|
There
are a variety of monster around the world that we are all aware of;
The Loch
Ness Monster and Bigfoot are excellent example. Most New
Englanders rest easy at night knowing that these creatures, if real,
are lurking in regions far from their homes.
Unfortunately, as these people go about their business
feeling safe and secure a native fiend wanders about in the
mountains and forest of the northeast
Far before the area was colonized, a fearsome being known as
the Thunderbird terrified the Algonquin speaking peoples of New
England. Though it was more closely associated with the plains
Indians, the Thunderbird was believed to have roamed the territory.
Little is know of this fiendish spirit. Only vague references
and a few images were found during my investigation.
A sketch of an Indian artifact from the book 'The New'
by C. Keith Wilbur, gives you an idea of what they had
seen. From what can be gathered, the thunderbird was
approximately the shape and size of a large man. Instead of arms, it
has large wings with a span of over twice its height. The
head is relatively small for its size for it body and I could find
little on the details of its face. This maybe due to the fact
that it caused so much fear in the Indians that they would run and
hide. Though the Thunderbird didn’t hunt the Indians,
occasionally it was know to have killed humans. When attacking
a victim it was said to swoop down with the speed and rage of a
giant falcon.
The last
sightings of the Thunderbird were around the turn of the 16th
century in Pennacook New Hampshire. The memory of this beast
has faded only to linger in tales and art. But who knows,
maybe it reserves its activities to the backwoods of New England
like any wild animal. This fiend may watch as man unknowingly
crosses its path. At any moment a lone hiker maybe its next
victim as it protects its shrinking domain.
~Strange
NE
UPDATE: 06/08/03
While following up on some
leads on story in Ma., I discovered some reports of a strange bird
creature sighted in the area. In 1971, what looked like a
prehistoric bird with a wing span of 8 -12 feet was sighted at a
place called Taunton Bird Hill. Again in 1992 a bird with the
wing span of 10-12 feet was sighted in Taunton. It was
described by one witness as, 'looking like a man with wings.'
Though the detail were vague,
one could imagine that this is the same creature the Indians and
colonists had report.
~Strange
NE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pterodactyl
in Connecticut
Editor,
When I saw
this article, a chill came back over me. A friend and I saw
something like this many years ago traveling on Route 55 from New
Milford, CT to Poughkeepsie, NY. It is a rural and mountainous road
that is very secluded in some parts. One late night around 11PM
while traveling westbound in a semi-secluded area, we saw a large
flying creature across the road, nearly over the vehicle. It
startled both of us and I hesitated to ask my friend who was driving
to describe it. After a few moments, I asked him to what he saw,
making sure I did not offer any description. He described the same
thing to me as well. We both described a Pterodactyl looking
creature with an approximate wing span of 10 feet. We were booth
somewhat shaken from the experience and love to tell the story.
-Charles
|
