The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-02
4 FEI7HER or VIC HTS TAN.
Judas Priest OF Waterfowl Snntchcs mt the
Winged Pur-ucr Of Gov. FLOWER.

WATERTOwN. Nov. 3O.-A strange something
ghost or fiend. s~urely-has frightened several
citizens of this town almost into fits to-day. The
thing was first seen late yesterday afternoon.
lust twonty-four hours after Gov. Flower arrived
il town to spend Thanksgiving Day. 1t came from
the direction Of Albany, and when seen was
s~coo,ing over the ROOF of the Otis House to the
northwest. 1t moved swiftly and noisClessly,
and il was gone almost the moment it appeared.
The men who saw it said il had large eyes, out
of which il looked with almost human intelli-
gencc. In general outline its head and body
were not unlike the head and body OF u human
being. but 1t Lad wings and tail feathers. Its
ears we're extraordinarily large. There were
three men who saw the thing. and they were
scared. They had been drinking, and when
they told their stories they were laughed at.
About an hour later the thing was seen again
sliding over the roof OF the Otis House and up
the street to the brick block above. 1t came
down to the level Of the windows in these build
ings and seemed to peer into each one. ms IL
looking for some one. On this trip 1t was seen
by Mr.. John y. Carlisle. one OF the most promi-
nent citizens OF the town.. He was close enough
to it To get IA good square look. His description
tallies with the. three men who saw IL first,
morning. wien Daniel Grihn saw it darling
across the little park in the centre OF the town:
hS wn' in fts a A. EI asppSS n wSs ana !, t diS IL y Sesm inl
visible. About % O'Clock 1t was stem again over
the roof OF The Otis House, And half an hour
peering in at the windows. In the next hour IL
was seen lowering around various residences in
the town. It, seemed to he looking for some one.
Once or twice IL headed out toward GOV.
Flowers house, but so far as is known 1t did not
Early in the afternoon 1t was seen again in the
park. and Judas Priest, an Adirondack guide
who is in town. went over To the park. Priest is
a man Of iron nerve and is without lear. Willie
fuli and AZ a distnnncr il might be mistaken for
that of I,Ov. Flower. Priest Ind bppn i'm
the park only a few minutes when the thing
swo0ped past him close enough for him to make
a grab for II. The moment II passed IL dislp-
peared. Priest found he had snatched a tail
feather. IL was abOu; two feet long and was Of
biologist who Is visiting the town. and that
gentleman gave the following description:
ut is n complicated modification OF the tegu-
mentary system. Though chemically similar to
and hUmO!0gOus with the Lair Of mammals in
different, 1t is composed Of IA quill or barrel. u
shaft, and n vane or beard consisting OF barbs
and barbnies. tn. quill Is a hollow cylin-
lated alhumen resembling horn both in
appearance and chemical constitution. 1t
is light but strong, terminated below by an
obtuse extremity pierced by an opening, the
lower umbilicus through which IL is supposed the
n%qtritiive vessels enter; above II Is continuous
with the shaft, with which. IL communicates in-
ternally, by an opening, the upper ,um6iliCus;
membranes fitting one upon the other, The
shalt is more or lees quadrilateral, gradually
diminishing in size to the tIp. 1t is slightly
surface. divided longitUdinally 10y a groove,
presents two, inclined planes meeting at an
Obtusc angie"
This DESCRIPTION. it will be noticed, tallies with
the description OF the feather OF aGOO Goo bird
tdHsCr sptLdglht.simlS since losing its tail
feather the thing has not been seen. The peo-
pie are recovering from their fright. There il a
feeling that the visit Of the strange creature had
something tn do with the visit OF Gov. Flower.
ALBASY. Nov. aU.-lhe trlcgraphcd descTip-
tiOns of the thing that was seen in Mater
town last night and to-day tallies in a general
way with the description OF the thing that star
tied folks IN the Capitol on Wednesday by APP
Iearing and writing ON the window OF the
Executive chamber a lot Of words. among which
were "MCMahOn" aud Thought and "~Iisten,"
and that was seen by Col. Williams, the Gov
ernOr's private secretary, sCOOting over the roof
OF the Capitol. The state EntOmOlOgist, the
state i~eolugist and PaleontClugist and Botanist
and Zo0lOgIst agree that IL is the sans. IL
Is believed now certainly 10 be IA concentrated
thought m the Fellows matter. IL is supposed
that II followed the tiOvernOr To WatertOwn,
but not being familiar with the place, didn't
know where lac was stopping and was searching
for him. The lain OF tho loss Of "A tail feather
may have induced IL to give up the job until
the Executive returns 10 Albany. Plans are on
the way 10 capture IL II il comes back here.
1t waslearned that Mr.. Fulton Mcmahon spent
three hours and six minutes thinking on tho
Fellows matter yesterday.