Perseus III: How Perseus Slew The Gorgon

SO PERSEUS started on his journey, going dry-shod over land and sea; and his heart was high and joyful, for the winged sandals bore him each day a seven day's journey.

And he went by Cythnus, and by Ceos, and the pleasant Cyclades to Attica; and past Athens, and Thebes, and the Copaic lake, and up the vale of Cephissus, and past the peaks of CEta and Pindus, and over the rich Thessalian plains, till the sunny hills of Greece were behind him, and before him were the wilds of the north. Then he passed the Thracian mountains, and many a barbarous tribe, Paeons and Dardans and Triballi, till he came to the Isterstream, and the dreary Scythian plains. And he walked across the Ister dry-shod, and away through the moors and fens, day and night toward the bleak northwest, turning neither to the right hand nor the left,till he came to the Unshapen Land, and the place which has no name.

And seven days he walked through it, on a path which few can tell; for those who have trodden it like least to speak of it, and those who go there again in dreams are glad enough when they awake, till he came to the edge of the everlasting night, where the air was full of feathers, and the soil was hard with ice, and there at least he found the three Grey Sisters, by the shore of the freezing sea, nodding upon a white log of drift-wood, beneath the cold white winter moon; and they chanted a low song together, "Why the old times were better than the new."

There was no living thing around them, not a fly, not a moss upon the rocks. Neither seal nor sea-gull dare come near, lest the ice should clutch them its claws. The surge broke up in foam, but it fell again in flakes of snow, and it frosted the hair of three Grey Sisters, and the bones in the ice-cliff above their heads. They passed the eye from one to the other, but for all that they could not see; and they passed the tooth from one to the other, but for all that they could not eat; and they sat in the full glare of the moon, but they were none the warmer for her beams. And Perseus pitied the three Grey Sisters, but they did not pity themselves.

So he said, "Oh venerable mothers, wisdom is the daughter of old age. You therefore should know many things. Tell me, if you can, the path to the Gorgon."

Then one cried, "Who is this reproaches us with old age?" And another, "This is the voice of one of the children of men."

And he, "I do no reproach, but honour your old age, and I am one of the sons of men and of the heroes. The rulers of Olympus have sent me to you to ask the way to the Gorgon."

Then one-"There are any rulers in Olympus, and all new things are bad." And another-"We hate your rulers, and the heroes, and all the children of men. We are the kindred of the Titans, and the Giants, and the Gorgons, and the ancient monsters of the deep." And another, "Who is this rash and insolent man, who pushes unbidden into our world?" And the first-" There never was such a world as ours, nor will be; if se let him see it, he will spoil it all."

Then one cried, "Give me the eye, that I may see him," and another," Give me the tooth, that I may bite him." But Perseus, when he saw that they were foolish, and proud, and did not love the children of men, left of pitying them, and said to himself, "Hungry man must needs be hasty; if I say making many words here, I shall be starved." Then he stepped close to them, and watched till they passed the eye from hand to hand. And as they groped about between themselves, he held out his own hand gently, till one of them put the eye into it, fancying that it was the hand of her sister. Then he sprang back, and laughed, and cried--

"Cruel and proud old women, I have your eye; and I will throw it into the sea, unless you tell me the path to the Gorgon, and swear to me that you tell me right."

Then they wept, and chattered, and scolded;but in vain. They were forced to tell the truth, thoug when they told it, Perseus could hardly make out the road.

"You must go," they said,"foolish boy, to the southward, into the ugly glare of the sun, till you come to Atlas the Giant, who holds the heaven and the earth apart. And you must ask his daughters, the Hesperides, who are young and foolish like yourself. And now give us back our eye; for we have forgotten all the reast."

So Perseus gave them back their eye; but instead of using it, they nodded and fell fast asleep, and were turned into blocks of ice, till the tide came up and washed them all away. And now they float up and down like icebergs forever, weeping whenever they meet the sunshine, and the fruitful summer, which fill young hearts with joy.

But Perseus leaped away to the southward, leaving the snow and the ice behind; past the isle of the Hyporboreans, and the tin isles, and the long Iberian shore; while the sun rose higher day by day upon a bright blue summer sea. And the terns and the sea-gulls swept laughing round his head, and called to him to stop and play, and the dolphins gambolled up as he passed, and offered to carry him on their backs. And all night long the sea-nymphs sang sweetly, and the Tritons blew upon their conchs, as they played round Galatea their queen, in her car of pearled shells. Day by day the sun rose higher, and leaped more swiftly into the sea at night, and more swiftly out of the sea at dawn; while Perseus skimmed over the billows like a sea-gull, and his feet were never wetted; and leapt on from wave to wave, and his limbs were never weary, till he saw far away a mighty mountain, all rose-red in the setting sun. Its feet were wrapped in forest, and its head in wreaths of cloud; and Perseus knew that it was Atlas, who holds the heavens and the earth apart.

He came to the mountain, and leapt on shore, and wandered upward among pleasant valleys and waterfalls, and tall trees and strange ferns and flowers; but there was no smoke rising from any glen, nor house, nor sign of man.

At last he heard sweet voices singing; and he guessed that he was come to the garden of the Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening Star.

They sang like nightingales among the thickets, and Perseus stopped to hear their song; but the words which they spoke he could not understand; no, nor no man after him for many a hundred years. So he stepped forward and saw them dancing, hand in hand around the charmed tree, which bent under its golden fruit; and round the tree-foot was coiled the dragon, old Ladon the sleepless snake, who lies there forever, listening to the song of the maidens, blinking and watching with dry bright eyes.

Then Perseus stopped, not because he feared the dragon, but because he was bashful before those fair maids; but when they saw him, they too stopped, and called to him with trembling voices,-

"Who are you? Are you Hercules the mighty, who will come to rob our garden, and carry off our golden fruit?" And he answered,

"I am not Hercules the mighty, and I want none of your golden fruit. Tell me, fair nymphs, the way which leads to the Gorgon, that I may go on my way and slay her."

"Not yet, not yet, fair boy; come dance with us around the tree, in the garden which knows no winter, the home of the south wind and the sun. Come hither and play with us a while; we have danced alone here for a thousand years, and our hearts are weary with longing for a playfellow. So come, come, come!"

"I cannot dance with you, fair maidens, for I must do the errand of the Immortals. So tell me the way to the Gorgon, lest I wander and perish in the waves."

Then they sighed again and wept; and answered:-

"The Gorgon! she will freeze you into stone."

"It is better to die like a hero than to live like an ox in a stall. The Immortals have lent me weapons, and they will give me wit to use them."

Then they sighed again and answered: "Fair boy, if you are bent on your own ruin, be it so. We know not the way to the Gorgon; but we will ask the giant Atlas, above upon the mountain peak, the brother of our father, the Silver Evening Star. He sits aloft, and sees across the ocean, and far away into the Unshapen Land."

So they went up to the mountain to Atlas, their uncle, and Perseus went up with them. And they found the giant kneeling, as he held the heavens and the earth apart.

They asked him, and he answered mildly, pointing to the sea-board with his mighty hand:"I can see the Gorgon lying on an island far asay, but this youth can never come near them, unless he has the hat of darkness, which whosoever wears cannot be seen."

Then cried Perseus, "Where is that hat, that I may find it?"

But the giant smiled. "No living mortal can find that hat, for it lies in the depths of Hades, in the regions of the dead. But my nieces are immortal, and they shall fetch it for you, if you will promise me one thing and keep your faith."

Then Perseus promised; and the giant said: "When you come back with the head of Medusa, you shall show me the beautiful horror; that I may lose my feeling and my breathing, and become stone forever; for it is weary labor for me to hold the heavens and the earth apart."

Then Perseus promised; and the eldest of the nymphs went down, and into the dark cavern among the cliffs, our of which came smoke and thunder, for it was one of the mouths of Hell.

And Perseus and the nymphs sat down seven days, and waited trembling, till the nymphs came up again; and her face was pale, and her eyes dazzled with the light, for she had been long in the dreary darkness; but in in her hand was the magic hat.

Then all the nymphs kissed Perseus, and wept over him a long while; but he was only impatient to be gone. And at last they put the hat upon his head, and he vanished our of their sight.

But Perseus went on boldly, past many an ugly sight, fat away into the heart of the Unshapen Land, beyond the streams of Ocean, to the isle where no ship cruises, where is neither nor day, were nothing is in its right place, and nothing has a name; till he heard the rustle of the Gorgons' wings, and saw the glitter of their brazen talons;and then he knew that it was time to halt, lest Medusa should freeze him into stone.

He thought awhile with himself, and remembered Athene's words. He rose aloft into the air, and held the mirror of the shield above his head, and looked up into it that he might see all that was below him.

And he saw the three Gorgons sleeping, as huge as elephants. He knew that they could not see him, because the hat of darkness hid him; and yet he trembled as he sank down near them, so terrible were those brazen claws.

Two of the Gorgons were foul as swine, and lay sleeping heavily, as swine sleep, with their mighty, wings outspread; but Medusa tossed to and and fro restlessly, and as she tossed, Perseus pitied her, she looked so fair and sad. Her plumage was like the rainbow, and her face was like the face of a nymph, only her eyebrows were knit, and her lips clenched, with everlasting care and pain; and her long neck gleamed so white in the mirror, that Perseus had not the heart to strike, and said: "Ah, that it had been either of her sisters!"

But as he looked, from among her tresses the vipers head awoke, and peeped up with their bright dry eyes, and showed their fangs, and hissed; and Medusa, as she rossed, threw back her wings, and showed her brazen claws; and Perseus saw that, for all her beauty, she was as foul and venomous as the rest.

Then he came down and stepped to her boldly, and looked steadfastly on his mirror, and struck with Herpe stoutly once; and he did not need to strike again.

Then he wrapped the head in the goat-skin, turning away his eyes, and sprang into the air aloft, faster than he ever sprang before.

For Medusa's wings and talons rattled as she sank dead upon the rocks;and her two foul sisters woke, and saw her lying dead.

Into the air they sprang yelling, and looked for him who had done the deed. Thrice they swung round and round, like hawks who beat for a partridge; and thrice they snuffed round and round, like hounds who draw upon a deer. At last they struck upon the scent of the blood, and they checked for a moment to make sure;and then on they rushed with a fearful howl,while the wind rattled hoarse in their wings.

On they rushed, sweeping and flapping,like eagles after a hare; and Perseus's blood ran cold, for all his courage as he saw them come howling on his track; and he cried: "Bear me well, now, brave sandals, for the Hounds of death are at my heels!"

And well the brave sandals bore him, aloft through cloud and sunshine, across the shoreless sea; and fast followed the hounds of Death, as the roar of their wings came down the wind. But the roar came fainter and fainter, and the howl of their voices died away; for the sandals were too swift, even for Gorgons, and by nightfall they were far behind, two black specks in the southern sky, till the sun sank and he saw them no more.

Then he came again to Atlas, and the garden of the Nymphs; and when the giant heard him coming, he groaned, and said: "Fulfil thy promise to me." Then Perseus held up to him the Gorgon's head, and he head rest from all his toil; for he became a crag of stone, which sleeps forever far above the clouds.

Then he thanked the Nymphs, and asked them: "By what round shall I go homeward again, for I wandered far round in coming hither!"

And they wept and cried: "Go home no more, but stay and play with us, the lonely maidens, who dwell forever far away from gods and men."

But he refused, and they told him his road and said: "Take with you this magic fruit, which, if you eat once, you will not hunger for seven days. For you must go eastward and eastward ever, over the doleful Lybian shore, which Poseidon gave to Father Zeus, when he burst open the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, and drowned the fair Lectonian land. And Zeus took that land in exchange, a fair bargain, much bad ground for a little good, and to this day it lies waste and desert, with single, and rock, and sand."

Then they kissed Perseus, and wept over him, and he leapt down the mountain, and went on, and lessening like a sea-gull, away and out to sea.

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Perseus II: How Perseus Vowed a Rash Vow

FIFTEEN years were past and gone, and the babe was now grown to be a tall lad and a sailor, and went many voyages after merchandise to the islands round. His mother called him Perseus: but all the people in Seriphos said that he was not the son of mortal man, and called him the son of Zeus, the king of the Immortals. For though he was but fifteen, he was taller by a head than any man in the island; and he was the most skilful of all in running and wrestling and boxing, and in throwing the quoit and the javelin, and in rowing with the oar, and in playing on the harp, and in all which befits a man. And he was brave and truthful, gentle and courteous, for good old Dictys had trained him well' and well it was for Perseus that he had done so. For now Danae and her son fell into great danger, and Perseus had need of all his wit to defend his mother and himself.

I said that Dictys's brother was Polydectes, king of the island. He was not a righteous man, like Dictys; but greedy, and cunning, and cruel. And when he saw fair Danae, he wanted to marry her. But she would not; for she did not love him, and cared for no one but her boy, and her boy's father, whom she never hoped to see again. At last Polydectes became furious; and while Perseus was away at sea, he took poor Danae away from Dictys, saying, "If you will not be my wife, you shall be my slave." So Danae was made a slave, and had to fetch water from the well, and grind in the mill, and perhaps was beaten, and wore a heavy chain, because she would not marry that cruel king. But Perseus was far away over the seas in the isle of Samos, little thinking how his mother was languishing in grief.

Now one day at Samos, while the ship was lading, Perseus wandered into a pleasant wood to get out of the sun, and sat down on the turf, and fell asleep. And as he slept, a strange dream came to him; the strangest dream which he had ever had in his life.

There came a lady to him through the wood, taller than he, or any mortal man; but beautiful exceedingly, with great gray eyes, clear and piercing, but strangely soft and mild. On her head was a helmet, and in her hand a spear. And over her shoulder, above her long blue robes, hung a goatskin, which bore up a mighty shield of brass, polished like a mirror. She stood and looked at him with her clear gay eyes; and Perseus saw that her eyelids never moved,nor her eyeballs, but looked straight through and through him, and into his very heart, as if she could see all the secrets of his soul, and knew all that he had ever thought or longed for since the day that he was born. And Perseus dropped his eyes, trembling and blushing, as the wonderful lady spoke.

"Perseus, you must do and errand for me."
"Who are you, lady? And how do you know my name?"
"I am Palls Athene; and I know the thoughts of all men's hearts, and discern their manhood of their baseness. And from the souls of clay I turn away; and they are blest, but not by me. They fatten at ease, like sheep in the pasture, and eat what they did not sow, like oxen in the stall. They grow and spread, like the gourd along the ground: but like the gourd, they give no shade to the traveller; and when they are ripe death gathers them, and they go down unloved into hell, and their name vanishes out of the land.

"But to the souls of fire I give more fire, and to those who are manful I give a might more than man's. These are the heroes, the sons of the Immortals, who are blest, but not like the souls of clay. For I drive them forth by strange paths, Perseus, that they may fight the Titans and the monsters, the enemies of Gods and men. Through doubt and need, danger and battle, I drive them; and some of them are slain in the flower of youth, no man knows when or where; and some of them win noble names, and a fair and green old age; but what will be their latter end I know not, and none, save Zeus, the father of Gods and men. Tell me now, Perseus, which of these two sorts of men seem to you more blest?"

Then Perseus answered, boldly: "Better to die in the flower of youth, on the chance of winning a noble name, than to live at ease like the sheep, and die unloved and unrenowned."

Than that strange lady laughed, and help up her brazen shield, and cried: "See here, Perseus;dare you face such a monster as this, and slay it, that I may place its head upon this shield?"

And in the mirror of the shield there appeared a face, and as Perseus looked on it his blood ran cold. It was the face of a beautiful woman; but her cheeks were pale as death, and her brows were knit white everlasting pain, and her lips were thin and bitter like a snake's; and instead of hair, vipers wreathed about her temples, and shot out their forked tongues, while round her head were folded wings like an eagle's, and upon her bosom claws of brass.

And Perseus looked a while, and then said: "Not yet; you are too young, and too unskilled;for this is Medusa the Gorgon, the mother of a monstrous brood. Return to your home, and do the work which waits there for you. You must play the man in that before I can think you worthy to go in search of the Gorgon."

Then Perseus would have spoken, but the strange lady vanished, and he awoke; and behold, it was a dream. But day and night Perseus saw before him the face of that dreadful woman, with the vipers writhing round her head.

So he returned home, and when he came to Seriphos, the first thing which he heard was that his mother was a slave in the house of Polydectes.

Grinding his teeth with rage, he went out, and away to the king's palace, and through the men's rooms, and the women's rooms, and so through all the house, (for no one dared to stop him, so terrible and fair was he,) till he found his mother sitting on the floor, turning the stone hand-mill, and weeping as she turned it. And he lifted her up, and kissed her, and bade her follow him forth. But before they could pass out of the room, Polydectes came in, ragging. And when Perseus saw him, he flew upon him as the mastiff flies on the boar. "Villain and tyrant!" he cried; "is this your respect for the Gods, and thy mercy to strangers and widows? You shall die!" And because he had no sword, he caught up the stone hand-mill, and he lifted it to dash out Polydectes's brains.

But his mother clung to him, shrieking, "Oh, my son, we are strangers, and helpless in the land; and if you kill the king, all the people will fall on us, and we shall both die."

Good Dictys, too, who had come in, entreated him. "Remember that he is my brother. Remember how I have brought you up, and trained you as my own son, and spare him for my sake."

Then Perseus lowered his hand; and Polydectes, who had been trembling all this while like a coward, because he knew that he was in the wrong, let Perseus and his mother pass.

Perseus took his mother to the temple of Athene, and there the priestess made her one of the temple-sweepers; for there they knew she would be safe, and not even Polydectes would dare to drag her away from the altar. And there Perseus, and the good Dictys, and his wife, came to visit her every day; while Polydectes, not being able to get what he wanted by force, cast about in his wicked heart how he might get it by cunning.

Now he was sure that he could never get back Danae as long as Perseus was in the island; so he made a plot to rid himself of him. And first he pretended to have forgiven Perseus, and to have forgotten Danae; so that, for a while, all went as smoothly as ever.

Next he proclaimed a great feast, and invited to it all the chiefs, and land-owners, and the young men of the island, and among them Perseus, that they might all do him homage as their king, and eat of his banquet in his all.

On the appointed day they all came; and, as the custom was then, each guest brought his present with him to the king: one of horse, another a shawl, or a ring, or a sword; and those who had nothing better brought a basket of grapes, or of game;but Perseus brought nothing, for he had nothing to bring, being but a poor sailor-lad.

He was ashamed, however, to go into the king's presence without his gift, and he was too proud to ask Dictys to lend him one. So he stood at the door sorrowfully, watching the rich men go in; and his face grew very red as the pointed at him, and smiled, and whispered,"What hasd that foundling to give?"

Now, this was what Polydectes wanted; and as soon as he heard that Perseus stood without, he bade them bring him in, and asked him scornfully before them all,--"Am I not your king, Perseus, and have I not invited you to my feast? Where is your present, then?"

Perseus blushed and stammered, while all the proud men round laughed, and some of them began jeering him openly. "This fellow was thrown ashore here like a piece of weed or drift-wood, and yet he is too proud to bring a gift to the king."

"And though he does not know who is father is, he is vain enough to let the old women call him the son of Zeus."

And so forth, till poor Perseus grew mad with shame, and hardly knowing what he said, cried out,--"A present! who are you who talk of presents? See if I do not bring a nobler one than all of yours together!"

So he said, boasting; and yet he felt in his heart that he was braver than all those scoffers, and more able to do some glorious deed.

"Hear him! Hear the boaster! What is it to be?" cried they all, laughing louder than ever.

Then his dream at Samos came into his mind, and he cried aloud, "The head of the Gorgon."

He was half afraid after he had said the words; for all laughed louder than ever, and Polydectes loudest of all.

"You have promised to bring me the Gorgon's head? Then never appear again in this island without it. Go!"

Perseus ground his teeth with rage, for he saw that he had fallen into a trap; but his promise lay upon him, and he went out without a word.

Down to the cliffs he went, and looked across the broad blue sea; and he wondered if his dream were true, and prayed in the bitterness of his soul.

"Pallas Athene, was my dream true? and shall I slay the Gorgon? If thou didst really show me her face, let me not come to shame as a liar and boastful. Rashly and angrily I promised: but cunningly and patiently will I perform."

But there was no answer, nor sign;neither thunder or any appearance; not even cloud in the sky.

And three times Perseus called weeping. "Rashly and angrily I promised: but cunningly and patiently will I perform."

Then he saw afar off above the sea a small white cloud, as bright as silver. And it came on, nearer and nearer, till its brightness dazzled his eyes.

Perseus wondered at that strange cloud, for there was no other cloud all round the sky; and he trembled as it touched the cliff below. And as it touched, it broke, and parted, and within it appeared Pallas Athene, as he had seen her at Samos in his dream, and beside her a young man more light-limbed then the stag, whose eyes were like sparks of fire. By his side was a scimitar of diamond, all of one clear precious stone, and on his feet were golden sandals, from the heels of which grew living wings.

They looked upon Perseus keenly, and yet they never moved their eyes, and they came up the cliffs towards him more swiftly than the sea-gull. and yet they never moved their feet, nor did the breeze stir the robes about their limbs; only the wings of the youth's sandals quivered, like a hawk's when he hangs above the cliff. And Perseus fell down and worshipped, for he knew that they were more than man.

But Athene stood before him and spoke gently, and bid him have no fear. Then--

"Perseus," he said," he who overcomes in one trial merits thereby a sharper trial still. You have braved Polydectes, and done manfully. Dare you brave Medusa the Gorgon?"

"And Perseus said,"Try me; for since you spoke to me in Samos, a new soul has come into my breast, and I should be ashamed not to dare any thing which I can do. Show me then, how I can do this."

"Perseus," said Athene,"think well before you attempt; for this deed requires a seven years' journey, in which you cannot repent or turn back, nor escape; but if your heart fails you, you must die in the unshapen land, where no man will ever find your bones."

"Better so than live here, useless and despised," said Perseus. "Tell me, then, oh tell me, fair and wise Goddess, of your great kindness and condescension, how I can do but this one thing, and then, if need be, die!"

Then Athene smiled and said, "Be patient, and listen; for if you forget my words, you will indeed die. You must go northward to the country of the Hyperboreans, who lived beyond the pole, at the sources of the cold north wind; till you find the three Grey Sisters, who have but one eye and one tooth between them. You must ask them the way to the Nymphs, the daughters of the Evening Star, who dance about the golden tree, in the Atlantic island of the west. They will tell you the way to the Gorgon, that you may slay her, my enemy, the mother of monstrous beasts. Once she was a maiden as beautiful as morn, till in her pride she sinned a sin at which the sun hid his face; and from that day her hair was turned to vipers, and her hands to eagle's claws; and and her heart was filled with shame and rage, and her lips with bitter venom; and her eyes became so terrible that whosoever looks on them is turned to stone; and her children are the winged horse, and the giant of the golden sword; and her grand children are Echidna the which-adder, and Geryon the three-headed tyrant, who feeds his herds beside the herds of hell. So she became the sister of the Gorgons, Stheino and Euryte the abhorred, the daughters of the Queen of the Sea. Touch them not, for they are immortal: but bring me only Medusa's head."

"And I will bring it!" said Perseus," but how am I to escape her eyes? Will she not freeze me too into stone?"

"You shall take this polished shield," said Athene,"and when you come near her look not at her herself, but at her image in the brass; so you may strike her safely.And when you have struck off her head, wrap it, with your face turned away,in the folds of the goat-skin on which the shield hangs, the hide of Amaltheie, the nurse of the Aegisholder. So you will bring it safely back to me, and win to yourself renown and a place among the heroes who feast with the immortals upon the peak where no winds blow."

Then Perseus said, "I will go, though I die in going. But how shall I cross the seas without a ship? And who will show me my way? And when I find her, how shall I slay her, if her scales be iron and brass?"

Then the young man spoke:" These sandals of mine will bear you across the seas, and over hill and dale like a bird, as they bear me all day long; for I am Hermes, the far-farmed Argus-slayer, the messenger of the Immortals who dwell on Olympus."

Then Perseus fell down and worshipped, while the young man spoke again.

"The sandals themselves will guide you on the road, for they are divine and cannot stray;and this sword itself, the Argus-slayer, will kill her, for it is divine, and needs no second stroke. Arise, and gird them them on, and go forth."

So Perseus arose, and girded on the sandals and the sword.

And Athene cried, "Now leap from the cliff, and be gone.

But Perseus lingered.
"May I not bid farewell to my mother and to Dictys? And may I not offer burnt-offerings to you, and to Hermes, the far-farmed Argus-slayer, and to Father Zeus above?"

"You shall not bid farewell to your mother, lest your heart relent at her weeping. I will comfort her and Dictys until you return in peace. Nor shall you offer burnt-offerings to the Olympians'; for youe offering shall be Medusa's head. Leap, and trust in the armour of the Immortals."

Then the Perseus looked down the cliff and shuddered; but he was ashamed to show his dread. Then he thought of Medusa and the renown before him, and he leaped into the empty air.

And behold, instead of failing he floated, and stood, and ran along the sky. He looked back, but Athene had vanished, and Hermes; and the sandals led him on northward ever, like a crane who follows the spring toward the Ister fens.

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Perseus I : How Perseus and His Mother Came to Seriphos

Once upon a time there were two princes who were twins. Their names were Acrisius and Proetus, and they lived in the pleasant vale of Argos, far away in Hellas. They had fruitful meadows and vineyards, sheep and oxen, great herds of horses feeding down in Lerna Fen, and all that men could need to make them blest; and yet they were wretched, because they were jealous of each other. From the moment they were born they began to quarrel; and when they grew up, each tried to take away the other's share of the kingdom, and keep all for himself. So, first Acrisius drove out Proetus; and he went across the seas, and brought home a foreign princess for his wife, and foreign warriors to help him, who were called Cyclopes; and drove out Acrisius in his turn; and then they fought a long while up and down the land, till the quarrel was settled; and Acrisius took Argos and one half the land, and Proetus took Tiryns and the other half. And Proetus and his Cyclopes built around Tiryns great walls of unhewn stone, which are standing to this day.

But there came a prophet to that hardhearted Acrisius, and prophesied against him, and said : "Because you have risen up against your own blood, your own blood shall rise up against you; because you have sinned against your kindred, by your kindred you shall be punished. Your daughter Danae shall bear a son, and by that son's hand you shall die. So the gods have ordained, and it will surely come to pass."

And at that, Acrisius was very much afraid;but he did not mend his ways. He had been cruel to his own family; and, instead of repenting and being king to them, he went on to be more cruel than ever; for he shut up his fair daughter Danae in a cavern underground, lined with brass, that no one might come near her. So he fancied himself more cunning than the gods; but you will see presently whether he was able to escape them.

Now it came to pass that in time Danae bore a son; so beautiful a babe that any but king Acrisius would have had pity on it. But he had no pity. For he took Danae and her babe down to the sea-shore, and put them into a great chest, and thrust them out to sea, for the winds and the waves to carry them whithersoever they would.

The northwest wind blew freshly out of the blue mountains, and down the pleasant vale of Argos, and away and out to sea. And away and out to sea before it, floated the mother and her babe, while all who watched them wept, save that cruel father, king Acrisius.

So they floated on and on, and the chest danced up and down upon the billows, and the baby slept upon its mother's breast; but the poor mother could not sleep, but watched and wept, and she sang to her baby as they floated; and the song which she sang you shall learn some day.

And now they are past the last blue headland, and in the open sea;and there is nothing round them but the waves, and the sky, and the wind. But the waves are gentle, and the sky is clear, and the breeze is tender and low; for these are the days when Halcyone and Ceyx build their nests, and no storms ever ruffle the pleasant summer sea.

And who were Halcyone and Ceyx? You shall hear while the chest floats on. Halcyone was a fairy maiden, the daughter of the beach and of the wind. And she loved a sailor boy, and married him; and none on earth were so happy as they. But at last Ceyx was wrecked; and before he could swim to the shore, the billows swallowed him up. And Halcyone saw him drowning, and leapt into the sea to him;but in vain. Then the Immortals took pity on them both, and changed them into two fair sea-birds; and now they build a floating nest every year, and sail up and down happily forever, upon the pleasant seas of Greece.

So a night passed and a day; and a long day it was for Danae; and another night and day beside, till Danae was faint with hunger and weeping, and yet no land appeared. And all the while the babe slept quietly; and at last poor Danae dropped her head and fell asleep likewise, with her cheek against her babe's.

After a while she awakened suddenly; for the chest was jarring and grinding, and the air was full of sound. She looked up, and over her head were mighty cliffs, all red in the setting sun, and around her rocks and breakers, and flying flakes of foam. She clasped her hands together, and shrieked aloud for help. And when she cried, help met her; for now there came over the rocks a tall and stately man, and looked down wondering upon poor Danae tossing about in the chest among the waves.

He wore a rough cloak of frieze, and on his head a broad hat to shade his face; in his hand he carried a trident for spearing fish, and over his shoulder was a casting-net; but Danae could see that he was no common man and beard; and by the two servants who came behind him, carrying baskets for his fish. But she had hardly time to look at him, before he had laid aside his trident, and leapt down the rocks, and thrown his casting-net so surely over Danae and the chest, that the drew it, and her, and the baby, safe upon a ledge of rock.

Then the fisherman took Danae by the hand, and lifted her out of the chest, and said:

"O, beautiful damsel, what strange chance has brought you to this island in so frail a ship? Who are you, and whence?? Surely you are some king's daughter; and this boy has somewhat more than mortal."

And as he spoke, he pointed to the babe; for its face shone like the morning star.

But Danae only held down her head, and sobbed out:

"Tell me to what land I have come, unhappy that I am; and among what men I have fallen?"

And he said: "This isle is called Seriphos, and I am a Hellen, and dwell in it. I am the brother of Polydectes the king; and men call me Dictys the netter, because I catch the fish of the shore."

Then Danae fell down at his feet, and embraced his knees, and cried:

"Oh sir, have pity upon a stranger, whom a cruel doom has driven to your land; and let me live in your house as a servant; but treat me honourably, for I was once a king's daughter, and this my boy (as you have truly said) is of no common race. I will not be charge to you, or eat the bread of idleness; for I am more skilful in weaving and embroidery, than all the maidens of my land."

And she was going on; but Cictys stopped her, and raised her up, and said:

"My daughter, I am old, and my hairs are growing gray; while I have no children to make my home cheerful. Come with me, then, and you shall be a daughter to me and to my wife, and this babe shall be our grandchild. For I fear the gods, and show hospitality to all strangers; knowing that good deeds, like evil ones, always return to those who do them."

So Danae was comforted, and went home with Dictys the good fisherman, and was a daughter to him and to his wife, till fifteen years were past.

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An Unforgettable Serpent by G. Laycock

QUITE POSSIBLY there will never again be a day in the life of Peninsula, Ohio, even remotely like Sunday, June 25, 1944. At least, most of the older citizens of that quiet little Ohio village hope such a day does not dawn again.

In the early morning, dairy farmers were getting the milking done. The housewives were in their kitchens fixing hot breakfast. Many of the men had forsaken church on this special day. Instead they dressed in their field clothes and headed to town.

There they joined a growing throng of men, boys, and hound-dogs milling around in front of the barber shop. A look at the group was enough to frighten any peace-loving citizen. The group appeared to be a posse preparing to hunt to earth a public enemy.

Their weapons ranged through handguns, shotguns, rifles, pitchforks, and corn knives. There was much yelling and general confusion. Finally the police chief, Art Huey, began to outline his plan.

All of the men spread out in a line. Then they would start tramping along the banks of the Cuyahoga River, being careful not to overlook ravines and gullies and such hiding places as log piles and old junked automobiles. Hopefully one of them would spot the critter and give the signal. Then everyone up and down the line would converge on the victim, and heaven only knows what might occur. By this time the object of their hunt had gained widespread fame. As they set forth they were trailed by assorted photographers and reporters representing newspapers from many parts of the world.

The story had started when Clarence Mitchell was working in a field beside the river. Mr. Mitchell often was followed to his fields by his dogs, but on this day the dogs seemed mighty nervous. They whined and whimpered. Finally they slipped off through the fields for home, leaving their master all alone.

Shortly after that Mr.Mitchell looked up from his work. There in plain view what he thought must have been the biggest snake in the world.

Mr. Mitchell stood rooted to the spot. The reptile, big around as a watermelon, was headed for the river.It stretched out across an incredible length.

Around that part of Ohio there are no truly big native snakes. The largest one Mr.Mitchell would likely see is the pilot blacksnake. One five or six feet long and big around as a banana would be big for its kind. But this creature crawling in front Mr. Mitchell was unbelievable. The snake was twenty-five feet long and might have weighed more than two hundred pounds.

Mr. Mitchell made no effort to stop the huge snake, or to engage it in combat. Understandably. "I watched," he reported simply. And while he watched, the huge snake slid down the riverbank and into the Cuyahoga. As it did so,Mr. Mitchell dropped his hoe and raced for home.

Subsequently, the snake was observed by a neighbor who was working in a field on the east side of the river. It came out of the stream and headed eastward. Both farmers repeated their stories of what they had seen. Many believed they had been out in the sun too long.

But around Peninsula the giant serpent continued to make its appearance. On one farm after the other it showed up. Those who did not see the reptile itself sometimes reported sighting the tracks.

Soon most people took the story seriously. Farm wives no longer let their children go into the fields to pick daisies. Man continuously glanced to all sides as they plowed their corn. Older boys, driving the cows in at milking time, ran them more than they usually did.

Meanwhile, in town, the great snake was about all anyone talked about. Increasingly, folks knew they would have to protect themselves somehow against this jungle menace that had invaded northern Ohio. Such a beast simply could not be permitted to slither around the woods and fields. The chief of police was worried that some of his neighbors, nervous because of the reports of the monster serpent, might shoot each other by mistake.

What kind of snake might this Peninsula giant have been? There are in the world six true giants among the snakes. All belong to the same family of reptiles, the Boidae. Even herpetologists who spend their lives studying the snakes of the world, have had trouble arriving at a decision about which of these is truly the largest. They agree, however, that it must be either the anaconda or the reticulate python is 33 feet from nose to tip of tail. But there is a believable record of an anaconda that measured 37.5 feet. This leaves anaconda, as Clifford H. Pope, an outstanding authority on the subject, has written "probably the giant among the giants."

The boa constrictor, a little one among the giants,may go to 18.5 feet. The boa constrictor, however, is the best known of the giant serpents. It is often kept in capacity. The home of the boa is Mexico and South America.

The anaconda is also a native of South America. There it stays much of the time in the warm water, moving slowly about the dense jungle streams.

The other four giants are all pythons native to the Old World. One often housed in zoos is the African rock python which can grow to more than thirty feet in length. This snake is sometimes seen in the grasslands, its head lifted above the level of the vegetation as it examines the countryside. It is native to most of southern Africa.

Across southern Asia the Indian python is frequently found in the jungles as well as the grasslands. It may grow to be twenty feet long. Meanwhile the reticulate python crawls through the Philippine Islands, Burma, and other parts of that humid tropical region. The other monstrous snake in the line-up is also a python, the amethystine python. Sometimes this beast, whose length may go to twenty feet, departs its haunts along the stream banks to come into the villages and farms. It is a native to Australia and some of the islands of the South Pacific.

All of these massive reptiles are non-poisonous. They have little need for poison. They can subdue prey by wrapping the haples dreature in masses of snake coils and hugging it to death.

Such snakes often lurk along trails used by wild hogs, antelope, and other animals. They choose what they like from the creatures that parade by. Or they may lie silently and deathly still along the limb of giant tree that branches out ever a jungle stream, ready to drop on their victims.

In ambush the giant snakes test the air for odors. They are also equipped with heat-sensitive organs which aid them in detecting the presence of warm-blooded creatures.

When hungry, the giant snakes grabs its victim first with its jaws, The teeth curve backward. The harder a victim pulls to escape, the more deeply it is impaled and the more securely it is held. Then the snack quickly brings coils of its massive body around the animal. The opportunities to escape at this point are slight.

Some believe these huge constrictors break a multitude of bones in their victims' bodies as they hold them. This is not the case. These big snakes do not squeeze their prey with great force. With their bulky coils wrapped about the struggling creature they just hold on. Each time the prey exhales, the snake takes up the slack, making it impossible for the victim to expand and draw in fresh supplies of oxygen. It soon suffocates.

Strangely, these reptiles are capable of eating animals even larger around than their own bodies. The jaws are flexible and loosely connected. They can adjust to the situation and spread around the large prey.

The swallowing process may be a slow one. Bit by bit, the reptile inches forward, stretching its own body over that of its victim. It pulls itself onto the prey somewhat as a person might force an elastic stocking onto his leg. The snake may enter an enclosure, capture, and consume a pig or calf, then find that it is too bulky to escape through the opening by which it entered.

How big an animal can a big snake swallow? There is one report from South Africa of a python 16 feet long swallowing and impala weighing 130 pounds. In South America an anaconda once consumed a five-foot cayman, an alligator-like reptile.

Meanwhile, one Indian python is credited with making a main course of an adult leopard. The snake is said to have suffered some scratches in the process. Serves him right.

On record also are authentic cases of reticulate pythons consuming people. Four Burmese hunters once went into the jungle in pursuit of game. Along the trail they became separated from each other. When they reassembled there were not four but three. This alarmed the remaining three. They straightway set forth searching for their missing friend.

First they found his sandals beside the trail. The sandals looked as if their owner had been lifted out of them. Soon the three men found a trail of broken vegetation. Then, resting in the shadows beside the trail, they found a python at least twenty feet long. Near its middle was slain upon the hunter had been found. Somewhat late.

It would, however, be unfair to the giant snakes to imply that they often seek humans for their prey. They have distinct preferences for other warm-blooded species. In fairness, it should be noted that people also eat pythons.

All of this, however, is lost on people who find they have a giant reptile in their neighborhood. Around Long Beach, California, some years ago, there was instant pandemonium when word spread that twenty-eight-feet-long python had escaped from a traveling carnival. The reptile was soon captured near the beach. That put an early end to the possibility of a scene such as the natives of Peninsula, Ohio, enacted at the time of their great snake hunt.

Every few days the snake would be seen again around the northern Ohio community. It would then slide into the brush and out of sight. By the time a posse could be organized and reach the site, the nervous hunters would find only mashed down grass, and more big tracks. This led to the big Sunday hunt in late June.

Nobody recalls for certain how many men and boys gathered to search for the serpent. The telephone operator was alerted to pass the word of anyone should call in a report of the monster. The local fire station was expected to sound three blasts of the siren on top the town hall.

The siren sounded about noon. Just about everyone who had not already gone out on the hunt now began to join in the case. They didn't know it then, but the caller had spread a false alarm.

They searched every ravine and kicked every brush pile. They locked into the branches of trees over the river. They poked into holes. But all day there was no sign of the Peninsula python. Everyone went home tired that night. No one had been shot. Police chief Art Huey let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps so did the Peninsula python.

Where did the monster reptile come from? How did it get free halfway around the world from its native land?? Folks in northern Ohio thought about that quite a bit. They recalled the day a carnival truck went out of control down by the cemetery. Everything that was inside it had spread over an acre or more. One of the things in it was believed to have been a giant python.

By autumn the python had vanished. Naturalists from Cleveland and from other cities speculated that it might have holed up for winter along the banks of the Cuyahoga and failed to survive the frigid northern Ohio weather.

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Dragons of Komodo by G. Laycock

IN THE FAILING YELLOW LIGHT of early evening the little fishing boat rocked gently in the bay off the quiet and mysterious island. The two-man crew stared up at at the forbidding mountains. Were the tales they had heard of this place true? They were torn between two emotions, a deep curiosity and desire to go ashore to explore, and an equally deep fear of what they might find there.

This island in Indonesia, northwest of Australia,is one of the green dots of land in the blue Flores Sea. Elsewhere such island might be famous for grass=skirted girls and guitar music. But no one then lived on this island in the chain, the island of Komodo, and it was known as the home of a remarkable dragon.

Up those slopes, toward the ancient volcanic peak towering two thousand feet above the sea, stretched green carpets of vegetation. Tall lontar palms stood on the hillsides like umbrellas on their long, clean trunks. Steep-walled canyons were choked with jungle-thick brush. It must be in these tangles that the giant reptiles with their long forked tongues and glaring eyes raced about on short scaly legs, devouring other creatures.

Perhaps the pearl fisherman drifting offshore were hungry for wild foods to supplement their constant diet of fish. Maybe they thought this island might provide a good base for their fishing operations. But they must have wondered, too, if the old folk had given them the straight story or simply fed them a preposterous tall tale. There was only one way to be sure.

They dropped anchor, sloshed ashore, and began climbing. Soon they paused to rest. While they stood there, one of them reached out and silently touched the arm of his companion. He nodded toward the trail ahead. Together they stood speechless, staring at the frightening beast that had waddled from the underbrush and now blocked their path while its beady eyes were trained upon them.

There is no record of how long it took the exploring fisherman to return to their boat. But later fisherman did establish a small outpost on Komodo, the island of the dragons.

This island of Komodo is a strange and lonely place where few outsiders come. It is one of a little cluster of islands formed long ago by volcanic action, pushing steam and molten rock from the sea. The islands are known as the Lesser Sundas, and they lie like gems in the blue sea east of Java. Strong currents and rip down through the passages these islands, and these rough seas have discouraged visitors.

Komodo was not a great distance, however, from the museum in the town known today as Bogor,on Java. There the museum director, Major P.A. Ouwens, first heard the strange accounts as pearl fisherman told what they had seen on Komodo. Major Ouwens must have questioned the stories. Such tales are not easily believable. The year was 1912, and surely if there were monstrous dragons on Komodo, or anywhere else on earth for that matter, men of science would know of them by now.

On occasion, the governor of that group of islands made his rounds on inspection tour. Never had there been reason for him to stop long on Komodo. Then, Major Ouwens made his strange request.

Would the governor mind, the next time he stopped around Komodo on his inspection, going inland a bit and seeing about this dragon thing?

When the governor arrived, he found two pearl fisherman on the island. The governor even saw the remains of one of these lizards. He carried the story back to Ouwens, and the museum director was now on the trail of a new scientific discovery.

Major Ouwens decided to send an expedition to Komodo.As he made preparations for his staff to depart, he hesitated to tell anyone the objective of the trip. One could not blame him. Who would want the neighbors saying with raised eyebrows, "Did you hear about the major? He's sending an expedition they say, to search for dragon. Strange man, the major."

But what the major found from this visit to Komodo was soon to be repeated around the world, especially among scientists. Crawling on those green slopes were the creatures the world came to know as the Komodo dragons. They were cousins of the dinosaurs. Somehow they had survived through the ages into the present. They were, by far, the largest lizard anywhere on earth. One skin brought to the major measured thirteen feet.

Later others went to search for the Komodo dragons, and found them living also on the nearby island of Rintj, and a portion of Flores. Together these bits of land are but a speck on the map of the world. This is hostile country for the careless or unfortunate. Living here are deadly green vipers, cobras, wild boar, and water buffalo, while sharks and poisonous sea serpents cruise the edge of the sea.

No doubt Major Ouwens, like most of us, had been exposed to his share of dragon pictures and stories. In fairy tales any self-respecting dragon must have piercing eyes, long scaly tail, long, low body, and be should be a bit of a flame thrower, breathing fire out of his nostrils or perhaps his ears.

The Komodo dragon fell short of this on one point. It did not breathe fire. Otherwise the first one viewed by Major Ouwens possessed all the features a dragon could ask. The lizard was fully ten feet long. Later some were recorded at lengths of twelve and thirteen feet.

The head of the Komodo lizard is broad and flat and covered with scales which overlap a rugged armor. His whole body is armor plated in this way. The eyes are set well back on the sides of the head. This gives him a wide field of vision, making it difficult to sneak up on him.

Out of his mouth flicks a long forked tongue that vibrates and tests the breezes for odors of food. His mouth is blood red on the inside. It opens like a cavern as the beast tears into his food. The mouth is so wide that most of the head is jaws, and rows of sharp edged teeth line the jaws and curve backward, hooking into and holding the food securely.

Each food is equipped with five long sharp claws. These are useful in digging in the earth and also in tearing meat into bits. The tail is long and heavy and the giant lizard can flick it quickly and use it as a crushing weapon. The body is like a great wrinkled leather bag, dark bluish black with flecks of yellowish undercast around the neck and underside.

Young Komodo dragons hatch from eggs about the size of goose eggs. From this small container emerges about twenty-one inches of long, slender reptile. The young are more yellowish than their elders and at once are very active. Young Komodo lizards dash all about and can even climb trees. Half grown ones five and six feet long have been known to climb into trees and lie along the branches over hanging the jungle trail.

Most of the Komodo dragon's days and nights, however, are spent either feeding or resting. At rest he many lie quietly beside a game trail. Or he may hide in the darkness of one of the burrows he digs in the hillsides.

Because reptiles are cold blooded, these creature seek the warmth of the sun. Lying there in the open,they turn with the sun, basking and adjusting from time to time to keep themselves comfortable.

Their appetite is fearsome to consider. Their most common food is carrion. They search out the dead deer, goats, wild boars, and water buffalo, and tear them into chunks for immediate consumption. Fresh meat seems to hold less appeal for them than it does once it has begun to rot. Men who have traveled to Komodo to trap or photograph the dragon, usually begin by putting out a dead goat for bait. After the meat has been a few days in the hot sun, the lizards' flicking, forked tongues begin to pick up the strong odors.

Then they come out of the dense cover to the food. As they hold the carrion down with their broad strong feet, their mighty jaws rip the flesh apart. There is nothing dainty about the eating habits of the lizard. Into those gaping red mouths go flesh, bones,hair and anything else in the way. A large Komodo dragon can swallow the entire hind quarter of a deer or goat in a single bite, As long as the food lasts, they continue to store it away in their expanding cavernous bodies.

To watch largest of all living lizards eat carries an observer back million of years into the dim age when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

Will these monsters attack live animals? "Yes," say those who have studied them. "They will attack a beast as large as a pony." Dashing out of hiding from the shadows of the trees, giant lizards grab and hang onto their victim. But large animals sometimes break away and later carry scars as evidence of their brush with death.

There are no records of a Komodo dragon having attacked a man unprovoked. The human who sees one coming can outrun it. He might even set a new track record. When a Komodo dragon is captured, it struggles and fights fiercely. It snaps and grabs at anything or anyone within reach. But a dragon can be forgiven for this.

Today there are still populations of these giant lizards crawling about on their native islands, primarily on Komodo. But their numbers have dwindled, and their future is threatened. There may be no more than a few hundred of them remaining. They are listed now on the official roster of the world's rare and endangered wildlife. With them on the same list are nearly one thousand rare birds, mammals, snakes, fish, and others. But no other dragons. That seems a shame in a world that was once rich in dragons.

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Old Mose by G. Laycock

EARLY IN THIS CENTURY the high mountain country of south-central Colorado was home to a monster with a reputation that sent chills up the spines of strong men. If word went out that "Old Mose" had been sighted, ranch wives kept their small children indoors, and men were seen to inspect their rifles with special care. All of them knew they were dealing with the biggest grizzly bear ever known in those mountains. They also knew this bear had tasted human flesh.

Under the best conditions men and grizzly bears have never been very good neighbors. This feud between man and these giant North American bears began when explorers first invaded the bear's habitat. Lewis and Clark, exploring up the Missouri Valley,met the grizzly and were amazed. Then the famous mountain men, Jim Bridger, and all the rest, had the grizzly bears for neighbors. Neighborhood relationships never did warm up between the two species. Men despised the grizzlies for killing calves, sheep, and colts, and for threatening people. But they hated the grizzly most for another reason:; the giant bears were hard to kill. Sometimes a man would have to shoot a grizzly half a dozen times. Any bear that didn't know when to lie down and die was not to be trusted.

These biggest of the bears,known for their humped backs and dish-shaped faces, once roamed over most of the western half of the United States. Rifles, traps, and poison took care of that. In the United States today, the grizzly bears are in Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, and even there they stay far back in the wilderness minding their own business most of the time. But,even though they are gone from ranch country almost everywhere, stories of them are still repeated.

Right in the heart of Old Mose's former range lay the Stirrup Ranch. This spread was then owned by Wharton H. Pigg who raised cattle and horses. Mr. Pigg was first aware that the giant bear's territory overlapped with his own one day in 1982 when he came upon the bear's trail. He reined his horse to a halt to gaze at the tracks in amazement.Along this trail had walked a bear with feet bigger than dish pans and on one of them a toe was missing.

Then other ranchers and hunters began to sight the monstrous grizzly elsewhere along the mountain range. All agreed that this must be a bear larger than they had ever seen, a frightening monster. This bear obviously deserved a name, and someone called him "Old Mose".

Indications are that Old Mose might have been young in those days. He lived on for enough years to cause more trouble than anyone really needed. He became a champion at robbing corrals. By the size of his foot and that missing toe ranchers were always able to tell when the giant grizzly had paid a visit.

As long as Old Mose lived, Mr. Pigg pursued him. He learned to understand the bear's habit. It seems likely that Old Mose also learned to understand the schemes dreamed up by Mr. Pigg. At any rate, over the years, they periodically tracked each other. Each, perhaps, was aware that a close confrontation would bring both into mortal danger.

As the years rolled by, the bear's transgression increased. He had a fondness for fresh meat. Nobody knows how many head a stock he killed during his lifetime. The records reveal that he killed at least three full-grown bulls.

Killing a steer, or even a horse, was no big thing for Old Mose. A single swat with one of those powerful front feet would send the creature into the hereafter.A slashing bite in the neck would guarantee the job.

These crimes were truly bad in ranching country. But old Mose soon earned an even more notorious reputation. The bear had been leading the good life in the vicinity of Black Mountain through the summer and into the fall of 1883. He was a loner, traveling wherever the urge took him. Sometimes he would turn up the sod, seeking tender roots of plants. Other times he would pause to harvest wild berries or snack on grubs. But a body that big needs considerable food, and whenever hunger grew strong enough,Old Mose turned his thoughts to food that came in large servings. Ranchers found the remains of several cows during those months.

Meanwhile the fame of Old Mose was spreading. There is a rule that guides the destinies of bounty hunters who pursue lawbreakers.The more famous the outlaw, the braver seems the man who shoots him. More and more men now dreamed of bringing Old Mose down. So three men set forth one autumn day to seek Old Mose in the high country. One of them was Jake Ratcliff. Jack fancied himself to be one big bear hunter.

For several days they hunted for sign of the giant grizzly. They watched for restless cattle. They studied the remains of carcasses. They watched for giant foot-prints.

Then, late one afternoon, they found exactly what they were seeking. Old Mose had taken his meal from the carcass of a steer, still warm where it had fallen.And around the kill were the unmistakable prints of the mammoth bear. Various trails led from the spot and the three men split up to see if one of them could rout the grizzly. One of them did.

The trail followed by Jake Ratcliff led to a bear-sized hole in the side of the hill. Outside the hole was a mound of fresh earth to tell Jake that a bear had been here shortly before.

Jake noticed that he was shaking slightly. A strange chill chased up his spine, and he made a conscious effort to control his nerves. Jake had heard no noise and as far as he knew the breeze had not carried scent of his presence to the bear's sensitive nose. Or perhaps the grizzly had slipped off through the woods unnoticed.This would have been a lucky break for Jack Ratcliff.

Instead, Jake, moving quietly, soon spotted the massive bear. Quickly, he raised his rifle to his shoulder, aimed and fired, and the bullet struck the huge body.But nothing happened. All the bullets Ratcliff fired failed to bring the monster to the earth.

From deep in the massive throat of the grizzly there came a horrible roar and then Old Mose turned upon the man. He charged down upon Ratcliff at full speed. Heavy brush will scarcely slow an enraged bear. Where he wanted to go, the underbrush parted. It was as if a tank were rumbling through. Before Ratcliff could get his feet in motion the bear was breathing in his face.

Old Mose reached for Ratrcliff and threw him into the air like a mouse tossed by a cat. Experienced outdoorsmen know that the best defense when attacked by a bear is to lie perfectly still, and hope the bear leaves. Ratcliff, still conscious, now lay motionless and silent. Old Mose began to move off.

Finally the mutilated hunter, thinking the bear had gone, lifted his head ti inspect the scene. This was all the clue Old Mose needed. Filled with pain from the bullets he carried, he had stood off to one side watching and waiting, and now leaped in once more on the man who hurt him.

When the other hunters arrived they found Ratcliff still breathing.But Oldose had finished his job. Jake Ratcliff died beforemorning.

Now Old Mose had really done it! He was guilty of the unforgivable. Word flashed across Colorado. The state had a killer grizzly on its hands. Every time the story was repeated the bear grew bigger,his exploits more daring.

But the giant grizzly had many active years ahead of him. Men tried every trick they could think of to succeed where Jake Ratcliff had failed.

If they set a trap, Old Mose would study it.If the trap had somehow been sprung, he would consume the bait before wandering on. But if the trap were still set, he would walk around it, leaving it untouched.

Mr. Pigg had another idea. He had observed that Old Mose sometimes went to the lake where he splashed and played in the cold water.Mr. Pigg waited until about time for the old bear to make his rounds of the mountain again.

When Old Mose arrived at the shore of the lake, there hidden in the shallow water, was a giant steel trap.The water masked out the man odor. Old Mose was not thinking of a trap as he splashed into the lake.He had no experience to tell him there was danger in the water.

Then he felt the trap spring. The monstrous bear leaped back, and with his lightning-fast reflexes almost escaped the trap completely. But the giant still jaws had clamped shut on two toes of his right foot.

At that moment the son of local rancher slipped down to the lake's edge and peered through the aspen.What he saw sent him flying back to find Mr.Pigg. "Old Mose is down there all right," he yelled as he came up to Mr. Pigg," right down there in the water caught in that trap sure as anything."

All men within hearing reached for their guns. The rumble of horses' hoofs sounded like a charger of cavalry. At last they had Old Mose, the killer grizzly, had him right where they wanted him. That's what they thought. By the time they reached the lake the massive bear had pulled free of the trap, leaving behind a part of this foot.

Old Mose went right,on killing livestock. Bears have to eat. If he found a fence between himself and a calf, he might tear down the fence. If he found a colt in a corral, his method was to knock the corral down.

Year after year, Mr. Pigg and other hunters went into the mountains to test their skill. Some say that after finishing off Jake Ratcliff Old Mose killed other men, maybe three or four them. If a human body was found anywhere within the old bear's range, Old Mose got the credit.

One of the newspapers of the day quoted and old-time rancher. "The stockmen of his country were in fear of their lives on account of this big bear. There were two or three men that had gone to the hills to look for him.They never returned and their bodies were never recovered."

Finally J. W. Anthony set out to find Old Mose. Mr. Anthony, who had killed many bears in his lifetime, had a pack of hounds that did his trailing. One April day in 1904, he and Mr.Pigg set off together to seek Old Mose. Anthony came upon the bear first. His dogs had surrounded the monster in an aspen grove.

Mr. Anthony's mind flashed back to other bears he had hunted. All were small when compared with the giant that now stood snarling and roaring before him.

Then the first bullet struck the bear. Old Mose wheeled about and rushed down upon the hapless Jake Ratcliff. When Old Mose was only three feet away, Mr. Anthony fired again. The shot hit the giant between the eyes. Old Mose suddenly fell and died.

All that Old Mose ever wanted was to go where he chose, eat what he liked, and not be hassled. But he belonged to a species for which three was no longer space in the West. And besides, he had a special problem; he was a monster.

Men arrived to drag the huge body back to Stirrup Ranch. They figured the bear weighed half a ton. The hide was mine feet four inches long and nine and a half feet wide.

One scientists,who later studied the brain of Old Mose, concluded that the size of his brain was not very big considering the bulk of his body. But for more than twenty years the giant bear had been a match for every man who pursued him.

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Unbelievable Fish by G. Laycock

ON DECEMBER DAY in 1938 the captain and crew of a fishing trawler were had at work off the southern coast of Africa. Day after day, this business was the same. Set out the nets. Pull in the nets. Sort the fist.Haul them back to town on the mainland, shell them, then get ready to go out again.

During his years of commercial fishing the captain had brought up into the African sunlight every species of fish he could think of. There had been little fish, big fish, dull-colored creatures, and others to rival the rainbow. The captain believed,in fact, that he had seen about everything there was to see from down there in the deepening shadows.

But on this December day there was strange fish, out of the past, crawling, sluggishly on the bottom some 250 feet beneath the surface.It watched the sleek forms of other fish that swam by, and its large muscular too close.

If the antique creature, half crawling and half swimming about on the ocean floor, had been a little faster be might have evaded the net. The net, stretching out through the water, moved closer and closer until there was no longer any way to escape it, and the next thing the creature realized it was being rolled and tumbled along by a force too strong to fight. Smaller fish were now all around him, but he had forgotten his hunger.

When the net full of fish was dumped out, the crew looked over the catch. Hundreds of fish were wiggling and squirming there in one pile. Then a crewman spotted the strange large fish the net had scooped off the ocean floor.

The captain saw it, scratched his grizzled chin, and shook his head in bewilderment. Nobody in the crew could recall seeing anything to match this one. Steel blue in color, the monster fish had large scales, weighed 125 pounds, and was 5 feet long. The crew members soon found that the fish was still alive. If they put a hand too close to its gaping jaws, it grabbed for them with those snapping sharp teeth.It lived four more hours.

By then the captain had decided that the he would take this strange creature to the museum when he reached port. Perhaps the curator,Miss Courtenay-Latimer, could tell him what manner of creature be had dredged from the bounty of the sea.

By the time the trawler docked the fish was three days dead.The smell was something a person simply had to adjust to. The fish was so far gone that the museum curator could save only its skin and skull.

Miss Courtenay-Latimer was puzzled. But one who would surely know was Professor J.L.B. Smith. Professor Smith was located at the Albany Museum twenty-five miles west in Grahamstown. Miss Courtenay-Latimer sent off a wire to Professor Smith.A few days later Miss Courtenay-Latimer led him to the refrigerator in which she had stored the puzzling remains.

The story of fish, a Professor Smith and others of his profession know,goes back through the geologic ages to the very beginning of vertebrate life. Some of the story has been read in the record of the rocks were science has found clues in the fossils. Ancient and extinct creatures, washed into muddy deltas and buried in swamps, have had their forms preserved. By studying the rocks, layer by layer, scientists have unraveled the mysteries. From present back into the past, deeper and deeper, the trails lead. Not long ago there were the mastodons and the saber-toothed tigers, giant sloths, and giant beaver. These were early representatives of the mammals.

Back beyond the mammals there were the ages during which bird evolved, and further still the times when reptiles,including the giant dinosaurs, ruled the earth.

Millions of years before that, however, no vertebrate animals at all yet lived on land. All life was in the sea, and fishes were evolving from lower creatures. One step in this rise of animals has long drawn the attention of scientists. This is the mystery of how creatures of the seas finally came out onto land to live. which of the fish fathered the land dwellers? What manner of creature ventured from those ancient seas millions of years ago to wander among the giant ferns and primitive plants?

One of the scientist who had studied this giant step in the animal kingdom was Professor Smith. He knew what the fossils had told science. Especially he knew about a group of ancient fish that scientists called "Coelacanths".

Hundreds of fossils of Coelacanths had already been dug up, stored in museums, studied, and written about in the annals science. Many scientists were agreed, as they still are, that is was the group that gave rise to the land creatures. From some pioneering branch of the Coelacanth's family had emerged individuals able to adapt to life on land. Maybe in those changing ages, ponds dried and individuals struggling to locate new waters managed short, then longer trips over land. This is speculation.

So complete were fossils of the Coelacanth that scientists in their laboratories managed to unravel much of the story of this fish of long ago. It had, even in those days, scales the overlapped like shingles, a perfectly good design still found on today's fish. It possessed, most interestingly of all perhaps, strange stumps connecting its fin to its body. The short stumps reminded scientists of beginning legs, and it was easy to see that the fins of these primitive fish must have been used for crawling around the floor of the sea.

When scientists discussed Coelacanths they spoke of them in the past tense. All evidence pointed toward a story that ended millions of years ago. Saber-toothed tigers were gone. Mammoths were gone. Dinosaurs were gone. Thousands of species had evolved, flourished, then passed on, extinct and largely forgotten. The Coelacanth, according to the record of the rocks, had lived two hundred million years before the dinosaurs. They had lived in many parts of the world from South America,Africa, Europe, and Greenland. But they had started on their downward trail at least one hundred million years ago. The youngest fossil remains of them were judge to be seventy million years old. No wonder scientists spoke of the Coelacanth as history. Any creature that has been gone for seventy million years is extinct indeed. The marvel of it was that scientists million of years knew almost exactly what the Coelacanth looked like when it was still crawling about the seas.

Meanwhile, back in the lab, Miss Courtenay-Latimer opened the refrigerator, removed the remains, and looked questioningly at the learned Professor Smith. Slowly there spread across his countenance a strange expression. He left as if he had stepped into a time capsule and been whisked back through the history of the earth ten million years, twenty million, seventy million. Before him was the remains of a true Coelacanth. Only days before it had been alive, crawling about on the bottom of the sea.

Understandably, when word of this identification flashed out from South Africa to scientists around the world, many were stunned. Some frankly did not believe it. The Coelacanth was extinct. It had been extinct all those million of the years. And that was that. But the story was soon confirmed.

This set in motion one of the most heartbreaking searches in all the world of natural history. In the following weeks Professor Smith wanted, more than anything else in the world, to have another Coelacanth. He wanted one that was whole so specialists could study its organs and structure part by part. What facts such a specimen might reveal!

First, Professor Smith asked him self where in the world men might stand the best opportunity of finding more of these strange creatures. A scientist experienced in the study of fish can, by looking at the outside of a fish, tell something of the kind of world it inhabits. The Coelacanth was no exception. Those strong scales would be protection against rough rocky ledges. The creature was obviously a slow mover, not a speeding, streamlined fish. Therefore the Coelacanth probably did not capture its prey by out maneuvering the fish it ate. Instead, Professor Smith surmised, it must lurk like a demon in the shadows of rocky crevices, waiting for prey to swim by.

On the other hand there was every reason to believe the Coelacanth would take a fisherman's baited hook. Why then, in a part of the world where fisherman worked the waters every day in their perpetual search for food, had people not caught these creature? The Coelacanth must live in deep waters. Deep waters, rough rocky ledges, places where the trawler had taken the strange fish.

This set Professor Smith to thinking abouyt the whole east coast of Africa. Where, along that stretch of land, were the reefs and deep waters that might harbor more Coelacanths? He had the advantage of knowing this section of the world thoroughly from his own studies. Northward toward the Equator, along the shore of Madagaskar, around such island groups as the Comores, those were the places to concentrate in the search.

Next the professor wrote a circular showing a drawing of the Coelacanth and offering a reward of one hundred pounds (about eight hundred dollars) to anyone whocould bring him one. "Look carefully at this fish," the circular told thousands of fisherman along the coast and through the islands,"it may bring you good fortune. If you have the good fortune to catch or find one, do not cut or clean it any way but get it whole at once to a cold storage."

Hopefully, thousands of these circulars were distributed along the coast. The months dragged into years. Professor Smith never gave up. Somewhere there had to be more Coelacanths.His search continued.

Fourteen years passed. Ahmed Hussein had been fishing, as he often did,with hook and line about two hundred yards of the shore. He struggled to bring a tremendous fish into his boat. Next day he took it to town to the market place and offered it for sale,hoping someone wanted a fish so large and fat.

But one of his friends in the market showed him a wrinkled scrap of paper, a copy of Professor Smith's circular. Together they studied the picture. Hussein became more and more excited.

Some days later, in a special airplane supplied by the government, Professor Smith arrived. There on the deck of a friend's ship was a box with the contents packed in soft materials.

The professor was too nervous to unwrap the fish, and the crew laid back the covering.By then the professor was on his knees beside the box. He took one quick look at the magnificent antique fish. The long search was ended. "I'm not ashamed," the professor later wrote, "to say that I wept. It was a Coelacanth."

During the next few years others were found, and scientists in their laboratories studied these links with lost age.

What they learned only strengthened their earlier conclusions. This was not, as some said, the exact creature that had adapted to walk on land and led to reptiles, birds, and all other land vertebrates, including man, but it was of the same family.

There had been many kinds of Coelacanths. They had been much alike wherever they lived throughout the world. Even these that had changed from those ancient fossil forms. A member of this family had bridged the gap between the animals of land and sea.

In the world of science, the Coelacanths has been hailed as the greatest biological discovery of of the century.

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The Mystery of Loch Ness by G. Laycock

THERE LIVES, a gigantic monster, in a beautiful lake in the Highlands of Scotland. It has come to the surface just often enough to puzzle and frighten people of the region and keep them speculating about this identity of their monster. By now more than one thousand people claim to have seen the mysterious serpent believed to dwell in the depths of Loch Ness.

Loch Ness is a beautiful place for a monster to live. The lake,long, narrow, and deep, is flanked by high green hills where dew and fog and frequent rains keep the blankets of lush vegetation dripping with moisture. Clouds pile up in the valleys. From the high vantage points travelers sometimes look down, not only on the loch, but on the clouds as well. The centuries have not robbed this magic scene of its sense of loneliness and quiet. Beside the lake stand ancient abandoned castles. Nearby is an age-old monastery, and people living around the lake occupy the lands their ancestors held.

For twenty-three miles Loch Ness stretches along its valley. It connect with the sea through the River Ness. Within the river a system of navigation locks permits passage of boats from salt water into fresh, and some say provides opportunity as well for a traveling sea serpent to slip in and out as the mood strikes. It would, of course, not be the only creature to live part of its life in salt water into freshwater streams for spawning are classified as anadromous. The lake is scarcely more than a mile wide through most of its length but goes down to a depth of 754 feet.

These waters are stained dark brown from draining through beds of peat en route to the lake. One can not peer more than a few feet into the dim hidden world beneath the surface. Therefore observes must depend on this serpent to come to the surface, or out on land, if they ever to see it.

Many do not believe.The Loch Ness monster, they sometimes hint, is not in there at all. This, in fact,is what William Brodie, captain of a steam tug operating on the lake, used to think. "Humbug," said Captain Brodie, "Loch Ness monster indeed!"

Then one summer afternoon in 1938, when his tug was pushing along steadily across the fog-shrouded lake, there appeared out of the depths a creature unknown to all on board. For a short distance it swam along beside the tugboat. It was long and slender, and humps on its back stuck out of the water as the humps of a sea serpent are supposed to do.

Next the creature turned on the power, spurted ahead of the boat, and finally dived. A short time later it appeared again for out in front, still increasing its lead on the sluggish boat where Captain Brodie stood wide-eyed on the bridge.

The captain has joined the believers. "There can," he is quoted as saying,"be no doubt of the monster's existence."

Others who have been startled by sight of the creature hasten to agree. For example, there was a motorcyclist named Grant who, some years ago, swas speeding along the north shore road beside Loch Ness in the darkness of night. Suddenly, in the beam of his headlight there emerged from the woods a creature such as he had never before witnessed. Nobody wants to go crashing willy-nilly into a monster, and Mr.Grant maneuvered skillfully to avoid the collision.

Just why a sea serpent should cross the road is one of the big mysteries. To explain it away simply by saying that it "......wants to get on the other side," seems hardly adequate. But the Loch Ness monster has been reported on other occasions too, as coming out of the water to make its way overland for short distances. Mr. Grant reported that as he caught the form of the creature in the light of his cycle, it made two bounds and cleared the road, then quickly sloshed back into Loch Ness, there to vanish beneath the foaming surface. It was, had a small head, beady eyes, long slender neck, and appeared to be dark and slimy.

Another report of the Loch Ness monster being out of its water came from John McKay. Mr McKay operated a hotel nearby and one one spring evening in 1933 was out driving with his wife over the newly completed road along the north shore of the lake. There in plain sight was "Nessie" as folks around Loch Ness have come to know their sea serpent.The creature at once dived into the lake.

Later Mr.McKay reported to a local newspaper what he and his wife had seen.The story spread rapidly. The Loch Ness monster became world famous in the years that followed. Books have since been written about it. Countless newspaper account have told of its appearances. Expeditions have been mounted to unravel the mystery. Meanwhile around Loch Ness, and throughout Scotland, people have divided into three camps.There are those who believe, those who doubt, and those who keep an open mind.

Nessie has been around a longtime. For hundreds of years there have been stories around Loch Ness of the monster that roams the depths of the lake.It was written centuries ago that a "certain water monster" was driven away by prayer. But the effects of the prayer apparently were temporary.

Over the years legends about the sea serpent were passed down from generation to generation.It is said in one such legend to have killed a man. Folks around the loch have long felt that the creature might reappear at any moment.

But not until again by Mr. McKay in 1933 did Nessie rise to true prominence. As the story, more people began watching for the monster. People who want to see a monster stand a far better chance than those who do not care one way or the other. This is more in the nature of people than monsters.

Perhaps no monster has ever done more for people anywhere than has the Loch Ness monster. Living or dead, real or not, it has to be the valuable creature ever possessed by the Scottish people. Those who have come seeking it have brought a new source of wealth to the country.

As the stories of Nessie spread around the world the people of Scotland began to notice a strange and wonderful result. Curious tourist now planned their travels to include the Highlands of Scotland and Loch Ness, home of the world's best-known sea serpent. From all parts of the world they come now to the town of Inverness.

Many of them board the Scott II and travel out onto the lake, sharing for a few hours the mystery-shrouded environment of the serpent's ancient home. The Scott II makes three trips daily. From Inverness it goes to about the middle of the lake,turns, and comes back to its dock. Lining its rails are the curious ones.

Many insist that they do not believe the tales of the sea serpent, that they come only because they have for so long wanted to see the Highlands and hear the strains of the bagpipes moaning with the winds.

But instead of looking up to the hills, their eyes more often are turned down upon the dark waters of Loch Ness. Cameras hang from their necks. Binoculars are ready in their hands. These are the ones who do not know quite what to believe. What did John McKay really see? What was this strange unnatural creature sighted by Captain Brodie and so many others? How could it have been seen so many times and not be there? Surely there is the possibility that all the people living around the lake, the ones who insist, "There has to be something out there," may be right. And so the visitors hopefully study the rippling waters of Loch Ness.

Some outsiders have devised elaborate plans for capturing or killing the beast and transporting it to a museum, zoo,or circus. A giant giant electronic net has been suggested, and so has the possibility of shooting it from a submarine. In efforts to prevent monster poaching, officials have passed regulations, perhaps the only rules in the world against the harming of a sea serpent.

Most who come to study the mystery of Scotland's sea serpent, however, have no plans to harm it. They seek only truth, the opportunity to solve for good the centuries-old mystery.

Some come in groups with camping equipment. Above the loch they set up their tents and post serpent watchers. Some have made pictures of strange forms appearing on the lake. One of the most famous pictures shows a long slender neck, small head, part of the tail, all attached to a large balloon-like body.

Perhaps no one has studied the Loch Ness monster more than Tim Dinsdale has. For long days and weeks he wandered the shores of Loch Ness. He carried cameras and binoculars and possessed a grim determination to prove that the monster does exist. His hunt for the creature is outlined in his two books on the subject. He has little patience with the non-believers, especially the men of science who steadfastly refuse to join the search for the serpent of Loch Ness. Dinsdale says the simply ignore the facts.

The case for a sea serpent in Loch Ness is strengthened, according to fans of Nessie, by the appearance of similar creatures in other parts of the world. For example, there is the monster of Lake Okanagan, British Columbia, in western Canada. This lake, in some ways resembles Loch Ness, long,narrow, and almost as deep, with cold water and good population of fish. There have also been frequent reports of a monstrous serpent living in a lake in Manitoba in central Canada.

Perhaps if science would apply its efforts to the search for the Loch Ness monster the mystery might be solved. So far most of the work has been done, not by scientists, but by amateur monster hunters. Most of the serious work has been co-ordinated by the Loch Ness Phenomena Investigation Bureau Ltd.

More than once there has been the suggestion that sonar is the tool for finding Nessie. Sonar is a method of using electronics to study what lies beneath the surface of water. It was developed during World War II for tracking submarines. Electric impulse are sent into the water. Converted to sound waves, they travel trough the water spreading out into a broad cone as they leave the source.

When one of these waves strikes any obstacle under water, the impulse bounces back like an echo to be measured by the instrument that sent it. The length of time taken for it to return tells the depth of the object. The bottom of the lake will reflect the sound but so will obstacles appearing between the surface and the lake bottom. In addition, the sonar reveals the depth, size, and movement of whatever is down there.

In 1968 a scientific party moved in on Nessie with electronic locators. In due time the results were published in the New Scientist, a respect British scientific journal.

Engineers in a research team from the University of Birmingham set up their equipment on the store of Loch Ness. Then, as the impulses traveled through the cold depths of Loch Ness, engineer Dr. Gordon Tucker carefully studied the screen of the sonar outfit.

Flickering signals began to echo to the machine. Together they told Tucker a fascinating story and opened a new possibility. There was, as the folks around Loch Ness had long insisted, something down there, and plainly it was not a wee monster. For 13 minutes two large objects had their images reflected as the signals were photographed on movie film. One was about 164 feet long,the other, somewhat smaller.

Did the image of these monsters move on the screen? Definitely! Their speed was about17 miles an hour,and they dived at a rate of 450 feet per minute.

After these observations the research team quickly consulted with biologists who know the common fish of Loch Ness. Could a school of fish have caused this kind of signal? The answer was "not likely", and this to many observers was new evidence that Nessie might after all be real.

But if the Loch Ness monster does live, what in the world could it be? Investigators over the years have advanced two favored explanations. Some say it is the larvae of a giant eel.

Others insist that Nessie must be one of an ancient group of reptiles known as Plesiosaurs are believed to have become extinct seventy million years ago. Perhaps it is just as well that we do not yet know for certain whether or not Loch Ness has a real monster.

Those who claim Nessie belongs to the Plesiosaurs might point out that scientists have been surprised before when they found "extinct" creatures still surviving. The best known example is the Coelacanth.

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