MUIRHEAD`S MYSTERIES: LAKE AND SEA MONSTER ARCHIVES PART ONE

Fellow cryptozoologists and Forteans,

Today I present a series of notes from my archives (which roughly,in my system of filing,includes items up to and including the year 1950) on sea and lake monsters and strange creatures.

This first item is from The Naturalist`s Note Book for 1867:

"A CURIOUS FISH.-The Courier de Saigon brings,as a contribution to Natural History,the not very credible-sounding description of a fish called "Caoug" in the Anamite tongue,which is said to have saved the lives already of several Anamtes;for which reason the King of Anam has invested it with the name of "Nam hai dui bnong gnan" (Great General of the South Sea).This fish is said to swim round ships near the coast,and,when it sees a man in the water,to seize him with his mouth and to carry him ashore.A skeleton of this singular inhabitant of the deep is to be seen at Wung-tau,near Cape St.James.It is reported to be 35feet in length,to have tusks "almost like an elephant," very large eyes,a black and smooth skin,a tail like a lobster,and two "wings"on its back. (1)

I`d like to track this cryptid down if at all possible.

The Irish Builder of May 15th 1890 had the following piece:

"IRISH LOCAL LEGENDS.No XV.-LEGEND OF THE WATER SERPENT OF LOUGH DERG,COUNTY OF DONEGAL.

In the old pagan times a peistha, or water serpent, of immense girth and of still greater trail,was believed to haunt a celebrated spot in the northern part of Ireland.When St Patrick landed in Saints Island on Lough Derg,....this large water serpent was known to have tenanted its waters.But the saint could not tolerate the presence of such a monster,and accordingly with a stroke of his staff the peistha was destroyed (2)

Now,the cat headed sea-serpent,from The Country-Side of June 15th 1907.
Unfortunately some of the words on the photocopy I made are indistinct:

"Cat-headed sea serpent.- The officers of ? Canarder Campania,on the arrival of the ? at Liverpool,on May 25th,gave a vivid description of a sea serpent which was seen Friday morning,when the ship was off the ? coast.The creature,which rose to the ? only a hundred feet from the ship`s ? was roughly sketched by one of the officers.Eight feet of the front part of the ? which was the shape of a python, stood ? out of the water,surmounted by a head resembling that of a cat. The tail projected ? feet out of the water,and there was a space about thirty feet between head and tail, so ? the officers compute the length of the animal at about forty feet. H.P.G. (3)

Finally, a story from Canada:

"Dishonest Sea Serpent.Residents of Amherst Island,Ontario,are alarmed by the persistent rumours that a monster sea serpent is in the vicinity. People who spend much of their time along the shore or on the water declare that the serpent makes regular appearences,that it is unlike anything ever seen before in this locality and is of a pugnacious nature.The result of these stories is that few dare to venture out without some sort of weapon to be used in case of attack.The wharves are becoming deserted; and whether the serpent can justly be blamed or not,it is certain that foodstuffs left near the water`s edge have disappeared wholesale.Large milk cans on several occasions have been carried off,and while no one has actually seen the monster take them,it is commonly believed that he is the thief (4)


1.The Naturalist`s Note Book 1867 p.167
2.Anon.The Irish Builder. May 15th 1890.p.115
3.H.P.G.Cat headed Sea Serpent.The Country-Side June 15th 1907
4.Anon.Dishonest Sea Serpent. South China Morning Post.September 26th 1912

Richard belongs to Jayne
And Jayne belongs to yesterday
How can I go on
When every alpha particle hides a neon nucleus

Neil belongs to love
And love belongs to no man
How can he go on
When no-one answers the adverts in his mind? - Richard by Billy Bragg