Wonders - Vol 3 No 4 - 1994

Magazine Overview

WONDERS, Vol. 3 No. 4, published in December 1994, is a quarterly magazine dedicated to "Seeking the Truth in a Universe of Mysteries." This issue's cover story, "GIANT SNAKES AND MYSTERY MOUNDS," delves into the historical and archaeological evidence of serpent effigies and mounds found in North America, exploring their potential connection to giant snakes and Native American lore.

Giant Snakes and Mystery Mounds in North America

The issue begins with an article by Mark A. Hall, who recounts a recent incident of a boa constrictor escaping a neighbor's home in Atlanta, Georgia, as a jumping-off point to discuss historical accounts of giant snakes. Hall questions whether modern fascination with reptilian pets has any connection to the prehistoric and historical record of giant snakes, including serpent effigies, mounds, and lore of destructive serpents.

The Great Serpent Mound - Ohio

The article highlights the Great Serpent Mound in Adams County, Ohio, as the most famous serpent effigy. Surveyed in the 1840s and later preserved as a park, its dimensions are detailed: an oval embankment of 120 feet by 60 feet, a crescent-shaped bank of 17 feet wide, and the serpent's body measuring 1254 feet in length. The serpent's body averages twenty feet in width and four to five feet in height, tapering towards the tail. The text notes that the builders are long gone and their purpose unknown, but suggests that the survival of large snakes in North America might explain the monuments. The serpent effigy is described as having a head, body, and tail, with the tail pointing across a gully, 496 feet from the western end of the oval.

Alligator Mound - Ohio

Another peculiar mound in Ohio, known as the "Alligator Mound" or "Alligator Hill" in Licking County, is described. Isaac Smucker's 1885 account details an animal effigy about two hundred feet long, with a defined head, body, and four legs, situated on a hill. The mound's elevation varies from three to five feet. Smucker notes that alligators are not native to North America, suggesting the effigy might represent a "Giant Monster Lizard" or perhaps a raccoon. The name "Alligator Mound" is attributed to its peculiar shape.

Other Serpent Effigies

The magazine then summarizes other serpent effigies found across North America:

• Medicine Knoll, South Dakota: A snake formed of stones, about 350 feet long, with carved rattles and red boulder eyes. It was a place of worship for the Sioux, now abandoned, with surrounding stone circles marking graves.
• Rice County, Kansas: An image cut into the ground, 160 feet long, discovered in 1982. It is oriented to local "council circles" and aligned east-west with the solstices.
• Adams County, Illinois: A serpent effigy described by Stephen Peet in 1890 as about 1500 feet long, conforming to the shape of a cliff overlooking the Mississippi River.
• Wisconsin: Serpentine effigies were found in Mayville, Green Lake, Madison, and Potosi.
• Ontario: Serpent Mounds Provincial Park near Peterborough preserves mounds on a bluff above Rice Lake. The principal Serpent Mound measures 194 feet in length and 25 feet in width, resembling a spermatozoa from the air, and is surrounded by eight smaller mounds described as "eggs."

Rock Paintings

Serpents and serpentine figures are also noted in ancient rock paintings of North America, particularly in the Great Lakes region, as studied by Selwyn Dewdney and Kenneth Kidd. Examples include serpentine figures facing a turtle, a fifteen-foot serpent with open mouth and flippers resembling an "Ogopogo," a horned serpent-sturgeon, and a "serpent-monster."

Oral Traditions

The article concludes by mentioning the importance of oral traditions and newspaper accounts of giant snake sightings, suggesting that these, along with the effigies, contribute to the ongoing mystery surrounding serpents.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes in this issue are the mystery surrounding ancient earthworks, particularly serpent mounds, and the historical accounts and folklore of giant snakes. The magazine adopts an open-minded stance, encouraging readers to consider the evidence and decide for themselves whether these phenomena are purely symbolic or have a basis in reality. The editorial stance is one of investigation and exploration of unexplained phenomena, presenting historical and archaeological data without definitive conclusions, but rather posing questions for the reader to ponder.

This issue of WONDERS magazine, dated December 1994, focuses on historical accounts and folklore of giant snakes and water monsters reported in North America, particularly during the 19th century. The publication aims to compile and present these reports, distinguishing between serpentine creatures and other large, unusual aquatic beings.

Distinguishing Giant Snakes from Other Water Monsters

The article begins by addressing the difficulty in distinguishing between actual snakes and other 'water monsters.' While some reports describe alligator-like reptiles or amphibious creatures with extended dimensions and appendages, the focus of the text is on serpentine creatures. The author notes that while comparisons to known fauna are helpful for description, consistency in accounts cannot be expected due to the unusual nature of the phenomena.

Native American Traditions and Folklore

Anthropologist Albert Gatschet and journalist Charles Montgomery Skinner are highlighted for their work in collecting American Indian traditions of water monsters. The 'horned snake' is mentioned as being known to most Indian tribes. Specific examples include:

• Micmac Indians (Nova Scotia): Believed in a fabulously large snake named Ktchi-pitchkayam.
• Algonkian Tribes: Referred to a 'great snake' (Kinepikwa or Ktchi-Kinepikwa).
• Shawnee Indians: Had a story of a one-horned snake called wewiwilemita manetu.
• Potawatomi Indians: Believed in a monster serpent in Lake Manitou.
• Siouan Tribes (including Dakota): Had numerous water-monsters, with the Unktehi (or Unktexi) being their 'Neptune' or divine ruler of the waters, also representing a fabled monster of the deep or a whale. The name Unktehi can also refer to any large animal, including extinct ones.
• Winnebago/Ho-Chunk Indians: Knew of the Waktchexi, a miraculous beast of the watery element.
• Cherokee Traditions: Collected by James Mooney, included a 'great leech' or tlanusi in Valley River, North Carolina, and the 'Uktena,' a huge snake or water-serpent.

Historical Sightings and Reports (19th Century)

The bulk of the article presents historical accounts of giant snake sightings, primarily from the 19th century, drawing from newspaper articles and historical publications.

• Maine: A fifty-foot snake was reputed to emerge from Chain Lakes in Washington County.
• North Dakota: A serpent appeared in Devil's Lake in 1896.
• Illinois: Thompson's Lake reportedly had a serpent at least a hundred feet long, with large scales, changeable eyes, and green whiskers, which wallowed in corn-fields.
• Wisconsin: Two sea-serpents were seen in Devil's Lake in 1892 by four men. They were described as having fins and being fifty feet long, engaging in a violent struggle.
• Berkshire Hills, Massachusetts: A water-snake was reported in Twin Lakes in April 1890, with eyewitnesses estimating its length at twenty-five feet.
• Maine: Sysladobosis Lake had a snake with a dog's head, eight feet long.
• New Brunswick: Skiff Lake had a similar snake reported to be thirty feet long.
• Pennsylvania: A snake in Wolf Pond was described as an alleged relic of the Silurian age, seen in September 1887, unrolling thirty feet of itself.
• Indiana: Lake Manitou had a reported monster, documented by Donald Smalley in the Indiana Magazine of History around 1838. A witness, Mr. Lindsay, described an animal raising its head three or four feet above the water, with a head about three feet across the frontal bone and a neck tapering like a serpent's, colored dingy with large bright yellow spots.
• Lake Ontario (1867): An article from the St. Catherines Constitutional reported on a 'Sea Serpent in Lake Ontario.'
• Tennessee (1868): The Nashville Banner reported a serpent estimated to be forty feet long and forty inches in diameter, which was nearly captured.
• Pennsylvania (1871): A monster black snake, measuring twenty-five to thirty feet in length and the thickness of a stove pipe, was seen near Rittersville, Lehigh County.
• New York (1873): The 'Drowned Lands' region around Lake Champlain was the source of reports of an enormous serpent, with sightings occurring over the past twenty years.

Specific Incident Details and Descriptions

Several accounts provide more detailed descriptions:

• Oswego, New York (circa 1890s): A party in a rowboat heard a peculiar noise and saw what they thought was a log. It turned out to be a huge snake that raised its head fifteen feet into the air. The body was described as at least two feet thick, increasing in size towards the water, with a light-colored belly and black back. The noise it made sounded like the bellow of a bull.
• Tennessee (1868): The Nashville Banner reported a serpent that was nearly caught in a trap. It was later shot by two young men, measuring 29.5 feet in length and 30.5 inches in circumference, spotted like a rattlesnake.
• Pennsylvania (1871): A black snake near Rittersville was described as twenty-five to thirty feet long and as thick as a stove pipe. It was seen crossing a road, moving through a rye field, and was observed coiling its tail around a tree and swinging.
• Dresden, New York (circa 1890s): Gen. David Barrett reported seeing a serpent with its head out of the water. His son and Leverett Wilson saw it dragging its immense length across marsh grass. Estimates for this serpent were thirty to forty feet long, with silver-like scales.

Analysis of Size Estimates

The article notes that the estimate of forty feet for the Tennessee snake turned out to be an overstatement by 25%, as it was only 29.5 feet long. This leads to the suggestion that size estimates for creatures over twenty feet might need to be reduced by approximately 25%.

The Drowned Lands

Three swampy regions in eastern New York are known as 'the Drowned Lands.' The first, in Orange County, was a large, inaccessible jungle until cleared for onion fields. The second is in Columbia County. The third is a stretch of swamp near Lake Champlain, from which stories of giant serpents and other monsters have emerged.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring themes include the persistence of giant snake and water monster reports across different regions and time periods in North America, the challenges in verifying these accounts, the role of folklore and Native American traditions, and the tendency for eyewitness estimates to be exaggerated. The editorial stance appears to be one of presenting these historical accounts and folklore with a degree of journalistic objectivity, acknowledging the sensational nature of the topic while giving credence to reports from individuals described as men of veracity. The article aims to document these phenomena and potentially chronicle their 'destruction' in future issues, suggesting an ongoing investigation.

This issue of WONDERS magazine, dated December 1994, is Volume 3 and focuses on historical accounts of giant serpent and snake sightings, primarily from the 19th century across North America. The magazine presents these accounts as evidence of potentially undiscovered or overlooked fauna.

Historical Sightings

Ottawa Valley - 1874

The issue begins with a report from the Ottawa (Ontario) Free Press dated November 14, 1874. Mr. R. Young, accompanied by two young ladies, reported seeing an object in the Ottawa River that appeared to be a ledge of rocks but began to move like a huge serpent. The creature was described as sinuous and wavy, creating a significant splash. It was estimated to be about fifteen feet long, with a girth the size of a common butter firkin. Mr. Young refrained from firing his rifle due to the ladies' terror. This sighting revived stories of other large snakes seen in the Ottawa area, including one killed by Mr. Carmichael of Calumet about forty years prior (measuring nine feet) and another thirteen feet long killed at Portage-du-Fort.

Ottawa Valley - 1880

From the Pembroke (Ontario) Observer and Upper Ottawa Advertiser, dated August 6, 1880, a report details a sea serpent sighting in Chats Lake. Captain Brown of the steamer "Alliance" observed the serpent swimming about 200 yards away. The creature was not frightened by the steamer's paddles and maintained its course. Captain Brown described the reptile's head as being several feet out of the water, with its neck crooked like a swan. The head was described as flat, about ten inches broad, and the neck about seven inches in diameter. The serpent eventually swam towards the shore and disappeared.

"More Monsters" - Pembroke Observer and Upper Ottawa Advertiser, September 10, 1880

This section compiles further reports of aquatic monsters. It references a previous report from the Arnprior Chronicle about Mr. Jas. Mills and Mr. Heinan Kedey encountering the "old original" sea serpent at the mouth of Constance Creek, Torbolton. The summer of 1872 was noted for similar sightings. Reports from Ross, Renfrew Co., mentioned a "large, black snake, about as thick as a stovepipe," near Green Lake, which some believed was a fabrication to protect wild fruit. Later, Cobdenites claimed to have seen the serpent passing up Muskrat Lake towards Pembroke. A photographer in Bryson also reported seeing a serpent about twenty yards away, described as having a head the size of a wooden pail, a crest, large bright eyes, a slender neck, and a dark body about 20 feet long. Two farmers also sent a letter to the Pembroke Observer stating they had seen the serpent on the same day heading towards Pembroke.

Ohio River - 1893

This report, from the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Post on July 8, 1893, credits Larry Arnold. Dispatches from Parkersburg, W. Va., mentioned a sea serpent alarming people on the Ohio River. Boating parties described the monster as having a head as big as a barrel, with lengths varying from 8 to 15 feet. It would dive when approached, creating dangerous waves. A party of young people on a large boat witnessed the monster crossing the river in front of them, causing panic. Locals reported seeing the monster daily, especially when heading upriver.

Minnesota River - Nineteenth Century

This account is from the recollections of Morris C. Russell. While on a barge on the Minnesota River, he observed a large object swimming from the "Eden" side of the river. Initially thought to be an animal, it was soon identified as a gigantic serpent. The crew brought it onto the deck, where it was found to be about double the size of any snake they had seen. The serpent was described as female and about twelve feet in length. It then produced a dozen or more young snakes, which frolicked on deck. After a performance, the mother swallowed her young, and the crew pitched the entire menagerie into the river.

Analysis and Commentary

Giant Snake Reports

The article "Giant snake reports have continued throughout the twentieth century in North America" discusses the ongoing nature of these reports. It suggests that these sightings might be evidence of giant snakes native to North America that survive in suitable environments like lakes, swamps, and marshes. The author contrasts this with more conventional explanations like escaped zoo animals or unreliable populace accounts. The text notes the difficulty in finding clear evidence of such creatures due to their likely decay in natural environments and the lack of fossil remains exceeding 33 feet.

Preservation and Scientific Approach

The author highlights the challenges in preserving evidence of these creatures once killed, stating it's easier to lose evidence than maintain it. The piece expresses indignation at the dismissal of these stories and criticizes modern science for its near-sightedness and demand for easy answers. It argues that habitat destruction could lead to the extinction of such animals before science fully investigates them, leading science to declare its "vindication" by the absence of the subject.

Notes and References

The issue includes a section of "NOTES" referencing various publications and sources, including the "Police Gazette," "The American Antiquarian," "Century Magazine," "FATE Magazine," "Pursuit," and "WONDERS" itself, along with books on natural mysteries, folklore, and cryptozoology. These references indicate the extensive research and compilation undertaken for the articles.

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The recurring theme throughout this issue is the persistent reporting of giant serpent and snake sightings across North America, spanning from the mid-19th century into the 20th century. The editorial stance appears to be one of open-mindedness towards these phenomena, suggesting they may represent genuine, yet unacknowledged, biological entities. The magazine criticizes a narrow, conventional scientific approach that dismisses such reports without thorough investigation, advocating for a broader perspective that considers the possibility of undiscovered or rare species. There is a clear emphasis on historical documentation and the compilation of anecdotal evidence, presented as a counterpoint to mainstream scientific skepticism.