Cowichan Lake Monster, 1885

A short time ago as Mr. Charles Morrow, accompanied by an Indian man and woman, was paddling in a canoe through Cowichan lake, he was suddenly transfixed with astonishment and terror at the appearance of an extraordinary object which quickly lifted its head out of the water, and continued to raise it until it was some 20 feet above the surface. The head was eel-like in shape and the part of the body that appeared above the water resembled that of a gigantic snake, being of a reddish brown hue on the back and a dull white star on the belly. The monster, Mr. Morrow says, was “as big around as the Amelia’s smokestack.” After surveying the party in the canoe for a few moments the serpent (for such it appeared to be) took a “header” and disappeared, leaving the water as greatly agitated as were the occupants of the canoe. In conversation with some old Indians afterwards Mr. Morrow was told that there was a tribal tradition that many years ago several huge water snakes were often seen in the lake and that the forefathers of the Indians now living were in the habit of shooting arrows into them. If the presence of a veritable serpent in Cowichan lake should be demonstrated[,] what an attraction for tourists the lake would become; and a price would probably be set on the head of any man who should offer to harm one of the remarkable creatures.

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

Email • Facebook • Twitter •