The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1903-12-23
A PRIZE YARN ABOUT IL
II a MIXED SEA MONSTER
Combination Of Fish, Alligator and
Bat Found.
Throws the Old Sea Serpent Into the Shades
Gigantic Survi.,r of Prehistoric Ages is Over
Sixty-five Fee Long, sr. Equally at Home
i'm Air Sea.


less, unclassified creature of the ami
NAL world is exciting the curiosity.
wonder and fear of occasional visitors
/ TO Stansbury Island, in the southern
| portion of Great Salt Lake.
| This monster, so strange and unnat-
| ural in appearance. has lately, 1t is
said. been seen by several persons. but
| the best account of its characteristics
and movement is given by Martin Gil
bert and John Barry, two hunters vino
this week returned from an expedition
over the island in the course of which
they studied the habits of this hitherto
unheard of creature for three days.
The monster, which appears TO he
almost equally at home in the air. on
the beach, or submerged in the bIiny
waters of Salt Lake, is probably the
sole survivor of a prehistoric species.
1t is doubtless the last representative
Of family whose other members. dead
ages since. have left the testimony Of
their existence in the primeval rocks
of the mountains.
Arranging in concise form the de-
sc.iption of this incredible relic of the
animal world, from the accounts given
by those who have observed il at close
range, it seems in plain, unscientific
language, a combination of fish, ali
gator. and bat.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAST.
In size it is simply tremendous. Gil
bert places its length at sixty feet.
while Barry. who Is an amateur seen
tlst, says that an examination of its
tracks demonstrates that the monster
nust be sixty-fve feet from head to
tail.
The head is like that of an aliGG tor
ne eyes tiercely glowing. the jaws.
capable of opening to Il distance of ten
feet from the top of the upper to the
lower, are provided with fearful AZ
ray of sharp saw-edged teeth: the
body. so far as observation goes is en-
,ased with heavy horny scales. AS to
This Gilbert and Barry are not positive
IS the constant diving of the beast. il
such it may be called. ip.o the strong
brine of the lake has incrusted il with
4 thick coating of salt. which. save
near the wings, completely hides the
body.
According to their account they first
righted it at distance of between
one and Il half and two miles. The day
was clear, the sun intensely bright.
Gilberts own words Of the discovery
are:
We were walking westward from the
| Oh. .g& ~. Il
t.; the morning, when suddenly to the
northwest there appeare.. Thing.
don't know what to call IT. it looked to
me like Il brilliant rainbow folded into
compact mass, moving rapidly
through the air.
Il was so astounGed That for Il few
moments I doubted the evidence Of M
own senses. The object came nearer,
but the colors were so dazzling that Il
was some time before ii assumed DEF
mite form. No ore who has not wit
messed the sight can conceive It's
stranGeness. The mass of color was
glowing, flaming, radiant. / spoke. to
! Barry. saying:
1 For Gods sake, man can you SEQ
Ihat:' and he was no less astonishcd
than myself.
In three or four minutes the mon
ster's position was such that ii 10
Onger reflected the sunlight directly
toward us, and we could then discern
the outline of the form It's wings
we're batlike, stretching out over a
great eXpanse ] should say at least
)ne hundred feet from tip to tip. The
all was proportionately short and re-
;embled that of a huge fish. We were
not close enough at this time TO tell
much about the head, only we saw that
the jaws were very long. In shape the
head was like that of a crocodile" =
Gilbert gave a long account of how
he and Barry watched the monster
which supported its enormous wings
swung round and round in immense
circles through the air. gradually de,
scending and approaching nearer tc
them. He declares that it was not
more than 300 yards above their heads
when, now convinced that the awful
creature was about to attack them. be
fired Mt the monster with his rife, q
if-cSlibre gun loaded with q steel
,Gsed bullet.
The missile, he believes. struck fair
but inflicted no apparent wound. The
monster gave utterance to strange
fear-insplring cry, half snort. hall
roar and. rising rapidly in the air
: veered quickly to the west. and after
three miles of flight settled down and
disappeared beyond the crest of th:
hills.
: BULLET HAD no EFFECT.
A few seconds after the shot was
fred, while the hunters were watching
the flight of the dragon-like beast
some small Jumps OF salt fell almost a.
tLelr feet. They We're more than ever
mystihed by this, but not until tht
next day were they able to ascertain
its source.
Determined to learl more of Tx
Z monster. Gilbert and Barry hastcaet
in the direction of its flight. and after
surmounting the range of hills to th,
westward. found with little trouble tn,
tracks the beast had left In the sol
after ceasing its flight. These led tn,