A Canadian woman relates a story told to her by her Great Uncle from the 1930s while in the RCMP. They encountered a huge bird that was reportedly taking sheep from the local people.
The following account was recently forwarded to me:
"Back in around the early 1930's, my granddad was a bi-plane pilot while his younger brother was in the cavalry (both RCMP lieutenants at the time, the elder having 2 years seniority over the younger). They were stationed about 60 or 70 miles apart, in Canada's northern wilderness. The cavalry brother (mom's uncle) was in command of a small 30-strong contingent serving the area as "paramilitary police force."
He said one day the locals came in a group of 3 "respected elders" to file a complaint of an eerie shrieking sound in the night and their sheep going missing. So he decided to take a small platoon of 5 Mounties and go to the village where the supposed happenings were taking place to investigate and intervene if need be.
They stayed in the village for 3 days without any incident, patrolling the days and staying in the village by night. But the night between the third and fourth day, a young chap came bursting into the village inn to tell him that "it" struck again.
So great uncle, as I may call him, took 4 of his Mounties, leaving one behind for liaison, and rushed to the scene. He and his troops heard the terrible eerie shrieking alright and unlike the villagers who were huddling with fear, galloped toward the sound following the military instinct of "always go towards the sound of calamity."
It was a reasonably moonlit night and when they approached this rocky area, they saw the culprit (according to the exact description great uncle told me): "It was some kind of a bird of prey. Not possible to put a finger on the color due to the light conditions, of course, but presumably some "fuzzy dark reddish-brown." It was perched on a rock shelf and from what he judged was around as tall as me; I was 16 at the time he told me this story and around 1.81 meters tall at that position. It paid no attention to the cavalry platoon although the horses had been spooked and were snorting, neighing and shuffling with all the gear of the Mounties clattering due to all that movement, etc.
His Sergeant offered to shoot the thing and great uncle agreed, ordering to dismount and fire at will. However, the bird seemingly heard this and took to the sky. He described it as not simply bouncing up into the air and flying away like some sparrow or pigeon. He said it threw itself down from the rock shelf it was perched, to a free fall while spreading its wings and flapping strongly until it gained altitude. He also added it took the creature some considerable effort to rise up and fly. He then estimated the wingspan to be around 3 to 3.5 meters.
He said he didn't feel like killing the majestic creature but since it caused loss of property, he thought of it as duty and ordered "fire!" He said since the Mauser rifles they were equipped with did not fire tracers, so he cannot actually tell how accurate the shots were but at the end, the bird flew away, disappearing from sight in the dark. But after that night, the sounds and disappearing sheep incidents ceased so they must have seriously wounded it, causing it to eventually succumb he said.
To summarise; the description goes:
- 1.8 meters body length (not sure if tail included or not)
- Presumably dark reddish brown (he later said the "fuzzy" was meant to describe it was a camouflage pattern like those of owls etc.)
- 3 to 3.5 meters wing span.
- Guessed to be at the tune of around 50 to 60 kgs of weight.
He was a sober, serious and no-nonsense gentleman. So I doubt he would make up such a story to impress a 16-year-old." SW
If you wish to comment on this Phantoms & Monsters post, please go to Phantoms & Monsters Post Comments
-----
-----
Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
-----
.jpg)
Please Consider a Donation to 'Phantoms & Monsters'
Your financial support of Phantoms & Monsters and our other pursuits is much appreciated. This all depends on you, the readers & followers.
Please use the PayPal donation buttons on the blog site. You can also go directly to Phantoms & Monsters donation. Thanks again for your loyalty and continued support. Lon
© 2005-2022 Phantoms & Monsters - All Rights Reserved
