Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-04-13
These Monsters Seen By Many.

Monsters resembling crocodiles with
swan necks, actually modified forms of
the Plesiosaurus such as was report
ed recently seen in Patagonia, PROB
ably do exist in the Amazon Basin,
the great UNEMPLOYED territory in South
America equal in extent to the United
States east of the Mississippi River,
according to Charles Johnson Post, ar
fist and journalist.
Mr.. Post, who spent two years i'll
the Amazon Basin gathering material
for magazine articles, recently told OF
having heard at first hand of a mon
ster strikingly similar to Plesio-
sauruS.
81 was then in Ribe Alta, an In
dian village in Bolivia west of the
Falls of Madeira" said Mr.. Post. "The
monster which | believed a Plesiosau-
rus had been seen by an Indian near
Lake ROgogauda, about $50 miles TO
the south. This country is unexplor-
Gu. uOH lllllh mat "ii'S mar
has ever seen this lake, or its neighbor,
Lake Rogogoua, but they are gen.
orally believed by scientists to exist.
Zone day a half-breed came to the
village with story of having seen
a strange animal which terrified him.
thought it significant that the man,
who knew the fauna of the section
thoroughly and was afraid of nothing,
should have suddenly become alarm
ed Evidently he had seen some new
animal
"The man was what was called a
cruiser. He went through this section
of the Amazon Basin looking for rub
Der. While in the region of Lake
Rogogauda he had come upon trail
through the dense tropical under
growth made by some great animal.
told him that the~trail was that of
snake.
"'No, No. the half-breed replied.
1T was not the trail Of a snake" The
half-breed then went on to explain
that the animal had evidently some
thing that resembled feet, which were
not feet, and, something that resem,
bled turtles Aappers, yet were not
flappers. AS nearly as could be learn
ed, from the trail, the animal was about
four feet high.
"a short time later, the half-breed
said, he saw in shallow part of the
lake an animal with long neck and
head. | examined him, but
he stuck to the story, giving such
description in his primitive way that
| Immediately thought Of a Plesiorau-
rus. The half-breed had shot at the
animal and it disappeared under the
water. He was not to be persuaded
that he had seen either a snake or
turtle.
IF a white man had told me such
story" continued Mr.. Post, 81 should
not have believed it, should have
thought at once that he was trying to
fool me. But the half-breed was too
simple and primitive to have attempt.
ed such a Joke. He had never seen q
scientific book or any other work which
could have created in his mind the
picture of the Plesiosaurus which he
conveyed to me.
Il do not maintain that this was =
fieslosaurus exactly like the prehis-
torIc species, but | think that quite
likely 1t was modification. 1t prob
ably was an unknown species. II
seems to me altogether probable that
the essential characteristics of the
animal have survived in form. Fop
instance the duck-billed Plantvnus
round in Australia, is a survival from
prehistoric ages. 1t laws eggs and
also suckles its young, believe The
kangaroo is also a survival. YET !,
Australia had not been explored and
some traveller came from there with
stories of such animals he would not
be believed"