January 31, 2008
Do extraordinarily large geese exist? Is there a Thundergoose out there?
Sure, you are going to find a history of photographic hoaxes, such as the old postcard pictured above, with real people pictured on top of big geese, but I’m talking about an actual case of an oversized goose.
This article was discovered by Robert Schneck (the author of The President’s Vampire: Strange-but-True Tales of the United States of America) and exclusively shared with Cryptomundo. Appreciation to Schneck for his contribution.
Schneck humorously dubbed this critter “Thundergoose” in our email exchange, and that seems to be a fitting name.
The date of the Lake County Times, Hammond, Indiana, newspaper is Friday, November 26, 1926.
Although the articles is not very clear, Robert Schneck transcripted the following text of what he could see from the article:
Huge Goose Brought Down Along Canal
[photograph of large white goose]
WHITING, Nov. 2[?]– The goose pictured above, said to be one of the largest ever killed in this vicinity, was bagged by Edward Dangler, local sportsman and hunter.
The goose, which stands 5 feet 6 1/2 inches and measures 7 feet 4 inches from wing tip to tip, and weights [sic] 24 1/2 pounds, is pure white and took ten shots from the rifle of Dangler (left) and his companion, Thomas J. Sullivan (right), before he was brought down.
“On the morning of Nov. 12,” said Mr. Dangler, “we started out bright and early along the East Chicago Canal, thinking we might have a shot or two. After waiting several hours, and not having much luck, all of a sudden we were startled to see this huge bird flying over our heads at what could not have been more than an altitude of 75 feet [not punctuated]
There were several other hunters around, including a woman, but we proved to be the lucky shots. Hunters in this region, old-timers who know the lay of every foot of ground here, say that never in the history of their lives have seen such a wonderful bag. [This is the way it’s written and punctuated.]
The vicinity in which the bird was brought down, along the canal is a veritable hunting spot for duck hunters every year. [Second comma is left out.]
This region, which is the hub of the commercial world, having the Standard Oil company plant here as well as other industries, was all excited when it heard of the big shoot.
Most sportsmen remarked ” Why go to Minnesota or Wisconsin when we have ducks here flying so low that you can knock hem [sic] down with a club?”
For the record, the Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) is a large white North American species of goose, which is usually no more than 25-31″ in size. The largest goose in North America is the giant Canada Goose (Branta canadensis), with a wingspan of 6 feet and weighing up to 20 pounds. Only swans are officially larger.
Are there Thundergeese flying about?
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.
Filed under Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Evidence, Eyewitness Accounts, Photos, Thunderbirds, Winged Weirdies
