Giant birds and flying monsters

1. 1869
2. Nashville Union and American. Nashville, Tenn. · Dec. 17, 1869 · Page 1

   A seven-foot bird screams in the treetops

   Near Stanford, Lincoln County, Kentucky · Dec. 1869

   Boys out fox hunting near James Peoples' place outside Stanford heard unearthly screams from the treetops, along with what sounded like clanking chains, and fled. Papers later reported that a remarkable seven-foot bird had been captured there.

   Also printed in 3 other papers

   • The Daily Dispatch., Richmond, Dec. 28, 1869, p. 3
   • Mower County Transcript, Dec. 30, 1869, p. 3
   • Mower County Transcript, Dec. 30, 1869, p. 2
3. 1884
4. Morning Appeal. Carson City, Nev. · Oct. 22, 1884 · Page 1

   A huge buzzing bird over a Carson ranch

   Road from Carson City to Genoa, Nevada approx. · Oct. 1884

   A farmer on the Genoa road heard a strange noise in the air at midnight and saw what looked like a huge bird hovering over his ranch, giving off a buzzing sound. He fetched his shotgun.

5. Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. Lancaster, Pa. · Nov. 1, 1884 · Page 1

   An eagle caught in a fox trap

   Preston mountains near Stockport, Pennsylvania approx. · Oct. 1884

   Lewis Williams set a fox trap in the mountains near Stockport and found an eagle had dragged it away. He tracked the bird down and had a fierce fight before he overpowered it.

   Also printed in 3 other papers

   • Daily Kennebec Journal., Augusta, Me., Nov. 3, 1884, p. 2
   • Martinsburg Herald., Martinsburg, W. Va., Nov. 15, 1884, p. 1
   • The Columbian., Bloomsburg, Pa., Nov. 21, 1884, p. 1
6. 1891
7. Los Angeles Herald Aug. 5, 1891 · Page 6

   The dragons of Fresno

   Fresno County, California approx. · Aug. 1891

   A St. Louis Republic story said reputable citizens in a Fresno County farming district swore they had seen and hunted two dragons with fifteen-foot wings and featherless bodies, which seized fowls with three snaps of their jaws.

   “Winged Monsters That Devour Fowls with Three Snaps of Their Jaws”

   Probably a hoax or tall tale Has all the marks of a newspaper tall tale.

   Also printed in 3 other papers

   • The Morning News., Savannah, Ga., Aug. 7, 1891, p. 2
   • The Sun., New York, Aug. 16, 1891, p. 25
   • Evening Star., Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 1891, p. 10
8. Audubon County Republican. Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa · Sept. 10, 1891 · Page 1

   An eagle and a child at Echo Lake

   Echo Lake near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan approx. · Sept. 8, 1891

   A dispatch from Sault Ste. Marie said a Chippewa guide setting out from his home on Echo Lake saw an enormous bald eagle circling, and the paper reported that the bird killed his baby daughter, who had been left outside the door.

9. 1896
10. The Wichita Daily Eagle. Wichita, Kan. · Jan. 10, 1896 · Page 2

    A feathered monster shot in Lincoln County

    Mouth of Vannatters Creek near Hamlin, West Virginia approx. · Jan. 1896

    Elias Midkiff of Hamlin asked the West Virginia historical society to send a taxidermist for a monster bird, unlike anything seen in the state, that W. W. Adkins had killed with five rifle bullets at the mouth of Vannatters Creek. The item was reprinted from Kansas to Oregon.

    “a kind never seen before by anyone in West Virginia”

    Also printed in 6 other papers

    • The Dalles Daily Chronicle., The Dalles, Or., Feb. 4, 1896, p. 4
    • The Topeka State Journal., Topeka, Kansas, Feb. 21, 1896, p. 1
    • The Bryan Daily Eagle, Bryan, Tex., March 1, 1896, p. 2
    • The Meeker Herald, March 7, 1896, p. 4
    • The Saint Paul Globe, St. Paul, Minn., June 1, 1896, p. 1
    • The Meeker Herald, Nov. 14, 1896, p. 1
11. The Abbeville Press and Banner. Abbeville, S.C. · April 22, 1896 · Page 6

    A huge black eagle kills a calf

    Near Warren (Warm) Springs, Virginia approx. · April 1896

    Hall Revercomb said a huge black eagle had killed or maimed more than a dozen of his sheep. He set out to kill it after watching it swoop down and kill a calf.

    Also printed in 1 other paper

    • The Calhoun Chronicle., Grantsville, W. Va., June 9, 1896, p. 1
12. The San Francisco Call June 21, 1896 · Page 18

    A vulture as tall as a man

    Hills south of Chino, California · June 20, 1896

    The superintendent of Richard Gird's ranch caught a California vulture (condor) in the hills south of Chino after it had gorged on a dead cow and was too full to fly. The paper said it stood six feet tall, an inch or two taller than its captor.

    “A bird of prey as tall as a man!”

13. 1897
14. Omaha Daily Bee June 23, 1897 · Page 7

    A golden eagle attacks a woman in her garden

    Honey Creek, Iowa · June 1897

    A widely reprinted item said a great golden eagle swooped on Mrs. Jane Mortenson as she bent over in her garden near Honey Creek, sank its talons into her back and tried to lift her, and that she died of the shock the next day.

    Also printed in 1 other paper

    • The Copper Country Evening News., Calumet, Mich., July 15, 1897, p. 5
15. Freeland Tribune Freeland, Pa. · Aug. 30, 1897 · Page 3

    A girl saves her cousin from an eagle

    Near Germania, Potter County, Pennsylvania · Aug. 1897

    A Pennsylvania paper said Bertha Moore fought off an eagle that went for her small cousin, Elsie Talsen, while they walked on a mountainside near Germania.

    Also printed in 1 other paper

    • The Banner-Democrat., Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La., Oct. 2, 1897, p. 4
16. 1909
17. The Washington Herald Feb. 4, 1909 · Page 8

    An eagle tries to carry off a girl

    Pitcairn, New York · Feb. 1, 1909

    Josiah Olmtree, a farmer on the edge of the Adirondacks, said a huge eagle that had been raiding his sheep's feed swooped on his eight-year-old daughter in the yard, and he barely saved her.

    Also printed in 2 other papers

    • Alexandria Gazette., Alexandria, D.C., Feb. 4, 1909, p. 2
    • East Oregonian : E.O, Pendleton, OR, March 5, 1909, p. 6
18. Daily Kennebec Journal. Augusta, Me. · March 27, 1909 · Page 16

    A giant crane attacks two fishermen

    Back River, off Twin Oaks Shore, Maryland approx. · March 1909

    A deputy sheriff and a wrestler known as Americus said a giant crane attacked their boat after midnight while they were fishing on Back River, just as the deputy was landing a big eel. They fought it off.

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