The Opelousas courier., 1902-04-19
STRANGE MONSTER IN FLORIDA.

Reptile Formerly Thought to BE . Cree-
ture OF Indian Imagination.
An enormous reptile, more like the
extinct brontosaurus, or tabled sea-
serpent than any living creature, has
just been Killed by a hunter in the
lower Floriua Everglades. He means
to send the skeleton to the Smithson-
ian institution at Washington.
1t has for 100 years not only been
a tradition among the Seminole In
dams who inhabiated the borders or
Lake O]keechobee, but it is stated as a
fact within the knowledge Of some
of the Indians now living that an i'm
mense serpent made its home In the
Everglades and has carried off at least
two Indians.
The Indians reported the animal to
be snakelike in appearance, with ears
like a deer; that 1t had only been seen
in the Everglades, and that it was very
wild. They said that when it traV-
eeled it frequently stopped, raised Its
head high above the sawgrass to take
a view Of it's surroundings$o discover
enemies or to locate victin&, a deer,
bear, hog or some other animal. II
frightened, the Indians assef%ed that
it glided off at immense speedy
These STORIES have kept the Hnture-
some huntsSeand trapper on. hi guard
and in state of more or less ankle
ty, Notwithstanding they did nd$ give
credence to these Indian stories.SaRez
Gently Buster Ferret, n of the bofa=
est and most noted of the hunters of
Okeechobee, who for 20 years has made
the border of the lake and the Ever
glades his home on one of his periodl-
cal expeditions noted what he sup
posed to be the pathway Of an i'm
mense alligator.
For several days he visited the To-
cality with the hope of killing the
saurian, but was unsuccessful in find
ing him. His pride as a hunter was
piqued, and his desire to obtain the
hide of what he felt sure to be n OF
the largest alligators ever seen in this
section, where alligators are noted for
their immense size, grew daily. He
studied some plan to outwit it. A large
cypress stood near it's pathway, mi he
concluded to climb the tree and take
a stand for his game. He accordingly
took his position in the tree. For w o
days he stood on watch with his rifle
ready. Nothing appeared. He wal be-
coming discouraged, but determined to
give one more day to the effort.
On the third day, before he had been
on. his perch an hour, he saw what
looked to him like an immense SER
pent gliding along the supposed alli-
gator track. He estimated it to be
anywhere from rs to 80 feet long and
fully 10 I IL inches in diameter where
the head joined the body and as large
around as a barrel 10 feet further
back. The creature stopped within
easy range of his gun and raised high
Its head. AS it did Ferrel shot at its
head. Taken by surprise the serpent
dashed into the marsh at tremendous
speed, while Ferrel kept up firing until
he had emptied the magazine Of his
rifle.
About four days afterward he rem
tured back into the neighborhood and
about a mile from where he first say
the monster he saw a large flock Of
buzzards, and went to see what they
were after, and there he found the
creature dead, and its body sc badly
torn by the buzzards that it was i'm
possible to save the skin.
He, however, secured the head, and
has it now in his home on the Kissim-
NEE river. 1t is truly a frightful look
ing object, fully 10 inches from jaw
to jaw, and ugly, razor-lfke teeth. He
described the animal as dark colored
on it's back and a dingy white be-
meath, with feelers around its mouth
similar to catfish.
He has gone back into the swamp
with the intention of obtaining the
skeleton and bringing it back, after
which he will send it to the Smitkson-
ian institution in Washington.-New
York Times.