Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-26
GREAT SERPENT
LEAVES ITS LAIR
SAN GABRIEL RIVER HARBoRs
MONSTER
Campers Above Azusa Fire Hundreds
Of Shots at Strange ophdlan,
Which Comes From Fls-
sure in Mountains

Special to The Herald.
AzUsA, Aug. 25.-with wings ex.
| tended so that they rested on the water
| like a web, covering the surface for 6
/ distance of ten feet on either side, &
! water monster swept down the Sar
| Gabriel river near Azusa this morning
] and while more than a dozen campers
pumped shot at the creature from Win
! chester rifles the great snake slowly
/ disappeared in the water and was final.
| ~ lost from sight at a sudden turn OF
| the stream.
| AS a result of the monsters appear.
ance campers and tourists in the vicin-
ity are spending much of their time fol-
lowing the river trails in the hope OF
catching sight Of the dread beast again
but thus far no damage from settle
ments in the neighborhood have beer
reported, and aside from the lucky ones
who thronged the river bank on the
4 hour of the snakes appearance, and by
reports brought in by two prospectors
of the lower hills who saw the monster
in the waters of the river, nothing has
been heard from 1t.
The camps in the neighborhood OF
Azusa have been unusually well popu-
lated this season because of the fact
that huge assures have appeared in the
Sierra Madres probably caused by re-
cent earthquakes. These places have
been curiously examined by students
and by the usual number of campers
and one theory as to the water mon
ster's appearance is that he came from
some substerranean passage of the San
Gabriel river, and losing his way con-
t;nued down the stream until he again
entered one of the assures,
saurian or ophdlan?
At any rate, about three miles above
the spot where the monster was first
seen the San Gabriel swings within 100
feet of an unusually deep fissure. From
the depths of the cut can be heard the
rush of subterranean waters, but no
light penetrates far enough to show the
hidden caverns.
The monster. according to the state
ments of those who not only saw it
but shot at it, was about the size of a
pony in the body, with wings about
twenty feet Uide, from tip to tip. The
head resembled the head Of a snake,
while the color was of a grayish white,
common to subterranean creatures.
The entire body was covered with slime.
The eyes were white and distended, and
apparently the beast could not see, but
was guiding himself by a sense of
direction. The first camper who saw it
gave yen OIL SuIpIlSe, ana NllIl OlueTS
began firing. 1t is thought that one of
the shots took effect in the animals
neck, as the great tail lashed the water
in fury and the body quickly began
| to disappear under water. A thousand
feet farther down stream the campers
again beheld the monster as 1t waved
it's head high above the waters, and
| then the great wings, closed over the
| back of the water became submerged
and the campers lost sight of 1t.
Ripples on the water showed for some
distance down stream until all trace
of the monster was lost.
A careful watch is being kept on the
river by forest rangers and campers,
and if the creature appears again some
of the eastern institutes may have a
remarkably re good specimen of strange
| ophidian or saurian.
Harry Morse and Bill Brown, the fer
rymen at Austin's crossing, have an
nounced their determination to cap
ture the monster, and they are con-
structing a net made of a section of
Page wire fence. The ferrymen say
their net is horse-high, hog-tight and
bull-strong. They believe 1t will hold
| the winged horror
The efforts of these river men are
| watched with great interest.