The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1877-10-18
THE MISSISSIPPI MONSTER.


The MlSSlSSIPPl MUNSTER.
Lst Louis Globe-De -DemocratI
Mr.. Robert Mathison, a well-known
business man of st. Louis, whose resi-
dence is at 1884 Oliver Street, arrived in
the city last night by rail from Mem
phis, and at late hour called at the
GlObe-Democrat office and gave to a re-
porter a startling account of the recent
exploits of the river monster which has
created such an excitement during the
last two weeks among the denizens of
the Lower Mississippi. Mr.. Mathison's
narrative-and there seems to be no
doubt of its literal truthfulness-is sub
stantially as follows: Friday afternoon
at late hour-the sun being about
half hour high, and the sky and air I'M
usually clear-Captain John Carraway,
of the tow-boat Bee Wing, having in
tow six heavily-loaded coal-barges of the
well-known Brown Barge and Transpor-
tation Company, of Pittsburg, was pass
ing point on the river just above the
village or landing known as Bradley s,
five miles below Devils Elbow Cutoff,
and about fifteen miles above Memphis,
when his attention was directed to
loud, putting noise a considerable dis
tance up the river. At first he thought
it was the roaring of broken 'scape
pipe or the wheeling of disordered en-
gine, but seeing no smoke, and having
reason to believe that there was no
steam craft within hearing distance, be-
low or above, he very shortly came to
the conclusion that the sounds emanated
from another source. Five minutes
passed and the noise continued to be
heard at brief intervals, and evidently
getting closer. From the deck of the
tow-boat view could be had for one
thousand yards up the river, a gradual
bend commencing at that distance.
The sun was almost dipping below the
western horizon when, around this bend,
there rose to view the writhing form of
terrific monster, darting impetuously
in mid-channel down the river. When
first seen the leviathar seemed more like
an immense uprooted tree, floating in a
semi-perpendicular position along the
mid-channel. As it neared, however, its
horrid proportions became manifest.
The hideousness of this aquatic mon
strosity is stated by Captain Carraway
to be beyond the power of description.
Its immense pelican bill, from five to ten
feet in length, the gigantic bulldog
head, and the mammoth, Shiny neck,
upreared high in the air; the vast tail
lashing the waters into fury, and the
enormous fins, ten feet in length, send
ing out waves like the roll of flying
boat; the frequent dipping of the
monstrous beak into the water, and
spouting huge streams forty feet high in
oblique directions, and the deep, cav
ernous roars that came laundering along
at the briefest intervals all these
formed an internal panorama that made
the blood of the tow-boat Captain and
his affrighted crew run cold, and their
very hairs to stand ON end. The
monster was in the exact wake of the
boat and barges, but it travelled with
such tremendous velocity that turning
out of the course was impossible. 1t is
believed that its locomotion was at
least twenty miles an hour, and Captain
Carraway at once realized that if the
ponderous body, with its irresistible
momentum, should strike his fragile
vessel the boat would capsize in an in
slant or be shattered to splinters. He
was making eight miles an hour. On
the monster rushed, roaring with deaf
ening effect, spouting from his horrid
bill two streams of water that shot forty
feet into the air, and felIin torrents into
the river on either side. The serpen-
tine body swayed tortuously and with
frightful rapidity through the muddy
waters, while the prodigious foreparts of
the colossal reptile rose and sunk, and
swayed like a Stygian horror, threaten
ing to swallow and devour all that came
within its reach. When within one
.hundredand fifty or two hundred yards,
the horrid reptile, as if it had Just dis
covered an obstacle in its track, slack
ened its precipitate pace, and for an in
slant paused to contemplate the nature
Of the obstruction. With tremendous
snort, so loud and deep and sonorous
that it gave the boat tremulous motion
and, with its monstrous bill, head and
neck reared perpendicularly, it seemed
like watery demon rising from the
bosom of the deep. Here Captain Car
raway, despite the terror that had neces
sarily taken possession of him, obtained
good view of the monster, at least the
parts that were above water, and his de
scription of the horrific spectacle is suffi
ciently minute and accurate to de
serve reproduction. Carraway allege
that there is no doubt that the mon
ster has a pelican-shaped bill, bu
that its length, which has heretofor
been described as being five fee
long, will at least measure ten feet
1t appeared more like an immense horl
than beak, and in shape was much lik
the pointed sword of the spear-fsh
though larger and longer, and decided,
more formidable asa weapon of offensiv
warfare. 1t was from this bill tina
the monster spouted water, the waite
being thrown from a point near tn
head. Captain Carraway, who is a
old whaler, stated that the spouting, I'LL
like that of the whale, which throws ii
stream upward in straight column, wa
made in Oblique directions, and that tn
volume of water spouted, and the heigh
reached, was twice as great as tina
thrown by the whale. The head is de
scribed to have been four or five fee
across, black and shining, and its shap
bearing close resemblance to the bull
dog. Captain Carraway thinks tn
animal bore on its head two short horn
but of this he is not certain, as the tim
for observation was very short. TheI
could be no doubt, however, as to til
canine shape of the head, and of th
phenomenal circumstance that to tn
dogs head was attached bill or beal