The sun., 1894-10-21
DEVILS LAKE MYSTERIES.
LaONG THEM ARE A MoEsTER SEA
sERPRNT AND 4 PHANTOM sHIP.
The serpent said 20 Be LsT IN The lake
by the Zee er the siaeisi Rertoa-The
Indisns Afraid 60 GO the water.

Ths serpent said 70 Bs LsSt In the Lake
by the Zee or the tsiaeisi Psr,os-The
Indisns Afraid 60 GO en the water.
For the first time In seven years the ssa SER
pent in DEVILS Lake In North Dakota did not
appear this season. Some Of the residents there
said IL was because of the hard times, and 9TH
ers gave other reasons for H. but the fact is the
older Indians who live on that interesting and
romantic sheet Of water were intensely pleased
because one saw this monster. which has so
frightened them that, for as long as any can re-
member and as long as the Indians themselves
have any tradition. they have even refused 10 go
out on the water In any Kind Of craft.
The novelty Of q sea serpent In an inland lake
may impress some persons as amusing, but II IL
fact that all the Indians, except the children
who are being educated at the Government
school on the borders Of the lake, believe in this
monster, and there are scores of white residents
In the town Of DEVILS Lake who also believe In
It, and dozens who say they have actually seen
II. There is also lot Of interesting folklore to
explain the presence uf this serpent 80 far away
from the sea, whore It belongs, and TO account
for Its great uge. According to the stories, 1t
| must be thousands OF years old. II has q great
mission TO perform, according To the In
dian belief, for II stops up hole at
the bottom Of the lake, and keeps the
water from running out, There are some per-
|
its absence this year by asserting that the SER
pent must have found a subterraneaI outlet to
the sea and escaped They also willing TO
| think that the DEVILS Lake serpent is the same
one recently seen In Norway. for the capture Of
which the plain people OF that country have
formed n Sea Serpent Catching Society, as
! told In THE Sun recently. The Devils Lake
serpent and the Norway serpent closely re-
semble each other. II will he a matter Of great
nj f.,t IpI IaL.
they can be proved to be the same, for then the
Indians will go out the water and enjoy TO
the fullest their surroundings In that romantic
region of North Dakota.
DEVILS Lake Is on tho line Of the Great North
ern Railroad, the newest of the trans. conti-
mental lines and in many respects the most in
teresting Of them all. The country is wilder
and more picturesque on that line than on the
older lines and s more open. One sees wild game
In profuson along its line, and the prairies are
AS free from the evidences of the approach of
man with his fences and evidences OF ownership
AS in their original state The old-fashioned
cattle ranges are still there and IL the herds of
buffalOes could only be put back, one could get
realistic picture of what the "boundless West"
meant twenty-five years ago. DEVILS Lake 10
about one-third way across the state and we'll
up toward the Canada line. II is fifty miles long
and from one 70 ten miles wide. 1t has shore
line OF 800 miles, and 1t is pretty and graceful
sheet OF water. 1t Is in the Cuthead Indian Res
ervation, but there is no longer any army post
there, the fort being given up to the school
All through this country the buifaioes used to
roam by the tens OF thousands, and here the |
Sioux aud other tribes have fought many a
bloody battle. II used to be a favoritu stamping
ground for Sitting Bull and his followers. and |
many chase across this region have the United |
States troops had in their efforts to catch
I'm M N hFnt Ia nnls
years ago that the residents OF that section Of
country had bad scare from the Indians. 1t
railroad company sent out along the road to
gather up squads of employees who might be In |
The Indian name for Deyil's Lake Is Mime |
waukan, or water of the bad spirit" Spirit |
Indian name. The Cuthead Indians are part !
Sioux and part chippewa In their origin, but |
s there ne t to b 3 on
dians and many signs and Indian markings |
Which the cnthesd H dn,sTSt and which
perhaps thousands of years ago. When the evil |
name nan OF the lake M first BEGAN they Do not know,
monster sea serpent, and many OF them have |
seen Il with ,dns,., their own own eyes: they as:
they will Immediately refer him to Capt. |
Herman, the wealthiest resident OF the town OF |
Capt. Herman is almost always down at the |
railroad station when the trains come in for he |
keeps hotel and looks after any coming guests. |
He owns two steamers on the lake and was one |
OF the first white settlers there. Moreover. he ia
aud steamboats for the fun there Is in Il for
him. and he had history before he came to
Devils Lake lie used to be Captain on Mis-
great adventure In that calling, and having |
made Il comfortable fortune Went out into the
wilds of Dakota to enjoy himself and become
the most conspicuous citizen of that country.
- Capt HERMAN AZ Is SO man Of truth. Any one in
Of sentiment, and when he says that hs has seen
that sea serpsnt ir.qIenty that settles i in the
But i the Captains word should happen to bs
doubted ri.sy thing to I'D. do neigh
tween the inaians and the residents Is the only
thing for visitors to do is to actept the serpent
as ass reality and authenticated beyond the pos
All descriptions of the serpent agree that It
has alligator M Jaws and glsrlng red eyes Its tall
glare q the sunset sky i often reflected in the
Of red light that 20 darting here and there as
the serpent turns It's head strike terror into the
moves slowly along about half q mile from the
shore and in the course of day or two makes
water furiously with its tail and again il leaves
u, simple, shining wake as It pushes it's way
mailing long and puRRSes and
to the surface after long reaches Just be-
The the sRUrs aSaSs S an
u into fnry: & lis color Is Shiny green, and it is
It's head and follow along to its tail threesor four
distinct waves being in evidence at III same
time. IL has ragged and enormous fins on Its
sides and horny substances that project from
It's jaws, or directly behind them and trail along
IN the water, but which, when il Is angered
stick out In q horrible bristling attitude. Its |
scales sometimes glisten and sometimes lie SO
close to its back that they seem to lie simply an
annual appearance in its Journey around the |
lake it disappears again for year. Why II did |
not show itself this year. 0f course Is not |
InOwn, but no one in Devils Lake thinks il has
gone for good although they wish il had.
The indiana give a most interesting explana-
lion Of its presence IN the lake So far from the
sea, 10 some way they have learned, or It has
'ome down TO them in their folk lore, that there
They assert that this serpent came down with
he Ice from the great North and was left To It's
because II could not get away, IL Is q fact that
% the south OF the lake are bluffs and nlonster 4
tones that perpend ieular Ia their formation !
10 the north The stones are HAT aud clearly
how, IL Is sath; the marks OF the great ice cap q
70 Il moved down from the north nlOuRhina | 4
mOOth everything before Il and max Ing n,arks .