Erie Township, Ohio, May 12, 1887
Henry Dusseau tossed a stack of net to the corner and peeked again into the boat’s hold. He was pleased with how the day turned out. At midday, he hadn’t been sure they’d fill it by sunset, but they’d managed with—he glanced at the dropping sun—about 45 minutes to spare.
“Laurent,” Henry called to his brother. “We will make good time, no?”
“The wind is perfect,” agreed his brother.
Henry walked to the front and allowed himself a few minutes to appreciate the brilliant red sky. The waves lapped against the sides of the boat, lulling him into his daily trance. He knew that when they reached the shore there would still be much work to do before the day was finished. But this moment, coming in with a full load of flopping, dying fish, was his favorite part. And today, they were even ahead of schedule. Perhaps, they would be among the first to get to the fishery.
“A good day, indeed,” he mumbled to himself.
Henry’s eyes scanned the approaching shoreline, watching familiar landmarks grow closer. But his eyes caught something that wasn’t familiar: something large and monstrous on the beach. It almost seemed to glow in the glint of the setting sun. It was thrashing about.
“Laurent,” he pointed. “Do you see?”
Laurent squinted into the sunset. “What is it?”
“I have no idea,” said Henry.
“Hurry, let’s go and get a closer look.”
Laurent laughed. “It’s up to the wind how fast we will go. But she seems to be mostly cooperating.”
Within minutes, they were much closer—close enough to see that it was a creature of some sort. It was wriggling and squirming like a beached whale.
“Have you seen anything like it before?” asked Laurent.
They were almost to the dock.
Henry replied, “It’s like a sturgeon but so much bigger.”
“Does it … does it have arms?” asked Laurent, squinting again. “It does,” he answered his own question. He could see the monster’s arms thrashing about, waving in the air.
“In all of my years on the water …” said Henry.
Laurent pulled the boat into the dock. Henry scrambled to secure the ropes, and Laurent hurried to help.
“What do we do about it?” asked Laurent. “It’s not got long to live. Death will come soon.”
They stared, unable to take their eyes off the creature.
Suddenly, the creature stopped moving, exhaled one big breath and lay still.
“We need help,” said Henry, his eyes fixed on the beast. “It’s dying quick, if it hasn’t already. Let’s find others.”
“And rope,” said Laurent, “we will need rope.”
Together they ran for help. But when they returned, there were only tracks on the beach where it had slid its great mass back into the water.
They also found several large, fish-type scales. Those, they pocketed as proof.