SC EP:535 Taken Sasquatch Chronicles

Richard writes "When I was about 12 years old my Father had enough confidence in me to allow me to wander the forest near our home hunting for squirrels. Behind our home was undeveloped mountain property of several thousand acres.
There were old homes and farms on the mountain, long years ago abandoned when the families died and dependents moved away. Most of this land was purchased by timber companies and hunting and walks in the woods were O K. I had been taught at an early age in hunting methods and gun safety by my Dad. He took me on exploratory trips into the woods to show me good places to hunt and blaze trails so I could find my way home. Dad was a very smart man and a wise father. He didn't want to find it necessary to search for me and lead me back home at night.
One of these locations became my favorite. Very large beech trees filled a little valley and my access was one of the ridges that formed this place. There was a nice creek at the bottom of this ridge and the babbling of water helped cover the noise I made walking in. The trees were very tall and the canopy was very full, making entry feel like walking into a large covered room. In the fall of the year little red berries in the beeches made this place a favorite with gray squirrels. I adopted this place as my personal hot spot and mental relaxing den. Squirrels or not I enjoyed spending time here sitting on a log and admiring nature around me.
Squirrel season opened around September 15 and I could hardly wait each year for the season to open. A few classmates bragged of sneaking out before opening day and harvesting a few early. Not under Dads watchful eye, I would follow the game laws or not be allowed to go all season. When opening day arrived during the 1957 or 1958 season I would rush home after school, grab my shotgun, and off I raced. After a few successful trips I went to my personal spot one evening to find nothing at all. No squirrels, no birds, no anything was moving. After waiting an appropriate time in my 12 year old brain, I decided to expand my territory. Crossing the bridge across the stream. In this area timber had been cut a few years back leaving few full trees, and extremely thick undergrowth, bushes and briars. I found a game trail (old logging road) circling the base of another ridge. It was quiet there just like I had found earlier, plus the undergrowth was very thick making eyesight limited. I had traveled 200 or 300 yards off my normal route and found nothing to investigate. I decided to turn around and walk very slowly back the way I came in. If quiet I might find game moving. Since I got out of school at 3:00 pm, it was almost time to return home for dinner anyway.
As I got near the little bridge that would take me toward home, I heard an unusual noise. I listened carefully but did not recognize the sound coming from the thick undergrowth. It sounded somewhat like birds or squirrels scratching in the dry leaves looking for buried nuts or worms. I decided to investigate and determine the source of this rhythm noise. Ground cover dead leaves were very dry, making it very difficult to make any progress through the laurels, briars and undergrowth without announcing my presence. I eased myself into the brush making far more noise than desired. As I got closer to the noise, it got louder but couldn't see the source. The brush I was entangled in was almost as tall as me. Finally I parted the tangle in front of my face, I saw the source of the mystery. In front of me, lying on the ground was an extremely large animal in deep sleep. This animal had been careful to not leave a trail into the thicket it was concealed in. Had I not heard the breathing noise, I would never have discovered this hiding spot . What I saw was this large animal lying completely surrounded by thick brush, weeds and briars. It looked like a large rock that had been dropped into tall grass that gathered against all sides. The source of leaves being stirred was the