DATE:        11-??-96
 

TIME:          5:30 am
 

LOCATION:    Cabell County, West Virginia, USA
 
 

TERRAIN:      Steep wooded area with lots of underbrush
 

OBSERVED:   I've hunted and fished in this area for years, but during gun season for bucks got the sh!t scared out of me.  Having seen several deer that year and knowing the path the deer should take to climb the grade I was trying to position myself at an angle to get an early morning shoot.  I was walking by flashlight up a logging road and had to walk around a landslip.  As I came in above the landslip I heard an animal roar and a stick about 3-4" inches in diameter and about 4' long hit me in the back almost knocking me down.  I turned off the light and released the safety on my rifle.  It had been a cloudy night and with the flashlight turned off  I was in complete darkness.  The animal, at an estimated 35 yards, paused for a minute then walked away from me at an angle.  I firmly believe that the animal walked away on two legs and from the force of the steps was heavy in weight.  After I could no longer hear the animal I proceeded up hill.  I noticed no strange smell except the scent I had been using all season.
 

ACTIVITIES OF WITNESS(ES):  Nothing out of the ordinary, I awoke, ate breakfast got dressed and headed out for a day of hunting.
 
 

DESCRIPTION OF CREATURE:  It was too dark to see the hand in front of your face.  But there's only four people that hunt in that area.  One was working, One didn't hunt that day and the third was hunting in another location.
 

OTHER NOTES:   When starting the hunt I believed I would be the only one hunting on that hill!  In the past I've found hair in thick brush but passing it off as bear thought no more of it.  I've also noticed the triangle markers seen in some of the pictures.  It's common to find dead deer and dogs.