Has anybody heard a report on the Stratton Booger lately? By lately, I mean in the last 30 years. It has been at least that long since any sighting or hearing of him occurred. You might not have ever heard of the Stratton Booger. If you haven’t you were not around in the 1950s and ‘60s. Anyone who lived between Stamper’s Pond and McElhenney Town during that era knows exactly what we’re talking about. Some of them might have even encountered the beast. A few people claimed to have seen it and more than a few say they have heard it blood curdling squall. Reports of its appearance and sounds differ from person to person.
Descriptions of the beast vary, depending on who you ask. Some who claim to have seen it say it looked like a giant Bigfoot from the waist up and a cougar from the waist down. Others say it looked like an overgrown tiger with an alligator head. One fellow described it as a cross between a Holstein calf and a bobcat. These same folks say its squall is a deep roar like that of a lion. They said cows quit giving milk for a week and hens would quit laying eggs for a couple of days after hearing the beast. These reports usually came in on Saturday nights after the beer joints had closed in Lauderdale County. You can’t make this stuff up, at least I can’t. This is what people actually reported. A more believable description is that is a high-pitched cry of a cougar which is probably what it was. Some of the more believable people claim to have seen a giant black cat in the area which squares with the cougar theory.
My friend and former Union resident Chuck Ingram went along with Buckshot Beavers one frigid winter night in search of the beast. You remember Buckshot. He’s the one who dynamited my daddy’s favorite deer dog. According to Chuck, Buckshot was armed with two high-powered rifles, a 44-magnum handgun and a machete. I can’t help but wonder if he might have had a couple of sticks of dynamite tucked away in his gear too. The two adventure seekers wandered around the woods around Stratton half the night. The only things they spot-lighted was two coons, six rabbits, and an old glass Clorox bottle. Buckshot was sure the old amber colored glass bottle was the reflection of the booger’s eye. He cut down on his target with his Winchester 30/30 only to hear the shattering of the glass bottle. That is when they decided to call it a night.
Myth, legend or real? It is human nature to believe or at least try to believe in the weird and unexplained. To solve the mystery of the Stratton Booger would destroy and legend. Will the booger ever return to Stratton? I hope so. Evidently it is a harmless critter despite the reports of its fierce appearance and horrible cry. I would like to get a look at it.
Ralph Gordon is a Past President of the Mississippi Writers Guild.
