The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-08-27
A MORMON SERPE ENT.
A Description OF the Great Monster.

correspondent of the DeSereI Ne,cs, pub
ilshed in salt Lake City, tells the marvellous
story OF species of monstrous animal in Bear
Lake, Utah Territory. He says;-
The Indians say there is monster animal
which lives in the lake that has captured aud
carried away Indians while in the lake swim
them Tor many years-not since the buffalo
inhabited the valley. They represent 1t as
being OF the serpent kind, but having legs about
eighteen inches long, on which 1t sometimes
crawls out of the water short distance on the
shore: They also say it spirits water upwards
out of lis mouth.
about three weeks ago Mr. S. NJ. johnson,
who lives on the east side of the lake at place
called South Eden, was going to the Round
Valley settlement, six miles to the south of this
place, and when about half way he saw some
thing IN the lake which, at the time, he thought
TO be a drowned person. The road being so lit
tie distance from the waters edge he rode TO the
beach, and as the waves were running pretty
high he thogg ght il would soOu wash In to shore,
In few minutes two or three feet OF some kind
of an animal that he had never seen before were
raised out of the water. He did not see the
body, only the head and what was supposed
to be part of the neck. II had ears or punches
or the side of Its head nearly as large as a pint
cup. The waves at times would dash over its
head, when 1t would throw water from its mouth
or nose. IT did not drift landward, but appeared
stationary, with the exception of turning its
head. Mr.. Johnson thought a portion of the
body must lie on the bottom of the lake. or it
would have drifted with the action of the water.
THE next day an animal of monster kind
was seen near the same place by a man and
three women, who said 1t was swimming when
they first saw it. They represent it as being
very large, and say II swan much faster than q
horse could run on land.
"On Sunday last, rs N. G. Davis and Allen
Davis, OF 81 Charles, and Thomas Slight and J.
Ceilings, OF Paris, with six women, were return
ing from Fish Haven, when about MD way from
the latter named place to ST. Charles their atten-
tion was suddenly attracted to peculiar motion
or wave in the water, about three miles distant
The lake was not rough, only little disturbed
by light wind. Mr.. Slight says he distinctly
saw the sides of very large animal that he
would suppose to be not less than ninety feet in
length. Mr.. Davis don't think he (Davis) saw
any part OF the body, but is positive it must
have been not less than forty feet in length,
judging by the wave 1t rolled up on both sides
of 1t as 1t swami and the wake It left in the rear
1t was going south, and all agreed that it
swan with a speed almost incredible to
their senses. Mr.. Davis says he never saw
a locomotive travel faster, and thinks it must
have made mile a minute easy. In a fe "
minutes after the discovery of the first second
one followed IN its wake, but seemed to be
much smaller, appearing to Mr. Slight aboat
the size of horse. A larger one followed this,
and so on till four larger ones in all and six
small ones had run southwark out of sight. One
of the larger ones, before Disappearing made a
sudden turn to the west short distance, then
back to its former track. AT this turn Mr. Slight
says he could distinctly see it was of brownish
color. They could judge somewhat of their
speed by observing the known distance on the
other side of the lake, and all agree that the
velocity with which they propelled themselves
through the water was astonishing. They re-
present the waves that rolled up in front and on
each side of them as being three feet high from
t{ rs they told me Mer Davis and
Slight are prominent men, well known in the
county, and all of them are reliable persons,
whose veracIty is undoubted. | have no doubt
they would be willing to make affidavits to their
statement"