A Bit about South Carolina
by Christine Bruun
Published to this site January 24, 2010
We are transplants from the west. Over the years we have come to appreciate South Carolina's unique qualities. We've lived here for 13 years now. However, we are still becoming accustomed to the diversities of not just South Carolina's people, but of its particular geographic regions. So, remember that we have acquired a fondness for it but we had to work very hard .
South Carolina has not always been Welcoming
If you have ever driven in South Carolina, it would not take long for you to see that the forests are thick with cedar, hardwoods, vines, briars, and various other underbrush which makes it almost impossible to look into the wooded areas with any success. We would need a machete to be able to make our way for any distance before we were attacked and entangled within the briars and the brambles that make up much of the underbrush in the wilderness areas.
Having lived here for almost thirteen years, I can assure you that the wilds of South Carolina can be an inhospitable place. If the chiggers and the fire ants don't get you, the briars will. We have locust trees with spines that are at least two inches long.
My first encounter with South Carolina's wilderness was the day we found the piece of land we later bought. The land developer who escorted us to look at the property made it very clear that he was staying in the truck while we headed out innocently to investigate the magnificent wooded landscape. Thinking back, I am sure he knew exactly what adventure would be waiting.
It was heavily wooded and congested with the briars and all manner of vines and overgrowth. We had spent most of our lives in either Wisconsin, Utah, or Idaho. We were used to the forests and geography of the great Rocky Mountain range, the rattlesnakes, not to mention the severe winters that blanketed the region with snows that melted in the spring to provide the precious water resources for the high desert environment. We were unprepared for the harsh reality of the South Carolina wilds.
As we made our way to the back of the 200 ft wide by 1000 ft. deep property that was bordered by a small 12 acre man-made lake, the briars and brambles reached out to grab our clothes and inject their spiny thorns into our tender flesh. After reaching the lake shore, I found a log and preceded to sit and watch the water fowl that inhabited the lake shore. It was beautiful.
We saw a muskrat swimming around the tree stumps that rose from the lake near the shore where they had rotted in place after the lake was formed. It was peaceful. We saw a heron, a crane, and many other water fowl scattered around the lake. We even heard the forlorn cry of a late flock of Canadian geese as they flew over. It beckoned to us. We sat for a time just to listen to the sounds of nature that was to be our backyard.
We eventually headed back. As we approached the land developer's truck, he waved at us. We were so excited and we shared with him the adventure we had just experienced. That's when he mentioned the snakes. We have a few that are highly dangerous and deadly. Some are rattlesnakes. They would be the Copperhead, the Carolina pigmy snake, Dusky Pigmy snake, Eastern Diamond Back, Timber rattler, and the Eastern Cottonmouth (also known as Water Moccasin). We were a bit taken aback by it. We had not even thought about encountering a snake. There are maybe 20 other species of snake in South Carolina, but they are harmless.
The next day I was suffering from small, irritable, itchy, painful blisters all over my legs, especially my ankles. After talking to some of the local residents, we discovered that I had been introduced to chiggers in a big way. Evidently they hang on the tips of bushes and grasses and wait for something to walk by. They also hang out on logs. I was evidently prey.
Even after they instructed me to use nail polish to cover the blisters and suffocate the chigger, I suffered for several weeks before recovering. Evidently I am especially allergic to them. I still have the scars on my ankles from the incident. Welcome to South Carolina!
In the west, sitting on logs is common practice--you can't do that in the South without suffering the wrath of the chigger. We have since learned that we have to dress to protect ourselves with hiking boots, our pants over our boot tops and by placing an elastic around the pants and boot top to keep the chiggers out. You also have to take a shower immediately upon going back into the house.
Why not South Carolina?
South Carolina is a land of lakes, rivers, swamps, and mountains. It has old geology. We have a lot of limestone, quartz, gold, and a variety of other minerals and precious stones. We have limestone caverns.
95% of the region ranges between 1800 ft. down to 150 ft. elevation. Only the very northern tip of South Carolina ranges above 1800 ft in elevation. Most of the sightings seem to be located in the central and southeastern region of the state. Of the 46 counties that make up South Carolina, only 16 have not reported sightings according to the BFRO website. I know of one additional report from Chester County that they do not have.
We are surrounded by states with their very own Bigfoot sightings. I remember flying to Missouri on one of our field investigations and looking out at the scenery below. I realized quickly that there was a ribbon of trees and various undergrowth that seemed to flow all the way from Charlotte, North Carolina, to the Missouri airport near the border between Arkansas and Missouri. Despite the highways, railroad lines, freeways, and such, there was this continuous tree-covered area where Bigfoot could easily wander for a thousand miles unseen.
Vast swamps that fill the low places were water collects along the many rivers and lakes that dot the landscape of South Carolina, changes the solid ground into ooze and muck. These swamps are not only home to Bigfoot, it is one of the favorite haunts of the infamous feral pig, also known as wild hogs or razorbacks. These are aggressive animals and pose a serious threat to man and beast.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, (one of many states who are experiencing the feral pig problem), these animals can run up to 30 miles per hour and are good swimmers. They live about 15 to 25 years.
In South Carolina, the residents hold Party Dog hunts. According to Citizens for South Carolina Wild Bears, the hunters are responsible for releasing the hogs into the wild to train their dogs as well as for sport. The feral hog is just one of the many food sources available to Bigfoot. While there are few, if any, predators who would take on a feral pig and win, I would assume that Bigfoot would have the capability of hunting them and utilizing them for a food source.
Other plentiful food sources would be fish, a spoil of a state rich in water. The basic inland fish that South Carolina serves up are: Crappie, perch, trout, black bass, large mouth bass, brea, striped bass, and catfish. The numbers are plentiful and with all the lakes, streams, rivers, swamps, and other water sources, just as there are in the Northwest, fish can serve as a viable and plentiful food source to supplement the Big Man's diet year round.
Bigfoot has been seen fishing for salmon in the Northwest streams much as the bears do. Therefore, the next logical step would be to conclude that the South Carolina Bigfoot would do the same, though they do not have a salmon run to make use of.
There are many edible plants in the southeast; Elderberries, cypress, liveoak acorns, pecans, deer tongue, Balomy, wild rice, wild carrot, wild parsnip, burdock, yellow pond lily, water lily, arrowhead, wapato, duck potatoes, yellow and white marsh marigold, American cowslip, ranucula, purslane, winter cress, hard stem bulrush, arrowroot, blackberries, cattails, chicory, chestnuts, dandelions, muscadine, strawberries, roses, chickweed sassafras, persimmon, mulberry, hickory nuts, nettle, and wild onions, just to name a few. And don't forget wild honey.
There are plenty of food sources from the many varieties of edible plants in South Carolina. A far as meats are concerned, take your pick. There are feral pigs, the large deer population, wild turkey, muskrats, otters, mice, foxes, rabbits, bear, and other animals and birds available to Bigfoot. South Carolina could plausibly sustain a rather large population of these creatures.
e-Mail to: editor@cactusventures.com
Roadside Research - The Beginning
Sasquatch Watch© 1998-2010
All Right Reserved