>> Editor's Note:

Please forgive the lateness of this month's newsletter. I am devoting all of my time to finishing the documentary as soon as possible.

I managed to take a break, however, and get up into the woods. Skye and I took a wonderful hike up to Linton Lake in the Cascades. If you haven't done so, I recommend it to local bigfoot enthusiasts. This lake has been the location of several sightings by fisherman and hikers... and we did discover several large impressions in the duff near the lake during our trip.

While the fishing was disappointing (it's difficult to access the lakeshore - except along the steep banks near the small stream), it's a beautiful hike. We went on a Wednesday and didn't see another living soul. Don't let the trail guides fool you - the hike is (or at least FEELS, when you're pregnant and perpetually exhausted) much longer than 1.5 miles and the descent into the lake is moderately steep... meaning it's a steep hike OUT when you're tired.

Linton Falls is on the far lefthand side of the lake and is impressive. You'll need a Northwest Forest Pass to park at Alder Springs campground. Click here for directions to Linton Lake.

If you decide to take the hike, please let me know if you find anything unusual. And don't forget your camera!

Autumn Williams
Oregonbigfoot.com
Your comments are always welcome.

The legend lives.

HURRAY! Oregonbigfoot.com is in the news! :)
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3228/7562
http://www.cryptomundo.com/cryptozoo-news/autumnwilliams/

Western N.Y. Bigfoot 'clearly phony'

All those tracks in the woods lead to enduring mystery

Malaysia to Send Expedition Into Rainforests to Find Bigfoot

Bigfoot makes his way to Buffalo and WNY'

Stilwell group looking for Bigfoot

Protecting Bigfoot

Commissioner candidate says he's seen a ‘Bigfoot'

Two Books Containing Pictures Of 'Bigfoot' Being Written

Bigfoot caught on trail cam? Not quite...

Author Fred Robertson did the unthinkable. He took on the monumental task of writing a fictional book that "explains" Bigfoot origins and behavior.

And he did a great job.

Occasionally, authors send me copies of their books to read - and I always enjoy reading them. But whenever I receive a fictional book that attempts to tackle an explanation of the Bigfoot phenomenon within the confines of a fictional piece, I cringe... I admit it. There's a danger inherent in writing a book like this... in attaching "theories" to the events in a book and making them reality, at least in the fictional world, the author asks the reader to suspend his or her own ideas and beliefs about what can be a very volatile subject. One false move, one over-dramatized or cheesy scene later, and you've lost the reader. "Gimme a break!" is NOT the response you want from your reading public!

With these thoughts in mind, I began to read Fred's book, Skookum: A Tale of Bigfoot - and was VERY pleasantly surprised!

With a storytelling style vaguely reminiscent of Theodora Kroeber, author of Ishi, Last of His Tribe, Fred takes us on a journey into the life of a Skookum, or Sasquatch. From the birth of a strange child in a Native American village, the author begins to weave a very believable "reality" out of popular (and some not-so-popular) theories about our large, barefoot friends.

We follow Tua as he grows, discovers his true nature and becomes what he truly is. Along the way, Robertson offers potential answers to those things we wonder about the nature of the Sasquatch:

Why do Sasquatches whistle? What do loud screams reported by witnesses mean? Do these creatures speak to one another? How do they communicate? What do they eat? How do they sleep? How do they interact with one another? How do they view us? Do they really "disappear"? Why do they emit a foul odor? Where do they come from? Are they humanlike in their intelligence, or simply very clever animals?

Skookum tackles each and every one of these questions - with answers that I found to be entertaining, occasionally enlightening, and - amazingly - mostly believable. And the final kicker? Robertson addresses one of my own pet theories that I've spent 16 years mulling over... bigfoot "pow-wows". That in itself made me grin from ear-to-ear.

This book was an enjoyable read and difficult to put down. Make sure you add it to your Bigfoot library!

Your very own copy of Fred Robertson's book, Skookum: A Tale of Bigfoot, can be obtained through his website in paperback or ebook format. Fred also has a 14x24 poster available:

www.skookumtale.com

A joint collaborative effort by the University of Texas San Antonio's Institute of Texan Cultures and the Texas Bigfoot Research Center. April 7-July 30

Do you believe? There are many documented sightings of Bigfoot right here in
Texas! You are invited to join us as we explore many theories on the existence
of Bigfoot. This exhibit will feature unidentifiable hair as well as foot and body
casts of a being that many believe can only be Bigfoot. Guest speakers will also
lend their expertise to both sides of the debate.

At the end of your visit, we'll ask you to vote: do you believe Bigfoot really exists?

April 8, 2006, (Saturday) lectures from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

* Daryl G. Colyer, field researcher for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, former
Airborne Cryptologic Russian Linguist for USAF Intelligence.

Daryl G. Colyer will examine the history of Bigfoot research in Texas. Colyer is
a field researcher for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center. He has investigated
hundreds of reports and continues to lead field research efforts in Texas and other states. It is Colyer's assessment, based on hundreds of interviews, that Sasquatches are indeed real and do inhabit parts of Texas.

* Kathy Moskowitz-Strain, forest archaelogist and Heritage Program manager at
Stanislaus National Forest in Sonora, CA, and presenter of paper titled: Mayak datat: An Archaelogical Viewpoint of the Hairy Man Pictograph.

She has worked extensively at Painted Rock on the Tule River Indian Reservation,
where the only known Bigfoot pictograph in California was discovered. Her primary research involves the traditional Native American stories of "Hairy Man," as well as the application of archaeological methods to the study of Bigfoot. Moskowitz has been researching a project for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center for the last six months, compiling the legends, folklore, and traditions of the Native American tribes of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Her presentation will be based on that research project.

* Peter Byrne, executive director of the International Wildlife Conservation Society
and author of The Search for Bigfoot : Monster, Myth or Man? (Acropolis Books,
1975, 1st ed.). Peter led the Tom Slick Expeditions to the Himalayas in search
of the Yeti. He ran the Bigfoot Research Project in the 1990's.

* Catherine Cooke, former president and CEO of The Mountain Istitute, former
executive director of The Mind Science Foundation, one of Tom Slick's foundations,
for a decade. She is Tom Slick's niece and author of Tom Slick Mystery Hunter
(Paraview Books, 2005).

Book signing by local writer Catherine Nixon Cooke. Cooke, the niece of Tom
Slick, will be signing copies of her recently released book, Tom Slick, Mystery
Hunter. Slick, a local visionary, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, funded expeditions to the Himalayas in search of the Yeti and to the Pacific Northwest in search of Bigfoot in the late 1950s and early 1960s before his untimely death in a plane crash in 1962.

May 6, 2006 (Saturday) lectures from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

* Jeff Meldrum, associate professor of anatomy and adjunct associate professor
of anthropology at Idaho State University, researcher of Sasquatch in the north
Cascades and southern Colorado.

* Jimmy Chilcutt , forensic consultant, retired Conroe police officer with nearly
two decades of fingerprint and crime scene investigation experience, and developer of unique latent fingerprint procedures requested by federal, state and county agencies.

* Rick Noll, long-time research of Bigfoot, principal member of the expedition group that found and collected the Skookum Body Cast in 2000, involvement in about a dozen documentaries on the subject, including Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science and Giganto: The Real King Kong.

June 3, 2006 (Saturday) lectures from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

* Loren Coleman, World-reknowned cryptozoologist and adjunct associate professor of "The Documentary: Its Social, Political and Emotional Impact" at the University of Southern Maine. Author of Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology (Linden Publishing, 2002), Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America (Paraview Pocket Books, 2003) and The Field Guide to Bigfoot and Other Mystery Primates (Anomalist Books, 2006),

* Benjamin Radford, managing editor of The Skeptical Inquirer and Spanish-language Pensar, author of dozens of articles on urban legends, mass hysteria, mysterious creatures and media criticism, and director of publications at the Center for Inquiry-International in Buffalo, NY.

July 8, 2006 (Saturday) lectures from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

* Daryl Colyer, field researcher for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, former
Airborne Cryptologic Russian Linguist for USAF Intelligence.

Daryl G. Colyer will examine the history of Bigfoot research in Texas. Colyer
is a field researcher for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center. He has investigated
hundreds of reports and continues to lead field research efforts in Texas and
other states. It is Colyer's assessment, based on hundreds of interviews, that
Sasquatches are indeed real and do inhabit parts of Texas.

* Alton Higgins, field biologist for the Texas Bigfoot Research Center, wildlife
biologist and associates art advisor and assistant professor at Mid-America
Christian University, presenter of several papers on Bigfoot-related topics.

* John Kirk, RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), founder of the British
Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, editor and publisher of the organization's
quarterly journal, and founder of Cryptosafari (a field research organization involved
in the exploration and search of unknown animals of West Central Africa)

Craig Woolheater
Texas Bigfoot Research Center
www.texasbigfoot.com

One spring evening I drove over to the pasture on the same oil road I had taken for years over to my grandparent’s house. The winding tree-lined road spilled out in front of the old abandoned store in Nelta. From there I veered off towards Tira, another tiny community in east Texas. Down the gravel road onto a dirt trail, a thick tunnel of trees covered the road where hardly any sunlight made it through. We called it the batcave. I came out the other side, turned through the open gate into a small clearing. Gigantic Oaks ruled the tree line around the creek. The Sulphur River was within 2 miles. This was the middle of nowhere. I loved it. My childhood was in the city so this was a thrill for me. This was a piece of land my grandad had handed down to my parents. When I was twelve I remember helping grandad pick corn on this small clearing and he killed a racoon with a tree limb. The ‘coon’ was caught in a trap grandad had set the day before. Back then it was the same as a mouse in the house; it was eating his family’s food, it had to go.

I killed the engine in my old Chevy and a New World slowly revealed itself. The sound of locusts filled the air. The only sign of civilization was the old rusted barb-wire fence barely visible through the green tangle brush. I got out and made my way down the long slope to the creek that had carved its way through the land. Although it was 25 ft. deep in one spot it was dry most of the time except for a few puddles. It was a little boggy at the bottom as I climbed up to the pool on the other side of the hill. As I walked around the pool, suddenly a frog gave a little yell and jumped into the water, startling me. A few small willow trees were growing around the waters’ edge. I stopped to look for wildlife on the backside of the pasture then made my way back through the undergrowth and down the steep hill to the creek. I paused to relieve myself at the edge of the woods. All was quiet until I finished urinating and was startled by a high pitched scream not that far away. My eyes strained to see into the darkened woods. Two seconds later, again that high-pitched yell. What the hell was that? I wondered. It sounded like an alert, or a warning. On the second sound I was able to pinpoint the origin. Something barely moved behind a tree 30 yards away. I saw brownish fur-hair move ever so slightly. It was high off the ground, five to six feet. I could only see a little bit through a small opening of brush and trees. I stood there mildly confused, waiting for this to be something normal. My brain was scanning the possibilities but nothing matched. It sounded a little like a peacock but this was no bird. Squinting, I looked for movement in the surrounding area. Nothing, not a sound. I looked back into the dense brush where the dark fur had been. It was gone. Less than a minute had gone by. I shrugged it off and started to move out when something made me freeze in my tracks. I hear the same yell again only this time it’s behind me. How did it get behind me? I made an Exorcist-like head spin just in time to see the creature move behind a bush 25 yards away. In that instant it gave a second yell as it had before. A large head was moving around in the bush, obviously trying to get a better look at me. The creature appeared to be crouching on two legs but my focus was on the head, the best view I had. My mind was racing. I was instantly scared to death. Was this thing stalking me? It was closer than it had been and now had a clear path to me. I had no weapon to defend myself and karate didn’t seem like much of an option. For the first time in 24 years I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Resisting the strong urge to run, I began a fast-paced walk across the creek bed and up the long steep hill. Fortunately, my car was parked for a quick getaway at the top of the hill, 100 long long yards away. Halfway up I thought about looking back but I decided if some creature better adapted to this environment was coming up from behind, I’d just as soon not know. Each step took a lifetime with my total focus on the car. Back on level ground I lunged for the door. No time to be casual now. Jumping in the car, I simultaneously turned the key and put the gearshift in drive. Only when I started moving did I give a fearful look in the rearview mirror. There was no movement. Whatever it was stayed out of sight. The only sound was the roar of the engine as I made the turn into the batcave and out the other side to semi-civilization.

Although it was several months before I returned, over the next few years I made many visits to the pasture. At the time I didn’t know what I saw. Still don’t. My best guess is; it had to be a bigfoot. That’s the only thing that makes sense. No one knew I was going to the pasture, ruling out a hoax. Plus, I don’t believe a human could make that high-pitched yell. Someone suggested it might have been a bear. That thought never entered my mind. There were no ears on top of the head. The view I had of the creature behind the bush didn’t look like a bear. It didn’t feel like a bear. And I’ve been close to a black bear while camping with my parents in Colorado. My dad raised the lid on our camper to scare a bear away from our food. It didn’t work... Why did the creature yell at me? Maybe it was curious or didn’t like me urinating in it’s territory. Obviously it was intelligent and knew the area well. On a subsequent visit with my cousin, Jeff, we found a ridge in the woods that looked like a pool dam. It was 7 feet high and 35 feet long and curved around to the bush I saw the creature move behind. This is where and why the creature was able to curl around behind me while being safely out of sight. And that yell. I’d never heard anything like it again until making a call to the director of a Texas bigfoot group. When I told him my story he played a tape of alleged bigfoot yells. I heard the same ape-like screams as that day at the creek. The same adrenaline rush. The hair on the back of neck even stood up.

I didn’t go public about the incident back in 1978 because of the ridicule factor and I didn’t want the creature disturbed. Although it scared the sh** out of me it didn’t harm me . If it hadn’t yelled I would have never known it was there. I also think it was a young one, but that’s just a gut feeling. Would an older one just have patiently stayed quiet and let me pass?

Another possible sign of the creature occurred several months later, during deer season. Over at the pasture a family friend was walking to stand before first light. He heard something large jump up and run off. He assumed it was a deer. A couple hours later he went to look for deer tracks in the area where he heard the commotion. To his surprise he could find no tracks. He had heard the story of my encounter. He never returned to the pasture after that. This took place in northern Hopkins county.

A few years earlier there were several reported sightings near Commerce, a small college town in Hunt county, 25 miles from my encounter. One frightening story stands out in particular. It was reported in 1979 in Fate magazine but had taken place ten years earlier. Trying to produce a more detailed description of the sighting I got the story firsthand in several interviews from a man of few words, Ken Wills* who still lives near the river. Although I tried to trip him up, his story never changed. As Ken said, "I don’t give a damn if anyone believes me or not, mister. I know what I saw."

Around 10 o’clock at night three guys and two girls in their late teens went to their secluded gathering place near the Sulphur River. Actually they were at the south Sulphur channel, a 20 feet deep man made channel created in the 1930s to alleviate flooding. The group sat around drinking soft drinks for a while and then one of the couples walked into the woods to ‘fool around’. A short while later Ken, who was lying in the backseat of the car, heard something large moving in the woods breaking branches but assumed it was a cow or a horse. Then Ken heard screaming. The couple came running out of the woods toward the car yelling, "Something’s down there! Let’s get out of here!"

Ken jumped into the driver’s seat of his girlfriend’s car as everyone else piled in, not knowing what had spooked his friends. He had to back up before he could get the car back to the road. When he put the car in reverse and the backup lights came on, out of the darkness a creature appeared in the rearview mirror. It was standing at the edge of the woods, approximately 25 yards behind them. Ken said it looked like ‘A big caveman’ with dark hair covering the eight-foot body and he noticed it had hands, not paws. It was over three feet wide at the shoulders. It acted mad, Ken said, and wanted them out of there. Ken was glad to comply. Both girls and the guy in the backseat were crying hysterically. All five got a glimpse of the creature. The girls immediately wanted to go home. Later that night the two guys returned to the channel with a friend, Jerry, and his gun. Ken didn’t think the creature would still be there. He was driving his 55 ford that had no driver side window. They were looking in the headlights for what they had seen earlier. They hadn’t drove around one minute when Ken saw something moving out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly something bounded up over the levee and was running up to the side of the car, avoiding the headlights. It appeared to be the same creature as earlier. It was moving fast through thick six-foot Johnson grass with it’s arms swinging, grabbing and tearing up grass. It came out of the tall grass and Ken got one more quick look as it showed teeth and growled in anger. It came within 15 feet of the car before Ken veered to the right and floored it just in time. He felt the hair on the top of his head stand up as he did a half doughnut through the grass. The guy in the backseat tried to get a shot off as they whirled around but he was either too nervous or the gun jammed. They quickly left the area, scared near to death...

Still searching for details, I asked Ken about the creature’s eyes.

He said, "Yeah, it had eyes but I didn’t stop ta take no picture, mister. All I know is it was big and hairy."

This creature was much more aggressive than in my encounter. Why such aggression for this normally shy creature? Perhaps a wounded mate or young one was nearby. Or maybe it didn’t like other creatures mating in its’ woods. Ken said the next day he and 4 other friends went back with rifles and shotguns but the creature had apparently left the area. Large tracks were found in the creek ditch where bigfoot threatened Ken and his buddies on their second trip. I protected Ken’s last name because he doesn’t want to be harassed by people. Ironically, Ken’s father and my grandfather (papaw) both worked on the construction of the south Sulphur channel that was only effective for a few years. As Ken and I walked to the site of his encounter he said, " Hell, when I’s a boy, I used to hunt all the time in the woods but I won’t go at night no more. And mister if anything steps out of these woods you’re on yer own. Cause I’ll be runnin’."

There have been many reported sightings in Texas, and even more like mine, unreported. Recent sightings have occurred in Oklahoma. The number of reports across the United States and Canada are staggering. American Indians have told the story of ‘the old man of the forest’ for decades. They say it lives underground which might explain why they aren’t more visible.

I was watching a documentary called Sasquatch: Legend meets Science. It was a bit confusing with technical jargon when suddenly the sound I heard in the woods screams out of my stereo tv. I jumped out of the recliner and grabbed my arms as chills ran down my spine. Something is out there. I can’t say for sure I saw a bigfoot, but I don’t know what else it could have been. Like one scientist said, it would be more remarkable to believe that all the sightings and evidence are hoaxes. It makes me wonder why one hasn’t been captured or remains found. Who could be hindering the process? The giant paper companies might stand to lose millions if a bigfoot were discovered. They would be put on the endangered species list and their habitat would become protected. And their habitat is the vast forest. Woods.

There are many unanswered questions about this phenomenon, too many to ignore. My hope is that we positively identify one and then leave them alone. But of course that won’t happen. Some ‘experts’ estimate there could be 2000-6000 living in North America. I believe it’s possible they are near extinction as their habitat is rapidly being destroyed. It’s hard to imagine they could be thriving. It wouldn’t surprise me if they were quietly being exterminated.

It’s gratifying to see intelligent people like Autumn Williams, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, and Jim Chilcutt on tv looking for signs of bigfoot. I’ve continued to wander around the Sulphur River area for the creature I ‘met’ in the woods that day. My hope is to get a good picture or video of one. But I will not tell where the picture was taken...

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On the Beacon Rock trail there is a trailhead sign
"Trail closes at dusk" - gate is locked at that time.
You might think that this is for safety or liability.
But the honest truth is in this song and story.

There is something that lives on the cliff way up high.
It is big and hairy and scary - oh my!
I know it is a Bigfoot and I know that's true
Cause I saw a big footprint in the rock, or two.

Bee...con Rock Bigfoot
I believe it's true
Please just let me get back to my car
And I'll write a hit song about you.

He doesn't come out until the sun has gone down.
And he's hungry and grumpy, he don't mess around.
The evening meal is only just his breakfast
If you're still on the trail - please don't stop to rest.

So get past that gate before you get locked in
And don't look back, don't trip and don't grin.
If he sees your bright smiling teeth at night
He will growl and snarl and begin a fight.

Bee...con Rock Bigfoot
Don't wake up from your nap
Please take a long snooze high up on the rock
So you'll never see me hikin' this path.

Some say there's never been a Bigfoot here.
Lewis and Clark never wrote of a critter to fear.
But Beacon Rock Bigfoot ran away from home
Lived on St. Helens till the mountain was blown.

He crawled right out of a lava tube
and ran to the river to hunt for food
Saw a big salmon and grabbed it's tail
Got splashed and dunked like it was a whale

Bee...con Rock Bigfoot
I don't need to see you
Please enjoy that blackberry patch
And I'll leave trail snacks behind too.

That refugee Bigfoot saw Portland in the haze.
So he turned upriver and swam a ways
He found a big rock with an awesome view
Where the fishing is good and there's state park too.
Oh that Beacon Rock Bigfoot he's so shy
But after dark you just might catch his eye.

Bee...con Rock Bigfoot
I believe it's true
Please just let me get back to my car
And I'll write a hit song about you.
Bee...con Rock Bigfoot

I believe it's true
Whenever I look at Beacon Rock now
I'll think of the Bigfoot that's you!

First published in Spring Hill Review, Vol.V. No. 9, October 2005

Waiting on my next check... where's yours?