Page 119 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

Mysterious Creatures 99

ster have been found [c. 1887], and it is some- Biologists in the region said that they
times called the pterosaur or flying lizard,” he believed the witnesses sighted a bird known as
writes. “But the most singular monster of the the Steller’s sea eagle, a species native to
age yet discovered [and its shape and compo- northeast Asia, that occasionally shows up on
nent parts analyzed] is the ramphorhyneus, the Aleutian islands and on Kodiak, Alaska.
which seems to be a connective link between The Steller’s sea eagle can have a wingspan of
birds, beasts, and reptiles. Its body and neck eight feet and is about three times as large as a
resemble that of the Piasa, while its tail is iden- bald eagle.
tical with it, except it is pictured as dragging
behind instead of being carried around the M Delving Deeper
Armstrong, P. A. The Piasa or the Devil Among the
body or over its back and head. The shape of
Indians. Morris, Ill., 1887.
the head is drawn to resemble that of a duck,
Coleman, Loren. ”Top Cryptozoological Stories of the
with the long bill of a snipe or bittern, but it is
Year 2001.” The Anomalist, January 4, 2001.
full of sharp, round teeth, like those of the
[Online] http://www.anomalist.com/features/topcz
crocodile. It had four legs, with eagle’s talons,
2001.html.
and a pair of bat-like wings…its entire length
from head to tip of tail was probably 30 feet or Porco, Peter. “Southwest Alaskans See Bird They Say
more. In many respects the Piasa is a faithful Is Super Cub-sized.” Anchorage Daily News, Octo-
copy of the ramphorhyneus. The form, shape, ber 15, 2002. [Online] http://www.adn.com/
and description of the Piasa, according to the 1962481p-2066841c.html.
Indian tradition, were painted from actual Steiger, Brad. Worlds Before Our Own. New York: G.
sight of the living subject…Thus may the tra- P. Putnam’s Sons, 1978.
ditions of these Indians be true…”
Numerous sightings of birds the size of
small airplanes were reported in southwest Wee Folk and
Pennsylvania in the summer and early fall of Their Friends
2001. On June 13, a resident in Greensville,
who said that he was familiar with the wildlife ll cultures have their stories of the wee
in the area, at first mistook the huge bird for an folk, the nature entities, that appear so
ultralight aircraft. He estimated the wingspan A often to be a mirror-image of
to be about 15 feet and the body to be nearly humankind and somehow indicate that
five feet in length. In July, a witness in Erie humans are part of a larger community of
County claimed to have seen a large, black- intelligences—both physical and nonphysical.
colored bird with a wingspan of about 17 feet. Since the beginning of time, the human race
On September 25, a witness who said that he and the wee folk have shared this planet, expe-
had a strong interest in ornithology, encoun- riencing a strange, symbiotic relationship. In
tered a massive bird with a head about three such cultures as ancient Rome, the household
feet long and a wingspan of 10 to 15 feet. spirits were called “Lares,” and the tradition of
In October 2002, Alaskan villagers in each home having its own guardian of the
Togiak and Manokotak reported seeing a huge hearth survived throughout most of Europe.
bird larger than anything they had seen Although the great majority of modern people
before. Pilot John Bouker, owner of Bristol stereotypically envision fairies, elves, brown-
Bay Air Service, said that while flying to ies, and so forth gamboling about only in the
Manokotak he and his passengers sighted a woodlands, there are long traditions of friendly
large “raptorlike” bird with a wingspan that spirits who guard the home and look after the
matched the length of his Cessna 207, about barn, stables, and farm animals.
14 feet. When Moses Coupchiak, a heavy In many traditions, especially in the
equipment operator from Togiak, spotted the British Isles and Scandinavia, the fairy folk
monster bird flying toward him, he said that were supernormal entities who inhabited a
he thought it was a small airplane until it magical kingdom beneath the surface of the
banked to the left and flew away. earth. In all traditions, the wee people are

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