This area is mostly hardwood bottom lands, a small river, ( Clarks river ) if it was not so choked up with deadfalls in it, it would be great to canoe and explore. Lots of small game, and in the last 20 or so years a tremendous comeback for the deer also.
but the woods are very thick in most places and a 20 yard shot is considered a long shot by most.
Back in the 20"s or 30's, a fellow who lived in these bottoms had a music grinder and a pet spider monkey, he would make it into town 3-4 days a week, trying to make a buck as the depression really hit this very rural area hard. Anyway, this fellas pet monkey died, seems this little monkey was his only friend. So he hung himself out of despair. It was some time that anyone realized he was missing. Finally some of the area men got together and checked on him, found his corpse and buried him.
Then things in the bottoms started getting weird, My gramdma's farm was just a few miles away from here, so there were many times I ended up right in front of the remains of his old house, while hunting and fishing, or just riding dirt bikes.
One day we were riding bikes in the bottoms, the old house was not boarded up, and a side window was broke out, so we climbed in and looked around. There was not much in there, but when we went into the living room, the noose was still hanging from the rafters. It started swinging, there was no air moving in the house or outside when we made a very quick departure from the house.
This is the same area my wife and I tried to campout by the river in the van and were scared out by the total silence, and the van getting bumped hard enough from the outside to rock it.
I will go down there during the day with a firearm, but not without one. And I don't go back at night period.
Certainly not one of the wildest things to happen, but it still makes me wonder what did happen there. I have heard many times about the monkey man, and the bottoms. That happened well before I was born.
I was 23 when we went camping there, that has been about 22 years ago now. I still get uneasy in there, and it is very easy to get turned around in there also.
John
