Origins
The legend of the Lake Erie Cow Monster begins in the city of Lorain, Ohio, around the year of 1894. Lorain was a growing city receiving mass influxes of immigrants due to the need of a workforce for the now thriving steel mill. Prior to the arrival of the Steel Mill, Lorain was a farming township that raised mostly cattle. While the steel mill was essential to the economic growth of the city, not long after it's productions began, the cattle industry and overall environmental well-being of Lorain began to suffer. As pollution was being dumped into the Black River that surrounds the city and feeds into Lake Erie, local farmers began to notice that some of their cattle began to act in strange ways and even go missing. Some farmers reported seeing their cows become carnivorous and tearing apart rabbits and squirrels that wandered into the fields. The first true sighting of the Lake Erie Cow Monster occurred in 1894, by a farmer named Max Cocalis, who claimed that all the cows in his field one day suddenly disappeared and the very next day reemerged as one giant multi-headed cow-demon. The Cow Monster reportedly chased Cocalis off of his land and into downtown Lorain, where Cocalis rounded up volunteers to rid the town of this new beast. This make-shift militia, spent weeks hunting down the Cow Monster and eventually chased it into the Black River, where they believed it drowned. However, the pollution from the Steel Mill was so toxic that Cow Monster did not drown but is actually believed to have developed gills and is still surviving in the Lake Erie and Black River areas to this very day.
Bessie is a name given to an alleged lake monster in Lake Erie, also known as Lorain Ocean's Lake Monster. The first recorded sighting of Bessie since it's supposed drowning occurred occurred in 1907, and more sightings have occurred intermittently and in greater frequency in the last three decades. Bessie is reported to be cow-like and 9 to 12Â m (30 to 40Â ft) long, at least one hundred feet in diameter, with a blackish coloring.
While shooting at ducks north of Sandusky Ohio in 1907; the captain of the sloop Felicity startled a large creature (snake) described as “more than a rod (16 ½ ft.) in lengthâ€
July 1937, the crew of a schooner reported a 30 to 40-foot long cow like monster with a multitude of heads.
Later that year, another boat crew spotted a similar animal, this time black and white spotted.60 feet (18Â m) in length. This time, they shot at it with muskets, which had no visible effect.
A third 1937 incident took place near Toledo, when French settlersâ€"two brothers named Dusseauâ€"encountered a huge monster on the beach, writhing in what they took to be its death throes. The brothers described it as between 20 and 30 feet (6.1 and 9.1 m) in length and shaped like a hundred cows merged into one. , except that it had arms. The panicked brothers fled the scene, and when they returned later, the creature had disappeared, presumably carried off by waves after its death. All that was left of its presence were marks on the beach and a number of silver scales about the size of silver dollars.
An extraordinary sighting which was carried by local newspapers took place by the entire crew of a ship bound from Buffalo, New York, to Toledo, Ohio, in July 1942.. The crew (including captain) saw a large area of water about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) ahead of them churned up and foaming. As they approached they saw “a huge sea serpent†that appeared to be “wrestling about in the waters, as if fighting with an unseen foe.†They observed as the creature relaxed itself and stretched out full lengthâ€"estimated at 50 feet (15 m) long and 4 feet (1.2 m) in circumferenceâ€"with its head sticking up above the water an additional 4 feet (1.2 m). The brownish creature’s eyes were described as “viciously sparkling†and large fins were also noted.
Crystal Beach near Fort Erie was the scene of another sighting on May 5, 1896. This time there were four eyewitnesses who watched for 45 minutes as a 30-foot (9.1Â m) creature with a dog-shaped head and pointy tail churned up the water as it swam about until finally disappearing before nightfall.
There were some sightings of the alleged monster in 1969, the 1980s and in 1993. An original $5,000 reward (later upped to $100,000) has been offered by Thomas Solberg of Huron Lagoons Marina for the capture of Bessie.
In popular culture
Lemmy (Lake Erie Monster), a wood and plastic sculpture of Bessie created by Len Tieman was located in the Huron River just north of Ohio Route 2 near Huron in 1994, and could be seen by drivers from the bridge. The sculpture was damaged and has since been removed. Len also created Prehistoric Forest & Mystery Hill Which permanently closed back in 2010.
Related
In Iroquois culture there is the dragon-like horned serpent Oniare. Oniare is native to the Great Lakes and mortal enemy to thunder god Hinon.
References
