Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-09
UPSLTS IDEAS
OF SCIENTISTS
MAN CAPTURES A STRANGE
ANIMAL
Monster swims About In Great salt
Lake--Resembl bles Both Fish
and saurian-Imitates the
Human Voice

Special to The Herald
MURRAY, Utah. Sept. s.--Jamei
Franson Of this village recently made
one of the most remarkable discoveries
Of the century--one which will keeI
the learned men busy for months tC
come in explaining what they have al.
ways declared was an impossibillty
namely, that no living thing could exist
in the salty waters of the inland sea-
Great Salt lake.
Until a week ago Mr.. Franson was
Of the same opinion as the professors
who have written so much about the
briny waters Of the lake, but today you
couldn't make him believe that an
animal resembling a cross between a
monster fish and an alligator does not
thrive where nothing else can sustain
life.
Mr.. Franson's discovery came about
in this way: While camped on An
telope island one day last week Fran
son, his wife and two sons were sitting
on the shore of the lake. While they
were looking out across the water to-
ward Salt Lake City the father beheld
an animal swimming lazily ON the sur
face of the lake and not more than 100
feet from shore. Without taking his
eyes from the spot he called to his wife
and sons to look where he was
pointing.
AS they did so the queer looking
object raised itself from the water and
sent forth a shrek that was the nearest
approach to the wall of human being
that could be ina gined. AS the terrify-
ing sound ceased the animal dropped
back into the water and con tinued its
journey toward the Shore
Almost instantly the FranSons were
again startled to see several smaller
mem bers Of the same family swimming
ten or fifteen feet behind the great
Salt Lake monster.
Captures Strange Saurian
For few seconds the Murrayites
kept their eyes on the strange appear
ing group of animals Cor whatever you
are pleased to call them), but as the
Importance Of the discovery revealed
itself to the elder Franson he jumped
to his feet and set about to effect a
capture.
In his early days. as everyone here
about knows, Mr.. Franson was one Of
the best steer punchers that Montana
boaSted, and quick as a flash he ran to
the tent and returned with a rope some
fifty feet in length and prepared to
take a try at laSSoing the strange ami
NAL
By this time it had approached to
within twenty feet of the shore, closely
followed by the smaller members of its
family. Circling the rope above his
head, Franson made a swift and accu-
rate throw and caught the wriggling
monster about two feet below it's head
Then, like flash, he made a. half hitch
of the other end of the rope around a
limb of tree and the capture was
complete
For fully an hour the monster wrig-
gled and twisted, straining so hard at
times that Franson feared the half
inch rope would be snapped, but slowly
the animal lost its strength and
eventually was hauled ashore.
BY actual measurement the monster
was thirty-three feet long. Its head
resembled that of an alligator, but the
tail and body were of a slate colored
hue, and it looked more like a man
eating shark than anything else.
After securing the "fiSh-alligator"
with other ropes and making sure that
1t could not escape, FranSon got into
his launch and made a hasty trip to
Saltair and thence to Salt Lake City,
where several well known men who
knew Franson would not concoct such
a story for the purpose of playing a
joke on them were induced to return
with him and transport the monster to
Salt Lake.