Hominid by R.D. Brady Read Free Book Online Page B

found, or on any of the other casts found in Northwest. Instead, all the very long toes were lined up, and there was no arch.
    In fact, when the foot bent to allow for bipedalism, the bend occurred almost under the ankle. That meant a full two thirds of the foot supported the being’s body weight. It was both amazing and understandable. Due to bigfoot’s alleged muscle mass and height, he had to weigh in excess of eight hundred pounds. The prints outside Tess’s cabin confirmed that—the foot that had made them had sunk in almost three inches into the ground. Only an incredibly large animal was capable of creating such a deep print. And there was no way the ball of a foot, even a large foot, would be able to support that much weight by itself.
    Tess considered what science knew about other bipeds. There weren’t many. Besides humans, of course, the most famous bipedal animal was Gigantopithecus .
    And now there’s the Bili ape, too, she thought.
    Of course, many animals occasionally walked on two feet for short distances, but that didn’t make them true bipeds. Very few had the physiology to walk for extended periods of time.
    Tess pictured the bigfoot in the Patterson-Gimlin film. I wonder if she ever moves on all fours. Her arms are certainly long enough. She tried to picture it, but it felt wrong. Bigfoot was too… Tess struggled to find the right word. Too comfortable on two feet to travel that way, she decided.
    Tess was only a few minutes from her camp when something in the trees to her right caught her attention. She squinted and made her way a few feet into the brush.
    A structure stood there, created out of tree branches. Each branch was easily twenty feet long, and they were layered one over the other, creating the framework for a tent.
    There was no way wind could have blown these trees into this shape. Nor had these branches merely fallen from their trees. The end of the branches had no rot; they were still healthy when they were broken free. Tess tugged on one branch. It was wedged in tight. She inspected it, and saw that it had been laced through three other branches. Excitement began to build in her.
    This was made intentionally.
    There was no one nearby, and no noticeable footprints. Tess shrugged off her pack and pulled out her camera. She had never seen a bigfoot structure before. She’d read about them, of course. In areas where bigfoot were believed to be, it was not unusual for individuals to come across trees or branches arranged in a tepee style. But their purpose was unknown. They weren’t created for shelter—they were too open to the elements.
    Tess walked around, snapping shots, her certainty growing. She had always suspected that these structures were a form of communication, maybe a road sign. She placed the camera back in her pack and studied the structure again. The branch that was woven between the three other branches pointed northwest. The others made a sloppy circle.
    Tess shook her head, not sure what any of that meant but convinced it meant something . These had been carefully arranged. There had to be a reason for it.
    Tess shouldered her pack, and with one last look at the structure, she made her way back to the trail. But the structure stayed in the forefront of her mind as she continued on to her camp. Maybe I should set a camera up near it. It might—
    Tess went still and then whirled around. She could still see the structure. She looked at the interwoven branch and then toward her camp. Her heart began to race. The branch pointed right to her camp.
    She swallowed, looking around, a thin sweat breaking out on her forehead. Is he warning others to stay away? Or warning me?

From the blog Bigfoot Among Us by Dr. Tess Brannick
     
     
     
    This week’s question comes from Jane Haskell in Burlington, Vermont. Jane writes:
     
    I’ve heard people say bigfoot builds stuff. Is that true?
     
    Actually, it may be. Most people agree that bigfoot are not tool users, but tree