Stranded and broke on Prince of Wales Island after being denied logging work in 1961, Thomas and his two friends set up a survival camp in the towering old-growth timber of the Tongass National Forest. Their desperation deepened when a massive arm reached from behind a tree, ripped down the rope holding their freshly hunted black-tailed deer, and vanished into the 200-foot canopy above. Upon returning from a day-labor job the next evening, they found a towering entity rummaging through their camp before it effortlessly scrambled up a massive Douglas fir. Forced to hunt again to survive, the men processed a small fawn in the river as a terrifying, vengeful scream echoed from the dark timber across the water.
Later that night, as pebbles began striking their backs from the darkness, Thomas realized they were being distracted. Spinning around, he caught a 9-foot-tall, 800-pound creature sneaking in to steal their remaining meat and instantly fired his .45-70 rifle, dropping the massive entity dead. The forest immediately erupted into chaos. Surrounded by at least six screaming creatures hurling rocks and branches from the darkness, the terrified men spent the entire night frantically digging a crude grave and burying the massive corpse. At dawn, they fled the camp under constant siege, watching in horror as 10-foot-tall creatures effortlessly leaped between massive old-growth stumps in a terrifying, coordinated effort to cut off their escape.
