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Geographical Index > United States > Texas > Montgomery County > Article # 383
Media Article # 383
Sunday, January 1, 1995 Sightings of Bigfoot in Texas The Buffalo Press
Near The Woodlands 1980's
In the early 1980's, the Woodlands, in Montgomery County, was a rural retreat for those brave souls who were looking for a more idyllic lifestyle from the hustle and bustle of Houston. It had not emerged, as today, a domestic and business center, growing more populated each day.
Much of the area was still densely wooded, and overgrown with huge pines and oaks, natural creeks and sloughs, with some natural wetland areas. Wildlife still flourished in the dark woodlands, not encroached upon by "civilization".
Two brothers were spending the day preparing the property recently purchased by the older brother, for the soon to commence construction of his dreamhouse. The other brother, an experienced woodsman, had spent many years in the high timber forests of the Northwest, and was quickly clearing the heavy underbrush.
Suddenly an odor so foul both men were shocked emanated from the forest as a slight wind came up. They described the stench as something rotten, close to that of rotten meat, but much, much stronger, with a musky scent. Both looked up at each other at the same time, but the woodsman just looked at his sibling and grinned!
The property owner was frightened as he realized there was no sound or movement coming from the woods. Because there was a swamp right next to his property, there was always wildlife making their way around to get water, food, etc. But now there wasn't a bird or a cricket to be heard. And his brother just looked at him and grinned like "some sort of crazy person!".
When he ran over to his brother the property owner asked him if he had ever smelled anything like that and "WHY THE HECK ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT?!" His brother from the Northwest affirmed that he had experienced a stench like that before, many times in the forests of Oregon and Washington, and no, they weren't going to look into it!
He reminded his brother of the many times he had related his experiences with "Sasquatch", and how many times everyone had disbelieved him. "Well, you just had a whiff of 'Bigfoot', and just let him alone, he'll go away."
The two returned to work, one brother hesitantly, the other grinning like a Cheshire cat. When night fell, however, things changed. And not for the better.
The two men retired for the night, after a large meal, into a large tent brought along for the purpose. They even turned off the lanterns to just relax and listen to the sounds of the night.
Soon the sound of a large beast crashing through the undergrowth near the tent caused even the calm brother to jump up in fear. Both reached for their rifles they had brought for their protection from the many snakes, and readied themselves. But soon the night quieted down, as a matter of fact there was no sound coming from the forest, which was actually more disconcerting to the two grown men.
The next day, the stench returned, even stronger than the the night before, but it soon faded away. After a hard days work, the two sat down for a break, and to watch their dinner cook on the grill hey had brought with them.
Suddenly a fearsome cry went up in the forest very near them. Then another voice joined, and then another. Three loud, screeching animal cries, with massive sounds of trees and brush crashing all around. Thunderous bellows from one beast, and plaintive cries from another.
This lasted hours, and the two brothers cowered in the tent, actually too afraid to come out and face their opponent. At one point they tried to turn on the headlights of their motorcycles in the direction of the sounds, but could see nothing.
The next day they saw more than they wanted. At sunrise they saw him, or it! It was over eight feet tall, with a sloping forehead, and covered with some sort of hair. It would watch them from a distance and then turn into the woods.
The woodsman brother assured his brother that the beast was basically harmless, and probably more frightened than they. He assured his sibling that it was probably safe to spend the rest of the daylight hours finishing their work...but thought it better to keep their weapons within reach.
Throughout the day the two brothers would see the creature as it watched them. They got a good enough look to discern that it was male and had a huge chest and long arms.
On subsequent trips the two saw the beast again, but it seemed to resign itself to their visits, and was somewhat curious about them.
The woodsman brother told his brother that the people who worked the thick woods of the Northwest were familiar with Bigfoot, and respected them, but kept their distance. He told of many experiences he had personally, but quit telling his family about them because they thought he was just telling tales to entertain.
The beast soon disappeared, never to be seen again, and the normal sounds and activities of the deep woods recovered, as well as the two brothers.
Bigfoot Stealing Hogs
Orange County, Texas
Hunting feral hogs is just as popular in this part of Texas as other regions. With the feral hog population exploding in Texas, and the natural predator population down, the only real control is by hunting the sometimes ferocious animals.
OR ARE HUMANS THE ONLY ONES HUNTING HOGS!?
"Cougars" are often times blamed for unexplained livestock losses and unusual sounds emanating from the forests. Remember, however, these animals, which ARE found in Texas, hunt by silence and stealth, and are swift killers. They instinctively know what size animal and what type is an easy kill, and the large cats tend to go after the young, injured, sick or slow animal, separated from the group.
The sheriff's office in Orange County was notified of the theft of a large feral hog which had been trapped and penned on a local rancher's property. The local hunters making the report said there was no prints around the secure pen, and no evidence the hog had escaped.
What they did turn up was even more unusual. They located the carcass of the hog, or actually half of the carcass in a low spot near the pen. Whatever had drug the animal there, had actually killed the animal in that location, because there was extensive blood loss from the hog on the ground.
But what had the strength to carry a 100 plus pound, fighting mad hog across a sound pen and then a five wire barbed wire fence?
When the investigation went back to the hog pen, the investigators found mud up and down the fence where something had slid a heavy object covered with mud down, and it hit the ground, leaving HOG HAIRS imbedded in the mud.
There were no scratches, no blood in the pen, but it was torn up, the signs of a huge struggle.
The investigators determined that no large cat indigenous to the area had the strength to to drag the hog over the fence and down the trail to the area where the carcass was found. BUT WHAT DID?
Searching for the remains of the hog, the hunters soon found another trail, a wide blood trail where the hog had been carried toward a nearby bayou. But no cat tracks.
When the men started searching the banks of the bayou, they made a most unnerving discovery. Foot and hand prints. Huge foot and hand prints all along the banks of the bayou and in the sides.
Near the location of the prints were deer and coyote carcasses, not in their entirety, but broken apart. Casts were made of the prints, but have not been identified as yet.
The investigators found that there had been reports of other unusual predator behavior in the area. Most of the reports had been attributed to a "bear" that had been terrorizing the ranches in the area. Not a cougar, but a bear, because tracks were seen that closely resembled a bear in size and shape.
A nearby ranch of several thousand acres routinely lost livestock to an unknown predator, evidently large in size, because of the size of the livestock killed. Usually a portion of the kill was located, but not always. And no one had ever seen the killer.
Was this the legendary Bigfoot? Who know! But there have been more than just these experiences in the local region. We will look at some of the other accounts of "sightings" in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, be careful out there!
(Information for these articles, is taken from various reports, sightings, legends, etc. None has been confirmed by law enforcement agencies or by wildlife experts. It is for your information and enjoyment only. In no way does THE BUFFALO PRESS, this writer, confirm or hold any of the information to be completely factual. As with many legends, sometimes fact gets confused with fiction, but it does make for interesting reading!)
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