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Hunting for Bigfoot
By Russell A. Graves
When Texas was just a burgeoning state, fantastic tales of human-like creatures permeated the folklore.
“In the spring of 1845 when going to my work one morning I discovered the tracks of three persons who had been near the house the night previous,” wrote Samuel Rogers, whose story was re-told in the J. Frank Dobie book Tales of Old Time Texas.
“…the unknown folks had been around us nearly one year. Then we missed the tracks of the big one and the little one. I must say that I felt a little sorry that the one that made the small tracks was gone without ever finding out who it was or what induced the person to live such a life. I spent many nights watching but never could get a glimpse of any of the three wild ones.” Sam Rogers’ accounts, perhaps the first written, gave rise to the Bigfoot legend in Texas even though spoken accounts of a creature living along the banks of the Navidad River began as early as the 1830s.
Settlers along the southeast Texas river bottoms had numerous, secondhand encounters as reports about pilfering crops, livestock and supplies in the rural area were numerous.
Today, the legend of The Wild Woman of the Navidad persists and stories of an unknown creature even found its way into a retro-styled, 2008 independent horror film that draws upon journals written in the 1970s by Dale Rogers of Sublime, Texas.
However, there’s been no gap in Bigfoot sightings from the 1830s to the time the film was released. Texas is peppered with historic and contemporary Bigfoot sightings (the reports come mainly from the densely forested land east of I-35), and there’s even a group who’s dedicated to uncovering the mystery of the cryptid by using old fashion detective work and high tech science.
A New Breed of Hunters
“The combined total amount of forestland in the four-state region [Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas] equates to roughly 65,000,000 acres, or 100,000 square miles,” said Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy (TBRC) conference coordinator and organization co-founder Jerry Hestand.
By day, Jerry is an elementary school teacher in Bells, Texas, but on weekends and the summer, he dedicates much of his time to researching the anomalous Bigfoot (sometimes referred to as Southern Sasquatch).
To read more pick up a copy of the August 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
By Krista Lucas Wynn
Each year, when the professional rodeo season wraps on Sept. 30, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Women’s Professional Rodeo Association announce the Nutrena Horse of the Year, presented by the American Quarter Horse Association, in each event. This is a prestigious award, voted on by the members of the associations. To be named Horse of the Year by fellow competitors is a high honor only a few achieve.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Heather Welper
Husband and wife duo, Heather and Calvin Welper, are the Co-Owners and Operators or Two C Livestock, located in Valley View, Texas.
The pair’s operation has a show cattle focus where they raise and sell purebred heifers of all breeds and club calf Hereford steers.
When it comes to show cattle, the Welpers know a thing or two including how to prepare for the cold winter months and the Texas major show season run.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Tony Dean
Snow on the Mountain is an annual forb that is part of our landscape almost every year.
It is adapted to most of Texas and grows north to Montana and Minnesota and south to Mexico.
Although is seems to be most adapted to clay soils, this plant can be found on a wide variety of soil and moisture conditions.
To read more, pick up a copy of the November edition of North Texas Farm & Ranch magazine, available digitally and in print. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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