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rokee occupied the areas to the south and southwest。 The Monacan settled to the east； and the Erie and Conestoga claimed the areas north of West Virginia。 Even the inhospitable deserts of the Far West were divided and occupied。 There is only one spot on the map labeled 〃Uninhabited〃： West Virginia。
Why？ The West Virginia area is fertile； heavily wooded； rich in game。 Why did the Indians avoid it？ Was it filled with hairy monsters and frightful apparitions way back when？
Across the river in Ohio； industrious Indians…or someone…built the great mounds and left us a rich heritage of Indian culture and lore。 The absence of an Indian tradition in West Virginia is troublesome for the researcher。 It creates an unfortable vacuum。 There are strange ancient ruins in the state； circular stone monuments which prove that someone had settled the region once。 Since the Indians didn't build such monuments； and since we don't even have any lore to fall back on； we have only mystery。
＇1＇ American Indian Linguistic Families and Tribes； a map issued by C。S。 Hammond & Co。； New York。
Chief Cornstalk and his Shawnees fought a battle there in the 1760s and Cornstalk is supposed to have put a curse on the area before he fell。 But what happened there before？ Did someone else live there？
The Cherokees have a tradition； according to Benjamin Smith Barton's New Views of the Origins of the Tribes and Nations of America （1798）； that when they migrated to Tennessee they found the region inhabited by a weird race of white people who lived in houses and were apparently quite civilized。 They had one problem： their eyes were very large and sensitive to light。 They could only see at night。 The fierce Indians ran these 〃mooneyed people〃 out。 Did they move to West Virginia to escape their tormentors？ There are still rumors of an oddball group of albino people in the back hills of Kentucky and Tennessee。 But there are also myths and rumors of mysterious people living in the hills of New Jersey forty miles from Manhattan。
III。
The day before Woodrow Derenberger's unexpected meeting with Mr。 Cold in the rain； a national guardsman was working outside the national guard armory on the edge of Point Pleasant when he saw a figure perched on the limb of a tree beyond the high fence。 At first he thought it looked like a man； but after he studied it for awhile he decided it was some kind of bird。 The biggest bird he had ever seen。 He went to call some friends and when they came the bird was gone。
IV。
On November 4； Derenberger was riding with a co…worker on Route； 7 outside Parkersburg when he felt a tingling sensation in his forehead。 Then thoughts from Mr。 Cold began to spring full…blown into his mind。 Cold explained that he was from the planet of Lanulos which was in the 〃galaxy of Ganymede。〃 Lanulos； he said； was very like the earth； with flora； fauna； and seasons。 He was married to a lady named Kimi and had two sons。 Folks on Lanulos had a life expectancy of 125…175 earth years。 Naturally there was no war； poverty； hunger； or misery on Lanulos。
When the transmission was pleted； Cold urged Woody to brace himself because withdrawal would be painful。 Woody felt a sharp pain in his temple and nearly passed out。
Two weeks later； though Woody wasn't aware of it at the time； two salesmen visited Mineral Wells and went from house to house with their wares。 They weren't very interested in making sales。 At one house they offered Bibles。 At another； hardware。 At a third they were 〃Mormon missionaries from Salem Oregon〃 （a UFO wave was taking place in Salem at that time）。 One man was tall； blond； and looked like a Scandinavian。 His partner was short and slight； with pointed features and a dark olive plexion。 They asked questions about Woody and were particularly interested in opinions on the validity of his alleged contact。
V。
〃Old Bandit's gone；〃 the six…year…old boy said sadly。 〃Mister； do you think you can bring him back？〃
Gray Barker shifted his large frame uneasily。 The boy's father； Newell Partridge； ordered the child off to bed。
〃It's all so weird；〃 Partridge plained。 〃I just can't figure it out。〃
Barker smiled understandingly。 Ever since he had investigated the Flatwoods monster back in 1952； he had been listening to weird stories。 A pioneer ufologist； Gray had made many outstanding contributions to the subject。 He had also managed to make himself a somewhat controversial character in a field riddled with controversies and characters。 The diehard fanatics who dominated sauceriana during the early years were a humorless lot and Gray's mischievous wit baffled and enraged them。 At times it baffled me； too。 This towering bear of a man was very hard to 〃read。〃 But his investigations were always thorough and unpromising。
Now he was sitting in the home of Newell Partridge near Salem； West Virginia； talking about an errant television set and a missing dog。 On the evening of November 14 1966； Bandit； a big； muscular German shepherd； had dashed into the darkness and vanished。
〃It was about 10：30 that night； and suddenly the TV blanked out；〃 Partridge said。 〃A real fine herringbone pat…ten appeared on the tube； and at the same time the set started a loud whining noise； winding up to a high pitch； peaking and breaking off； as if you were on a musical scale and you went as high as you could and came back down and repeated it。 。。。 It sounded like a generator winding up。 It reminded me of a hand field generator that one might use for portable radio transmission in an emergency。〃
Outside on the porch； Bandit began wailing。 Partridge picked up a flashlight and went outside to investigate。
〃The dog was sitting on the end of the porch； howling down toward the hay barn in the bottom；〃 Partridge continued。 〃I shined the light in that direction； and it picked up two red circles； or eyes； which looked like bicycle reflections。 Still there was something about those eyes that is difficult to explain。 When I was a kid I night…hunted all the time； and I certainly know what animal eyes look like…such as coon； dog and cat eyes in the dark。 These were much larger for one thing。 It's a good length of a football field to that hay barn。 Probably about 150 yards； still those eyes showed up huge； for that distance。〃
As soon as the flashlight picked out the 〃eyes〃 Bandit snarled and ran toward them。 A 〃cold chill〃 swept over the man and he felt a wave of fear which kept him from following the dog。
That night he slept with a loaded gun beside his bed。
The next day he went looking for the dog。
〃I walked out to the barn； looking for tracks。 Here and there I could see Bandit's paw prints。 These were rather easy to find； for he was a heavy dog； and the area was muddy。〃
At the approximate position of the 〃eyes〃 he found a large number of dog tracks。
〃Those tracks were going in a circle； as if the dog had been chasing his tail；〃 Partridge explained； 〃though he never did that。 And that was that。 I couldn't see them go