I started out on a deer hunt at "Oh dark thirty"
alone. Parked my car half a mile from my stand, and started walking. I had scouted this area only once - for about an hour, the prior evening. The sky was very dark, both due to the early hour, no moon, and heavy overcast which prevented even the small comfort of starlight. No flashlight. Cold - about 23 degrees, high, gusty winds.
Completely engulfed by pitch black conditions, I couldn't even see my feet or hands - leaving me to stumble blindly, and rely on dead reckoning to find my stand location.
After about 15 to 20 minutes of stumbling along, all HELL broke lose - a stampede of a herd of a dozen or so SOMETHINGS!
They seemed to be all around me, and since I couldn't see even a yard in any direction, I couldn't tell whether they were coming or going!
My gun wasn't loaded, so I couldn't fire a round into the air to scare THEM away.
I just knelt down, ducked my head, and tried to make myself as small as possible. Braced myself for impact. Knew I was going to be trampled!
I knew the area had deer, elk, longhorn cattle, and maybe a few Bison!
By the sound of it, they faded away into the distance.
NEVER been so scared in my life!
Never found out what THEY were.