Devices	Definition	Example	Reasoning
Premise Modifiers; Aggregation	Adds parts into a whole	“overcast, windless day”	Author uses this to add intrigue to story/sets up audience with a scene
Premise Modifiers; Interpretation	Make the data relevant	“something he had done for years without incident”	Gives witness credibility and adds relevance to his claim
Premise Modifiers; Time	Making it feel urgent	“what he saw next amazed him”	Used to lead into the big reveal/attention grabber
Based on Structure of Reality; Prestige Appeal to Authority	The quality of a person is known by his/her effects	“spoke to a game warden… there had been other sightings along the Neches River.”	Unnamed authority to establish the truth of the story
Est. Structure of Reality; Model Appeal to Authority	Persons or groups whose prestige confers value on their acts & should be imitated	“Jerry Hestand of Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy”	Head of important group for this subject, creates sense of authority
Est. Structure of Reality; Model Appeal to Authority	Persons or groups whose prestige confers value on their acts & should be imitated	Author included her email and social media at the end	Gives author credibility as real reporter

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Bigfoot Sighting along Neches River?

By Mary Meaux
The Port Arthur News

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February 19, 2013
Bigfoot sighting along Neches River?

Mary Meaux The Port Arthur News

PORT NECHES — Chill bumps rise on David Arceneaux’s arms as he looked across Block Bayou at a line of trees about 100 yards away.

“I’m not crazy. I don’t do drugs and I’m not a drinker,” Arceneaux said before telling his tale of seeing not one but two Bigfoot-like creatures huddled together one December morning.

The Nederland native visits Oak Bluff Cemetery about once a month to clean the graves of a friend and a cousin, something he has done for years without incident. But on an overcast, windless day Arceneaux got the fright of his life.

“I heard a blood curdling scream and a lady nearby asked me if I was OK. I told her it wasn’t me,” Arceneaux said as he stood, uneasily, at roughly the same spot where he saw the creatures. “We walked over to the water and looked to the left then straight ahead.”

What he saw next amazed him. Two Bigfoot-like creatures who had been throwing rocks in the water looked across at him and the unknown female. One was standing next to a tree, arms around the trunk and the other was squatted down. As the second creature rose from the crouching position Arceneaux estimated the creature was about eight-foot tall. So he snapped a photo with his phone, he said.

“All of a sudden they started walking then running through the woods,” he said of the bipedal creatures. “When they began to run, the lady said ‘I’m leaving’ and left. I stayed a few more seconds and then thought there may be a way for them to cross here so I left, scared.”

Arceneaux said he could see the face of the creature “clear as day.” There was hair from the mouth down like a man and when the creature turned he could see hair hanging down its arm.

Disturbed by what he saw, Arceneaux went home and watched an episode of “Finding Bigfoot” but had to change the channel when they played an audio recording of Bigfoot — it was too real.

“This is my first time back here since December,” he said.

Arceneaux said he spoke to a game warden, describing the situation, and was told there had been other sightings along the Neches River. Calls placed to a local game warden was not returned by Tuesday afternoon.

There are a number of organizations throughout the state that researches and documents Bigfoot sightings. Groups such as Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy and Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization. These groups strive to find evidence to scientifically prove the existence of the creature.

Jerry Hestand of Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy said there have been reports of sightings in the Big Thicket area and he has had personal experiences at the Lance Rosier Unit in the Thicket.

Hestand said one of the creatures entered his camp and growled at one of the dogs. The dog, he said, growled back but by the time the men jumped up from their tents the creature was gone. Hestand said the group was part of an episode of a Travel Channel show called Weird Travels in which Bigfoot vocalizations were played.

“There is a sound on the Internet called the Ohio howl,” Hestand said. “That’s exactly what we heard clearly and distinctly.”

Arceneaux said he did not come forward with his story sooner because he worried about what others would think of him. He has shown this photographic evidence — which was taken at a far distance with a cell phone — to friends and family and only had one person scoff. He will continue to research Bigfoot, he said, but remains wary of returning to the spot where the encounter occurred.

E-mail: mmeaux@panews.com

Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews