Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1868-09-02
The Last MOnSter-A Mormon Serpent.

\ correspondent OF the DeSerct NelCS, pu b
lished in Salt Lake City, tells the marvellous
story of a species of monstrous animal il
Bear Lake, [ tab territory. lie says
g The Indians say there is a monster ami
NAL which lives in the lake that has captured
and carried away Indians while in the lake
swimming but they say it has not been seer
by them for many ycars-not since the buf
lalo inhabited the valley. They represent i
as being of the serpent kind, but having leg
about eighteen inches long, on which it some
times crawls out Of the water short distance
on the shore. They also say it spirits water
upwards ont Of its mouth.
Since the settlement Of this valley, sev
eral persons have reported seeing a huge
animal Of some kind that they could not de-
scribe but such persons have generally been
alone when they it, and but little Gre
dence has been attached to the matter, and
until this summer the monster question
/ had about died out
= About three weeks ago Mr.. S. NJ. John
son, who lives on the cast side of the lake at
a 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 something in the lake which, at the
time, he thought TO be Il drowned person
The road being so little distance from the
water edge he rode TO the beach, and as the
it would soon wash in to shore. In a 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. 1t had ears or bun
ches on the side of its head nearly as large
as a pint cup. The waves at times would
dash over its head, when it would throw wa
ter from Its mouth or nose. 1t did not drift
landward. but appeared stationary, with the
exception Of turning its head Mr. johnson
thought portion of the body must lie on the
bottom Of the lake, or it would have drifted
with the action of the water. This is Mr..
Johnson version as he told me.
9 The next day an animal of a monster
kind was seen near the same place by man
and three women, who said it was swimming
when they first saw it. They represent it as
being very large, and say 1t swan much fas-
ter than a horse could run on land.
= On Sunday last, as y. c. Davis and
Allen Davis. of 1t. Charles, and Thomas
Slight and j. Ceilings, of Paris, with six
women, were returning from Fish Haven,
when about midway from the latter named
place to st. Charles their attention was sud
denly attracted to Il pccnliar motto
=. ti.s vote. ,rout three miles distant. The
lake was not rough, only little disturbed by
Il light wind. MIR. Slight says he distinctly
saw the sides oil very animal that he would
suppose to be not less than ninety feet in
length. Mr.. Davis don [ 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 it rolled up on
both sides of 1t as it swan, and the wake 1T
left in the rear. 1t going south. and all
a greed that it swan with a speed almost in
credible to their senses Mr.. Davis says he
never saw locomotive travel faster, and
easy. In few minutes after the discovery
of the first a second one foll3wcd in its wake,
hut seemed - be much smaller, appearing to
Mr.. Slight about the size Of 4 horse \ lar
ger one followed this, and SO on till four lar
ger ones in all and six small ones had run
southward out Of sight. One Of the larger
ones, before disappearing, made sudden
turn to the west a short distance, then back
to its former track At this turn Mr.. Slight
says he could distinctly see it was of brown
ish color They could Judge somewhat of
their speed by observing known distance on
the other side of the lake, and all agree that
the velocity with which they propelled them
selves through the water was astonishing.
They represent the waves that rolled up in
front and on each side of them as being three
feet high from where they stood This is
their statement as they told me.
Mcssrs. Davis and Slight are prominent men,
well known in the county, and all of them
are reliable persons, whose yeracity is
doubted. | have no doubt that they would
lie willing to make afiidavits to their state
ment