided to hold my ground and not give up my position in case of a misfire or missed shot. There were plenty of others around the campfire to give support if it was needed. Finally after about 20 minutes of not hearing anything, I decided to walk on down to the bottoms to see what was happening. That was a very long, cold scary walk through some extremely thick and remote areas. As I approached the bottoms, I radioed in that I was coming down and to acknowledge my presence as to not be mistaken for one of these animals on two legs.

When I arrived in the bottoms, I noticed a lot of people walking around the area, disturbing the area greatly. We were finally able to round everyone up and come up with a game plan for trailing out this animal. We obtained a Coleman lantern and four of us would spoor out this animal. We had one man with the lantern, one man on the right flank, one man covering the back of the man with the lantern and myself on the left flank. I wasn’t about to let these 3 men that I had never met before trail this animal out when there were people that I knew and respected to my left. I knew where they were; safety first. I had my night vision with me and was the only one of the 4 people out trailing out this wounded animal with night vision. About 15 yards from the sight of the shot, I began finding a clear, mucousy material with a bit of blood diffused in it. This material was on oak leaves and about the size of a quarter in diameter. I touched it, put it to my nose and immediately smelled a very rich honeysuckle smell. I surmised that it was from the esophagus of the animal, not gut material. In this mucous was tiny seeds, that looked like tiny spearheads. Later testing showed them to be yaupon seeds if I remember correctly. We came to a deadfall of trees after about 30 yards and someone stated that he could hear growling coming from under that deadfall. I was very close to it and could not hear the growling. I snuck up close and peered in with the night vision and couldn’t see anything resembling an animal unknown to science and I said as much. We proceeded to track the animal to the east and found where it had slid across a small creek and left a very pronounced hand print in the mud and heavy scrape marks where it had scrambled up to get onto the other side of creek. The man on the right flank then announced that he had some movement and promptly fired a shot after obtaining permission to do so. I never saw the movement. About 40 yards into the brush, we effectively lost the trail and decided that the wisest thing to do was to wait till morning and resume the trailing

Jim has explained the sequence of setting up campfires to secure this area and push this animal in the direction we wanted him. He has also explained that we had a man up in a tower stand with thermal equipment monitoring the area and what he saw. This was all explained in the second edition of the Monster Hunter Newsletter. I won’t go into those details, but suffice it to say that it was one long, cold night. I had the southerly most fire and put out a propane lantern about 25 yards into the brush to help illuminate the area. As the two other people that I was to share a fire with that night were getting the fire started, I was monitoring the area, looking to the east away from the rest of the group by about 10 yards. I was down on one knee watching through the night vision. I could see well into the tree filled area and thought that I had it under control. As I put down the NV, I heard coming through the brush what turned out to be a huge handful of sand. It hit me square in the face. Now my spider senses were on high alert. I knew there had to be an animal out there close by, but I couldn’t see it. The other two guys came out to my position, but we never saw any movement after that. That one incident seared forever in my mind the capabilities of these animals; don’t ever underestimate them, they will fool you every time.

That night, we all heard a loud, mournful moaning out in the cutover field all night long. We took this to be a diversion attempt by other animals to protect the wounded animal. As Jim has stated before, the wounded animal had proceeded north, and the moaning came from the east. I believe that Bobby actually got this on tape, if memory serves me right.

When dawn came, we formed a skirmish line and began looking for this animal. After about 50 yards, no sign was found, so we disbanded and many people went home. Later that day, Jim, Steve and myself went down into the bottoms and continued looking for the animal. It was then that I started to gather up evidence in the form of the mucousy material with blood in it. When it was gathered up 16 hours after it was first deposited, the material had obtained a rubber cement like consistency, but still smelled of honeysuckle. All available evidence was gathered up and given to Jim. We were able to see that the wounded animal had indeed gone to the north after crossing the same creek again and all spoor was lost at that point.

It was agreed by all, that it was time to give up and I left location to get a hotel room. I had been up over 36 hours at that point. A few others decided to stay and camp that night and had some exciting things happen just after dark. As was related to me, they heard a group of animals come in close to camp to the west. They were walking around, coughing, scuffing their feet through the leaves and making their presence known. These 3 men decided to try to go after the animals that had come close to camp. As is so common, the closer the men got to the animals, the farther from camp they went and the more out of range the animals became. The men decided that it was prudent to get back to camp. At this point they had also been up for over 36 hours also. As they came back to camp, they very distinctly noticed that another animal had come into their camp and was lying by their tent. When it saw them walking into camp, it got up and walked back into the woods. That was all these men wanted, promptly threw all their gear in the truck and spent the night at a truck stop.

In the summer of 2003, the tower stand was built which provided us the opportunity to get out of the elements while observing this area. This 3-story tower is the same tower stand that I had violently shaken that I reported in my last article in the last Monster Hunter Newsletter.

In October of 2003, I had the most incredible vocalization of my career while situated up in the tower stand. That night had been very quiet, with the occasional bionic birdcall, but no serious vocalizations heard. About 12:30am one of our researchers was located in a tripod stand about 75 yards from my location to the east-southeast, called to be extracted and the truck passed right behind me to go pick him up. About 15 minutes after he was picked up and the truck passed by me again heading back to camp, all hell broke loose.

On the far easterly portion of the property is a pond. From somewhere in that general area, about 100 yards from my position it started. One of these Bigfoot animals started yelling the most incredible vocalization that I had ever heard. Of course, I didn’t have any recording equipment with me, but it would have been the most dramatic vocalization ever recorded if I would have been ready. The vocalization started with a series of reasonably soft sounds, and slowly got louder and louder until it was vibrating in my chest and entire body. WHOOOP, WHOOOP, WHOOOOP, WHOOOOOP, WHOOOOOOOP, WHOOP, WHOOP. It would yell soft, and then loud, fast then slow. It started to run towards me along the dim road, a firebreak road between two heavy wooded areas. This thing was running on 4 legs with the same cadence as a horse runs. The ground was vibrating with each step he made. You could hear the soft pads on its feet as it ran. No wonder these things don’t leave tracks when on all fours. As he was running he was yelling EEEEEEEYA, EEEEEEEYA, EEEEEEEYA. All this lasted a good 30 seconds. I could hear it running directly toward me yelling so loud that I could feel it throughout my body. I though for sure he was coming right to me. I locked down my night vision in its headgear and waited. As the animal was running, yelling, it turned to the south, its left, and headed down the road that the other man had just been picked up from no longer than 30 minutes before. Had that man still been in the tripod stand, its possible that that animal could have run within 5 yards of him. It’s also possible that this animal knew that this man had been extracted and chose that route to get to the bottoms.

I have had one telltale encounter with these animals that suggest that they have extraordinary hearing capabilities. One afternoon I was in a deer stand overlooking a large cutover area with 8’ to 10’ high weeds. Out in the middle of the cutover was a group of trees, probably 150 yards away. Some of the others were putting on a drive through the thick pine thickets to try to push some animals out of the thickets. I was waiting in ambush. To the south, within the group of trees an animal started to sound off…WHOOP, WHOOP, WHOOP. It was answered by another animal about 100 yards away from the original animal…..WHOOP, WHOOP WHOOP. I sat and listened to these two animals communicate back and forth for about 30 minutes. I had a radio with me to keep in touch with the drivers back to the north. I had the radio on VOX, with only an earpiece in my ear so the radio would be very quiet. Someone on the other radio asked if anyone was in the tower stand. So as not to give my position away, I took the radio microphone, tucked it and my whole head into my jacket, zipped it up all the way over my head and very quietly answered that someone else was there. Immediately, these animals stopped communicating with each other. I sincerely doubt that a human could have heard my voice from 20 yards away, but these animals heard me from 150 to 200 yards away. For the next couple of hours, I never heard these animals call out again. I firmly believe that they have very acute hearing.

People generally don’t have any idea just how much their voices carry through the river bottoms. They actually echo in the bottoms. I have heard voices talking around the camp fire and cars driving in from .5 to .75 miles from the source of the sound. Couple this with the acute hearing that these animals appear to have produces what we have been touting along. These animals are UNAPPROACHABLE!!! You physically cannot sneak up on these animals. This runs counter to what deer and hog hunters have experienced. They can stalk up on deer and hogs. These animals eat deer and hogs. These animals are the top of the food chain, they are the apex predator of the southern jungle. Trying to use the tactics that deer and hog hunters just won’t work with these animals. Hence, in my opinion, why one of these animals hasn’t been harvested to date. The majority of the hunters think like deer hunters. I believe that you have to think differently based on the things I have learned about these animals.

You never do know when something profound is going to happen to you concerning these animals. Of all the places I have been with suspected Bigfoot activity, no place has the vocalization and history of Monster Central on a consistent basis.

Due to family and business concerns, I haven’t been able to return since September of 2004 when I had the sighting that was reported in the last issue, but hope to return when the weather turns favorable again.



How I got interested in Bigfoot

By

Jim Lansdale



I have been asked and have also asked these questions of others many times over the years. Most answers from those interested usually always refer back to the Patterson video of 1967. Rightfully so since that’s the only clear video available of one of these suspected creatures.



My interest was quite a bit different then the Patterson video. As a matter of fact I was in complete denial of any type of man-ape and was less then a skeptic. I thought the Bigfoot phenomenon was nothing more then imagination and a well enacted hoax perpetrated by persons with dollar signs as their goal.



How could I as a young boy growing up in East Texas hunting, fishing, swimming and playing on the Sabine River never heard or saw anything unusual. Further more as an adult with many years of hunting, fishing in some remote areas still not see any sign, hear any unusual vocalizations of any creature other then what animals and birds that were everyday common species for the habitat.



Different perspective

Back in the early 90’s my oldest son and I began still hunting. We hunted deer with dogs for years but because of the families moving out of the cities, posted property, losing dogs I gave it up. I grew tired of the hassles of feeding and caring for a pack of hounds to only be able to run them a few weeks out of the year and besides the state of Texas outlawed them in Panola County where we did most of our hunting.



Paper companies realized the profit in leasing their properties where only the well off could afford a lease to hunt. These new leases were expensive with the owners locking up the property, posting No Trespassing signs and some were reported as killing a man’s dogs as they crossed the property. Everyone understands that a man doesn’t feed dogs eleven months a year to have some city boy kill his dogs so I decided it was best I take my young son and begin still hunting the family’s property.



Fifteen hundred acres mostly fenced with just a few dim dirt roads as access. The property had about eleven hundred acres of timber, thickets and brush and looked ideal for one heck of a deer hunting camp.



Unfortunately there were little sign of any deer in the area. I knew this first hand because of the garden I use to have in an open area on the west side of the property. I couldn’t understand why I would see so few deer tracks around the garden and can’t ever remember seeing any crop damage from any type of animals in the garden



Let me go back a few years to my running dogs. As you enter the property on the north side you drive by an old dairy barn. My grandfather, then later uncle milked cows there for years. Over the years any dairy farmer will lose a few cows and would get the hired help to take a tractor and drag the carcass off to the back side of the property. This was an ideal spot to run my dogs. We would pull up, shine a Q-beam, see the coyotes, drive down to the carcass and turn the dogs loose.



The dogs would catch the track and we would have one heck of a race for about fifteen to twenty minutes when the dogs would quit and come back to the truck. I couldn’t figure out why my dogs would quit such a hot track but my brother-in-law convinced me that the bottoms were full of water. We would load the dogs, go to another area and the dogs would run all night. I always thought that was strange.



I had some time off one day and decided I would take a walk and investigate this bottom to see just how much water was there. I found one creek still in its banks with a few dry holes with a few brushy areas but mostly timber in this area. An ideal spot to run any animal but for some odd reason my dogs would start a race and quit it almost as quickly as it started. I guess I figured at the time that was one of life’s little mysteries and didn’t think much about it.



As I look back I remember us taking a good pack of deer hounds on this property and not have any success. On occasion we would jump a deer but the race would always be cut short for some reason. One of the hunters would see the deer disappear in the thickets, watch the pack of hounds go in and watch as they retreated back towards the pickup. We just couldn’t figure out why these hounds would quit such a hot track.



As you leave out of the property and head back west about three miles then back south on a black top road you’ll come to a creek that crosses the road. Just up the hill from the creek lived a man who my uncle always told us not to go near. If the dogs headed in that direction make sure you stayed on the north side of the creek out of his view. He said this man was shell shocked during the Korean War Conflict and might take a shot at us. I remember driving by his place on occasion and the man had those aluminum pie plates hanging from every branch of his trees. Hundreds of them. Well that certainly convinced me he was a nut so I stayed as far away from him as I could.



One Night

After my family and I had a holiday supper with the family my son asked if we could drive back down on the property to have a look around. It was dark with me not remembering the approximate time we took off, but yeah I was ready to get some fresh air and there is no better place to air out then driving down those dim lit roads through the woods. As we eased down the muddy dirt road that was only drivable with a four wheeler or four wheel drive we drove into the field where I had a perforated five gallon shake feeder hanging from a tripod I built out of sucker rod.



As the headlights flashed into the field towards the feeder we saw the strangest thing I ever saw in my life squatted beside the feeder. It was built like a man but dark in color so by what I can see it is some type of fur bearing critter. The buttocks were heavy with the calf area looking a bit unproportunate for the thigh and buttocks. This, what ever it was had its hands, paws, feet or something on the feeder and it appeared it was shaking it. After a few seconds, maybe ten to fifteen, this animal realized there were lights shining on it, turned, looked our way, huge red eyes and bolted to the near thicket on all fours.



The first words out of my son’s mouth were “what was that?” There was no doubt in my mind that I had no idea of what he and I just witnessed so I told him it must have been a coyote or dog.



I had completely forgotten about this incident and when the next deer season came rolling by we were late in getting everything ready to hunt. We hadn’t bush hogged, planted any food plots or trimmed any limbs but decided opening day we would take care of what we could. That Friday afternoon Robbie, my son Josh and I decided to head down and let Josh do a little hunting. We placed him in his box blind with Robbie and me pulling down the road towards the creek.



About half an hour before dark with Robbie and me sitting in the truck we saw a large covey of quail cross in front of the pickup. Well, we have always fed the different critters with Robbie telling me he had an old bag of maze in the shop he would put out for the quail when he and Josh came down to hunt the next morning.



I had to do a little work and got down there around ten AM the next morning. We fueled the tractor, hooked up the brush hog, loaded the chainsaws and headed down. Robbie took the first turn on the tractor so Josh and I were in charge of the limb trimming. Before we got started Robbie told me he had put out the maze earlier that morning and noticed where a large buck had walked the dim road up from the creek. That determined which way we were going to begin the trimming because Josh and I both were interested in seeing the tracks since we’ve seen so few.



Using the chain saw I would trim the limbs and Josh would hustle them off the road and as we came to the maze we noticed something we had never seen before. Right in the middle of a pile of maze we could clearly see what appeared to be a bare foot human track. But what was even stranger. It only had three toes. A huge large toe with two smaller outside toes with a couple of scuff marks to the left of the track.



Josh and I circled the track like two buzzards trying to figure out what it was. Darn sure wasn’t an ostrich, emus or beaver. Looked just like a human print but had only three toes.



After about a half hour we go and get Robbie to see if he knows what made this print. He was just as clueless as we were so we decide we need a camera because we know dang good and well ain’t anyone going to believe this.

I head to the house, pick up my sister-in-law and a cup of flour to put in the track to make it visible. As I’m putting the flour in the track my son tells me he sees something else. I walk over to his side and sure enough. The scuff marks were not scuff marks but another track. A nineteen inch track with three toes. Now who has ever heard of a three toed Monster in NW Louisiana? I know I hadn’t and if I were not looking at them with my eyes. I don’t think I would have believed it.

.


We took several photos of the prints from a few different angles with the next photo giving you some idea how large the tracks really were.






After seeing these tracks it didn’t take Josh and I long to figure out what he and I saw under the feeder the year before. Had to be one of these animals. Just had to be.



Late that afternoon after the trimming and bush hogging we put my son in his stand to do a little hunting. Robbie and I moved back down where we found the tracks to sit and wait until dark.



We had been sitting there for an hour or so and about ten to fifteen minutes before dark I heard something call I have never heard before in my entire time in the woods. There was no way I could come close to this call at the time but can tell you it made this particular sound five times, shut up, and the woods was quiet the entire time we were there.

continued...

Peaked My Interest

Is really an understatement. Been hunting, fishing, camping all my life and have never seen anything, the animal we saw the year before, or have ever found any tracks like we just witnessed. Went directly to Home Depot the next morning and bought me some plaster to cast these prints. I have never done anything like this before, was unsure of what to get and how to mix the ingredients, but was sure set on casting them.



That afternoon a few men that worked for me wanted to ride down and cast these prints so we headed out early afternoon. We poured the plaster a little wet but not knowing anything about the drying time decided to stay a while and have a look around while they dried.



We walked down the hill towards an old iron bridge and at the bottom of the hill it had a sandy base because of the rain wash. On the west side of the road we saw a few more tracks but not nearly as good as the prints we just cast but there were two partials that really impressed me. Looked like just the ball because of the length and had to be compared to the toes. The foot had to be eight inches across the ball. The big toe was huge and I would compare it to the size of a boot heal with the smaller outside toes as large as my big toe but longer.



We head back to the truck to get some plaster with one of the men that worked for me telling me his foot hurt and he wanted to stay at the truck. This man is about six feet four and weighs about three hundred pounds but I told him it was fine by me but make sure and keep an eye out for whatever made these impressions. We started towards the bottom, walked about twenty feet from the truck when I realized I forgot my mixing can. As I stopped this big huge man, the man with the bad foot, darn near ran and knocked me down. I couldn’t help but laugh. A man that big. He was bigger then anything I ever saw in the woods and was scared to stay at the truck by himself even though we were about a hundred yards from him in clear view.



We cast about five or six good partial impressions and while they dried walked on down a bit further. There was a mole mound in the middle of the road and as luck would have it there was a perfect track right in the middle of the mound. This track was approximately ten inches in length and appeared that the two smaller outside toes were webbed.



We cast this track and as we waited for them to dry it began to sprinkle a bit. Knowing these roads I knew we needed to get out of there before it got so slick we couldn’t make it. Especially in a two wheel drive even though we had worked the roads.



It came a pretty good rain that night so I decided I would go back the next day and retrieve the casts.



That next day was hectic at work. I worked until around 9 PM but was determined to go down and get the casts but I needed a four wheel drive vehicle to get down in the bottom. I was in my work truck and my four wheel drive was sitting at my house in Shreveport. So I called Robbie and had him drive me down to get the casts.



Things Get A Little Hairy

I get down and meet Robbie about 10 that evening, got some card board boxes to put the tracks in and we head down to the bottoms.



The moon is out with the stars shining and with the headlights on I have enough light to walk and get the casts. As I walk to the first two we cast I noticed I heard something on the east side of the road in the brush. I didn’t pay any attention to this because it sounded like an armadillo if it was anything. I took the first box up and headed down to get the next castings.



I noticed as I was headed down I could hear, what I thought, something walk with me. Still I’m thinking getting these casts and if this is anything it’s an armadillo. As I head back towards the pickup this “armadillo” is walking the same direction I’m walking and what is even weirder is when I stop, it stops.



I put these casts in the back of the pickup, get a new box and start down the hill to get some more of the castings. I’m probably fifty feet from the truck and now I know I can definitely hear something walking with me. Sounded as if it were just inside the tree and brush line so I went back and asked Robbie for a flashlight. As I began back down this thing is walking with me step for step. I stop, it stops. I walk to the edge of the dim road and shine with the light and didn’t see anything so I take back off. Walked a few yards and sure enough this thing is step for step with me again. I take the light, crouch down and attempt to shine under the brush to see if I can see anything. Nothing.



I retrieve the last of the castings other then the last one in the mole mound. This, whatever it is, was stride for stride with me and would stop when I stopped but other then that I didn’t hear or see anything. Place the casts in the back of the truck and start back down the hill but this time this thing is breaking brush as I head down. Big stuff, I mean large branches, small trees so I walk back to the truck and ask Robbie if he has a gun. I’m really not spooked at this point but full aware that there is something going on I am sure not familiar with.



Robbie fishes out a 10 gauge shot gun from behind the seat and hands me a round of buckshot. Well now, I feel much safer knowing that I am now armed and if this thing gets a little close I have something to take some bark off its butt.



As I began the trip down to get the last casting this thing now doesn’t really care if I can hear it or not. As I walk it walks. This thing is following beside me in the brush and it is walking through and over it not around it. Every time I stopped I would shine the light but wouldn’t see anything. I looked for eye shine, different colors, hair or some type of figure. Not a thing. I finally reach the last casting. I’m about one hundred and fifty yards from the pickup with lights from the truck not helping at all but I still have a flash light.



Just as I reach the area of the last casting this thing breaks some rather large brush and small saplings. I shine the light in the direction thinking that I’m going to get a look at what ever this thing is but can’t see anything other then brush.



I still want and am determined to get my cast knowing this would be an almost perfect impression. Seemed like when I would move the light to the ground, looking for the cast, this thing would move breaking more brush and saplings. It was getting kind of difficult to keep focused on finding the cast for some strange reason.



I know I’m right near this cast with this thing getting a bit closer, about thirty five to forty feet, but spot the mound where I made the cast. Shined my light and this cast was broken into at least fifty pieces if not more. As I shine around looking for the pieces this thing in the brush begins this hard heavy loud breathing. I have never heard anything like this before and know of no animal capable of doing this but I am determined to pick up the pieces of the now broken cast. Yeah, the hair is standing up on the back of my neck like quills on a porcupine.



While I’m picking up the pieces this thing is really beginning to get loud. The breathing is unbelievable sounding and it’s difficult for me to shine, pick up pieces and keep a light and eye on where I think this thing is. I can clearly hear some pounding and upon close observation I find it’s my heart trying to escape the excitement we are experiencing.



Finally I get all the pieces I can find and start back towards the truck. Yep, this thing is right with me and dang sure not attempting to disguise any noise. I stopped a couple of times and when I did it would stop but I could still clearly hear its heavy breathing. Damn! What kind animal makes that kind of heavy loud breathing sound? How close is this thing to me? And furthermore, where is this thing?



Back at the truck Robbie saw me flashing the light towards the brush and asked what I was doing. He worked in the oil field all his life and is deaf as a post so I figured it wasn’t worth my time to explain. I told him I heard something in the brush and had no idea of what it was.



I bet whatever this thing was sure got a chuckle out of watching me though. I know I would have laughed had the table been turned.



Now I really have no idea what that thing was that night. I didn’t see anything and all I heard was the breaking of brush, small saplings and loud deep breathing. But I don’t know of another animal in these woods that is capable or willing to do this.





Another Interesting Track

This particular track I found was right beside my pickup. I pulled down to another bottom I feed, stayed in the woods about thirty minutes looking around, finding this track right beside my driver’s side door. It appears the mud stuck to the bottom of its foot leaving the impression. Something else. At the top right side of the track there is another three clawed type of track.






As you can see it is the right foot. My boot length is about twelve inches so that will give you some idea how long the track is.



Something else I find hard to believe is not seeing the track, if it was there, as I got out of my truck. I always look down and around for tracks. Guess I could have missed this one or maybe while I was in the woods it strolled by my truck. I have had weirder things happen.



Tracks

One thing I know for sure. Finding good quality tracks from this animal are few and far between. Over the years I have found some excellent tracks but by using several different vehicles to get back and forth I sometimes forget to take a camera. I have found several quality tracks with dermal ridges including a large hand print that Bobby and a few others cast about a week to ten days after I saw it. So what I am saying is this. Tracks are important to me as far as attempting to figure out where the animals or going or have been. My interest is not in the tracks but in the animal itself. Tracks along with photos or video really won’t prove the existence of this animal. A corpse will.





One Last Print

This last photo is of a hand print. I took this photo at Carmel, La. A few years back after a friend found tracks with dermal ridges but called me the next day after a rain. I cast a few of the tracks but they were not of any quality but the photo of the handprint will give you some idea of the size.




This photo shows the wrapping of the fingers, knuckle walking and extension of the thumb for what I think is balance. I have found many hand prints with the thumb extended as if being used for balance. By observation of the tracks it appeared the animal slipped on the wet surface and caught itself with its hand.



The Next Exciting Experience

That same year we found the tracks I took my son and one of his buddies down to do a little deer hunting. We arrived around two PM and I put the boys up in some tripods I had bought. I would sit in my pickup about a quarter of a mile away on the main dirt road to make sure no one drove up on them. Josh was in a tri-pod stand where we found and cast the first tracks. Kevin, his buddy, was in an area we called the shot gun stand simply because the range of the shot.



About fifteen minutes before it gets dark I hear this God awful howling sound coming from the west bottoms. I can clearly tell it’s headed back north east in the direction of Kevin so I decide I better ease down there and see if he needs a little relief. Sure enough. Kevin is out of the stand waiting for me on the road. First thing that came out of his mouth was “what was that.” Obviously I didn’t know and headed down to pick up Josh. He asked the same question so I told them that we would go to the field and see if this, whatever it is, will come to us.



We drove into the field about thirty yards, shut off the pickup, got out and listened. We were there just a short time when we could hear the breaking of limbs and brush just inside the south tree line headed in our direction. I fished out the Q-beam and just as I thought this thing got to the edge of the field I shined the light. Two huge green eyes reflected back and I immediately turned off the light telling my son to hand me my rifle and come shine the Q-beam.



We got set up with me pointing the light in the direction and my son turned it on. Nothing. Waited a few minutes and still no eye shine. I knew I hadn’t heard the animal leave and after about five minutes of shining without any eye shine I decided I would walk over and check the area out.



We had come down in the bottoms in my four wheel drive pickup leaving my flashlight in my work truck so all we had was a Q-beam from one angle to shine. But I knew the exact spot where I shined the eyes because of a wild lemon tree and its still remaining green foliage.



I decided to walk to the feeder on the west side of the field then take a direct angle to the area. I instructed my son to shine the light with my signal and not before. My intentions were to see this animal not harm though I do admit if it had looked back at us there is no doubt I would have taken the shot.



I headed towards the perforated feeder my son and I saw that thing a year or so back nearly directly across from where I saw the eye shine. I reached the feeder, got my bearings to make sure I went to the direct spot and headed in the direction As I crossed the field the woods were completely quiet. So quiet I could hear my ears ring but I kept a steady slow pace to the area. About thirty five feet from where I had previously shined the eyes I signaled my son to turn on the light. As I signaled this thing exploded through the woods headed in the direction from which it came.



I have never heard anything that large that loud run before in my life. Seemed as if I could hear it running smashing brush for a quarter of a mile if not further.



Two things went through my mind. The first was how unbelievably fast and loud this animal was running through the brush with no doubt in my mind he was on all fours. The second thing that crossed my mind was that I thought that I possibly ran this animal off and my chance of ever seeing one was gone forever headed west.



I walked back to the pickup with the boy’s wanting to know if I saw it. Unfortunately I didn’t but I did walk into the brush where he left from and noticed a small thin pine tree about eight feet tall that I knew his eye shine was at least the height of the tree. We sat there a while longer listening and talking without hearing a peep from anything.



On our way home it dawned on me that if this animal had wanted me there was no doubt in my mind he could have gotten me right then and there. There would have been absolutely no way I could have gotten away or even had the time to fire an accurate shot with my hand gun.



The next day my son and I went back down to have a look around. Holes torn through the briars, thorns and thicket were massive. This animal’s hide must be thick as a grizzly’s to run through this stuff. There is no way I could have done this and if I could would have bled to death from the tears of the briars and thorns.



Something I did find that was odd. No tracks or hair on any of the briars, thorns or thicket. Oh we found some scuff marks but not one recognizable track and it is unbelievable we didn’t find any hair strands. No way in this world can something that fast, that large, run through this stuff without leaving any hair or blood. But it did. BTW… the holes through this thick stuff was made by an animal on all fours and not from an erect bipedal animal.



As time passed and my son and I hunted the longer he and I would stay in the night. He and I began hearing calls, whistles, howls and growls that I couldn’t recognize. At the time I considered myself a woodsman with multiple years’ experience and then I came to realize. There is much more to this animal then possibly thought or assumed. I was right about this but had no idea about the challenges that lie ahead.



Up Close Sighting

The next year my son and I were in the woods together every chance we got and when he was in school I was down by myself listening and looking around. I noticed as I walked down towards the iron bridge, where we cast the first tracks, I would sometimes get a whiff of something that’s hard to describe other then unusually smelly. Years back my dogs bayed a coon in a creek bank that for some reason wouldn’t hit a tree. We finally got the coon and as we skinned him the hide and meat had a horrible smell and this was something similar to what I would smell walking down this road to the bottom.



At times he and I would hear strange sounds but it wouldn’t be every time we were down. We heard the whistles back then on a regular basis but didn’t have a clue where or what animal or bird made them. We now know but back then it was a mystery whistle and he and I were not savvy using the Internet for help, to listen to the different bird calls, so I decided when I heard something unusual I would take to it hoping to find the source.



One early morning Josh and I went down with me placing him in his climber about thirty minutes before daylight. I went and sat at my usual spot to watch the roads for traffic or maybe get lucky and see a deer.



About nine thirty I decide I’d go check on him and when driving up I could tell he was mad. He told me that he could hear at least two deer back behind him in the thicket for over an hour and they quit moving around when they heard my truck. Well, maybe he did or maybe he didn’t. It’s rather unusual to hear two deer moving around in a “pine thicket” for over an hour wouldn’t you think? What would two deer be doing for an hour in a pine thicket other then using it for a bedding area. Damn sure didn’t go in there to snack on pine cones, straw or root around.



I gathered him up driving to the store to get us something to eat and drink with him telling me he wanted to hunt that afternoon which was fine by me. I just wanted to be down in the woods.



After we ate and knocked around visiting folks we got back down in the woods around one PM. I have always liked to deer hunt in the afternoons having the bulk of my luck in the afternoon during rut so I left Josh in the truck to take a nap while I went to a tri-pod.



I took a fawn bleak with me and after sitting in the stand for a few minutes I hit it three times and sat back enjoying the warm sun after a more then cool morning.



Probably had sat there about an hour motionless listening and watching without as much as hearing a Jay bird. The tri-pod I’m in is down the same road where we cast the first tracks and where I would get a good whiff of something unusual on occasion. About an hour is all I can stand in any type of stand without moving so as I swiveled my seat to my left I saw something out of the corner of my eye.



As I turned to look there was one of these animals standing damn near directly under me looking up. As we got a glimpse of each other this animal wheeled to its left and hit the ground on all fours and was out of my sight before a cat could lick its butt. This creature made less noise running off then a deer would have made and this kind of spooked me knowing something about five to six feet tall weighing maybe a hundred to one twenty five or possibly a little more could slip up on me during a dry winter coming through a thicket.



What I remember about this animal is not a whole lot simply because we only locked eyes for a brief second but if it startled this animal as much as it did me. He or she needed to change its draws. Had rather large eyes that got even wider when we caught eyes. Hair was neatly parted but that didn’t mean much to me at the time but now I know why. Kind of short dark deep brown hair color with a rather slender build and what seemed like narrow shoulders. Remember, I only got a quick up close glance, however it was enough for me not to forget.



After about ten minutes I gathered myself enough to crawl down from the tri-pod and have a look around. Found a few scuff marks but no discernable tracks. The woods were completely quiet before and after the sighting and as I walked back to my pickup I debated whether to tell my son or not but decided I wouldn’t. He is still a young boy with years to enjoy the outdoors without me scaring him about something that doesn’t really exist.







I Am Determined To Get a Good Look

At one of these animals, creatures or whatever it is. Sure I have had an up close encounter but that wasn’t what I consider a good close observation so I decide I’ll head to the bottom.



Late one afternoon I drive down through the field, through a dim road that leads to the bottom where I have heard many vocalizations. There used to be an old oil well back there that had a little spot to park so I parked my pickup, take my shot gun, flash light and some coon urine to kill my scent. It’s about an hour before dark which will give me some time to get situated and a little time to scout around a bit.



About twenty minutes before dark I find a hide in a blow down. Not really a hide as much as a comfortable tree to sit on with some brush and limbs giving a little cover right off the creek. I would have been easy to spot during daylight hours but with the canopy of trees it gets unbelievably dark in those bottoms.



A few minutes before it gets dark I hear a whistle north of me, that I do think is their way of locating each other, and then another one back east. At this time the mosquitoes are having a field day with me. What’s not sucking my blood is looking for an open spot to land for some supper. I guess I sat there for another thirty minutes when I heard something or two something’s walking beside the creek headed in my direction.



What really got my attention is that it sounded like whatever this was had a conversation going on. No doubt there were two different voices with pauses but for the life of me I couldn’t make out a word of it. First thing that crossed my mind was hunters or maybe my cousins but where were the lights? Surly I would see some kind of light simply because that was some thick stuff along side the creek.



I sat there in damn near disbelief. Two something’s headed my direction, carrying on some type of unrecognizable conversation that I can’t understand a word of without any artificial light.



Before I sat down I made a round with the coon urine to help hide my scent covering an area about twenty five yards or less from where I was sitting. As these two things’ got close into this scent they immediately stopped dead in their tracks. Complete silence for about thirty seconds when I thought I could hear them slowly backing away.



Remember it is now dead quiet. No crickets, tree frogs, not anything other then silence. I can’t recall if the mosquito’s had given it up yet but I have never experienced that kind of deafening quiet and stillness while close to a creek. Another few seconds pass when suddenly they start making these clicking sounds. At first kind of quiet then it got louder and continued to get louder until something(s) behind me began doing the same type of clicking. I feel as if I’m surrounded by kids with trick or treat clickers hammering them as fast as they can..



This clicking continues and I feel as if they are attempting to locate me using the clicking sounds something like a radar signal. They would begin their clicking behind or in front of me, then pass me with me knowing for some reason they knew I was there, scent, but couldn’t see me. This went on for several minutes it seemed but what was really a matter of a half minute or so and the clicking stopped as suddenly as it began.



I sat there for a few minutes in dead silence but alert and ready for anything. Didn’t hear any movement from any direction but decided to sit tight until I felt as if they have moved from the area. A few minutes later the crickets and tree frogs began singing so after a few more minutes I felt as if they had moved on.



Walking back to my pickup I had to crawl over and under some blow downs and to be quite honest that was a tad spooky. Especially going under and popping up not knowing what would be on the other side. And no, a flashlight will just blind your acquired night vision so it’s best to walk in the dark.



Finally I am getting close to my truck and as I get close enough to make it out something large runs from behind it on two legs. Sounded like a long strided human getting some ground. At first I was a little apprehensive of approaching my pickup and did so cautiously. First thing I did was reach in my cooler for a drink and couldn’t remember being this thirsty since a fire fight in Viet Nam.



Now, all I have to do is back up several hundred yards to get to the field. Problem was the road is so dim and narrow I have to hang my head out of the window to see how to back up. You can imagine how I felt at the time. Hearing something walking and talking in the bottom. Having that loud clicking circling around me, something run from the back of my truck and to make matters that much worse, I have to hang my head out of the window to see how to back out. Yes sir. At the time I wish I would have been home propped up watching television at the house.



I finally get back to the field and pull out in the middle of it to collect myself and thoughts. Reach back and get another drink and as I’m leaning against the door of my pickup something roars at me so loud from the tree line I can feel it in my chest. I have never heard anything that loud but would equate the sound to a very large African lion. After this roar the woods go nuts with what sounds like a pen full of crazed apes. Hooting, screaming and hollering like I have never heard. This goes on a few seconds and quits as abruptly as it began. Minutes later all is well with the crickets and tree frogs in their nightly chorus and me standing there in disbelief.



At the time I didn’t know or have any research partners other then my thirteen year old son. I knew that there was not a soul I could talk to that would understand or could help me understand so I didn’t repeat this tale to anyone until some years later when I got involved in the GCBRO and Bobby Hamilton.





BTW

I mentioned earlier about the man who tied the aluminum pie plates to all the low hanging limbs on his trees he could reach. At the time we all thought he was nuts but after being involved with this creature for a few years I began to ask a few questions about this man.



The man was indeed in Korea and in harms way which most were and was diagnosed as being shell shocked. But, he was also stable and friendly on most occasions just enjoyed being by himself other then immediate family.



The reason I began researching this individual had nothing to do with his background as much as living where he did and why he hung the pie plates. This man has since passed after being placed in a home but his nephew explained why he hung the pie plates.



At times this man would have some late night visitors that he could hear walk on his old wooden porch, scratch on his windows, steal a chicken or two. He told his nephew that these late night visitors were some kind of ape that walked both upright and quadruped so he hung the plates to keep them away from his home. The nephew didn’t know if the plates worked or not but told me he thought his uncle was crazy. After knowing what I know now and the area he lived I have come to understand his hoping the plates would work.



Remember the creek I was sitting on when the two creatures walked up and then the chorus of clicks that began. This creek runs into a larger creek that ran beside his home. Kind of like the saying in the movie. “They always travel the creeks.”



Another sighting

One night a few friends and my sons were down doing a little rabbit hunting. My youngest son Jake was with me, Josh was with a friend and two other men. We had three different pickups so we would all drive into separate areas, hunt for a while then return and go to a different spot.



Jake had his little dog, sleeping partner, and he and I headed down towards the iron bridge where earlier that year I placed a fifty five gallon electronic feeder. As we drove where we could see down into the dim road at the bottom there was something dark and rather large sitting under this feeder. It instantly jumped up and ran across the road at about a sixty to seventy degree angle away from us. This was some kind of weird looking critter. It was running on four legs, had a huge brown spot under its left leg or arm and it looked as if its rib cage was lower coming out of the spine where I could see the spine sticking up where the ribs should have attached.



We immediately drove to where it went in the woods, got out with the dog following. Got to about where it went in the woods, when the dog got a whiff of the track, squealed and went and got back in the truck.



I’m jumping up and down to get in the timber so I put my boy back in the truck, lock the doors, roll up the windows and tell him I’ll be right back. I know from seeing this thing enter the woods that I’m close so I duck my head and began wading the briars and brush. Get in this thick stuff maybe a hundred yards with no flashlight and it’s as dark black as you can imagine. I simply couldn’t believe I came in here without a light or gun. Hell, I just went in.



After it dawned on me that there was no way I was going to get a look at this thing I made my way back towards the truck. Just as I reached the dim road there was a whistle behind me. Could have been one hundred yards or fifty feet. I was making so much noise trying to get out of the thicket I really couldn’t tell anymore then I heard a whistle.



Finally I stepped out on the dim road and was just about getting ready to catch my breath when something on the other side of the road, close, screamed at us. Damn near had a heart attack. That scream sent shivers all the way to the bone and to be honest. Scared the crap out of me. Can’t tell you why but remember full well that scream got to me for some reason. May have been because I had my young son with me or the sound may have been different then what I have heard before. But it sure had my heart pumping that didn’t need any help after tangling with that thicket for about fifteen minutes.



I rounded up the rest of the hunters and we went back to look for any sign. Not a bit of sign anywhere. No tracks and not any real scuff marks we could say was from this animal. We all remarked on how quiet it was there at the time but didn’t hear a peep from anything. Makes a man think. How could something this large not leave any visible sign?



Five or Six Years of Research

I did about five or six years of research without any outside help other then my oldest son Josh. He was in school and couldn’t spend the time and with me being self-employed and having good people, I could do almost what I wanted. And I did just that. Stayed in the woods. Sometimes I would go and spend all day and half the night. Most the time I wouldn’t find any sign, hear or see anything but I was doing exactly what I wanted knowing I would never have a good close up sighting unless I was there.



After a few years some of the people who worked for me in rural areas would come tell me about someone having a strange encounter or live stock come up missing or dead for no apparent reason. Everyone knows if you fool with animals there will always be loses from age, disease and predators but I always would take the time and visit these folks.



On most occasions the kill was to old to tell what animals were involved but things that always caught my eye would be size of the animal, approximately where it was killed, where it was eaten and the breakage and scattering of bones. Quite a few of the livestock especially calves, goats and chickens I attributed to dogs, coyotes or maybe wolves we are not suppose to have but seen throughout the south. But every now and then I would go to a rancher or farmer that would indeed have a strange unexplainable kill on their hands.

One particular man named Charley who owned some cows told a friend of mine that he had some cows come up missing and my friend had him call me. My friend told Charley I was involved with and doing animal kill investigations only for personal reasons.



Charley came by my office headed out to feed his cows and I agreed to follow him to his place and have a look around. We drive north from my office about ten miles then head back west on a used but rather remote blacktop. Go down a few miles when he pulls up to his locked gate. He and I get out and as he is unlocking the gate I ask him what he thought was getting his cows. He responded that he thought someone was stealing them. Well now, the gate is locked, the fence is old but in good shape so my next question is “how are they getting them out of the pasture to load them in a trailer?”



Charley couldn’t answer the question but I have a suspicion Charley knows or thinks something he doesn’t want to tell me.



We get the gate open and drive in. He heads back towards his hay barn to feed and I drive across to a pond I see. This is about a one hundred acre pasture. Open on the road and wooded on three sides with old cedar posts, barb wire fence about five feet tall. The fence looks in good shape and shows no signs of being pushed or stepped on.



I get out, walk around the pond and see a few cow tracks, a couple of bird and coon tracks but not any visible sign of any large animals such as bears or cougars. I go to the spillway of the pond, which is dry but can see that it crosses the fence headed into a thicket. I crossed the fence and in about fifty yards there is a small but running creek. Sandy bank so I take a good look and can’t find any sign of any animals. As I’m looking around it dawned on me about other animal kills I had gone on that I thought was suspicious. The killed and eaten animals were always in the thickest parts of the brush so I saw what I thought was the thickest and headed in the direction.



Just before I had to start crawling I found a leg bone from a cow and as I got inside this pile of brush there were bones from all different sizes of cows. I counted at least seven different heads and numerous bones and the funny thing about the bones. They didn’t have a tooth mark on them. No teeth marks mean no dogs or other predators I know about but there was one thing that really astounded me. The femur bones on several of the leg bones were broken in half. Not bitten but broken. I couldn’t break a femur bone in a small dog let alone a full grown cow.



After looking this over for a while I meet back up with Charley and ask him how many cows and calves he had missing. He told me ten or twelve over the years and denied having any idea of what was getting his cows. I took him back to the bone pile and showed him what I found. I then made him walk the fence with me to see if we could find any holes are places where the cow came across or was drug through the wire. We could not find one weak, broken or pushed down part of the fence. So my next question to Charley is “how did these cows and calves get over the fence and if they did why did they all come to this thicket and die?” Of course he didn’t know and all I can do is speculate so I left Charley at the gate telling him to call me if any of his cows came up missing again. I had a feeling that Charley knew maybe a little more then he told me thinking I would say something about him and his boogers. Who knows?



I left Charley’s property, which BTW is about twelve miles due east of where I do my research, headed to the first neighbors house. The man came out and I asked him if he had seen or heard anything about the cows missing. He told me Charley had come by telling him but that he hadn’t seen anyone or heard anything unusual so I got back in my truck and headed off.



This black top ended and I came to a T in the road. I knew direction and since I was headed back home I turned back left headed back north. This little dirt road was as crooked as a snakes back and I know I must have crossed the same creek that ran on the back side of Charley’s place at least three times. Just as I get near the highway I see an old farm house that has a five foot hog wire fence around the complete place. This got me to thinking. Why would anyone have a five foot tall hog wire fence around their complete place?



The Old Farm House

I drove by this old farm house slowly mainly because of the road being in bad shape but that fence for some reason compelled me to turn around and have a chat with the owner. I drove in the small drive, blew my horn and I know at least fifteen dogs of different sizes came charging to the fence. I know now why the fence is there.



A few minutes later an elderly lady walked to the gate shushing dogs and asked if she could help me. Now, you have to understand. I’m not sure what folks would think about me asking if they had seen a BF or hairy ape like man around so I asked her had she been seeing or hearing anything unusual. “Lord Yes” she said. “For years.”



I couldn’t believe what she just said but you can bet she has my full attention so I ask her to tell me a little of what she has seen or heard.



She begins by telling me about the honey bears that visit her place from time to time. Me not knowing what a honey bear is I ask her to explain. She tells me that a honey bear comes in all sizes with some big one’s that walk like a man to smaller one’s that walk like a dog. She also tells me the smaller one’s have a straight back just like a dog while walking and points to her dogs for a reference.



The smaller one’s get in her fruit trees while the bigger one’s get a few chickens from time to time. I ask her when does this happen and she tells me they come all the time. When the trees have fruit they hit her trees but during the winter they take a few chickens but also took chickens year round. My next question is how do they get over the fence. She tells me the bigger one’s step over and the smaller one’s climb over. “What about the dogs,” I asked? “Dogs go under the house” she replied.



I asked did they ever get in her garden and she told me that she has never had any problems with these animals in her garden which is outside of the fenced in area. Told me she shot at one of the bigger one’s for trying to get into her smoke house. That meat was hers she said and she wasn’t sharing it with these animals.



I must have talked to her for a few hours asking questions, listening to her answers then firing another question.



She told me they have been coming around this place since she was a little girl. Her folks stayed in the house at night and let these honey bears do whatever they did without interfering but the thing that always scared her is when they would walk on the porches, tap on the window panes and even twist the door knob. Yep, that would have got my heart pumping a little faster as well.



Her niece would come stay with her during the summer months and when she had her period the animals would walk around on the porches and at times twist the old door knobs like they were wanting to come in. She told me she had something for them if they started in the house. I asked what she had and she said her daddy left her a double barrel 12 gauge and she knew how to use it.



Before I left this lady that late afternoon I asked her to give me as close to a description as she could. She said they looked like a gorilla or monkey in the face. Some had flat faces while others had what looked like a snout. Broad shoulders, short dark hair, long arms that could snatch a chicken out of a tree without the chicken making any noise. Varying heights from about eight feet to five feet walking bipedal and the one’s on all fours the size of a medium sized dog as she pointed to one of her mutts that may have weighed forty pounds and stood a couple of feet tall. The weight on the bigger one’s she didn’t even have a guess. She would just say big.



This lady passed away a few years back with her niece now living in the old house and her grandson living in a mobile home close by. Her son, now retired, moved back from Dallas and built him a home across the road and a rent house across from his home. He and I have become good friends over the years with him telling me he always knew about these animals.



The man he rented his house to had an interesting tale that happened. He kept his dog, a medium sized boxer, on a chain in the front yard no more then twenty five yards from the porch. He works late and got up one morning to feed his dog who had been barking for the past few nights non-stop. All he found was the dogs head still in the collar hooked to the chain without a trace of the body.



I get a call from this man every month or so with updates. He’s a big dog lover as I am and we will talk about our dogs and about anything strange that he has going on. His nephew told me that last year he kept hearing what he described as a baby crying sound coming from towards the creek. My partner is always telling me about the strange howling sounds. Sure I have been there to have a look around. Didn’t see anything during the day and haven’t heard anything at night what few times I have been there. All this means is that I haven’t been able to spend any great deal of time at his place. Don’t have to. I have these animals where I hunt and don’t have the time to dedicate to another area.

Thanks ACS! Having trouble just posting this reply! Not to mention
being booted from Chat. Again!

Belle

Yeah, enjoyed the chat. I figured you must have been having puter troubles.

Sure she's not picking up some spare change ? or maybe a juvenile ?

Wouldn't the url by itself be adequate? Wow - this is bandwidth and storage. Even at $0.01 per Terabyte, ...

The scale of the effort is comendable, however. By the way, how does one find Vol 1?? Backtracking on the url to the home page doesn't seem to work.

Lets see, in simple terms....The reason why it's posted the way it is... That once in a while things get pulled from the internet. Then again, many times the links are not in working order. Does that answer your question? Now, here is a question for you. Anymore silliness you want to complain about?

Now, on to your other question.....I would post the first story for you but you might complain about the bandwidth. Besides, it has been posted here on the forums. But if the bandwith is a problem then I'm not going to provide a link for you. But I will give you a hint, so that you may know that I'm not a complete hag, it's posted in Sightings and Encounters....... 50 page thread.


Good Luck!


Belle

arm chair, can you post these new stills

Sage Hunter, I don't have any stills. I just posted the article...I didn't write it.

The stills are displayed and discussed here:
http://www.bigfootforums.com/index.php?showtopic=11287&st=0&

Don't get your panties in a bunch. I really appreciate your efforts. Didn't intend to be snippy - if that's what you interpreted. It's just that the file was HUGE. Cowabunga!

But I do now wonder if this site is powered by an IBM Z-series, an EMC Symmetrtix DRX, and a Fiber Channel switch/director from Cisco????

Now that I removed the wedgie. Ahhhhhhhh!





Belle

Who gave you the wedgie?!

Some Creep!

play on words...nothing else