Some Field Reports

[Branco]

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounters (Two)

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: October 29, 2006

 

Date of Encounters:(1st: During the wintertime, late 60s or early 70s.) (2nd: Winter of 2004.)

 

Time of Incident: Nighttime in both cases.   

 

Weather Conditions: Not known for sure, although witness states it was not raining either time.

 

State: Alabama

 

County: Winston

 

Nearest City or Town: Addison

 

Location: Near Brushy Creek.

 

Nearest highway or road: U.S. Highway 278/AL 74

 

General Land Use Description: Primarily timber production.

 

General Terrain Description: Rolling hills with numerous streams that cut through the sandy surface soils and the underlying limestone and loosely compacted sandstone to form steep cliffs and ledges alongside the stream beds. The area reportedly contains some limestone caves.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: Brushy Creek, which now flows into Lewis Smith Lake.

 

Witness Profile: 70 year old retired male who grew up and hunting extensively in this area until a few years ago.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to the 1st Encounter: Witness was driving east on U.S. 278/AL 74 near the Brushy Creek bridge.

 

Details of 1st Encounter: While driving at night from the Addison area to Double Springs the witness saw a large, hair-covered, human-like creature walking in bipedal fashion alongside the highway. He was driving at a normal highway speed and saw the animal clearly for several seconds until he passed it. It apparently stayed on the side of the highway after he passed it, and disregarded the vehicle. 

 

Description of Animal: The witness stated the animal was 6 feet or more in height, covered in brown hair, with a large head, no visible neck and with massive shoulders, arm and legs. He stated the arms looked unusually long, even for the height of the animal. He stated the arms were swinging in what appeared to be an exaggerated manner as the animal walked briskly beside the road. 

 

Photos or Drawings Made?: None.

 

Description of Related Sounds: None heard.

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None detected.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to the 2nd  Encounter: The witness was driving north on highway 63 from Arley toward Houston.

 

Details of 2nd  Encounter: About 3:00am the witness was near the Brushy Creek bridge on highway 63. He was driving at a fast pace and noticed a hair-covered animal standing on two feet beside the road on the passenger side of the vehicle. He quickly passed within 5 or 6 feet of the creature, and was able to see it clearly. He saw no eye shine as he approached the animal.

 

He then drove about one-quarter mile, found a place to turn around, and drove back through the location. The animal was not in sight. He again turned around and drove slowly by the location but still did not see the animal again.

 

He and two other men returned to the area the next day to look for the animal or its tracks but found nothing.

 

Description of Animal: The animal was about 5 feet talk, and covered in long dark hair that looked somewhat shiny and clean. The head appeared to be "sort of round", with no visible neck. The animal was standing very erect at the time.  The animal's arms appeared to be longer than those of a  human of the same height.

 

Other Details That May be Related: The witness stated that while he was growing up in the area he and other family members frequently heard what sounded like a large woman screaming in pain or fear at night. They believed the sounds originated from panthers.

 

He also stated that he and friends had been squirrel hunting along Brushy Creek 30 or 40 years ago when they were "run out of the woods" by something very large that was snorting loudly as it approached them and their dogs just before dark. They and the dogs smelled an "awful putrid" odor, and the dogs ran away. Although all were armed, none of the men were willing to stay and face whatever it was that was crashing and growling through the woods. toward them. 

 

He stated he had smelled the same odors at other times while hunting along Brushy Creek.

 

Historical Notes: This area of northwest Alabama has generated an amazing number of  reports of sightings of the reclusive forest primates during the past several years. Such reports are becoming much more frequent, and recently involve multiple witnesses. Those reports will also be posted as soon as possible.

******************************************************************************

Report received and recorded by:

Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project

[Guest lightheart]

Branco I find it interesting that the number of reports is actually increasing in this area in recent years. Any ideas about why?  Heavy encroachment in other areas maybe?

[Sunflower]

Branco,

 

Thanks and I noticed dogs were mentioned again.  I am a firm believer that if dogs chase the hairy guys they will either get seriously injured or worse......

 

My friend's dog would just shut up when the hairy guys were around.  Almost as if they trained her dog lol. 

 

My dogs would come home smelling like they sat in the laps of the hairy guys and definitely needed a bath.  I couldn't stand them, they stunk so bad it made my eyes water.

[Branco]

Branco,

 

Thanks and I noticed dogs were mentioned again.  I am a firm believer that if dogs chase the hairy guys they will either get seriously injured or worse......

 

My friend's dog would just shut up when the hairy guys were around.  Almost as if they trained her dog lol. 

 

My dogs would come home smelling like they sat in the laps of the hairy guys and definitely needed a bath.  I couldn't stand them, they stunk so bad it made my eyes water.

Sunflower, that is something that has interested me for years. There are a lot of accounts from rural folks from all over the Southeast who have had overprotective dogs killed, or severely injured gruesomely by basically being skinned alive by bigfoot. On the other hand, bigfoot have accepted the presence of some dogs and have apparently came into physical contact with them peacefully on a routine basis.

 

While doing field work in South Alabama, reports I investigated indicated both kinds of interactions between the two species was not at all uncommon. It just didn't make sense to me until I talked to several older Black folks who lived in a very rural area of Marengo County fairly close to the Tombigbee River. (I was referred to some of the folks by Black residents of adjoining Clarke County who had talked to me about their own encounters and who had relatives living there.)

 

When the people in the small community began telling me about BF that routinely came around at night checking for food - scraps from the dinner table and scraps from the butchering of hogs, chickens, goats and deer - they mentioned that sometimes grown dogs would be killed with a club by the bigfoot if the dogs would not back off when the bigfoot approached. The interesting and somewhat amusing thing was that they stated if there were small pups involved, the bigfoot would either let the pups share the food with them, or just stand docilely by and watch the pups eat. They told me that after eating their fill, some of the pups would stay and watch the bigfoot eat. At other times the bigfoot would carry off a small pup, and release it sometimes later. The people said the pups that were picked up by the bigfoot, or one that followed the bigfoot off into the wood line, would return that night or the next day "smelling worse than a pan of burnt collard green and a rotten egg".

 

That community of people knew one of the male bigfoot from the time it was a baby clinging to its mother's back until it became old, gray and decrepit at the age of about 52. They studiously avoided striking him early in the morning or just before dark with their automobiles at the typical spot on the road leading to the community where he routinely crossed. Just before he was last seen, they stated they would have to come to a near stop to allow him time to cross the narrow road.

[Guest lightheart]

Branco

 

It is just amazing to me how much knowledge about Sasquatch is out there in these rural communities that is not shared with the general public. Yet the average person would tell you "If they were out there we would know" or the classic "A body would have been found by now" Rural people have lived adjacent to them for decades -some for their whole lives. 

 

So at least for this one, old age was around fifty  - that is telling about average lifespan. It actually would be an average human lifespan without modern antibiotics and emergency medicine...... Interesting .

[Sunflower]

Branco,

 

That just reinforces other things I've heard from time to time.  Thank you so much for that report.  It brings up another strange happening out there and I wondered if the two are related.  My St Bernard, Border Collie, and long haired Chihuahua would take off for the woods across the road right after breakfast.  That was before my brother's sighting and frankly I didn't worry too much about them. 

 

About an hour or so they'd come back but by then we had to leave for town or work. One day we got home and discovered our St Bernard had been hit by a car.  In a few minutes my neighbor came and admitted that he had hit her.  We buried her in the pasture, we were all quite upset.

 

Unfortunately the Border Collie turned jealous of my every move and had to be literally in my lap.  When the Chihuahua came over to me he viciously attacked him.  I was worried because I couldn't protect the little guy all day long being gone at work.  We lost the little one to the Border Collie, he killed him.

 

This is where it gets even weirder...I went on vacation for a week, came home and there was a full grown St Bernard in my yard.  He was old and smelly, barely had any teeth but he would not take "no" for an answer.  I kept yelling at him to go home!!!!!   He refused.......... I finally gave up and let him stay.  After that if a man spoke..........he was in their face barking and carrying on, not being very nice. I had to put him in the barn.

 

My brothers however, had no problem with him at all.  He was tough as nails and lovable but only with some people.  The vet said I was crazy to keep him, he had to gum his food but the vet gave him a few more years and he was right.  One day his heart just stopped............I was getting weary losing my dogs.........

 

Did the hairy guys find an old dog that looked like my first St Bernard and gift him to me?  These are things that I think of now and I have not one shred of evidence.   And yes I'm sure that the old country folk out there knew lots more than they would admit.  That whole area is rumored to be haunted so there is a history.   One other thing, my other neighbor kept losing chickens and always blamed it on foxes????  I never questioned him any further because at that time I had no idea what might be in the woods.

[Branco]

That's pretty sad. I hate to see dogs hurt or killed by anyone or anything. That is really strange about the St. Bernard. I don't have a clue about how or why he showed up. 

 

You are 100% right about what rural country folks know more than they will publicly and openly discuss. Years ago I learned how to approach people that "knew" but kept it to themselves, their family and a FEW very close friends. It sure helps to have grown up where, how, and when I did. Country to the bone; and it's obvious when I open my mouth without taking in food.

 

The loss of fowls or tame animals can be difficult to pin on BF, but some times he screws up and leaves tracks. Usually when they take chickens, tame turkey, geese or ducks, there is hardly ever any blood or noticeable loss of feathers even close to the scene of the act. In a few cases at homesteads, the folks kept their fowl in varmint proof pens with latches on the entrance that not even a raccoon could open, but fowls were taken and the doors re-latched. Of course, chicken-thieving humans were usually assigned the blame in the cases in which LEO's were called to investigate. In some cases - like the one from north Arkansas I posted recently - the residents new full well that a BF was the culprit; they saw him. 

[Branco]

I had heard of this old newspaper report but I guess I missed it on Dennis Bauer's extensive list of BF reports he has collected and posted on his web site. If you have time to read all of those he has posted from AL you will understand that the folks from the SE have dealt with these things a long time. A link to his reports from the Northern part of AL is shown below the newspaper article that was copied from his web site. Once on his site, you can view reports from other parts of AL.

 

ETOWAH County (Alabama) News - 1886 (Exact publication date not known.)

The flood recently unearthed a great many relics of former civilization at
several points along the river banks, but especially on the Green Foster place
above and Col. Sam Henry's place in the Whorton bend. Mr. James Henry who
examined some of these curiosities on his father's place, told us that some of
the bones of the human skeletons found were of very unusual proportions,
indicating a larger stature than is now attained by the genus homo. The
Gadsden News
---

Mr. James F. Henry who discovered the bones of the big skeleton on his father's
farm on the bank of the Coosa River near Gadsden, says that he could easily
place his head in its skull and the bone was half an inch thick. The thigh bone
was about twenty-two inches in length and three times as large as the bone in
an ordinary man. The bone from the shoulder to elbow measured about twenty
inches; and when all the bones were placed in their proper places they showed
that the owner, when alive, must have been at least twelve feet from the top of
his head to the bottom of his feet. Two or three of these enormous skeletons
were found.
----

 

http://www.lawnflowersjerkyandbigfoots.com/Pages/BigfootsinUpperAlabama.aspx

[Gotta Know]

^So cool. So sad. Where ARE these bones now, I wonder? How convenient for our skeptic friends that they've been locked up out of sight, lost or destroyed.

I'm grateful for the published word. Not that it "counts" as proof mind you, and some here would argue not even as evidence.

 

It's just galling to me that there are those working so hard to keep this mystery just that.

 

But Branco, I appreciate your efforts to not let the valuable recording of evidence slip away so easily...

[Guest lightheart]

Hey Branco

Glad to see you on the boards. I have missed your posts. Your experience in the woods helps us all to understand what we are seeing. 

 

Hope all is well with you and yours with the storms.

Lightheart

[Branco]

Not missing in action yet!   Just busy time of year; cleaning the place up, gardening and entertaining out of state folks. I see light at the end of the tunnel; and plan on hitting both the river bottoms and the mountain in just a few days. Just able to get on the computer late at night. Regards to you and Gotta Know. 

[the parkie]

Not missing in action yet!   Just busy time of year; cleaning the place up, gardening and entertaining out of state folks. I see light at the end of the tunnel; and plan on hitting both the river bottoms and the mountain in just a few days. Just able to get on the computer late at night. Regards to you and Gotta Know. 

Long time no post Tal...any news?

[JKH]

I hope Branco will drop in again soon and say howdy. Thought I'd post here to say that Dennis Bauer's "Lawnflowers" site unfortunately has been down for quite awhile now.

[JKH]

Still wondering about Bauer's site, it was quite a resource.

[Guest]

Branco: Awesome reports! The one with the abandoned house reminded me of an encounter a friend of mine told me that his father had on the inside of an abandoned house back in the late 1950's in my area. It had a little different twist though where the BF held the doorknob and wouldn't let them out of the room. Keep up the good work!