MONSTER OF THE DEEP.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 7 March 1925, Page 13

MONSTER OF THE DEEP.

PREYS ON CATTLE AND PIGS. FARMERS ALARMED *:

Following the entry in the Jog of the French steamer £>t.* I'raucois Xavier, which put into Newcastle from Noumea recently, that while off Port Stephens light-house a sea serpent about 60ft in length had been sighted, came details of an extraordinary series of events which have thrown into a state of great alarm the farmers in the iow-lying area between Hexham Swamps, and tne sea (writes the Sydney correspondent of the Christchurch Press). this area, which is near Newcastle, and supplies that, city with its worldfamous rtexliam greys, one of the most vicious mosquitoes known, is in the same part or the coast as Port Stephens, where the sea serpent is said to have been seep, and the events which are lepoi ted are spread over some months. The swamps are of great extent, and it is said that at intervals' during the present summer, the most dolelul wailings have been heard of such a terriyling nature that two voung men who had taken up land hurriedly sold their interests and left the district declaring that with such horrors they would lose their reason. Children have been terrified and never leave their homes after dark.

The residents, at a loss ,to; account for this and other manifestations, spoke of the Bunyip of Hexham-ySwamp— a<r mythical creature which, like many another Bunyip of different waterboles through tout the length and breadth of Australia, has had a fabulous existence

eyer since the swamps have. been known. But unlike most Bunyips^ l this one, during the past month or two has shown a terrific capacity for destruction, and, unless some new explanation is found for the events of the past few; months, the Hexham farmers will soon be advertising for some modern St. George to come ajid perpetuate his name by slaying the monster. The loss of a number of valuable cattle, the farmers attributed to cattle thieves, and when swine-houses were found wrecked and the grunting animals suddenly disappeared, the a'arm was raised and immediate steos .taken to bring the malefactors to justice. Continued searchings' in the vicinity of where these thefts were alleged to have taken place revealed nothing: Not even the lioofmarks of a nurse were visible. The thief had cotne in the night, wreaked his -vengeance oil the outhouses, and stole away with the pick of the herds while the farmers slept. About seven miles fi-om the swamps the sea heats on to the shore m a little sheltered bay. In the . ntervening ground are many acres of cui ! ivated ground, where vrops of com, lucerne, and otuer gre.-m fodder flourish. It was in one -jf these fields that the first s c gu of the night marauder was discovered. Through a 1 thick patch of nice me a lanncis ■ boy one day noticed a long winding track. The- lucerne had boon knocked down, and appeared to have boon relied by some heavy body rather than to have been trodden upon. A fence in the- -vicinity was broken, and directly ui line, about a mile away towards the sea. both hanks ot a creek exhibited the unmistakable sign,? of some heavy ho ly bring lowered over or drawn up. Here, then was the clue the farmer people had been stekr ing for weeks. Tne fact caused considerable excitement, and several of the farmers n. tie viomily mounted their horses, ..n«J :-.iking loaded firearms, set out to follow the 'trail. Through wooded country they '-talked the signs, across fences \*here- top rails had previously been broken the men followed until oveheuaily, after, an hour’s hunt, they ca-.ght a glimpse through the tre-.-s ot i lie s ea in the distance.

Down the sandhills they continued to follow the trail. - Here it was easy. The sand had been disturbed and a regular glitter ran through it as though some jperson had deliberately formed the laneway by dragging a slide along. Onwards to the waters edge the men 'vent, and it was not- untij they were within a stone’s throw of the s urf that one of te party discovered the pair of horns and a portion of the?carcase of a missing cow. ririTC. Sorely perplexed the men returned ' to tlieir homes convinced of the:,.fact that thieves had made a raid on the farms, and, after cutting the beasts up, conveyed them overland' to a waiting boat. But there were no tracks of either horse or man. Nolhin^Gofily that eternal line—as though something heavy- had dragged along the ground. For nights afterwards the farmers ventured theories as to how the carcase was taken to the sea, hut not- any .of the opinions were convincing, and 1 it ' remained for the boy who first discovered the track in the lucerne patch to clear up the mystery. . ; One moonlight night, not verv long afterwards, this lad tossed in his bed, unable to sleep. Outside the dogs commenced to create an infernal.noise, while fowls *Oll a roost some distance away from the house cackled and?'cried as though all the foxes in the country , were nibbling at their tail. “Foxes,” the lad thought as he sprang from his bed and seized a gun which'was standing in the corner of the room. Making his way out of the back door, the - boy-ran as fast as he could to the fowl- - house, but there was not a fox in sight. Away in the distance, and travelling towards the sea, however, the boy saw something which made his hair stand on end. -

A great dark object, resembling a huge snake, was travelling across fences and paddocks at a terrific rate.' Its' head was held high in the air, and in its month was a struggling -podgy ; calf. Terrified, the lad aroused the "household, and the men, mounting their horses, .followed the trail again as far as the coast. The mysterious creature was never caught. The farmersVsaw it enter the water and disappear from sight. In a great state of alarm the farmers are seeking some assistance in the investigation of the mystery, fearing that apart from the material losses they are now sustaining the land values' will . sink to nil if something is not done.