Sometimes unidentified beasts are not given a specific name. The creature I am about to describe was just called the varmint. It was seen by a number of people, but none seemed able to tell what it was. People did say it had characteristics of both bear and dog. Of course, it would be impossible for those two animals to crossbreed. Sightings stretched from 1912-13.
This animal had a taste for eating other animals - everything from dogs to hogs. It took up residence in Burke and Caldwell counties. It killed a dog at Shady Grove. It killed a second dog in the same area. It obviously was hungry, as only the dog's tail remained. This was nothing to a subsequent assault on a herd of Angora goats.
Rutherford College was the scene of an encounter with what may have been the same creature. It chanced that one Arthur Abernathy on the night of March 6th was strolling past the tennis court when he saw some kind of complication on it. Going nearer, he struck a match and discerned an animal about the size of a calf. It was, he averred, too large to be a dog.
My own guess, for what it's worth, is that it was a dog of some kind, despite Abernathy's reservations. Dogs can grow to a considerable size. Some breeds are so peculiar in formation that you might, at first glance, not be able to tell they are dogs. This would account for the failure to identify the creature. A furry dog can seem to be bear-like in appearance. However, the nature of this strange animal will have to remain a mystery.
No comments:
Post a Comment