A young man on a solo hunt.

[Pine]

It was about 47 years ago, mid-October and my friend Mike offered to drop me off in the National Forest near Luther Michigan.
I was very set in my mind that I wanted to do a wilderness hunt all alone. I was to be out there for a week. I had an ice chest with eggs, bacon and two loaves of bread. The rest of my food would come from what I would forage and hunt with my bow or slingshot.
I had four broadheads and two blunts. I also had a small bag of marbles for the slingshot. Archery deer season was open as well as small game, so I was all set. What could possibly go wrong? 
The first two days were very productive, I had taken two rabbits and one squirrel. I did fire a warning shot at a grouse with a blunt and lost the arrow. Oh well, still had one blunt and four broadheads.
The deer sign was a little sparse. So I decided to try in the swamp that was about a half mile from my camp.

[Alexander Traditional]

Sounds very cool! I have thought of doing something like this myself.

I'm guessing there's more to the story?

[Orion]

Well, you're writing about it, so we know you made it out.  Waiting to hear "the rest of the story." 

[Captain*Kirk]

What could possibly go wrong? 

 

[achigan]

Great start for a long, drawn-out tale!
I’m retired, quarantined and ready for more, at your leisure.

[Pine]

  Don't be impatient.

The swamp is called The Big Bear Swamp of Luther. It is a few miles wide and over twenty miles long. It is filled with cedar trees and very tight underbrush.
The third morning I was cooking bacon and eggs in my Dutch oven lid and I noticed that there was a very thick fog rolling in. It was so thick that with my flashlight I could only see a few feet. So I decided to wait until light before I headed to the swamp.
I had to check my compass very often just to keep on the right path to the swamp. The eerie thing was with no rain for a few weeks, the ground was soaking wet and I could walk silent as long as I didn't step on a twig.

[Bvas]

Well you’ve got me hooked.....can’t wait to be reeled in 

[BearBandit]

Why do I feel like this is one if those tales like my dad's one friend used to tell around the fire at deer camp where I hang on every word only to end up laughing in relief after being left in suspense for so long.   Man I miss those moments in time.

Thanks for sharing

[MGH]

Dog Man!!

[Pine]

Made it to the edge of the swamp and started my way in, very slow and constantly sweeping my eyes for what I could see. I found a very well used deer run and I decided to sit in a blow down that made a very good natural blind.
After about an hour, I was able to see a little further because the fog was letting up a little. I could see a tree that seemed to be broken off about ten feet above the ground. This seemed odd to me because there were no other trees in the area that had damage like that, so couldn't have been wind damage.

[Pine]

As I pondered the tree a nice twelve point buck wandered down the deer run towards me. He stopped about fifteen yards from me but seemed very nervous. I didn't think it was me because he was looking slightly in a different direction from me. I just held tight because he was head on to me and there was no good shot.

[Pine]

He then stomped his foot and turned sideways to me and I let fly with a good shot. He ran off and then there was silence for about a few minutes. Then in the direction the deer was looking I heard a twig snap. I wondered what it could be. Then a little ways closer to where the deer had ran I heard another stick break. That was a big stick that would take a lot of force to snap. I started to get a little nervous and curious.

[Soonerlongbow]

 

[Pine]

I got up and slowly got to where the deer was and found the blood trail. Started trailing it and I noticed that there were large foot prints next to the trail.
I saw the deer up ahead and it appeared to be pulled apart at the back quarters. There was a large hump moss covered looking object next to the deer that for some reason made me feel uneasy.

[Gator1]

Big Foot?

[Pine]

I stood where I was for quite some time just watching intently and wondering why the deer looked like that. I finally started closer and when I was just a few feet away the hump rose up and it was enormous!
 It looked like a man with hair all over and had to be at least eight feet tall.  For a moment I was petrified, I pulled an arrow and it stepped toward me and I shot. Missed, grabbed another, dropped it, grabbed the last broadhead and missed again.
Now it was coming after me, all I had left was a blunt. Knocked it and I was staring it in the eyes, and the next thing I remember was the thing running away with the arrow stuck in one of its eyes.

[Pine]

I ran back to my campsite as fast as I could and I was scared out of my mind. I stayed there with the fire going and all I had left was my slingshot.
I had to wait until the next day for my friend to show up. When he did, I decided not to tell what had happened for fear that I would be thought crazy.
He asked me how things went and I told him about the small game. He ribbed me all the way home about losing all my arrows. But that was OK, I made it out alive and that was all that mattered to me.
I have never shared this with anybody till now.
I did hear that some old guy claimed to see a Big Foot a few years later that had only one eye.
 

[Wudstix]

That makes sense.
 

[yaderehey]

I absolutely believe every part of your story.  Except the bit about the twelve point buck....

[creekwood]

I don't know if I have ever read a story that was so well narrated as this one.  It felt like I was actually there with you. And, I believe that it was a 12 pt deer, heck, it might have been even bigger. Your story even explains why my mother-in-law only has one eye.