THE TRACK RECORD #42

* This issue will be the last for 1994, as IÆll be shutting things down for November and December, and take a break. IÆll resume writing the TR in January, and issue the January Summary in mid-February. IÆll try to write ôlast issueö on the address label for those subscriptions that come due during the shut-down. The date you first subscribed and received your first issue (summary of prior month) is after your name on the address label. IÆll start any new subscriptions with the Oct. summary and next year will not have any ôseasonalö lapses. Plan maybe to write a book on Bigfoot during the break (not much of a break), and will continue to accumulate reports on Bigfoot activity. So...have a good holiday season all. Hope your turkey is fat, your Christmas sock full, and your New Years safe and sane. Thanks for your support. Ray

WBS MEETINGS

SILVER STAR MOUNTAIN OUTING

* A few members met at Larry LundÆs, October 9th, prior to his leading us to the top of Silver Star Mountain to the east (4390 ft, T3N R5E) of his Vancouver, WA, home. The goal was to explore an area that the Forest Service had marked on the map as ôIndian Pits.ö We suspected that the pits might have been dug by Bigfeet, hunting for critters to eat as was noticed by Glenn Thomas on the Clackamas River drainage. The road to the top was very rough, logs, deep ruts, huge stones, and one vehicle even had to be abandoned, to be picked up on the return trip.

On site, the three mile trail to the pits was notable due to the splendid scenery. The almost treeless summit was a good viewpoint for the permanent snow fields of Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Jefferson in the Cascades. Downtown Portland was visible also, as was the silver ribbon of the Columbia River. Clouds and a brisk wind kept hiking comfortable, and we were surprised to find several other hikers and hunters in the area...öblack powderö season had just opened for those wanting to bag their deer with antique rifles. Game was sparse though. The only animal seen was a chipmunk, but numerous bear droppings were seen, as well as a single bear track and some deer tracks. A dropping full of hairs was probably from a coyote. The bear droppings were purple with blue huckleberries and their seeds. Although the berry bushes were common across the mountain, few berries were seen remaining on the bushes, having been harvested by wildlife. Other products an Indian might use was an abundance of Bear-Grass (Xerophyllum tenax), used to make mats and ornate baskets with. Kinnikinnick (Artostaphylos uva- ursi) and its red berries were also commonly noted in large patches. The berries were brewed into tea by the Indians, and the leaves smoked in ôpeace-pipes.ö Rose-hips, rich in vitamin C, were common along the trail.

The Indian Pits were exactly that. The 20 or so pits that we saw were oriented east towards the rising sun. The rocks had been obviously stacked to form walls to the pits, and others had been arranged into cairns, or in one case a 30 foot low wall was noted. Perhaps builtas long as 100-200 years ago, the pits were made by young ôcoming-of-ageö men in their ôspirit-quest.ö They would climb the mountain after certain tribal initiations, and while fasting, commune with nature in an attempt to hallucinate an animal deity that would be their totem for life, and they would look to this deity for guidance. If a snake were seen or conversed with in dream-state, the boy would be destined to become a Shaman.

PRIMATE CENTER TRIP

* Members of the WBS took a tour of the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center on October 26th. The day was marred somewhat by rain, but as most of us were native Oregonians, took the weather in stride. Jim Parker was our host, and spent the first half hour telling us about the 30 year old institution. Human reproduction investigation is one of the main goals of the center, and a new facility has just been completed where primate fertility is studied. One laudable project is the freezing of fertilized ova of endangered species, like the Indonesian crested black macaque (Macaca nigra). Although the gene pool is small, as Pam Barret pointed out, at least the species is protected from hungry Indonesians. At any later date, in-vitro fertilization could rein- troduce the species if needed. The primates are treated humanely due to objections from animal rights activists in the past. In 1993, only 85 monkeys were killed for research purposes, using a painless barbiturate overdose. Other areas of study seek cures to AIDS or causes of brain degenerative diseases and cancer.

A side trip on the 250 acre wooded center revealed deer under the apple trees - one large buck. The Japanese snow monkey (Macaca fuscata) corral held everyoneÆs interest the longest. The animals have adapted to Oregon - similar to their original environment near Mihara City, Japan. The original 46 given to the facility in 1965 have reproduced to the point that spares are given to institutions around the country, but there are 220 now in the two acre corral. More on this species in the Sagan talk. Stops were made to see the rhesus (Macaca mulatta) monkey enclosure, but they werenÆt quite so fond of the rain. A stop at the cages for the crested black macaque was interesting as these little animals resemble descriptions of Bigfoot, the crest on their head erect over a pronounced brow ridge with big eyebrows.

The next part of the tour was to the Microscopy Division to see Dr. Fahrenbach. He demonstrated to the group how specimens were prepared prior to viewing under the Phillips transmission electron microscope. A tissue sample we viewed had very large and clear mitochrondia and other cell parts. Dr. Fahrenbach then explained how the image could be adjusted to a variety of sizes without blurring, as would be found with a light microscope. Two samples of hair were brought, but there was insufficient time to prepare them for viewing. I will run two plates of hair samples, Bigfoot and human, given to the WBS by Peter Byrne of the Bigfoot Research Project.

Susan Johnson had found some hair at Gales Creek Park west of Banks, OR., Hy. 6 (T2N R6W sec. 24), earlier this year. She had been out there several times with her daughter hiking a 2 1/2 mile trail where they heard strange noises and found possible Bigfoot tracks - Susan showed me a photo ofone sixteen inch possible track. Larger 18-19 inch tracks were seen, but were poorly preserved. A large dropping, a 14 inch patty, was seen and a tree, 8 inches thick, was broken off five feet above the ground. The hair was whitish and might be sheep or dog.

Fred Bradshaw brought some hair also - black strands from the Salmon River side of the North River. They were collected from an alder tree, March 1992, where they were found eight feet off the ground. Samples of both hair finds were shared with Dr. Fahrenbach, and IÆll also send some to Dr. Yasushi Kojo in Tokyo, besides a sample for our display case. The Univ. of Washington was unable to identify a sample. Fred is to be adopted into the Quinault Indian tribe by Tom Atkins of the White Feathers. The ceremony will take place near Quilacine, and Fred hopes heÆll be able to obtain a lot more information on Quinault lore and Bigfoot sightings.

Fred also had talked to a lady, Trish, who was fishing the North River, WA, July 4th, just a few miles from where he had his sighting. She said a Bigfoot was just walking at 9 AM along the opposite side of the river, and it turned and went into the woods. She said it was a dark color, but the hair on the chest and face was lighter. Trish estimated the creature to be about 7-8 feet tall and weigh about 5-600#.

FredÆs daughter, Kim, was with her friend Shawna the last week in September in the area east of Westport, WA (T17N R10 W sec. 31), off Hy. 105 near Rustemeyer Road. They saw eyes about 8-9 PM along the top of a quarry lined with trees. It growled at them, then ducked or squatted down, and hissed, then stood again and went off through the trees and brush. It was there for 5-6 minutes. The next day FredÆs son examined the area and found possible tracks with a 3-4 foot stride. Fred talked to an Aberdeen gun shop owner, Dave T., that lives out on Rustemeyer road, and says that heÆs heard screaming noises in the area for the last 3-4 months.

OCTOBER WBS MEETING WELL ATTENDED

The last meeting of the year featured Jim Bonicatto, FLIR Systems engineer. To assist, he brought along Bob Hunt, Technical Writer, to help on some of the questions. One of the more recent developments was a portable infra-red unit, similar in appearance to a cad-cam recorder. In this instance he also brought along the portable battery case and a special monitor where we could all observe the instrument in action at the meeting. We were all identifiable on the monitor with the lights turned off, hand prints could be seen after touching the wall, and everybody wanted a unit of their own...until told that the cost was around $32,000.00.

The infra red unit could detect temperature differences of as little as one degree, was controlled mostly by software, and had different filters for different applications in the medical, industrial and military sectors. The temperatures, measured in colors, could be used to look at hot pipes in factories, or in homes to see where heat loss occurred. New applications in the future will have aircraft mounted units to see beacons on the runway through fog, rather than use radar. Of course, we all hope an application will be made in finding Bigfoot by his body heat.

Several other speakers came forward to tell of sightings, tracks and such (see under SIGHTING STUFF). Carol Pederson told of recent crop circle sightings; Henry Franzoni spoke about Stillwater Naval Air Station, south of Lonerock in NE Nevada where he was next to a restricted area sign on a hill a year ago with his girlfriend, Pam. With no headlights and a full moon at 3:30 AM on a Sunday, he watched ball lightning split into multiple balls, then come back together. A warning from a friend in government said the things were terribly radioactive.

NEW SIGHTING STUFF

* Arleene Arp tells of a trucker that stopped at a rest stop between Arcata and Eureka, CA, Hy. 101, and was asleep in his truck on October 3rd. The 18 wheeler shook from a sudden shock, and the driver, Larry, awoke thinking their was a quake and noting that it was 4 AM. He slipped on his pants and glasses, thinking he would check his rig. Glancing out his rear-view passenger side mirror, he saw a giant Kodiak size bear (only small blacks in that area) rock his trailer again, harder this time...a big jerk and bump, lit by his trailer rig running lights. As it was one of the longer trailers, 52 feet, and loaded with rug padding, he thought the creature must be extremely strong, and thought it would actually push the trailer over. It scared him to death, Arleene said, and he started the truck and turned on the headlights, with the intention of leaving, as it had started, ôrocking like you wouldnÆt believe.ö The thing ran in front of the cab then, and he got a good look at the creature on two legs. It was dark brown, and very close. He thought it might be taller than his 6Æ1ö, and looked for all the world like an enormous bear. Arleene, familiar with the area as she has a sister that lives in Fortuna, said that the heavily forested area was thick with deer. Arleene had been in the area in 1988 when Hy. 101 was closed due to a large herd of elk milling on and around the highway. Her husband Oscar, estimated that there were 200 elk in the herd.

MORE ON STRANGE ODORS

* John Labossiere reports that October 8th, 5 PM local, he viewed the Sightings KOIN TV episode on Bigfoot , and called the telephone directory service for the WBS. He reported that a few days ago, October 3rd or 4th, while on an over-grown trail that went into a deep thicket of old growth in a ravine, he noticed first that the temperature dropped significantly (the micro-climate in old growth is different than other places). As it smelled of something dead, he waited awhile, then the smell drifted away. Recalling that bad odors are associated with Bigfoot, it was on his mind when he saw the show. The ravine was located near Welches, OR, off the Barlow Trail Road near the power line crossing (T2S R6E).

Several explanations of the Bigfoot smell have been suggested. In this case, assuming there was a Bigfoot keeping cool in the old growth, itÆs possible that the odor is to chase humans out of their territory. Also suggested is that the odor has something to do with mate attraction, marking territorial borders, or the creatureÆs rolling on dead and rotting flesh to disguise their odor, similar to what the family dog will do when finding a dead fish at creekside. Peter Byrne suggests that chemical secretions, pheromones, are emitted with, and masked by, the awful smell. The pheromones could possibly affect the autonomic (involuntary) human brain systems, and trigger a sudden anxiety or ôflight reflex.ö

Friday, October 7th, Randy Fitzell was exploring an area in the woods near Larch Mountain, OR, T1N R6E, a cut over area with forest on either side. With the wind blowing from the north, he became aware of a very pungent odor coming from the darkness of the woods. Even though it made him feel light headed, he searched around, and did find a dead deer carcass, but the odor was not coming from there. Moving to another area a quarter of a mile away, it was a half hour later when the smell appeared again. Then he heard clicks on tree trunks in the woods on a nearby hill overlooking where he was. It was very loud, like a hundred-pound woodpecker, Randy said...so, like most people, he got the hell outtaÆ there!

Speaking of rapping, Steve Williams spent last weekend on a ridge overlooking the lower Molalla River. He didnÆt see anything unusual, except a lack of game (hunting season). Saturday evening, October 9th, he heard rapping on a tree, so started some patterns himself. In the time span of rapping, he heard raps from three other locations, and they were of various patterns. A two rap, pause, three rap, then change to a slow then a fast beat. The total time elapsed was about fifteen minutes, and then nothing more the rest of the weekend and Monday, even though he continued his rapping. Steve did mention that one of the reports sounded dull, as if the pounding was on a rotten log. I often wonder if some raps are from another hunter or child, or if we are actually experiencing a communication with another species. Sounds like something out of Star Trek. Many others, including myself, have experienced this rapping noise.

BIGFOOT REPORTS FROM THE WARM SPRINGS INDIAN RESERVATION

* Ronnie Smith, an ex-professional hunter/photographer (been to Zaire and Zimbabwe, Africa) was among a group of five hunters on the Warms Springs Indian Reservation, OR, last June 12-13th. They were about 7 miles from Blue Lake (T8S R9E, an X was put in sec. 23), hunting south of the road, but away from an area of active clear-cut logging. The plan was to drive game down a mile deep ravine by shooting rifles from the top, and three of the hunters would intercept the game as they descended from the ridges. They were watching three groups of elk, and one bull started up an almost non-existent game trail when they heard snorting and noises of something in a great deal of pain. Thinking an archer had shot the very large bull elk, they noticed large, furry feet going way up and over the bullÆs back, while watching with their binoculars and rifle scopes from about 3-400 yards at about 1:30 PM. They watched in amazement as a two- minute battle between a Bigfoot and a large bull elk commenced. Why the Bigfoot picked the largest bull they donÆt know, as a smaller bull and several cows were nearby. They had the impression that the creature knew what the men were doing, driving the game, and had selected the ambush site deliberately. The elk had hooked the Bigfoot in the side, throwing him up and over his shoulder. They estimated the Bigfoot weighed around 900 pounds. One of the men had a camera and started snapping photos (says heÆll bring them in), of the badly wounded Bigfoot, bleeding from the side where the elk had hooked him. The Bigfoot attacked the elk again, digging in with long nails or claws on the right foot, and tearing open the stomach area on the elk. Grabbing the elk, it started biting in that area until the elk went down as he held on to it. The Bigfoot tore off the areas it wanted, a rib and ham section, and left holding the elk portion with one hand and its wound with the other. It had curiously turned the elk over, so that the exposed section was face down to the mud and dirty snow. The Bigfoot was described as having long shaggy brown hair, a very human-like face, but with very bushy eyebrows, and having a skinny waist. He wasnÆt sure of height, tall, with a rounded high crown on its head. They did retrieve the remains of the elk for their own use plus saving the section of hide that the Bigfoot bit into that Ronnie says heÆll bring in (wanted money for his stuff...skepticals on please).

Telling another friend in the Forestry Division about the incident, Ronnie learned that the friend, also in June 1974, had been in the southern area of the Warm Springs Reservation, near Parker Creek right at the base of Mt. Jefferson, (T10S R8E), on a project setting flags prior to trapping gophers. The friend said he saw what he thought at first was a bear digging up an ant pile, and that it had a human face and was covered with dirt and ants...the face was crawling with ants. He also took photos of the creature.

RonnieÆs first encounter with Bigfoot was in mid-July 1966 when he was with the Fish and Wildlife service. He was above Island Lake (T9S R8E Sec. 14), OR, north of Mt. Jefferson. He had gone up the steep trail to check on a fisherman. He first saw the fisherman through his rifle scope when we was 200 yards away. Oddly, a boulder was on the lake, and about 75 feet from the fisherman was a black Bigfoot splashing or fishing in the lake. They were apparently unaware of each other. Ronnie moved a bush, and the creature stared right at him before moving away, but not before Ronnie considered and discarded the thought of pulling the trigger...it had a face he said. He later reported a Snowman sighting to the Fish and Wildlife Dept. (Have not heard from him since initial report...also no photos, Ray).

* Clint Kelley and son Hugh were hunting in the woods NE of Lincoln City, OR, October 14th, when they ran across something strange. A large section of ground had numerous roots pulled up and they were laid in a row along the road, all facing the same way. The big white roots were still there Saturday, the next day. Steve Williams plans to look into this report.

RIP LYTTLE REPORTS

* Rip Lyttle continues to investigate in the lower Columbia River Gorge. One family he interviewed had a 16 year old son that had seen a Bigfoot with a friend last July. The strangely colored creature had six inch long hair, brown on top, fading to gray on bottom, and was very large, he said. It was seen from a good distance away as it slipped over the edge of some rocks and disappeared in a cave. As they neared the cave entrance, they did not see anything more of the creature. Peeking at the mouth of the cave they saw flattened grass with bones and little piles of orangish-colored feces...like little sausages, in front of the cave. The grass, droppings and bones could be left from another creature, the Bigfoot hiding from the boys in a convenient niche until they had gone. First chance, Rip wants to take a few of us up there to explore the cave...maybe on Halloween evening? (Boy is always to busy to lead us though.)

HereÆs a strange one. Rip talked to a farmer, reluctant to tell his story, but it seems the fellow and two companions were deer hunting in Klickitat County, WA, near the river. They were amazed to see a giant rabbit hop away. The four foot creature looked just like a rabbit, rather than an escaped kangaroo. Lex Lobe has written of tiny horses in the Wind River area of the gorge in the past. Why the strangeness up there? Henry Franzoni tells us of giant birds from Indian legends ôup there.ö

Speaking of which, Laurine Davis called to mention that her son David had been deer hunting October 1st and 2nd near Sisters, OR, at the Squaw Creek Campground. David said something came into camp at night, and walked all around the van. The tracks looked like those of a giant chicken, ten inches long. His little girl is scared, and doesnÆt want to go back there again. At least here we have a clue. In Sisters is a ranch that raises exotic animals; bison, llamas, reindeer, and emus! Matter of fact...he did have several escape, a fellow hunter from Redmond said.

Husband, Dan Davis, went hunting October 8th in the same area near Squaw Creek Campground. As he has seen a lot of Bigfoot activity last year, he was especially watchful. Dan noted that there was very little game and no deer tracks to be seen. Possibly because of the dry season, but he was hunting in the nearby Sisters watershed with plenty of water and saw nothing. He did find one track in dried mud, but the five-toed print was very old he said and was 14 inches by 6 1/2 inches. It has been suggested that the lack of deer to be seen is due to an astronomical increase in the number of Bigfeet, who are eating them on a regular basis.

Rip Lyttle interviewed fisherman Will from near Prindle, WA. He says they call the creek that empties into the Columbia River there, Sasquatch Creek. At 4 AM with the radio going while fishing at the mouth of Sasquatch Creek, October 19th, they heard a 1 1/2-2 minute growl that was long, low and loud. It was so loud that they thought it was coming from under their truck, parked nearby, and only about 300 yards from Hy. 14. They never did see anything. Three days later, fishing again, and 50 yards from the same spot, he had a feeling of being watched so intense, that he packed up everything and left. Rip said he filmed some salmon there on 8/30 as they went up the creek, red with age, and 2-3 per hour. Bears frequent the area for the fish also. Rip says there is an 80 year old apple orchard of some 50 acres there, and he plans to do some research in the area, hoping the natural bait will attract a Bigfoot.

Asked of other suspicious things, Will said a month ago, 4-5 AM, while fishing on Sasquatch Creek, an ambulance went by on Hy. 14 Coyotes starting hooting at the sounds, but off to WillÆs right came some unidentified deep howls from several spots, in imitation of the ambulance siren. At the time he thought it might be a pack of feral hunting dogs, but Rip wonders if it may have been a family of Bigfeet instead.

Will hiked in the 1970Æs a trail between Woodland and Kalama, WA, a trail some three miles inland. He heard crashing in the brush, then footsteps were heard matching his...each time taking one more step than he did. The noises followed him back down the trail, and the last mile he ran, and the steps could be heard running behind him.

Rip also talked to Warrren who lives on a bluff overlooking Skamania Landing near Prindle, WA. He could see the salmon moving up the Columbia in their annual runs. Asked of strange events, he said one day as he walked along the beach toward Beacon Rock, he saw drag marks on the beach where something had been drug up to some reedy areas. At the time he thought a sturgeon might have been beached and drug to the reeds...by? Warren said that 3-4 years ago a kid that dated his daughter was driving east of Beacon Rock, WA, and saw a 7 foot dark brown or black Bigfoot along Hy. 14. This is the same spot that a classic sighting was reported in 1971, the tale told in a North Bonneville bar.

Rip Lyttle talked to an ex-boy scout of twenty years ago. He said at Camp Clark, next to Cape Lookout on the Oregon coast, there was a plaster cast of a Bigfoot track hanging on the wall of the main lodge.

FRANCIS WILLIAMS REPORT

Francis Williams reports that he and a friend in mid-August were SE of Brownsville, OR, in the hills (T13S R2W), 5-6 miles up a blacktop road, where a boulder was found on the left edge, 2 ft. X 15 inches, about 150-200#. They could see where it had been carried by something from 15 foot away on the opposite side of the road, up through a small ditch where the grass had been flattened.

At Crabtree Creek (T10S R1W, OR) Francis and his friend had killed two bull elk and had to carry them one at a time for a mile (no date given). They came back for the second one 2-3 hours later, and noted that all the hair had been pulled off from one leg...from the outside hind leg, a pile of the hair nearby. Jim Hewkin reported to Francis that he had seen this before in the Coast Range, but it was a puzzle as to why. In the same area a year ago he had found a deer that had been shot, and the guts had been pulled out and were hanging high in a tree, over a limb.

Two-three yeas ago Francis found some possible Bigfoot hair at the edge of a road at Squaw Creek, OR (T14S R5E), off the South Santiam River, 12-15 miles from the top of the divide, and 100 feet off on a spur road. He says heÆll send us up a bunch of it to have checked in case it is horse hair or something else. It was five to fifteen inches long, and yellow to dark brown with a reddish cast.

OLD FOOT NOTES

TRAPPED IN HELLS CANYON

* Dorian Thoma says he talked to a friend that had been camping with his girlfriend on the Snake River in Hells Canyon, OR, 5-6 years ago. They had come in by way of jet boat, and were dropped off for a weekÆs camping, and the boat left. Every night they had something getting in their backpacks and throwing rocks from up on the hill...the only way out, straight up the cliffs. At night they huddled in the tent while something went through the camp, got in the backpacks, and scared the daylights out of them. Their first daylight sighting was in the evening light as they were having dinner. When they saw the big furry thing up on the ridge. At first they smelled it, it reeked. Then they looked up as rocks started sliding, and the 7 1/2 or 8 foot creature grunted at them a few times and walked off. Dorian says heÆll try to get his friend to come in for a first-hand interview.

CREATURE WITH CAT EYES

* Lloyd Cole says that a friend of his was way up the Sandy River, towards Mt. Hood, OR, about 2-3 years ago. He and another friend were asleep under the full moon in the summer. They had come to the area for camping and hiking, when they heard a noise. An erect creature was wading the shallow river only 50 feet away, and it had bright orange ôcat-likeö eyes he said, the only thing that really impressed itself on his memory.

LOST INDIAN GOLD MINE

* Steven Rudometkin had a friend called Mulatto, that was up in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, OR, hunting for gold...especially the legendary ôLost Indian Gold Mine.ö They had strung up a deer for camp meat, up 8-9 feet high to keep it away from bears, when in the middle of the night they heard a terrible growling. The next day, only the legs were left of the deer and nearby was a two foot long by about 4 inch thick fecal dropping. This was in the fall, 3-4 years ago, but the lost mine gold tale concerned a 1922-3 vein coming from the side of some mountain. A searcher fell and broke a leg and nobody knew whatever happened to him. Later, another searcher, lost, was found by a fellow dressed as a monk and with a limp (badly healed broken leg?). He filled the fellows bag with slab-gold, blindfolded him, and led him out of the wilderness. The vein, to this day, has not been found again.

MORE GOLD SOUGHT

* Steven Rudometkin was himself searching for gold in the area of the South Fork of the Smith River, in the Six Rivers National Forest, about 13 miles ESE of Crescent City, CA. He says they were a long distance from regular roads and people when they came across a large redwood tree with the bark scraped away laterally. They did find another local who said it was a ôBigfoot Tree,ö and had been scratched by one of them as a marker. He had seen a small one cross the river himself. While in the area at one time while mining, Steven said they noticed a bad odor, very pungent, a mix of unwashed human and a fish smell, he said. While with his partner, Gary, they had the cars parked next to each other, and in the middle of the night Gary said something picked his truck up about four feet in the air and let it drop. It didnÆt wake Steven though. One night while lying awake, not yet asleep, they both heard the sounds of little children playing in the distance. As they were so far out, and it was so late, they were at a loss to explain the noise. They had spent about four months camped in the woods hunting for gold.

BIGFOOT EATS LEAVES?

* Steve Fuller was in a bar in Yoncalla, OR, in June or July, 1982, when he heard a tale of a Bigfoot in the mountains. He decided to investigate with a friend, Dave, and they went to Green Mountain (1385 ft.), east of Drain (T22S R5W). They went up the right fork up the very steep hill, into very heavy timber in the watershed. There was a full moon and it was 12:30 at night when they heard a scream from the woods and stopped to investigate. They hiked up a trail several miles, using their flashlights. At one point they found several whitish piles of manure, about 30 in a 15 foot area, about 3 inches around, and the droppings had maple leaves in them. Then they heard something in the deep brush in a canyon shaking the trees and stomping on the ground. Suddenly whatever it was, charged up the hill, snorting and screaming, and they ran back up the trail to the car and got out of there. He had fired his .22 in the air to scare the thing off and then all hell broke loose as what was apparently a family of 6-8 creatures started coming up the hill, and ôwe ran for our lives.ö They did smell a heavy stench like decayed hair at one point on the trail, but they never did actually see a BÆfoot.

Three weeks later Steve went back to the same place at 12:30 in the daytime by himself with his dog, plus a 30-.30 carbine. This time he heard again a bone chilling scream, very high pitched and loud. He walked into a canyon and later found a clump of reddish-brown hair 7-9 inches long as he walked uphill towards a dynamite powder shack. The ground was hard and no tracks were seen. The hair reminded him of some he had found in California near McCloud at Medicine Lake in the late 70Æs. It was the same reddish-brown color, very coarse, and was in some wire on the side of a pine tree, like someone had put it there on purpose.

* Richard Richie in December of 1993, found a dozen Bigfoot tracks in the hills off Hunter Road, T6S R4E, SE of Molalla, OR. The tracks were in soft snow, were 14 inches, and the stride was 5 1/2 feet. Elevation was about 1500 ft.

MISCELLANY

* National Geographic, January 1977, Probing the Mystery Of The Medicine Wheels, J. Eddy, says, ôTo the Shoshone Indians it was the home of the Little People, who supposedly lived in caverns beneath the wheel and survived on the meat of bighorn sheep.ö The Bighorn Medicine Wheel, known from early prospectors, is on top of a 10,000 foot mountain. It has 28 eighty foot spokes with six cairns around the rim. Resembling the floor plan of a Cheyenne medicine lodge with 28 rafters, a broken branch found between the spokes has been dated to 1760. From Texas to southern Canada, perhaps five million circles, 5-30 foot in diameter have been left. The rock cairns align with the rising of several stars; Sirius, Rigel, and Aldebaran.

CBFO DISSOLVES

* Rich Grumley, Founder/Director of the California Bigfoot Organization, writes that he is dissolving the group, established in 1969, and has given all his records, files, pictures, etc. away. I asked what was to become of the CBFO, and Rich replied that, ôI really donÆt care anymore.ö To bad. I assume Connie Cameron will continue with the ôBigfoot Co-Op,ö a branch of the organization. Perhaps Bob Everett of the CBFO-Northern Division, will pick up the reins.

* Met with Steve Williams and his family in Salem on 10/23 for lunch at his home. Also Dave Peden and his family were there. Dave wants to do an article for Northwest Parks And Wildlife, which he edits, and he did an extensive interview with us, watched Bigfoot video tapes and was given current WBS literature.

* A book shop customer said he talked to an Indian relative that said in Northwest Washington when the tribe would fish on the river, it was customary to leave salmon along a nearby ridge for Bigfoot. If they didnÆt, Bigfoot would throw little stones down the hill until they did leave some salmon.

DR. CARL SAGAN SPEAKS

* On October 18th, Dr. Carl Sagan and author Ann Druyan spoke in Portland on their new book, ôShadows Of Forgotten Ancestors. ô The talk had nothing to do with Bigfoot, but their were some useful comparisons. Many have commented on the possible intelligence of Bigfoot, and there might be some useful data from the talk if we consider Bigfoot to be a member of the great apes. Dr. Sagan spoke of the use of tools among chimpanzees, demonstrating on stage how termite-fishing is done with a grass stalk, and how with great premeditation the tasks are implemented and taught to the young. Anthropologist Geza Teleki while in Gombe attempted to learn the procedure from a chimp named Leakey. After months of intensive effort he still didnÆt have a clue how the stalks were selected, how the correct termite ôdoorö was selected, or how to properly fish the insects out. Chalk up one for the chimps.

In their attempt to trace the origins of evolution on Earth, the authors examine the behavior of other animals and measure it against the abilities of humans. Macaque monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima have learned to rinse food, yams, and wheat, that are dumped on the beach. A monkey genius, Imo, first learned in 1953 that she could rinse the gritty sand from her sweet potatoes by dunking them in a creek. Three years later, she dropped a handful of mixed wheat and sand in the creek, and the sand sunk, while she ate the wheat. The reluctant, adult males took a long time to copy ImoÆs antics, fearing a loss of status or something. ôThey would rather eat sand,ö then learn from a lowly female.

Macaques in a laboratory were fed only if they would pull a chain that would electrically shock another monkey, visible through a one way mirror. After seeing the agony of the other monkey, 87 % preferred to go hungry. One went for almost two weeks rather than hurt its fellow. But...the remainder wanted to be fed. Compare this and the previous two examples with humans and Bigfoot. Science, religion, and philosophers designate traits said to be strictly human, while monkeys, apes and Bigfoot continue to knock their assumptions aside. See Roger Troen comments under Letters...

KIWANIS CLUB ADDRESSED

* Larry Lund addressed the Kirwanis luncheon in Beaverton, OR, Oct. 20th (Anniversary of Patterson film) at the invitation of Dr. Lloyd Sipe, WBS member. Larry said he was well received by a group of some 50 prominent citizens, and fed a hearty lunch. He covered the historical references to Bigfoot, and compared the recent Bigfoot beliefs with the past disbelief in gorillas or pandas. There was a long question period and one lady indicated her husband had seen a Bigfoot near Mist, OR, recently. In early October (6th?) of this year, HollyÆs husband Dan, with the Fish and Game, was driving at 2 AM down the pitch dark log road, and as he came to a turn going downhill, saw a tall hairy thing alongside the road. Tod Deery of the Bigfoot Research Project talked with Dan, a geologist, who said he did see something very briefly at the end of the road, but it might have been a bear. Perhaps heÆs being conservative?

ALIEN REPORTS NEAR COMPLETION

* Have almost completed ten issues of ôWBS Alien Reports ,ô and plan no future issues. The issues include a bagged sample of a possible UFO fragment from Area 51, or a bent wheat stem from a crop circle (all issues individually at $2.50 each). All 10 are available for $20.00, post-paid. Allow two weeks for delivery (have a last photo to process).

* Speaking of Aliens things...Lena Griffith, Director of the New Jersey MUFON called 10/26 and said she had heard a recent tale from summer of 1993 near Allentown, eastern PA. Seems the witness saw a 6 foot Bigfoot at Bakers Point. As he watched, the creature spread its wings and took flight. Sounds as if Moth Man is still around.

Rip Lyttle says he investigated a story at Loch Raven in Susquehanah State Park west of Baltimore, RI, 3-4 years ago. Seems the Moth man was luminescent, only turned into a glowing ball and disappeared. Rip said it was written up in the Baltimore Sun at the time.

Loren Coleman sent an item to the Info Journal, #71, concerning prehistoric Texas rock paintings of three-foot tall winged Indian Shamans. The rock images fly across the ceilings of rock shelters along DevilÆs River at the Dolan Fall Ranch Preserve, in SW Texas, where the black and white paintings date to 3000 BC. There was no photo, but I wonder if this could be a representation of the ôearliestö Moth Man? Or perhaps, Indian Angels?

* Attended a meeting of the Northwest UFO Group on 10/29. The next day I had a call from a lady who heard me speaking of the WBS. Diane of Vancouver, WA, was fast asleep when a loud ôpopö woke her and her husband, and their two children, 8 and 10, that very night! The living room was found to be completely spattered with a muddy substance, all over the books, the walls, and furniture. There was a stinky smell, like that of urine or a very stinky goat. That caused her to call me, having heard of the smell of Bigfoot...which she intuitively felt had been in her living room in town. Says sheÆll send some photos and a sample of the ôwall dirt.ö

* Attended the Northwest LepidopteristsÆ Workshop (moths and butterflies) on 10/30. Talked to Dr. Bob Pyle who says his Bigfoot book is completed and should be in the mail to me soon for review. Bob spoke about his work at Rip LyttleÆs Bigfoot Class at Portland Community College, where he mentioned interviews with several Native Americans in Washington and California. Bob said there were sections on interviews with Peter Byrne, Datus Perry, Ray Wallace, and myself. As TR#43 isnÆt due to Feb., hereÆs his address if you wannaÆ contact him now: Dr. Robert Pyle, 369 Loop Road, GrayÆs River, WA 98621. (206) 465-2439. He has many other books in print...get a llist and order a bunch.

Retired Architect and WBS member John Hinchcliff was also at the Workshop, and had brought along a news copy of The Northwest Neighbor , 10/28, with an article on ôBigfoot Spotted in PortlandÆs Forest Park,ö based on an article I did some time back for INFO Journal, #68, ôBigfoot Visits The Big City.ö Speaking of which, the current issue, Autumn 1994, #71, has another article, ôRogue Bigfoot,ö concerning people that have been killed in the past by Bigfoot. Includes the Roosevelt and other more recent tales.

Send two stamps for a copy of The Northwest Neighbor. Also, there is a 10/6 issue of The St. Johns Review that has an article ôBigfoot Legend Lives In St. Johns,ö about the society that IÆll send for two stamps, or...a 7/25 article in The Oregonian, ô Big Foot Hunt On In St. Johns,ö also about the society, for two more stamps (helps cover copy fee).

NEW BOOKS

* Barbara Wasson has a new book out, Tracking The Sasquatch. ôHow to identify alleged Sasquatch tracks and follow them. By a professional tracker. Reviews photographs in the literature. 23 pages, $6.00 plus .98 cents first class postage. ô Make check payable to: Barbara Butler, POB 1044, Sisters, OR 97559

* Tom Morris has sent us a copy of his new book to review. CaliforniaÆs Bigfoot/Sasquatch. $19.95, 8 1/2 by 11 inches, 150+ pages (unnumbered), order from: Bigfoot Investigations, 1000 Pleasant Valley Drive, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. Seems to be expensive, but thereÆs a lot of material, and I know for a fact that copy charges are expensive. The book is divided into several broad sections, each one covering an area that TomÆs looked into. Many old news clips and pages from long gone newsletters are included, as is a section taken from old Track Record issues. Unfortunately in some cases, the copy technique has left the print almost illegible, but there are a lot of clips. A section on research in the field has some interesting photos of large droppings and tracks from the Trinity National Forest, but data is sparse. The animal had been eating manzanita berries. Notes from a log book indicate 11 sightings from the area in 1993, a total 94 in the past 18 years (not cited). Peter ByrneÆs Bigfoot Research Project has a long section with some 40 pages on ByrneÆs work in the past and the present. Overall, a good addition to the Bigfoot library, order now while in stock.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SOUTH EAST SASQUATCH ASSOCIATION NOTES

* Henry B. May IV, PO Box 344, Boyle, MS 38730. Oct. 7th, 1994. Director The SST. I know BigfootÆs making the rounds down here in ôThe Magnolia State.ö I have heard fresh reports of sightings and footprint finds just in the past month. We have had a hotbed of activity in this area. Tracks were found on the first of September in our neighborÆs yard. Just two weekends ago, in the early morning hours of Saturday, Sept. 24th, a sighting occurred down in Greenville, the first new report from that area in 23 years. Our next door neighborÆs future son-in-law had one of his future sisters-in-law visiting him for the weekend, and she told me she was playing Nintendo in his trailer (the trailer park is located off Hy. 82 near a wooded area), when she heard a noise from outside. She woke him up to get him to investigate, so he went outside. There, he saw a tall, hairy creature (he didnÆt say how tall it was, or how much it weighed), and he tried to talk to it, thinking maybe it was a human. It responded with an unusual sound, something like a cow mewing, then it ran off towards the woods. The witness is a reliable person, not given to hallucinations or telling wild tales about anything. I believe this story is quite credible, and very historical, seeing as how this is the first sighting of Bigfoot in Greenville since June 1971.

We had our fifth meeting Saturday September 24th, and we discussed ôThe Missing Link,ö and its possible ties to Bigfoot. We also discussed the controversy over the validity of the ôMinnesota Ice man,ö and whether it was real or not.

* Loretta J. writes, 10/19/94. I may have accidentally shone a flashlight into the eyes of one. We lived 20 miles north of Hoquiam, WA, on Bowles Road, approximately 1/4 mile above the Humptulips River. Across Bowles road from us thereÆs a swamp off in the woods and it has bogs when you walk down the road to the river. I had been reading in bed when I heard a car turn into the driveway after a loud crack like they had run into the mailbox post. I got on a coat and took the flashlight. We had 3 large dogs and not one of them wanted to go outside with me. I shown the flashlight on the mailboxes and sure enough the post was broken and bent over. Looking to see if the neighbors mailbox was O.K. the light shone into these red glowing eyes and I just froze and then the hair on my arms stood up and I became real scared and high-tailed it to the house flashing the light behind me in case it was following. This happened about 3 AM on October 6th, 1987.

* Edward B., Oct. 17, æ94, mentioned that when eleven (1953-4) his uncle took him camping, probably at Mt. Rainier, in WA, as he lived in Seattle at the time. ôWe went to bed practically as soon as it got dark. When we woke up the next morning, there was a light snow cover, and all around our tent were these huge tracks. My uncle jokingly said some- thing about someone wandering around wearing snowshoes, but they looked like bare footprints to me.ö

My second contact was when I visited with George Haas in CA in 1974. I spent a pleasant afternoon with George and he readily discussed the various sightings of Bigfoot that he was aware of at that time. He even played a cassette recording that he stated was the cry of a Bigfoot. I donÆt know if it was or not, but it sure sent shivers up and down my spine! Does anyone know what happened to his files? (Bay Area Group stuff is in the hands of Warren Thompson- Ray)

* Roger Troen, Animal Advocates, 30 Oct. æ94. Dear Ray and Friends of Bigfoot. Your trip to the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center was a natural for Bigfoot researchers. I went through years ago when our tour was only partly censored. We were able to see considerably more, according to your report, than what your group was shown or told. Bigfoot sightings are far more believable that the public relations disinformation dished out at the ORPRC! I hope you were all wearing your ôskepticals.ö Years ago my older brother told me about a guy he knew who had built a pair of phony Bigfoot feet and would go out into the woods and play around with his hoax. But that was nothing compared to the 30 plus years of ôscientificö hoax perpetrated on the taxpayers by the eight regional primate centers. And they are just a small part of the larger yearly FIVE BILLION dollar vivisection hoax.

Personally, I put more credence in what your society is researching than all the vivisection ôresearchö of all the last 100 plus years. Your newsletter is really becoming more and more impressive. And, I congratulate all of you who are taking the time to check out claims by animal rights and anti-animal rights people. I would hate to think of what would happen if a Bigfoot family fell into the hands of those who cut up living creatures in the name of science.

ADDENDA: John C., Fish and Wildlife and Bigfoot investigator called 11/4, with several interesting reports. In the vicinity of Mammoth, near Bishop, CA., he interviewed two 16 year old boys and looked at their photos of the Bigfoot and a casting of their track, taken two weeks earlier. The boys, straight A students, didnÆt know what to do with the stuff, and finally contacted John. The tracks, 4 inches deep in mud, 17 inches, by 5-6 inches, and striding at 6 1/2 feet. The photo was of a creature with human/ape characteristics, and had red eyes from the flash. Another photo only had a piece of the leg. The boys had been out riding their 4-wheel vehicle when they saw the 8 foot creature. A nest was found measuring 7 x 6 foot made with pine needles and lots of leaves. John said activity in the area has been brisk, even with reports of a barn being trashed.

He has found strange things around the area like; rocks arrayed like a clock, with five thirty-foot lines radiating, and it was newly constructed...like a clock he said. He found rock cairns, stacked with six rocks at the base, then four and two, and one on top. While planting trout in a stream, he found dead partly eaten fish a foot and a half long. Growls at night, with strange yelps, sometimes 2-3 in a row. Another place had a loose, larger than hand-size rock that had been used to beat on a larger rock...the dust was still there. Trees that had been broken at ten feet, and branches (lower down) on large trees strangely broken. Another tree had the bark scraped off in a square shape halfway around the bole. A deer with itÆs neck broken was found. It looked as if it had been knocked against the tree. A vet John took up noted the broken area of the neck had marks in the fur as if five inch long fingers had grabbed the deer before dragging it 30 feet. It had not been eaten on. A fork in a tree looked as if something had stayed up there, molding branches and such into a nest. All this is supposed to have occurred within and area of 30 X 90 miles from Bishop. In Bishop two weeks ago (10/20) a young man reported to the Sheriff that he had heard a roar from a beast that stared at him, then took off. Two footprint casts were taken, and the Sheriff said it could have happened. Another report from Dec. 14th, 1993, had two creatures at 5 foot and another a bit shorter. Even JohnÆs son said he was playing with a friend recently and that a big hairy monster was walking in the woods nearby. John investigated and found two footprints. In the early summer of 1992, campers reported their campsite had been attacked. The fisherman said the campfire was ôdisrupted.ö A fireworks display (non-exploding) in the woods had ôFountainsö that attracted the attention of a strange head and eyes. Another camper reported that a half of a flare had been taken from a picnic table. The road-side flare had been broken in half for use as a ôfireworks display.ö

As he was talking on the phone, John received a track report. A little girl had found some tracks, 3-4 feet from a cliff ...he called back later to tell of. By 11/5, John was at home again in Los Angeles, and had just taken a report from Angles Crest NF, about 30 miles from LA. Two hikers had a log thrown at them as they hiked. On a ridge nearby a 10- 12 foot black creature was seen. A smaller, more timid, younger creature was seen below that one. The incident happened the previous Saturday, Oct. 29th. Another Bigfoot was seen at 1 PM, 10/22, at the Wining Ranch, near Irvine, CA, near a residential area, where the 6-8 foot creature ran across the road.

Track Record Number 42, October 1994 issue, Copyright 1994 by Ray Crowe

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