Last July, I posted a Blog entry about Rube Corliss and the Loch Ness Monster. In case you missed it, you can read it by clicking on the picture of Nessie below.
I'm sure that there are skeptics out in the Blog-O-Sphere doubting old Rube's account. After all, you're probably saying "There are no such things as sea serpents!" I may have agreed with you a while back; however, now I'm not so sure.
The following 1840 account, vouched for by William McCarty, a respected businessman of that era, has me wondering if there is some truth behind the old accounts of sea serpents in our area.
The following 1840 account, vouched for by William McCarty, a respected businessman of that era, has me wondering if there is some truth behind the old accounts of sea serpents in our area.
William McCarty is clearly no crank. He built the iron making town of McCartyville just up the road a piece from New Gretna. After he went bankrupt, McCartyville became the paper town called Harrisville. Today, many local residents swim at Harrisville Lake where the ruins of the old Harrisville paper mill can still be seen.
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| Harrisville Lake Photo by Pete Stemmer |
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| Harrisville Paper Mill Ruins Photo by Pete Stemmer |
Before you call for the men in the white coats to take me away, I ask that you keep an open mind concerning sea serpents, as you read the following 1840 account.
Pete S
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| Sea Serpent drawing not with original article. |
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"American Miscellany of Popular Tales, Essays, Sketches of Character, Poetry, and Jeax D'Esprit", 1840, p 181. |