Knowledge about Bigfoot/Bigfeet

[Ray Ford]

I don't know for sure--up close and personal--who S.D. is.  He posted on the "Habituation" thread in a rather confrontational way, and, in the ensuing posts, the subject of knowledge about bigfoot/bigfeet was mentioned several times.  There seemed to be some opinions in those posts about who knew what and how much.  In one post, I asked S.D., "How much up close and personal knowledge do you have about bigfoot?"  It occured to me that that question is not a bad one to ask of everyone/anyone who posts.  I thought some of you might like to respond to that question--not in anger but out of cool reflection.

Who are you?
Where did you learn about bigfoot?
Why are you interested in bigfoot?
What do you know about bigfoot?
How did you learn/acquire your knowledge of bigfoot?

I know that, having initiated this thread, I should answer these questions first--and I will:

Who am I?
I go by Ray Ford. 
I'm a retired minister with a doctorate.
I have some experience in journalism.
I have some experience in law enforcement and security.
I have a concealed carry permit and carry a gun when I think that I should.
I have hunted off and on during my life.

Where did you learn about bigfoot?
I have heard about bigfeet--as abominable snowmen, yetis, sasquatch--for many years.
I was lured by an acquaintance into the pursuit of Oklahoma bigfeet.
I was directed to this site by the same acquaintance.

Why are you interested in bigfoot?
I am curious to know if there is such a thing as a bigfoot.
I like being in the outdoors doing just about anything--except running from the law.
I like to write about things--even bigfoot.

What do you know about bigfoot?
I know very little about bigfoot: I'm not 100% sure that he exists.
I know people who believe that he exists.
I know what people who believe that he exists tell me.
If he exists,
     I know that he is elusive and leaves few traces of his presence or passage.
I am aware that credible people have made credible reports of sightings.
From those sightings,
     I know that he is probably primate, humanoid, bipedal, large, strong, agile, fast, and dark-colored.
I know that there are almost no cases reported of a bigfoot harming anyone.
I know that some people claim to be hunting them but never produce a kill.
I know that some people claim to be researching them but never produce any research results.
I claim to be an investigator, not necessarily of bigfeet, but of reports and evidence.
I know that some people claim to be habituating them.
I am a little puzzled by the discussion(s) about habituation of bigfeet:
     don't we have to find some and prove their existence before we start worrying about habituating them?
I have some suppositions about bigfeet--if they exist.   
     But suppositions are not knowledge--not yet!
One of my suppostions is that no self-respecting bigfoot would be caught dead near a big organized hunt.
     And he certainly wouldn't want his picture taken at one--alive or dead.
I know that most reported sightings are by individuals not especially looking for a bigfoot.
     And that undergirds my approach to bigfoot hunting:
     I think that the best way to hunt for bigfoot is to observant while engaged in other outdoor activities.

How did I learn what I know? 
Like I said, I don't KNOW very much.

How about you?

[Ray Ford]

Hummmm....  No takers?

I thought this thread would be a mile long by now.

[ole bub]

Not likely...Ray...JMHO

You may have skeered habituating folks....too many kinder gentler folks have been burned by the meanies who lurk here.

In a perfect world...perhaps...Sasquatchery is far from a perfect world...thanks to thugs, and wannabe killers who abound here and elsewhere.

live and let live...

ole bub and the dawgs

[Bill]

I don't really have anything to share on the subject Ray other than an interest in reading or hearing the stories of others who claim to have seen or experienced the critters. I don't always believe the stories I read but admit to enjoying them even when I don't necessarily believe them. Bigfoot is a topic in which I have an interest but no experience.

There have been some reported sightings in Alabama but none particularly close to me and for sure none on land I'd have any access to. I've spent much of my life since childhood roaming the fields and woods of this state some times on private but most times on public land. I honestly can't say that so far I've ever seen or heard anything that seems out of the ordinary for what critters I know and recognize here other than the sound that started cropping up what by now might have been as much as 15 or so years ago. That one is still a mystery to me but I'm quite sure it's not a bigfoot even tho I don't know what it is.

My health is such that I don't do much travel anymore and I can't walk those hills like I once did due to shortness of breath but I do still have a curiosity of what's out there in the woods.

[Ray Ford]

Not likely...Ray...JMHO

You may have skeered habituating folks.  Too many kinder [and] gentler folks have been burned by the meanies who lurk here.

Live and let live...

ole bub and the dawgs

Bub, I shortened the quote.

Maybe you're right--but I didn't intend to scare anyone.  Just thought the subject was open to discussion.  And I hope that you don't think that I'm one of the meanies.  People have made mention of how gentle that I can be for a big hulk.  BTW, I think that I know what "habituating" is, and, if I were in the process of habituating a bigfoot, the last thing in the world that I would do is tell people about.

In this thread, I thought that I would give people who know, or think that they know, a lot about bigfeet a chance to say so.  Maybe a few people did what I did: they sat down, thought about what they really know, and decided that they didn't know very much.

[Ray Ford]

I don't really have anything to share on the subject Ray....  Bigfoot is a topic in which I have an interest but no experience.

There have been some reported sightings in Alabama, but none particularly close to me....  I've spent much of my life...roaming the fields and woods of this state....   I honestly can't say that...I've ever seen or heard anything that seems out of the ordinary...other than the sound that started cropping up...15 or so years ago. That one is still a mystery to me, but I'm quite sure it's not a bigfoot even tho I don't know what it is.

My health is such that I don't do travel much anymore, and I can't walk those hills like I once did due to shortness of breath.  But I do still have a curiosity about what's out there in the woods.

Bill, I shortened the quote.

Experience sometimes, if we're lucky, follows interest.
I, too, have never seen anything in my roaming of the woods that would PROVE to me that bigfeet are out there.
I, too, have heard sounds a couple of times that I can't explain.
And I, too, get out of breath.
Curiosity is good.
The next time I make a trip to Alabama, I may hollar at you.

[ole bub]

Ray...

The only experts on Bigfoot are Bigfeet and last I heard,  they were not posting on the web.

Ray...you are a kind and gentle soul...hardly a meanie...nonetheless meanies are lurking like snakes in the grass, ready to strike...if you are habituating...why would you shout about it....only to invite the uninvited.

Bill and I are in the same boat health wise...I guess we should have took better care of ourselves.

Bugs and his varmint hunting buddies gut shot an unidentified bi-pedal male running away...in the dusky light of dawn...while spotlighting yotes...brave ole Bugs followed the mortally wounded male into a nest and shot an enraged female with a 44 Mag ...bam bam bam six rounds in the chest, with her mate dead at her feet.  They buried the pair in a shallow grave on the high side of a creek in the Texas panhandle...and walked away...refusing to disclose the whereabouts...what a damn waste....pretty damn brave don''t ya think...three gun toting thugs...kilt a breeding pair.

about all I care to remember ..think I'm gonna be sick...

ole bub and the dawgs

[ole bub]

Heads up folks...

For those interested the complete "Bugs" saga is available in 14 installments on youtube...type "A Bigfoot Killing" into the search engine and listen when you have a couple hours...to kill...

Melissa Hovey did an excellent interview with Robert W. Morgan a few weeks ago...which is archived on Let's Talk Bigfoot at Talkshoe radio....well worth your time...JMHO

live and let live...

ole bub and the dawgs

[Ray Ford]

Hey guys and gals,

Let me see if I can resurrect this thread.  When I issued the invitation to share your knowledge of bigfeet, I had in mind that persons would, first, recount an encounter, or encounters, and, second, make some observations about the big hairy guys and/or gals based on what they had seen and heard.  As an example:

Teufelwald has recounted two encounters that he had with what he believes to be a bigfoot--and I'm not doubting that they were.  In one of those encounters, as I recall, he and some friends were parked when something with a large, dark form shoved down on the truck of their car and then disappeared.  In the second of those encounters, he was, to use one of Bulletmaker's expressions, "taking a whiz" on a path when he observed one of the critters standing in the path and looking at him from several feet away.  As I recall, when he moved toward it, it backed away, and, when he moved away from it, it followed--keeping the same distance away from him.

What could T. say about the critters based on his short observations?  That is what I would like to have posted here.  And that would not require including any specific information on how, where, or when the encounter took place

I would, I think, be able to conclude from Teufelwald's previous reports of these encounters:
     1. They are large.
     2. They are dark colored.
     3. They are bipedal.
     4. They are strong--strong enough to depress the rear of a car.
     5. They may resent intrusion into their space and can act with some degree of aggressiveness.  This is one possible explanation of the critter shoving down on the back of the car.
     6. They may be curious--curious enough that the curiousity can overcome any instinct to run/hide.  This is one possible reason for the behavior of the critter during the second encounter. 

See what I mean.  I would like to see a response to the above from Teufelwald.  He might be able to add to, or subtract from, what I have said.

[ole bub]

Ray...

It's probably not a good idea to pee on Bigfoot's stuff...JMHO 

gee whiz....live and let live...

ole bub and the dawgs

[ole bub]

Good morning Tod...

Lighten up bubba...Ole bub was attempting some levity on the board. 

Speaking of research.  How is the DNA analysis of your squatches soft tissue samples progressing with Dr. Higgins?   Accredited scientists with real degrees, are ready, willing and able to investigate and document your situation when you are.  Real habituators have offered their assistance and counsel...the next step is up to you?

Of course squatches pee to mark their territory...so do most rural folks...LOL

Tod....I'm sure a face to face encounter would be more exhilarating than one of my investigated road crossings...it is what it is.  Most folks active in this field for thirty or forty years have experiences they don't discuss.  My cardiologist doesn't encourage me to go in the field to check my wells, and he for sure doesn't think it's wise for me to pursue the adrenaline rush of a face to face confrontational encounter with a miscreant thug...let alone a small squatch...JMHO

live and let live...sure sounds better than..."I would shoot one off it's Momma's teat" with no remorse...besides...I don't think squatch read forums, websites or message boards...do you?

ole bub and the dawgs

[Ray Ford]

Let me try again.

I have posted, more than once, about being at Spencer Creek just off Oolagah Lake in Oklahoma with Telahnay's G'son and D.G.  We had a fire going and were looking and listening.  Gar were running up into the creek from the lake in large numbers.  Their backs were visible out of the water.  Suddenly, with nothing to warn us that it was about to happen, we heard some three steps in the water and a splash.  It would have made more sense if it had been a splash and then three steps.  That could have been heard as something jumping into the water and then wading out.  But it was three steps and a splash.  I concluded that something waded into the water, made the splashing sound catching a gar, and them took one step up out of the creek--a step that made no sound.

There was absolutely no indication that anyone other than the three of us was around: no lights, other sounds....

Was it a bigfoot.  I cannot say.   But if it was, I can make two statements about bigfeet--even three.
     1. They are bipedal.  The steps in the water certainly sound as if they were made by something walking upright.
     2. They are not adverse to getting into water--into creeks.  The water was standing, not flowing.
     3. They catch and probably eat fish.  Why else would they catch them.

I can add one other thing.  They are not too much afraid of people and their fires.  There seems to me to be no way that any critter could have been where the steps and splash seemed to be and not be aware of us, the dogs that D.G. had, and the fire that we had going.

Anyone out there that would like to make a post about (1) an encounter and about (2) what they learned/what they know about bigfeet based on that encounter?

[Teufelwald]

Hey guys and gals,

Let me see if I can resurrect this thread.  When I issued the invitation to share your knowledge of bigfeet, I had in mind that persons would, first, recount an encounter, or encounters, and, second, make some observations about the big hairy guys and/or gals based on what they had seen and heard.  As an example:

Teufelwald has recounted two encounters that he had with what he believes to be a bigfoot--and I'm not doubting that they were.  In one of those encounters, as I recall, he and some friends were parked when something with a large, dark form shoved down on the truck of their car and then disappeared.  In the second of those encounters, he was, to use one of Bulletmaker's expressions, "taking a whiz" on a path when he observed one of the critters standing in the path and looking at him from several feet away.  As I recall, when he moved toward it, it backed away, and, when he moved away from it, it followed--keeping the same distance away from him.

What could T. say about the critters based on his short observations?  That is what I would like to have posted here.  And that would not require including any specific information on how, where, or when the encounter took place

I would, I think, be able to conclude from Teufelwald's previous reports of these encounters:
     1. They are large.
     2. They are dark colored.
     3. They are bipedal.
     4. They are strong--strong enough to depress the rear of a car.
     5. They may resent intrusion into their space and can act with some degree of aggressiveness.  This is one possible explanation of the critter shoving down on the back of the car.
     6. They may be curious--curious enough that the curiousity can overcome any instinct to run/hide.  This is one possible reason for the behavior of the critter during the second encounter. 

See what I mean.  I would like to see a response to the above from Teufelwald.  He might be able to add to, or subtract from, what I have said.

Howdy Y'all 

I don't know anymore than what I have put in my encounter report....if you have a specific question about one of my encounters ask me.....?
I can tell you this.....from reading BF type creature encounters on the bfro web site.....I have never heard of anyone having a ftf encounter for as long as my encounter lasted....I do not know why I did not freak out and run right away....that part of my encounter scares me...was I stupid enuff to try an stand my ground against this thing.....was my brain having a hard time accepting what was in front of me....I remember thinking I will walk toward this thing and see if its real or a evil spirit that will just vanish....nope...it just backed up.....then I backed up to my original spot....and it came forward.....when it moved forward I heard the snap of a stick under its feet.....thats when fear started creeping into my gut....the creature seemed to know I was getting scared and became bolder as the sun set behind the tree's...I do not know exactly how long we were ftf.....mebbe 15-20 minutes tops....but finally I thought to myself...whats wrong with you...get out of here.....so I ran up the hill onto the RR tracks...picked up some RR rocks threw them as hard as I could...then took off like I had wings on my feet......if I would have had my 12 gauge I would have shot it right in the head...I was scared and pissed to the bone....some big brute beast/monster had punked me out!
I cannot understand this or maybe I just was scared and imagined it....but it felt like it was emitting these hostile vibes....on a telepathic level...I know...it sounds crazy?

[Ray Ford]

Howdy Y'all 

I don't know anymore than what I have put in my encounter report.  If you have a specific question about one of my encounters ask me?

I have quoted only a small portion of your post.  The entire post is above for the reading.

I do have some questions about the specifics of your encounter(s).  I stated in my above post that, based on your first encounter, we could conclude that bigfeet are strong--strong enough to depress the rear of a car.  After I posted, I began to have doubts that you said that the rear of the car was depressed.  My question is this: Did the dark form that you saw just hit the back of the car or did he push it down?  Does what he did to the car indicate that he was a critter of considerable strength or not--if you recall?

Another question: Could you discern any details--you reported seeing a dark form--about whatever it was that you encountered while parked in the car?  Color?  Hair?  Anything else.

These questions are directed at your first encounter.  I have more questions about your second encounter that I will post after you reply, hopefully, to the questions on the first encounter.  I feel that it would be better if we don't intermix the two encounters in our discussion(s).

Thanks for responding.

[Ray Ford]

Bub,

Bigfoot could be like any other animal that urinates and uses glands to secrete a scent to mark their territory.  I've seen them several times urinating in several spots at one time, like they are marking something.   

Tuefel could have been mistaken by the bigfoot as possibly marking his territory and the bigfoot may not have appreciated it. 

I indicated in my above post, about Teufelwald's second encounter, that the critter emerging onto the path and watching him as he urinated could/might indicate that they are curious.  Tod seems to think that the big hairy guy might have been there to assert his presence against a guy with less hair marking territory.  It seems to me that either interpretation would be possible.  Teu seems to have sensed some aggression--which aggression would support Tod's take on the matter rather than mine.

BTW urine can yield DNA samples.  Getting the big hairy guy to pee in the bottle might not be easy.