YEAR: 1983

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: Fall of 1983, 84,85, and other years

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Manistee County

LOCATION DETAILS: Manistee, Michigan, in Manistee County, near the Little Manistee River Weir Site, or actually just south of it while hunting.

NEAREST TOWN: Manistee

OBSERVED: My dad and I had just got set up to start deer hunting. I had a ways to walk further south then he had to. I saw his flashlight bobbin in the woods to my right (south) as I headed to my blind. He got into position, kicked up something that smelled awful. This thing was crashing through the woods like a freight train. It was too loud to be a deer,as it crashed right by me in the dark, smelling awful. i didn't know what it was, but was frightened sitting there in the dark until it got light out.

ALSO NOTICED: Smell was awful that morning I was hunting with my dad. Like a dog that rolled in something bad. Real crisp, cool morning and I could hear and smell alot. Very noticeable.

OTHER STORIES: The next fall, during small game season, my friend and I were hunting grouse in the same area when we happened upon a track near the road that was much larger than my size 12 boots. It was like a large human-like footprint that headed towards the road that led to the weir. We looked for more and located some more that crossed the road towards the Little Manistee River. In this area, there had been some unsusal sightings and sounds by many fly fisherman, namely seeing large black objects watching them then moving away, generally interpreted as black bear. Not unlikely, but not on two feet. Well, that was around 1983-84. In 1985, I was working with a guy at the Filer City Mill of Packaging Corporation of America who confirmed a similar sighting near that area.

ENVIRONMENT: Heavy decidous forest, swampy, cedar swampr, pine forests, good vegetation, fish, berries