The Noble savage, the idea that there is a wild man running amuck in the woods, uncorrupted by the influences of civilization. An image that we seem to hold onto through our stories and beliefs in Bigfoot. A creature that is endeared by us, creating the mental image of how we would like to live free in this world. Is it the inner beast in ourselves, our own noble savage, the reason we still hold faith in the belief of Bigfoot, or is it the inevitable fact that hearsay and third party stories, intrigue and inspire the inner child with-in us all.
As with most of the tales they start off with a grin and the tip of a glass, but once in a great while you are able to find a tale that is told from a person that speaks from the heart, and holds you to their words with intense focus. I had one of these conversations with an old local who lives up in the hills and from time to time ventures into town for supplies. I asked with a bit of whimsy in my voice, “hey you living in the mountains must have a couple Bigfoot stories” and with that he began to tell me of a strange experience that made me think twice about venturing out alone into the forest.
He spoke unasserted at first like he was going to be ridiculed by his telling of his tale, but soon fell into the pace of a good story. “It was a few years ago. It seemed to rain a lot more back in those days, and there where a lot more willow tree stands in the Klamath River area. I was out hunting grouse with a couple friends, and we set up a base camp near one of those stands of willow trees. The stand was so thick you couldn’t see more than two or three feet into the thicket. It was about 50 yards in circumference, with no deer, or other animal tracks in or out of the willows. We were out most of that day and returned with not much in hand. We made a quick dinner and bedded down for the evening. Over the course of the night we were awoken several times by strange grunts and growls that seemed to circle our camp, but being so tired we just tucked in tighter and shrugged the strange sounds off, thinking if it was a bear, it will quickly take notice that there is nothing for it, and leave.
We woke early that morning to get us some birds, and with almost a comical moment we noticed a loud snoring seeming to emanate from within the willow thicket. We made a couple jokes that it sounded like my Pop on a bender and shrugged it off, figuring we will look into it when we return. Our day of hunting was a very uneventful one. No animals were seen, or heard, and a strange feeling of being watched overrode everyone that day. When we returned to camp, we came across our ice coolers, stacked one on top of each other, not how we left them, and a pathway pushed open from within the middle of the thicket, pointing out towards our tents. The Willow brush was not clumsily pushed down like a bear or other animal would have ripped through the brush, but rather pushed to one side as if something tall pushed through the willow stands.
We slowly followed the trail into the thicket, soon to emerge dead center of the willow stand. In the middle of the thicket all the brush was pushed down in a nine foot circle, and stacked with soft grasses and mosses that were not in the immediate area. It resembled a bed. In the center of the bed was a depression that was shaped as if a large man was sleeping there. The area had a rank smell to it like a skunk mixed with a wet dog, and as we checked out the bed, we became very aware that whatever was here had just left, and was probably watching us. We packed quickly and left the area, and for a good five miles we felt as if something was following us,” The story teller at this time had changed expressions as though he was reliving his memories, and became flushed in the face. He blinked a couple times hard, as if to fight off tears or something, and quickly left. Now with stories like that it truly makes you wonder what, or if, there is a wild man in the woods, and if so, when will the truth finally be brought to light.
Until next time folks if you have an interesting story of the strange and fantastic, let us know your mystery.
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submitted by Rev.J.R. Norris
