Lake Kenosia Giant Snake Caught
Posted by: Loren Coleman on July 18th, 2007
Lake Kenosia’s Monster Caught.
Danbury, Conn., - The strange monster which has frequently been seen in Lake Kenosia has been captured. It is a monster serpent of an unknown species and its immense size was not exaggerated by those who saw it at various times. Warren C. Baker, a charcoal burner who has a pit near the lake, was driving along the shore last evening, when he found the serpent, lying dormant and nearly frozen on the sand. Its immense size frightened him, and he drove to the hotel for aid. The serpent was securely bound with ropes and brought to this city, where hundreds have seen it. Its length is 19 feet 8 inches, and its body is 32 inches in circumference. Its head is flat and its body is covered with scales of a black and brown color.Salem Daily News, Salem, Ohio, December 8, 1891.
Thanks for this historical item from Jerome Clark.
For more information, please see Chapter 8, “Giant Snakes,” in Mysterious America, the 2007 edition.
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Well thats one down, about a hundred more “Cryptids” to go XP!!
I thought this was something that happened now. DRAT!!!!!
A once and a life time event and no one had a camera?
Photography was a hobby in vouge at the time.
A great story but not even a sketch?
During this time period there were a lot of circuses and”traveling menageries.” Giant snakes like pythons and boas were always a crowd pleaser and this one undoubtedly escaped from one of these shows or was turned loose because of failing health. Animal husbandry in these shows was abysmal. It was cheaper to dump an animal and buy a new one than it was to keep it healthy, and really, those people understood little to nothing about their charges. Considering it was December, they probably couldn’t keep the snake properly warm so they dumped it, kind of like the people whose Burmese python has outgrown their home. Now we have Burmese reproducing in the Everglades.
Yes…a sketch would’ve been great..or a picture..what happened to the body? etc. Oh well nice story to read. But 32 in in circumfrence? What modern day snake could that compare to? The anaconda?
As the one who supplied the item — I am also the author of a book on 19th-Century Forteana as preserved in period newspapers (and a still-active researcher in that area) — I would encourage readers not to presume that this is a true story. The press of the period, not exactly reliable, filled its pages with yarns and tall tales. A favorite genre involved giant snakes.
so it isn’t the truth? aw man =[
I love these giant snake stories. I remember reading some like this from the Adams County, Ohio area too (home to the famous serpent mound), but can’t seem to recollect where I first came across them at.