The following excerpt comes from The Bigfoot Times...
By Willie Jacobs Sherman, Texas, Democrat, July 20, 1960, Wednesday.
[Editor's note: on Christmas I visited the Bigfoot Forums website. something I haven't had much time for last year. Lo and behold I stumble across this dated newspaper article, something I have never seen before. Credit for this amazing discovery goes to "david75090" who posted this piece to the website on December 15, 2016. David wrote, "While looking through some newspaper microfilm for something unrelated, I ran across this."
Several well known researchers of the subject, John Green, Chad Arment and Scott McClean and others, as best as I can tell, missed this gem. It's an old report — over fifty-six years but the thirteen-year-old son noted in the article, "James," might still be living. If he is alive he might have quite a story to tell. In 1960 the world wasn't tied together the way it is today via the Internet and although the term "Bigfoot" was already in use, clearly, as seen by this newspaper piece, it was an unknown entity to them as the primary witness talks about seeing "a seven-foot gorilla," not a Bigfing!
In my view this is one of the best and most detailed multiple witness sighting ever to come out of Texas and real names and places are mentioned throughout].
"BLUE CREEK - Is there a gorilla loose near this small community? [Editor. about 251)00 people lived there in 1960].
J.O. Conrad, his wife and son, who live here three miles east of Sherman on Highway 82, say they saw "a seven-foot gorilla or some kind of monster" Monday night near their home. His story came to light only Friday.
The animal has been reported seen near Bells by one other person. Some people merely shake their heads and smile at the story while others stand behind Conrad's report. Gorilla or not the citizens of Blue Creek are keeping their doors locked tight and firearms handy.
Conrad said he had just gone to bed Monday night about 10:30 or 11 [p.m.] "I was smoking a cigarette when the dog started barking," he said. "I looked out the east window and saw him. He looked to be seven feet tall and their son, James, 13, watched the creature from the bedroom window.
Conrad said he stepped off his front porch toward the animal and fired three times. "I know I hit him at least once, but he didn't even flinch. That's when I went after my shotgun:' Conrad said.
[Editor. I'm no expert on guns but there are some key factors when using a firearm: distance to subject; shot placement; bullet construction, caliber and shot angle. These factors would determine if the shot is lethal or not].
Mrs. Conrad called the sheriff's office in Sherman. Deputies warned against shooting the animal, afraid a bullet wound would cause it to attack.
"I fired the shotgun over his head, but he didn't run, just shuffled of to the east down the side of the highway:' Conrad continued. "I jumped in my car and followed. I got a real good look at him in my headlights while I was billowing him.
"He looked black as coal. He was real hairy except for his face," he said. "I was about 20 feet from him when 1 shot, and I didn't try to get closer. I was scared."
[Editor in the heat of the moment Mr. Conrad may have been frightened to the point where he only grazed the animal as opposed to making a solid hit but 20 feet, as I have noted in bold, is pretty much right on top of your target. As mentioned the witness had two guns so it causes me to believe he had some experience with firearms].
All the way to the Blue Creek bottom, a few hundred yards east of the community, Conrad said the animal swayed and shuffled slowly along on his back legs. "His front legs were just hanging down and swinging around:* he said.
After the animal went into the underbrush at the creek, Conrad said he gave up the search, afraid to follow the beast in the brush.
Mrs. Curtis Wilson, who lives about 100 yards east of Conrad across the highway, said she and her husband were awakened shortly before Conrad saw the animal. "We heard something rattling around in the shrubbery beside the house and the dogs hushed, just like they had been turned off."
When her husband went outside, Mr. Wilson said the dogs were cowering in a comer on the porch and "shaking just like somebody had whipped them."
[Editor this dislike between Bigfoot and dogs is a theme that continues to pop up time and time again and I would have a hard time believing Mr. Wilson read something on the subject and used it in his report. It is almost as if dogs have an instinctual fear of Bigfoot. In 1960 there was no Bigfoot template to readily borrow from. There is now].
At the same time, Mr. Wilson said the Wilson's cows behind the house had begun an uproar. The Wilson's first thought of a wolf. "Then we heard Mr. Conrad shooting and my husband got his deer rifle. But by the time he got out to the highway, whatever is was had gone into the creek bottom bnish," she said.
[Editor here again I find the incident extremely credible. You can fool people but rarely animals such as dogs or cows when it comes to fear].
Mr. Wilson said most of the people living near the community had kept their doors locked since. Conrad said his wife was so scared that she did not go to sleep the rest of the night and had to have medical treatment the next day. [Editor this event obviously had a profound affect on this person].
W.B. Thompson of 716 S. Burette, Sherman was working the same night at an all night station in the Star community between Bells and Denison. He said a man drove into the station for gas and told him he had just seen a large, strange looking animal along the roadside near Bells. Thompson did not get the man's name.
Conrad said that as he started to follow the beast in his car [when] another car came down the highway approaching the animal from behind. "That fellow must have seen the gorilla because he threw on his brakes and almost stopped at the side of the animal. Then he stepped on it and got out of there. I thought he would stop and help me, but he must of been scared, too."
Grayson's Sheriff Deputy James Spaugh answered Mrs. Conrad's call for help. He said that as far as he is concerned "Conrad definitely saw something and it wasn't a man."
Next morning Conrad took his wife to the doctor. When he returned around noon, he could find no tracks on the hard dry ground. "Some men who work around here had drug a wrecked car over the spot where I saw that thing standing. There weren't any tracks left," he said.
Conrad said he had never seen a gorilla before. "I looked in my dictionary the next moming and found one. I know I saw a gorilla," he said.
At the suggestion of a possible hunt for the beast in the Blue Creek bottom, Conrad said: "With that gorilla down there? Not me, buddy. I'm scared."
[Editor I would rate this case a "10" on a 1 to 10 scale. Everything is there, multiple witnesses, real names, addresses, animal reactions, medical treatment, a sheriff and so on an so forth. Imagine for a moment had John Green known about this report when he went cross country in 1976 how much more data we would have on this incredible incident. He stopped in Texas on his road trip].
I also ran this report by Texas based Bigfooter Lyle Blackburn, who quickly got back to me on December 28. Here is the latest for the moment "Anyway, I called my friend Jerry Hestand who is a longtime Bigfoot researcher and my main partner when I do field research. He happens to live in Howe, Texas, which very close to Sherman and the place where this sighting took place. He drove over to Smith Oak Road and knocked on a few doors, but couldn't find any clues as to the whereabouts of Conrad. He also went by the Sherman, Democrat newspaper, but they
didn't have any information and weren't helpful. I did a search for a James 0. Conrad, but couldn't find one listed. We're still digging into it.
Blue Creek is a very small tributary. of Choctaw Creek. Choctaw Creek comes off the Red River, so it's a good network. I cover some Red River sightings in my upcoming book and Jerry has researched that area for many years since he lives so close."
I googled around for James Conrad, the son mentioned, who would be about 69 or 70 today but came up empty handed. Usually there isn't a lot you can do with a report from so long ago but it's fascinating to read something from 1960 with no mention of "Bigfoot" but with a 2017 perspective—knowing full well they are obviously writing about you know who].
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