Geographical Index > United States > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Report # 25719
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, March 29, 2009.
Wood Knocks Heard Near Assawompsett Pond
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YEAR: 2009
SEASON: Spring MONTH: March DATE: 27th STATE: Massachusetts COUNTY: Plymouth County LOCATION DETAILS: The closest intersection would be Walnut Street and Marion Road. Head south on Marion road and it would be the 1st woods road on the right.
NEAREST TOWN: Lakeville NEAREST ROAD: Marion Road OBSERVED: It was a mild day and I decided to take a walk in the woods. After traveling about 5 or 10 minutes down a woods road I heard 3 deliberate and distinct knocks which emanated about 50 yards away from inside the brush off to my left, it stopped me dead in my tracks. I have read many of the incidents on BFRO and I could not believe what I was hearing. I composed my self and found what I considered a sturdy stick and struck a large pine tree close by in the same manner as I had just heard. It took about 5 seconds and a reply came back but only 2 deliberate knocks this time. A couple of seconds later another sound came from a direction parallel to the first but about 50 yards apart. This sound was like a tree being struck but with the stick breaking on impact. When the stick broke it sounded like it had a girth of a couple of inches. I struck my tree 3 more times but nothing more happened. Let me add that as I was strolling down this trail I was smoking a cigar and the wind was blowing into the direction that the knocks came from. I continued down the trail which takes you to the edge of a pond. While exploring there I found an interesting thing. Lying on the ground was what looked like a 3 foot wooden club with a jagged end where the roots would be, it looked like something that you would see in a cave man picture. There were also 2 holes in the ground one next to a tree, the hole about 12 inches in diameter and close to 20 inches deep the other about 5 feet away from the tree 3 or 4 inches in diameter and only 4 or 5 inches deep with the club laying on its side and the small end partially in that hole. I believe that this club dug both holes because of the way the end was all rounded and imbedded with dirt. But I do not understand why.
I decided to go back the next day for photographs and I brought a yard stick with me to get these measurements. When returning the next day I discovered a good size pile of feces on the trail about 15 feet away from the tree I had knocked on. Nothing unusual took place this day but I did take a few pictures of various other things as well which may or may not be relevant. What or who made those knocks I will probably never know but be clear on this they were distinct, clear, timed and deliberate, of this I am sure.
ALSO NOTICED: Just the feces that was there when I returned the next day.
OTHER WITNESSES: no OTHER STORIES: no TIME AND CONDITIONS: 15:00 hrs ENVIRONMENT: Pine, Maple, Birch, Cedar and Ash trees with Princes Pine in elevated spots, swampy and drainage streams in lower areas leading to the pond. This area is a protected water shed and is sparsely populated.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator D.A. Brake (PhD):
The witness is a former hunter and outdoorsman and a part-time security officer. He entered the area from a trail head located on a quiet residential road and did not see any parked cars or hikers on the way in or out during the approximately 45 minute roundtrip hike.
The initial three wood knocks were described as loud and lasting for approximately 5 total seconds. The subsequent set of two wood knocks originated from the same approximate location as the first set of knocks with approximately 2 seconds in between the first and second knock. The final distinctive sound emerged from the other (right) side of the trail, however upon further questioning the witness was uncertain if that sound was a wood knock, a tree branch snap, or footfall from a large deer.
The witness resumed his walk and after 15 min. arrived at the shore of Assawompset Pond. In this general area, the witness observed the natural wooden club and also photographed one possible wood structure. Follow-up investigation showed that the wooden club weighed 7 lbs. 2 ounces and the larger of the 2 holes had a depth of 18 inches.
The witness submitted two photographs of the large fecal pile that he found on the trail the following day. The largest fecal piece was tubular, smooth from end to end and approximately 8 inches in length. The interior of the feces revealed numerous thin white hairs scattered throughout.
The incident occurred in the Assawompset Pond Complex which is comprised of the Quittacus, Little Quittacus, Assawompset, Pocksha and Long Ponds. Assawompsett Pond is 4 square miles and is the largest natural inland body of water in the Massachusetts, is closed to public recreation, and provides drinking water for the nearby city of New Bedford. The 10,000 acre Assawompset Pond Complex is comprised of 50% oak-conifer transitional forest, 40% lake/pond and 5% palustrine wooded swamp. The complex and surrounding wetlands are critical spawning habitat for one of the most productive runs of Alewives and Blueback Herring in the Northeast.
This incident occurred approximately 12 miles northeast of report 25364 and approximately 10 miles directly south of report 8972 located near Abington, MA. Assawompsett Pond is located approximately 10 miles southeast of the Hockomock Swamp, a 6,000 acre uninhabited wetland within the ‘Bridgewater Triangle’. Hockomock is a Native American name meaning “Place Where Spirits Dwell” and this area and the Bridgewater Triangle have had reports of paranormal events dating back for centuries. Locals refer to the “Hockomock Monster” based on several reports from the 1970’s that describe a hairy 6-7 foot tall bipedal animal.
About BFRO Investigator D.A. Brake (PhD):
D. Brake holds a PhD in Immunology and attended the Maine 2008 expedition.
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