Archive 195 Bigfoot Threw Billy Joe Off the Tallahatchie Bridge

Archive 195 Bigfoot Threw Billy Joe Off the Tallahatchie Bridge

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:08):
The Tallahatchee Bridge incident. Thursday, June the second, nineteen fifty five.
Heat mirages rose in waves over the field in front
of us, blurring my view of anything above the horizon.
The cotton plants had broken the surface in late May,

(00:29):
and the stalks were now up to my ankles. They
cast a green blanket over the fresh dirt as far
as we could see, all in perfect straight rose. That
made me think of lines on notebook paper etched in
the earth's surface. It was beautiful. We hurried across the
cotton field to get to the saw mill. It would

(00:52):
be hot there too, but the roof over the mill
would give us some shade. Billy Joe, McAllister and I
had been hired by Ben Stewart to work in his sawmill.
There was no work around money Mississippi in those days,
and we took anything we could get. We had driven
to Greenwood the day school let out and looked for

(01:14):
work for two days. Mister mac Billy Joe's father had
loaned us his car. He wanted us to find work.
I think he was afraid we would lay around all
summer and not make good use of our time. Neither
of us needed encouragement. We both wanted money in our
pockets too. I didn't have a girlfriend at the time,

(01:36):
but I was open to all prospects. Billy Joe and
Bobby Lee had been together since they were twelve. When
Bobby Lee's family moved to town, they became friends right away.
It was not common in those days that boys and
girls formed at close friendships at that young age, but
there were no other girls that lived close to us,

(01:57):
so Bobby Lee became one of the boys in a way.
Everyone at school liked her. She was a good sport,
laughing and teasing us about various things. She fit right
in Her and Billy Joe had not been romantically involved
until the last year. We had all turned seventeen in

(02:17):
the previous school year, and I suppose hormones took over
and they fell in love. They let each other do
what the other wanted, and they spent time together when
they could. They were a good fit. Billy Joe and
I had every business in Greenwood, telling store owners and
local industry that we would be happy to clean toilets

(02:39):
if that's what they wanted us to do. No one
needed help. There was one business left to hit on
the way out of town and we stopped by Buchanan's
service station. We walked into mister Buchanan's shop and we
found him under a car and cussing at a bolt
that he couldn't pry loose. Mister Buchanan, IM and I

(03:00):
are looking for work. Do you need help over here
this summer? Billy Joe asked, I don't need help. Boys.
Have you been to Greenwood and ask around? Yes, sir,
we spent the last two days asking everyone we could find.
We can't find a job anywhere. Well, I wish I
needed someone. I would hire both of you. Boys. There
isn't enough work to justify your salary, though. I spoke

(03:23):
up and said, well, we understand. We'll keep looking. Hey,
do you need a hand with that bolt on that
water pump? No, I'll get it in a minute. Ben
Stewart walked out into the shop, munching on a package
of nabs. He was waiting for his water pump to
be replaced, and he heard our conversation. I need some
help at the saw mill, he said, Can both of

(03:44):
you be at the mill at three each afternoon Monday
through Saturday. I can't give you more than about three
hours a day, but I'll pay cash. Having nothing else
in the pipeline, Billy Joe and I both said yes
sir at the same time. Good said mister Stuart. I'll
see you boys tomorrow at three sharp. Wear old clothes.

(04:07):
You're gonna get dirty after the meal shut down. Each
day we were to grease and loob all the equipment
and have it ready to go the next morning, and
then dispose of the sawdust left from the day's work.
It was an easy job for us, and it only
took us two hours to complete. Until we found something better.

(04:27):
This would work fine and put a few dollars in
our pocket every Saturday afternoon plenty for us to run
on during the week. To get to the mill from
where Billy Joe and I lived, we walked one mile
down the road from our houses, which were across the
road from each other, and then west through a cotton field,
where we would then head south for a half a

(04:48):
mile past Bryant's grocery, turn right, and then cross the
Talahatchie Bridge. The mill was a short distance from the
bridge across the river. On Saturday, we got the use
of one of our family's cars and we were spared
the walk The mill was set back off the road.
It was not a big place. Behind was a thick

(05:11):
stand of hardwood timber, and then the Tallyhatchee River. The
mill was set up under a large grove of oaks,
and the whole place was shaded until about six o'clock,
when the sun got low in the west and blazed
in on the mill from under the canopy of the oak.
If we finished in two hours, we beat the sun
and were out of there and on our way home.

(05:34):
Arriving at the mill a bit early, we immediately went
to work greasing all the components, just as mister Stewart
had instructed. We both greased the main saw together because
it had so many points to love. After that, one
of us would begin shoveling dust while the other greased
the idlers on the conveyor system. We would each finish

(05:56):
our tasks at about the same time. We had it
down to a science within the first week. I always
loved walking into that mill and inhaling the smell of
fresh cut lumber. I loved it so much. It was
my career until I retired several years ago from a
lifetime of working in the lumber business. My children asked

(06:18):
me years ago what I liked most about my career,
and I told him that it was the smell of
the cut wood. It still hooks me even today. Not
long after we began our work, mister Stewart walked in.
He was carrying a shotgun under his arm, laying it
across the conveyor that I was working on. He called

(06:39):
for Billy Joe, who was outside dumping a wheelbarrow full
of sawdust. I'm leaving this here with you, boys. Some
of these pigs that got loose up the road last
year have gone wild, and they've been coming into the
mill yard in the afternoons. If you see one, kill it.
We need to get rid of them. Can you boys
operate this gun? We both grew up hunting with our father,

(07:02):
so we knew how to handle a shotgun. Yes, sir,
I said. Good, said mister Stewart. When you leave today,
put this thing in the toolbox and unload it. You
got that. He tapped the metal box with the toe
of his boot. Yes, sir, Billy Joe said. Mister Stewart
got in his car and left. We went back to work.

(07:23):
Billy Joe loaded another wheelbarrow full of sawdust. And started
out back. I moved the shotgun over to a table
and I resumed my work. A car pulled up in
the gravel behind me. Behind the steering wheel was Bobby Lee,
pulling up to the mill in her father's car. From
the window, she said, Hey, Tom McAllister, what are y'all

(07:45):
doing over here on this hot day? Bobby Lee, you
know exactly what we're doing. She exited the car and
slammed the door. I have two cold drinks for you boys,
if you're thirsty. Where's Billy Joe. He's out back. Give
me one one of those drinks. I'm thirsty, I said.
She reached into the front seat and came out with
a bottle of knee high orange in each hand. They

(08:08):
were sweating from being so cold, and my mouth watered.
Where's that shotgun, Tom, bring the shotgun, I heard Billy
Joe say from the other end of the mill. Bobby
Lee and I looked at each other in a confused expression,
and then I remembered what Billy Joe was talking about.
He must have seen a pig. I sprint it to

(08:28):
the back of the mill with the shotgun, and Bobby
Lee was right on my heels. We made the turn
around a huge pile of saltust, and Billy Joe stood
a few feet into the oaks with his back to us.
Bobby Lee and I rived beside him at the same time.
Billy Joe looked over at her and a smile began
to creep up on his face. What are you doing here?

(08:50):
Aren't you glad to see me? She said, grinning and
flipping her eyelashes at him. Of course, I'm glad to
see you. I broke up their silly conversation and asked,
why do you want the shotgun, Billy Joe? Bobby Lee,
cutting me off, I have a cold drink for you
in the car, Billy Joe. Billy Joe looked over at
me and subtly rolled his eyes. I started laughing and

(09:13):
mimicked Bobby Lee. I have a cold drink for you,
Billy Joe. Want to leave work and go for a
ride in my Daddy's car and let Tom finish all
this work? Watch it, Tom, Bobby Lee said, you know
that I've never forgiven you for putting that frog down
my back at church. How long does a woman remember

(09:33):
this stuff? I said, forever? Silly man, she said, while
slapping the back of my head. This is why I
worry about you, Tom. You might never find a girlfriend.
We all laughed, and again I asked, Billy Joe, did
you see a pig back here? Uh? Yeah, he said,
as if he had been transported back from another planet.

(09:55):
Right down there, I saw something moving and snorting our attention.
It was then directed at the woods in front of us.
I see it, I said. Give me the gun, said
Billy Joe, and he wrenched it out of my hand.
He walked forward and we followed. Stay here, he said
to Bobby Lee. These things are dangerous. She didn't protest

(10:15):
and stopped in her tracks. The two of us walked
straight ahead towards the dark object. It was close, but
not in shotgun range. When we got within killing distance,
we stopped. There was no way to make out what
this thing was, but it had to be a pig.
Is that a pig, I asked, Looks like one to me,
Billy Joe said, and he raised the weapon to his

(10:38):
shoulder and fired. Leaves scattered from the blast of the
buckshot and dust hung in the air for a few
seconds before the figure was visible again. Laying in full view.
It was twitching and groaning, shoot it again, I whispered
to Billy Joe, but he didn't. He stood there with
a strange look on his face. What's wrong, I said,

(11:00):
kill that thing. I don't think it's a pig, he said.
I looked closer, and he was right. This thing was
covered in dark hair, and it looked nothing like a pig.
We moved closer, and a sick feeling formed in the
pit of my stomach. Laying in front of us, wreathing
in that hot dust was some sort of monkey or

(11:22):
baby gorilla, But it didn't look like a gorilla. Its
face was different, and its eyes were a shade of
blue or hazel. What is that thing? We heard from
behind us. Bobby Lee had caught up with us and
now stood there with us next to the animal. It's
not a pig, Billy Joe said, well, it's not a

(11:43):
person either, Billy Joe, it's an animal. I've never seen
anything like this. The three of us now hovered over
the creature, and we could see now that it was
alive and suffering. Blood leaped from several wounds on its
side and chest. Gifted its eyes back and forth to
us as we stood over it. The expression that I

(12:05):
saw was fear. It was afraid like a child. That
was clear to me, But it never made a sound.
Blood began to pull in the creature's mouth and pour
out the side, and then it tried to breathe. We
could hear the liquid in its throat and chest. Finally,
the creature stopped gasping for air. It was dead. What

(12:28):
have I done? Said Billy Joe. This is some sort
of person. I couldn't argue with him. Everything about the
figure lying in front of us screamed human child. But
there were no humans with hair like this covering their body.
The face looked off too. It was an animal, and
it wasn't a crime to kill an animal, but that

(12:50):
nagging sense we had that it was human hung in
the air. I got a call someone. Billy Joe said,
let's go get my dad. He'll know what to do.
Bobby Lee added, yes, everyone in the car, let's go
get your dad, Billy Joe. Instead, we stood there looking
at this poor creature we had just killed. No one

(13:11):
moved towards the car. Finally I broke the silence. This
is an animal. It may look human, but it's not.
I don't think we need to do anything with it.
We could drag it down to the river and push
it off in the water. The river's too far. I
bet this thing weighs two hundred pounds, said Billy Joe.

(13:32):
Bobby Lee spoke up. Let me pull the car up
to the woods. We can load it in the trunk
and drive it off somewhere and dump it. She's right,
said Billy Joe. But we don't have to find a
place to dump it. We can stop on the bridge
and drop it in the river. Let the current take
it away. Let's do that, I said. Bobby Lee ran

(13:52):
up the hill towards the mill. Soon we heard the
car back up to the trees behind the sawdust pile,
and she killed the engine. It was still daylight and
the sun was in our face as Billy Joe and
I dragged this heavy thing up the hill. By the
time we got to the car, we were drenched in sweat.
Bobby Lee handed us the coal knee highs and we

(14:14):
drank them in two or three gulps. Lifting the body
into the trunk is when I noticed the odor. It
was strong. I had not smelled it before, but now
it was making me sick. This thing stinks, I said.
I bet we ruptured a scent gland when I shot it,
said Billy Joe, Let's get this thing in the water now.

(14:37):
Bobby Lee, get the car started. We need to get
it out of your daddy's car before the smell sticks.
Oh my gosh, it's horrible, she said. Within minutes, we
eased on to the bridge and Bobby Lee stopped the
car in the middle, where the water would be the deepest.
I looked down and the current was enough to carry
the creature down river. She unlocked the trunk and we

(15:00):
roll the creature out of the trunk onto the gravel,
and then pulled it to the edge of the bridge.
I walked back to the trunk to close it, and
I heard a big splash. They had not waited for
me to roll the corpse off the bridge. The three
of us watched in silence as the black, massive hair
and flesh slowly sank. It's just an animal, Billy Joe,

(15:24):
I said, hoping to lift his spirits, but I don't
think it did any good. Bobby Lee pulled ahead. We
needed to get to the other side of the bridge
so that she could turn around and take us back
to work. When we reached the end, Bobby Lee said,
who is that. I looked off the left side of
the bridge and there was a man with fishing gear

(15:45):
in his hand walking up the bank. As Bobby Lee
turned the car around, he raised his tackle box as
if to say, Hi, that's Elton Taylor. Bobby Lee said,
he's the young preacher over at the Methodist church. We
all waved and acted as if everything was normal. Bobby
Lee dropped us at the mill and we finished our work.

(16:07):
Billy Joe put the shotgun in the toolbox like mister
Stewart had told us, and then walked to the car.
That smell from the creature still hung around the car,
and Bobby Lee knew her daddy was going to be mad.
Tell him you ran over a skunk. I said, good idea.
We got in her car and left. As we crossed

(16:28):
the bridge again, I looked down into that muddy water,
churning and boiling. Muddy currants have always given me the creeps.
Three hours ago, there was a strange animal walking in
the woods, minding its business. And now it laid in
the bottom of the river, tumbling with the current. It
would soon get hung in some roots in trees and

(16:48):
lodged there until it decomposed and was eaten by scavengers.
The whole idea made me feel bad, but there was
nothing any of us could do about it. Now, Bobby
Lee dropped us at our house. It had been a
long and eventful afternoon. Friday, June third, nineteen fifty five.

(17:13):
I woke to the hum and rhythmic clicking of the
attic fan whirling above me in the crawl space. I
looked out the open window and it was still dark.
I smelled breakfast cooking. My mother never failed to get
breakfast ready for my father before he left for work.
The floor was cool to my feet as I moved

(17:33):
to the bathroom, washed my hands, and then I was
at the table with my family, gobbling down a feast
my mother had prepared. How's your job going with Ben Stewart,
My father asked, it's going fine, Daddy. Billy, Joe and
I are usually finished in two hours, so we're not
getting rich. But I have two loans to cut down
the road, and that should give me a few more

(17:55):
dollars in the college fund. My father smiled and rubbed
the top of my head. You might be a businessman,
after all, he said, How about mowing our yard? Today
for no charge. No problem, Dad, I'll do it this morning.
I hated cutting grass, but I could cut through a
couple of times per week to make some change. My

(18:16):
father pushed away from the table, kissed my mother, and
was off to work. I began to think about the
events of the previous day. I had not thought about
it since I woke. I jumped from the table and
I ran to catch my dad just outside as he
started the engine to leave. Dad, have you ever seen
any strange creatures in these woods around here? What sort

(18:39):
of strange creatures? He asked? Have you ever seen monkeys
or gorillas in the woods? I waited for an answer.
He stared at his steering wheel. The car rumbled as
we both sat there in silence. I don't think he
knew how to answer the question. Finally, he said, why
are you asking me this? Tom? Have you seen something strange? Billy,

(19:02):
Joe and I saw something behind the sawmill yesterday that
looked like a baby gorilla. I've never seen anything like it.
Are you sure it was a baby? My father asked, Yeah,
stay out of those woods over there by the mill. Son.
I have heard of creatures that live along the river,
but I've never seen one. I heard some folks in

(19:23):
Bryant's store talking about buggers living in those woods across
the river from the store, some sort of ape. I
don't know if it's true, but if you saw one,
then maybe the stories are true. If they do exist,
and it was a baby, then you need to avoid it.
Parents tend to be very protective of their children. Yes, sir,

(19:45):
I said. I walked away and thought about the conversation
for a minute. I had not considered the creature having
a mother and father. Not once had that crossed my mind.
I ran inside and I called Billy house. It was
now daylight, and I knew his family would be up.
One of his brothers answered, Billy Joe isn't here. Tom

(20:09):
said he had a job to do at Stuart's mill
to make some extra money. Okay, thanks, I said, and
I hung up the phone. My mother walked through the
kitchen and asked me to help her clear the table.
I huffed, but I did it, and as soon as
she was done with me, I bolted out the door.
I ran down our road and cut into the cotton field.

(20:30):
At the end of the field, I saw a man
I thought was Billy Joe, turning the corner to walk
over the bridge. What was he doing at this time
of day over here? By the time I caught up
with him, he was already at the mill. I could
hear the saw running and the equipment loading the mill.
The place was a flurry of activity. Billy Joe was

(20:52):
at the end, almost to the sawdust piles, talking with
mister Stewart. I casually walked up to them, and they
both turned and looked at me. Tom. What do you need,
asked mister Stewart. Uh, nothing, I was looking for him.
I pointed at Billy Joe. He looked at me in
a strange way, and I slightly shook my head. I

(21:13):
knew Billy Joe was going to tell Stuart about shooting
that creature if he hadn't already. Okay, Billy Joe, what
is it, mister Stewart said, I've got work to do.
I just wanted to tell you that I took a
shot at one of those pigs yesterday after you left.
But I think I missed. Billy Joe hung his head.

(21:33):
You came all the way out here to tell me that.
Did you put the shotgun in the toolbox like I
told you? Yes? Sir, I wanted you to know that
we used one of your shells. Billy Joe stared at
his shoes. Look, I got to get busy. Unless you
have something else to say, get on out of here.
I'll drop another shell in the box for you this afternoon.

(21:56):
Anything else, No, Sir, Stuart walked off and started barking
orders at his mill hands. Billy Joe and I walked
back to the road. When we were on top of
the bridge, I asked him, what are you doing? I
wanted to see if mister Stewart knew what that thing was.
That's all Tom. Why didn't you ask him? Then? I said,

(22:19):
when you shook your head, I thought better of it.
Good move, cousin. I feel bad about it, Tom. I
can't get it out of my mind. I want to
find out what that thing was and if it was
a baby. He was very serious. Finally I realized he
was in the same clothes that he had worn yesterday.

(22:39):
Grease and sawdust stuck to his jeans and shirt, and
the odor of that creature was still on him. He
smelled like a skunk. You need a shower, Billy Joe.
You still stink like that creature. Have you even been home. Yeah,
I went home and straight to my room. I've been
up all night. I kept hearing weird noises outside. I

(23:03):
sat by the window all night thinking about killing that thing.
I swear someone or something was watching me. Nothing was
watching you, dummy. You need to let it go, go
home and get some sleep. Three o'clock is going to
be here real soon. I was doing everything in my
power to take the burden off of Billy Joe. I

(23:25):
didn't dare mention that the creature probably had a mother
and a father, and that they were missing their youngster
right now. What would be the point. I walked him
as far as my house and I said goodbye. He
walked on down the road, and I watched him turn
into their yard. I figured that he would go inside,
get cleaned up, and sleep until it was time to

(23:47):
go to work. I was wrong. Behind the mill, two
huge figures stood in silence, watching the men work from
a concealed spot in the woods. They stood in the
exact spot where their young child had died. The mother
wept in short sobs, while the father, kneeling to the ground,

(24:08):
ran his fingers through the dark spots in the dirt
where his daughter had bled out. They began to work
their way down to the river from inside the trees.
They looked both ways, hoping to see or hear anything
from the small sasquatch. There was nothing but the sound
of the water moving through the limbs of a blown
down tree. The big male looked into the swaying branches

(24:32):
and watched the water roll past and through the limbs.
Beneath the surface, he saw something flowing and waving in
the current. It was a mass of dark hair, swirling
in and out of sight, bobbing up and down. He
looked both ways and surveyed the banks on both sides
of the river, making sure no humans were there. He

(24:54):
heard a car roll over the bridge, so he waited.
When the car had passed, he waded into the murky water,
reached into the depths and felt flesh and bone. He
pulled the body out, and they moved up the bank
into the woods and laid the body in the leaves.
It was their daughter. The mother groaned in desperate sobs.

(25:18):
The father remained silent with his hand on her back.
There was no consoling her, and he allowed her to
grieve for the next two hours. When she was finished
and he had her attention. He made clear what his
intentions were. She nodded in agreement. They covered the body
with branches and leaves and worked their way back up

(25:40):
the hill. They were going to avenge the senseless death
of their daughter. Around noon, mister Stewart stopped his car
in front of our house. I was cutting the grass.
I killed the mower engine and I walked to his car.
He leaned across the front seat and he said, and

(26:00):
we quit early today, waiting on a few loads from
over around to Homie. Nothing to mill until we get
that load tomorrow. So if you boys want to get
your work done early, no one is there. Make sure
to be at work on Saturday at three o'clock, though,
I want things ready to go Monday morning. Yes, sir,
I'll go get billy Joe right now, good man Stuart said,

(26:22):
and he pulled away. I cut the last two strips
of grass, and I went inside to change into my
old work clothes. I then ran down to Billy Joe's house.
His mother answered the door. Hi, Tom, will you tell
billy Joe that the mill closed early today and we
can get our work done now, I said to my
aunt Mary. Aunt Mary looked confused. I thought Billy Joe

(26:47):
was staying at Jaw's house. I thought quickly there was
no need to get Billy Joe in trouble at this point,
but I couldn't think of anything to tell her. I
was never good at making up lies on the fly. Finally,
I said, I thought he came home to get some
sleep before work. I'm sure he's on his way to
the mill. I'll find him. I turned away and left.

(27:12):
Aunt Mary was still confused. It was easy to see
that none of this made sense to her. She had
not seen Billy Joe since yesterday, and he obviously did
not go home that morning after we got back from
the mill. Where had he gone. There was no time
to go looking for him, and I needed to get
to work. I could do the whole job before dark,

(27:35):
and he would miss out on a day's pay, more
money for me. I started my walk to work. The
heat was almost unbearable. No clouds hovered above, and the
sun shot its light to the earth with a vengeance.
Each step I took created a small cloud of dust
in the road. A car blaze passed me, and the

(27:57):
dust in their wake was suffocating. I guessed it was
now about one o'clock, so by the time I got
to the mill, I would have an extra two maybe
three hours to do the whole job without Billy Joe.
I had a little change in my pocket, and I
stopped at Bryant's grocery store to buy a cold drink.
I walked in the store. Missus Bryant stood behind the counter,

(28:21):
and I handed her a dime for the drinks. Tom McAllister,
haven't you grown up? What are you up to today?
Miss Bryan asked. I was in the store all the time.
My mother would send me to Bryan's to buy odds
and ends. Missus Bryant would comment on how much I
had grown every time I walked in there. I never

(28:41):
understood it, I answered, Missus Bryant. I'm working for mister
Stewart at the mill in the afternoons. I'm heading there now.
Billy Joe works with me. Have you seen him today? Well,
I sure did see Billy Joe. He walked by out
front an hour ago, she said as she could closed
the cash drawer. Okay, thank you, I said, and I

(29:03):
walked out the door. Tell you mom, And then I
said hi, okay, she said, as I stepped off the
porch onto the road. I didn't respond. I was in
a hurry. Billy Joe had come back to the mill
without me. After crossing the bridge, I walked into the
mill yard. There was no one there. There was a

(29:24):
large fan at the mill end of the area, and
I turned it on to get some air moving through
the sauna. It wasn't much help, but I could feel
it when I was on that side of the mill.
I walked through the open area of the mill, calling
for Billy Joe. I could see the woods to my
right and the stacked lumber all over that yard to

(29:45):
my left, but I didn't see my cousin. The last
place I thought to look was behind the sawdust piles
in the back, next to the woods. A pig suddenly
burst from the opposite end of the dust piles, and
it scared me. The grunting and hoof falls were loud,
but they soon faded away into the forest and the

(30:06):
pig was gone. Still no Billy Joe. The work in
the mill was still waiting on me, and it was
not going to get accomplished if I walked around the
mill yard all day. So I gave up on Billy
Joe and I went to work greasing the elements of
the saw. Four hours later, I was dumping the last
load of sawdust on the pile. My mind had not

(30:29):
been on the job. I doubt I did everything correctly.
I was worried about my cousin, and I wanted to
find him, but I didn't know where to look. It
was getting late, the sun had dropped below the treetops
to the west of the yard, and I needed to
get home. I was tired and I was dirty, and
I started the long walk back home. I stopped on

(30:53):
the bridge and leaned on the old wood guard rail.
The brown water boiled under me. Cars and turtles would
show themselves in brief flashes, and I thought about the
creature lying at the bottom of the river. I knew
the snapping turtles and the catfish were feasting on the
rotting flesh. My father always said that if you die

(31:14):
in one of these lakes or rivers and they aren't
able to recover your body when they drag it, the
turtles and the fish are going to eat you up,
bones and all. It gave me a sick feeling, and
I suddenly wanted off that bridge. When I reached the
other side, I heard someone call my name. It was faint,
but I could hear it. I stopped and I listened

(31:38):
tom wait. I heard it clearly this time, but I
didn't see anyone. I was looking towards the other end
of the bridge, and there was no one there. I
heard it again, still I saw no one. I looked
in the other direction, thinking the sound was echoing from
somewhere else, and there was a noise from below the

(31:59):
bridge that caught my attention. Quickly, I ran back onto
the bridge and looked over the right side. My eyes
started at the base of the bridge, and I panned
to the right, scanning the bank of the river. In
the distance. I saw a figure running along the bank.
It was Billy Joe, waving his arms over his head,

(32:20):
trying to run. He would trip and fall, only to
get back up and stumble a few more steps before
falling again. He slid down a bank into the water
and then pulled himself out and stumbled again. He was
having a hard time, but it looked like he was
running for his life. The Sisquatch parents had combed the woods,

(32:42):
backtracking by the scent. They found where their daughter had
left them, several miles downstream from where they discovered the
blood and the most evident scent. Now they knew the
path that she had taken. They followed the trail back
to the kill site and followed the scent up the
hill to where the small creature had been loaded into

(33:03):
the car. This is where the trail stopped. The short
line where she was dragged was mixed with the scent
of humans that they knew so well, grease and sweat,
and a sweet, soapy smell they deemed was a female human.
There were three individuals with three distinct scents. They logged

(33:24):
into their memory, hiding behind the sawdust piles and watching
the men work. They waited. Light swirls of air movement
would waft scent particles into the air, and the sasquatch
couple lifted their faces to the sky and took them
all in. None of the smells these humans emitted matched

(33:45):
the scent that they had picked up from the dragline.
No grease or soap odors, only sweat, and it did
not register. The mother Sasquatch wanted to break cover and
kill every one of them, and they could have it.
There were only six men work in the area, and
every ten minutes or so they would all be close

(34:06):
together at the end of the covered mill, but the
male knew that this was too dangerous. They had learned
throughout history not to provoke the humans. Whenever that had happened,
the humans came with dogs and guns. Lots of humans
and lots of guns. Attracting that much attention would inevitably

(34:26):
cause the beast who lived in the area to have
to migrate to safer ground, probably far away. He didn't
want that for his clan. They had lived in these
woods for years, and other than an occasional encounter with
a hunter, there was no contact with humans, and those
points of contact never produced a big hunting parties. The

(34:49):
hunters would leave quietly and they would never return. But
someone was going to pay for killing their daughter, and
the father knew if he was patient, he would bring
his ngance to the people who had killed her. So
he calmed the female and they sat a short distance
into the woods, concealed from the workers, and they relaxed.

(35:10):
They were ready to come back to this spot every
day for a year if they needed to to find
the guilty human, and if that didn't work, he would
begin making forays into the properties in the surrounding areas
at night until they found the scent, which was as
good as a DNA test to a human. They would
not have to wait that long, though. The men were

(35:34):
moving to their cars and starting the engines, and some
were leaving. There was some talk from around the yard.
The sisquatch did not understand the human language, but they
could read the intent in their posture and through their
tone of speech. Within minutes, the yard was empty and
all sounds of human activity ceased. The woods behind them

(35:56):
were quiet, and they waited. He caught the scent. The
male sisquatch had been relaxing against a tree, and a
faint whiff of scent he was looking for acrossed his nostrils,
and then it was gone. He stood and became alert,
his face held high in the air, trying to find
it again. If it was strong enough, he could pursue

(36:19):
from the woods and track the scent. There it was again,
and it was stronger now. The female stood next to him,
and she smelled it too. The killer was returning to
the scene of the murder. They backed away down the
slope and they became motionless. They became part of the
woods around them. A tall, lanky figure came into view,

(36:42):
silhouetted against the skyline at the top of the hill.
The scent of this human was strong, and it matched
the scent locked into their brains. Anger bowled in the
male's body with clenched fist. He stood motionless and waited.
The human walked down into the woods to the spot

(37:03):
where the young Sasquatch had died. He knelt to the
dirt for a while and then stood up, looking around
in all directions. The odor from their daughter was so
strong on this human there was no mistaking his guilt.
The male stepped into view. There was no aggressive posture.

(37:23):
He only wanted the human to see the being that
was about to kill him. The humans stood still and silent,
looking at the beast in front of him. His lungs
were taking in large amounts of air, heaving and exhaling
in terror. The big male took one step in his direction,
and the boy bolted into the woods. But he did

(37:45):
not run back the way that he had come from
the mill. He ran straight down the gentle slope to
the river. The female pushed the male, urging him to
give chase, and he did. It surprised the couple, and
in the delay billy made it quite a distance towards
the river. They were surprised at the speed of this human.

(38:07):
He would be no match for their speed, and they
knew it. And by the time they caught up and
found the boy, he was at the river bank. Their
instincts were to not go into the open so that
they would be seen years of conditioning and avoiding people,
and they stopped just up the bank and watched the
human make his way upstream towards the bridge. They heard

(38:29):
him scream calling to someone, and they knew they now
had attracted more humans, and they held back. Finding a
place that he could see through the thick canopy, the
big male scanned the area. There he saw another human
walking the bridge. The human turned and walked aback. The
human that they were after had caught the attention of

(38:51):
the walker. He was going to miss his chance to
have his revenge if he did not act quickly. It
would have been so much easy to snap the human's
neck back at the kill site, but he had hesitated.
He wanted the human to suffer in fear as his
daughter had suffered. It had cost him his revenge, but

(39:12):
maybe not. The male looked at his mate as if
to say, I can't let this human go free, and
the female nodded in agreement with that. The male roared
in fury and anger. The ground shook around him. His
call shook the trees around him. The female joined in,
encouraging him to go. The huge male leaped down the

(39:36):
bank and began plowing down every obstacle in his path.
By the time he reached the bridge, the human was
climbing the bank under the bridge to get to the road.
He was almost there, but it did not matter to
the beast. He sprinted up the bank through the woods
on an angle so that he would pop out at
the end of the bridge. He would catch the human

(39:59):
there and drag him back into the forest. Billy Joe
made it to the bridge. I was so confused to
what was happening that I only stood there on the
other end and watch my cousin almost kill himself trying
to make it down the bank. When he was close enough,
I could see that his shirt was in shreds and

(40:19):
he was bleeding from scratches all over his arms, chest,
and face. When he got to the bridge, I could
not see him anymore. He was climbing the bank under
the bridge. It was grown up and choked with vines
and limbs, but I could hear Billy Joe fighting through it.
I snapped out of my confusion. No matter what was happening,

(40:41):
I needed to meet him at the other side, and
I started running. But midway across the span of the bridge,
I saw billy Joe appear. There remained a short section
of hill for him to climb, and I thought I
could get there before he did so, and that I
could pull him over. But he beat me to it.
He really was running for his life, but I saw

(41:03):
nothing in pursuit. He rolled over the short wooden guard
rail and was on the bridge. It seemed as though
that he was now safe from his imaginary pursuer, but
I was wrong. Halfway between Billy Joe and the sawmill
stood a giant in the middle of the road. It
stood straight up on two legs, and it roared when

(41:25):
it appeared on the gravel road, only to lower itself
into a position on all four of its limbs, and
it began to run. Gravel burst in great sprays behind
the thing as it charged towards the bridge. Billy Joe
run at the sound of my voice. He turned and
saw his attacker gaining on him. He ran a short

(41:48):
distance and he looked back. He ran a few more
feet and looked back again, until this massive gorilla was
within striking distance. I felt helpless to save my cousin.
Even if I could reach him, how would I ever
defend him against this monster. The beast launched itself to
tackle billy Joe, but it missed. At the last second.

(42:12):
Billy Joe doved flat and headfirst into the sharp gravel,
causing the monster to overshoot him by only inches. The
beast slid several feet almost to the mid span of
the bridge, putting him far away from billy Joe, but
he quickly recovered and headed back, and this time he
was not gonna miss. But billy Joe leaned over and

(42:34):
placed his hands on the two by four rail, and
with one look back at me, he launched himself over
the side, dropping in the water. I don't remember hearing
a splash. I don't remember much after this point at all.
I was watching the beast in front of me. It
turned to look at me, heaving and growling in anger.

(42:56):
I was terrified, and I stood perfectly still. I accepted
my fate. We had killed this father's child, and it
was time to pay the price. I readied myself for
the attack that would never come. The beast grunted angrily
towards the woods below, chattering and grunning as if it

(43:18):
was calling someone another monster. I began to relax a bit.
When I saw the monster run in the opposite direction.
I felt a bit of a sense of relief. Billy
Joe was down in the water, being swept by the
gentle current. He was a few feet from the opposite bank,
and he was swimming with the current, making a few

(43:39):
inches per stroke. He was going to make it. I
don't know why I assumed these beasts would not swim.
I just figured Billy Joe had made it to safety.
All he had to do now was get to this
side of the river, which was only covered in a
small amount of brush. He could make it up the
bank easy, and we would be on our way home.

(44:01):
I immediately ran down the road and through the parking
lot at Bryant's Grocery, through their backyard, and down to
the river. When I got to the small bluff, I
could see Billy Joe. He was still swimming. He was
now several feet further down river, but had not made
much progress to reach this side. Just then, another black

(44:22):
gorilla creature appeared at the water, only a few feet
from Billy Joe. I yelled at him to swim. I
still assumed he was safe if he would just swim
to this bank, but he wasn't safe. The creature jumped
into the water and wrapped its huge hand around Billy
Joe's ankle and like a garment, jerked him onto the

(44:43):
bank and threw him up into the trees where I
couldn't see him. It all happened in a split second,
and my cousin was gone. I never saw him again
after that. I sat down on that far bank and
I realized it was It's now almost dark. The cicadas
were so loud that I never heard anything from the

(45:05):
other side, if there was any sound at all. I
thought about rushing back across the bridge to see if
maybe Billy Joe had eluded them again, but I knew
it was hopeless. I turned and I made my way
up the bank through Bryant's gravel parking lot and out
to the road. I had to head home and tell
everyone what had happened. The farther I walked, the more

(45:29):
the whole story sounded insane to me. No one was
going to believe this. I would sound like a crazy
man trying to cover up a crime. Maybe they would
accuse me of Billy Joe's death. You never know what's
going to happen in Mississippi. In those days, we lived
in a very strange culture. So I came up with

(45:51):
my own story, and it was believable and plausible. It
did not include the huge, hairy gorilla monsters. Headlights lit
up the road in front of me, and the car
pulled up beside me. It was Frank Gentry, Bobby Lee's brother.
He was on his way home from work, and he

(46:11):
told me to hop in. On the way home, I
explained to Frank what had happened, not what really happened.
I told him my story. He knew how close Billy
Joe and I were and he believed me. This gave
me confidence in my story. When Frank dropped me off
at the house, he told me to get inside and

(46:32):
tell my folks what had happened. That's exactly what I did.
My father called the sheriff and soon he was at
our door. He wanted me to ride over to the
bridge and show him where Billy Joe had jumped. People
began showing up, including my aunt Mary and Uncle Joe,
billy Joe's parents. They were a wreck. The immediate area

(46:54):
around the bridge was searched. Boats were launched upstream, and
they searched in dragged the river all night and into
the next day. Billy Joe McAllister's body was never recovered.
To this day, not one shred of clothing or corpse
has ever been found. He vanished from the face of

(47:14):
the earth. The next day, Bobby Lee came by and
we talked. I told her the real story. She already
knew about the young creature we had dumped in the river,
and there was no need to lie to her. She
agreed that no one would believe such an odd story
and it should never be told. I didn't see her

(47:34):
much the rest of that summer. I don't know what
she was doing. The next spring, Bobby Lee and I
graduated from high school together. I had planned to go
to school in Startville at Mississippi State, and I had
actually found a job at a building supply store in
Greenwood to save up money for the school year. I

(47:55):
would later graduate with an AG degree in forestry and
go on to work for one of the Lord Just
timber holding companies in the South. After I retired, my
wife and I bought a small house on the East coast.
I've always been drawn to warm places in sunny skies.
Bobby Lee moved away to attend school up in Memphis.

(48:17):
I only saw her a few more times the summer
after we graduated. We spent a few days standing on
the Tallahatchie River Bridge, looking down into the swirling water
and talking about Billie Joe and other things. She was
more serious than she had been in the years before.
Things seemed dark when I was around her. She hated

(48:38):
her home life and her parents. She told me that
last summer that they were the most uncaring people she
had ever known, and once she left, she never wanted
to see them again. I heard that she quit school
after the first year in Memphis and started traveling the world,
and that she later became a part of the hippie

(48:58):
culture of the sixties. To my knowledge, she never returned
to Laflora County, Mississippi. I think she finally met someone
she could settle down with when she was in her thirties.
They married and bought a place close to Memphis. I
assume she is still there. I would love to see
her face again. Maybe that will happen if I can

(49:20):
somehow find a way to reach her. I am now
seventy nine years old at the time of this writing.
I don't know how many more years the Lord will
bless me with. And I wanted to finally create a
record of why Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge.
There was a popular song about Billy Joe back in

(49:40):
the sixties. I listened to it on occasion. Most of
it is not factual, but I think the songwriter wanted
it that way. The question that intrigues people still to
this day is what was it that Billy Joe and
Bobby Lee threw off the bridge that day? The songwriter
has no ever revealed that bit of information, and it

(50:03):
was not a wedding ring. I can tell you that
with certainty, only three people know what dropped from that
bridge on June third, nineteen fifty five. Bobby Lee, me
Thomas McAllister, and a Methodist preacher by the name of
Elton Taylor, who later married a friend of mine. Her

(50:23):
name is now Bobby Lee Taylor,