Messin' With Sasquatch

When I was about 8 I bought a book from one of those school book orders. Sadly I can't remember the name now but it was one of those books about strange creatures and weird goings-on. Not only did this forgotten book hook me on mysterious entities such as Springheel Jack and the Mad Gasser of Mattoon; it also began my obsession with Bigfoot.

I can recall sleeping out in my cousin's pop-up camper and, as boys will do, telling stories of monsters in the woods behind our houses to freak each other out. I remember riding horses through the woods around Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks and hearing the locals tell stories of the creatures that roamed those woods. Mostly I remember just wondering how, if such a beast existed, could it live undetected for so long?

While my interest in the paranormal took me in another direction; my love of the great ape-creature has never waned and, in recent years, I've renewed that interest with enthusiasm.

This stems from a couple of different things. First, a wide variety of reports I've heard centered around central Illinois. Second was my introduction to Stan Courtney. Stan is a serious researcher. He records nature sounds and that is how he stumbled onto the Sasquatch. I follow his blog, check it out and listen to these recordings yourself and tell me what you think. Some chilling stuff!

When I met Stan he offered to take me to some of his favorite "hunting grounds" and on March 19, 2010 the logistics panned out so I was able to meet him for an excursion into an area of he's had significant luck in over the last few years. I feel I must be vague here and not be too specific as to where we went but, suffice it to say, it was a deeply wooded area in central Illinois.

I've spent my share of time in the woods growing up and I've had my share of weird experiences there but I've never, to my knowledge, encountered a Bigfoot. At times I've felt I was being watched, I've had large animals of some kind follow me...I've even, looking back, heard the sounds of "claps" and rocks and sticks banging out there in the woods. All of these, according to researchers, are potentially signs there is a Bigfoot in the area.

All week the weather was beautiful. Mid-sixties, sunny. Of course, Saturday dawned overcast and cold with an 80% chance of rain. I had agreed to meet Stan at his home at eight that evening so all I could do was hold my breath and hope for the best. Of course it rained the whole hour drive to Stan's house and there were wind gusts of 30or so miles per hour!

Fortunately things had calmed by the time I got there and, while it was still cold and windy, at least the rain had stopped. We loaded into Stan's jeep and headed out. After winding our way through miles of country back roads, we arrived at our destination and disembarked. We took nothing into the woods with us save red flashlights, my camera and Stan's recording devices...and Belle, Stan's dog, who ran ahead of us to (hopefully) clear the way should a large ape be lying in wait across our path! Our objective this night was only to listen and, hopefully, record the sounds of a Sasquatch in it's natural environment.

As we drove to the spot Stan explained that there have also been sightings of large cats, panthers, in the area. I will admit this made me far more nervous than the Bigfoot reports. The idea of being mauled but a panther didn't appeal to me at all! Hopefully, I thouhgt, the dog was up to the task!

The woods were silent save for the constant wind and the loud chirping of hundreds of frogs who couldn't have been happy with the natural conditions of the night. No other animals made themselves known as we trekked through the dark, wet woods. Stan told me of events that had occurred while he, and other researchers, had explored these woods in the past.

There have been sightings here, he told me. One dramatic incident occurred a few years ago while the researcher was getting his equipment out of the car. He heard a noise behind him and, turning, noticed the creature scurrying down a large tree nearby. It his the ground with a plop and crawled on it's belly off into the woods. Other sightings have been far less dramatic, just fleeting glimpses of huge, hairy creatures hurrying across the flats or disappearing into the woods.

Footprints, some as large as 18 inches, have been catalogued here as well. None that were very castable unfortunately. The ground is swampy through most of the area we covered. Researchers have found evidence of nests, they have heard the creatures around them, they have experienced the oft-reported "foul odor" said to be a natural defense of the Sasquatch. And then there are Stan's recordings.

On these tapes coyotes yip and something is obviously mimicking them in the distance. Stan, himself, has bellowed through a bullhorn only to have his own voice returned to him 45 seconds or so later (it's on his site). We did try sound blasting later during our attempt but the strong winds made it almost impossible.

Stan and I walked through these woods for a couple of hours, listening. At one point I heard a weird squeal off to my left, another time we both heard an odd, warbling howl that may or may not have been feline.

As we made our way back, near midnight, we paused in a clearing and waited for Belle to catch up. From directly ahead of us we both heard two (for lack of better terminology) "coughs". Two quick, clear, "ack, ack". I've never heard anything like it, nor had Stan although he suggested it could have been a raccoon. Hard to say but it was the most unexplainable thing about our night.

Stan's recordings revealed all the odd sounds we heard but the wind distorted them and they're too indistinct to be of use. I guess hunting Bigfoot isn't that much different than hunting ghosts! Lots of time in your area of study with very little to show for it in the end.

But, like ghost hunting, patience is a virtue when it comes to the elusive Sasquatch and I intend to revisit the area with Stan in the near future. Stay tuned for more...

Col. Matthew Rogers: Lincoln's Forgotten Benefactor

Historian James T. Hickey wrote, "The name of

Rogers is not unknown to Lincoln scholars..." but to the general public Rogers is almost entirely unknown. It is a disservice to a family that played a large role in Abraham Lincoln's early life that their connection is largely forgotten.
Matthew Rogers was born March 28, 1770 in New London, CT and was a descendant of John Rogers, burned at the stake in England in 1555 for his radical Protestant teachings. As a youth Rogers apprenticed as a ship builder but gave that up for a life of farming near Cooperstown, NY. During the War of 1812 Rogers served in the rank of colonel in the 54th Regiment, New York Militia.

In the summer of 1818 he resigned his commission and took his large family to the new state of Illinois, settling in Troy about 18 miles northeast of St. Louis. In 1820 the family moved to Sangamon County. Here Col. Rogers established a farm and tree nursery a mile north of the present day town of Athens.

On January 2, 1828 a post office, called Rogers, was established in his home and Matthew Rogers was named postmaster. This was the first post office in the area and as such became a focal point for the surrounding communities.
In 1831 the Colonel's son-in-law, Harry Riggin and partner, Abner Hall, established the town of Athens. Col. Rogers constructed a large, two-story building in the new town and opened a general store. On November 4, 1831 the Rogers Post Office was moved to this new building and the name changed to Athens Post Office.

Abraham Lincoln arrived in New Salem in the spring of 1831. Almost immediately he began a program of self-education that has become legendary in the Lincoln lore. New Salem schoolmaster, Mentor Graham, sent Lincoln to the Rogers home to borrow books from the well-educated clan. The Rogers had an extensive library with volumes ranging in subject from surveying to medicine. There was certainly enough to fuel the inquisitive mind of the young Lincoln! Thus began an association that would endure for many years.

The Colonel's daughter, Arminda, was a teacher. It to her that Lincoln's legendary "lost love", Ann Rutledge, was sent for study prior to attending the Female Academy in Jacksonville, IL. Arminda would later recall Rutledge, often accompanied by Lincoln, sitting before the cabin's hearth and studying. The copy of Kirkham's Grammar used by the pair during this period is now housed in the Library of Congress.

Lincoln's association with the Rogers family continued to the day he left Springfield for Washington D.C. and the presidency. In the case of Rogers v. Francis in Sangamon Circuit Court, January 29, 1841, Lincoln represented the Colonel against Josiah Francis and another man who had failed to make payment on their notes to buy the Rogers store. Lincoln won the case and the building's ownership reverted back to Rogers. Later Lincoln was Henry Roger's attorney during settlement of an estate in which Rogers served as executor. Henry B. Rankin, Arminda's son, worked in the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office in some capacity (there is a hint of exaggeration in his writings) until Lincoln left Springfield.

By the 1840's the Rogers family had split politically with some members remaining staunch Whigs (and Lincoln supporters) while others became Democrats. Although their politics differed a clear picture of their personal feelings toward their old friend, Lincoln, may be ascertained from a letter written by Harry Riggin (in the Democrat's camp) to his son in 1842, "I wish I could raise a son as big a Lincoln is bound to be if he lives. I have heard all these men at the bar and on the stump for some years and Lincoln is the greatest of them all. I say this to you my son, though I am a Democrat."

Two of the Colonel's sons became doctors and later moved south where both established large plantations. Three of his grandsons were killed while serving in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. At the same time, Col. Rogers' son, Henry, became known as a strong abolitionist.
Col. Matthew Rogers died on August 14, 1847 leaving behind him a large, diverse family. The influence of the family on Lincoln during his formative years is impossible to measure but it is an area that should not be overlooked by history.
Today the Rogers store stands as a tribute, not only to Lincoln, but to his forgotten benefactor, Col. Matthew Rogers.

Photos: Top: The Abraham Lincoln Long Nine Museum in Athens, Illinois. Housed in the Rogers store built in 1831/32. As of this writing the museum is closed.

Bottom: The Rogers cabin just north of Athens. The cabin is no longer standing, the remains are in the basement of the Long Nine Museum.

Sources:

Eden, John R., Abe Lincoln's Athens, Illinois Connection, A. Lincoln Long Nine Museum, Athens, IL, 1992

Hickey, James T., Three R's in Lincoln's Education: Rogers, Riggin and Rankin, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. LII, No. 1, Spring, 1959

Kowalski, Ethel Lee Rogers, These Are the Rogers and There Are More, Burlingame, CA, 1979

What has come before...

"…it is magic in that soil, in the plains, the borders of forest, the oak trees on the hills…" - Edgar Lee Masters

The Sangamon River flows through central Illinois along a twisted, unusual south to north course. It's meanders through fertile farmlands and the woods were our pioneer forefathers once lived and, before them, the natives hunted. And, in the earliest times, the mysterious mound builders lived and vanished.

For me the river has taken on an almost mythical quality, probably more so than is deserved but there is an air of romance here yet. The spirits of the Sangamon still walk here and they are constantly trying to get our attention. They are among us even if we can't always see them. But there are those who look. The spirits, like the river, hold an unusual power over me.

For many years, more than a decade as of this writing, I've prowled old graveyards and abandoned buildings. I've visited historic sites and people's homes; all in search of these spirits and their stories. I've seen and experienced some weird things and I've met a lot a great people. What I've found is that "ghost hunting" is not for me, I don't have the patience. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for the investigators that devote their time and resources to the quest for the truth but, for me, the story's usually enough.

I still travel to these strange places and I always hope to experience the ghost activity that has been reported but I don't take equipment of any kind save a notebook and a camera. I want the stories and if a ghost shows up it's so much the better! History to me is a passion...ghosts are an added bonus.

So...here there be ghosts. And monsters. And strange, dark history. All of that and, honestly, no small amount of pointless rambling in what lies ahead. It's all an experiment after all. For now I'd like to add some links to some stories I've already written.

These, you might notice, are links to the pages of the American Ghost Society and American Hauntings. I'm a tour guide for the long-running Haunted Decatur Tours in Decatur, Illinois but I can also be found volunteering at the Vachel Lindsay Home in Springfield (more on him later no doubt) and, when it's open, the Long Nine Museum in Athens (the "A" is long...no one knows why). I'm an officer and area rep. of the AGS. I've been involved in ghost research groups, haunted tours and TV and radio. Some of those things went better than others but I've yet to find reason to regret any of it.

All of that, no doubt, will come into play as time goes by but, for now, the links...

The Loomis House, Carlinville, IL http://www.prairieghosts.com/loomis.html

The Van Noy Murder, near Athens, IL http://www.illinoishauntings.com/van_noy.html

The Houlden Murder (only hanging in Menard County), near Petersburg, IL http://www.illinoishauntings.com/houlden.html

New Salem, IL http://www.illinoishauntings.com/new_salem.html

Stealing Lincoln's Body (my 2007 article...lots of new stuff by others since but I really like this one) http://www.illinoishauntings.com/tomb.html