Lake Monster Mysteries: Investigating the World's Most Elusive Creatures

3. Lake Memphremagog

3 LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG Located in north-central Vermont and extending into Quebec, Lake Memphremagog is the second largest lake in the state (figure 3.1). According to Malloy (2003b), the name is from the Western Abenaki Mamlabegwok, which means "at the Big Lake Water"; another source (Lake Memphremagog n.d.) gives the meaning as "Beautiful Waters." Like Vermont's largest lake, Lake Champlain, Lake Memphremagog hosts its own aquatic monster, "Memphre" (Lake Memphremagog n.d.; Malloy 2oo3b). In fact, there are purportedly five Vermont lake monsters -or "Vermonsters"-all with cute nicknames. Besides "Champ" and "Memphre," there are "Seymour" or "Semoe" (Seymour Lake), "Willy" (Willoughby Lake), and "Ms. Crystal" (Crystal Lake). Obviously , every large lake should have one. SIGHTINGS Reports of the creature date to 1816 (Citro 1994; Histoire n.d.), and some claim that, long before, "North American Indians in the region warned early settlers not to bathe in Lake Memphremagog because of the mysterious monster" (Lake monster 2003). The first Lake Memphremagog monster hunter-who today might call himself a cryptozoologist -was Uriah Jewett (1795-1868). Known as "Uncle Riah," he was a local fisherman and raconteur who believed that an Atlantic "sea serpent" had entered the lake by means of a subterranean channel and 71 LAKE MONSTER MYSTERIES 0" . " ' • • • " . ' , • " £a.\tCr -~mrhr~- , :;',m~"9 . . ., " . . .' .... St. 'J3eaolt du..tac " o QUEBEC~~ ." 'J ~ ' &/0 .' . .'. ~~ . !V/CJc:L1.. Figure 3.I Lake Memphremagog on the Quebec-Vermont border. (Map by Joe Nickell) become trapped, being too stupid to retrace its route (Citro I994). Jewett attempted to catch the serpent-which the townspeople dubbed "Uriah's Alligator"-baiting traps with lambs' heads. His attempts failed, but in the I850S he often regaled passengers on the lake steamer 12 LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG The Mountain Maid by telling them that the bait had always been gone by morning (Citro I994; Malloy 2oo3b, 2004). A typical nineteenth-century sighting was related in the August 3, I850, Caledonian, published at St. Johnsbury: ''About two weeks ago [the serpent] was seen distinctly by Uncle David Beebe while fishing off Magoon Point.... A sudden splash attracted his attention, and turning, he was astonished to behold the head and six feet of body ofa huge monster, perfectly erect and graceful, apparently motionless. He was soon relieved, however, by the sudden and almost silent disappearance below the surface." The article concluded, "That a critter of the snake species does there exist, seems hardly to admit a doubt" (quoted in Citro I994). Swimming deer, beavers, or especially otters may be responsible for a I939 sighting (reported many years later) by a man who saw "something swimming" off the eastern shore of Newport Bay. As mentioned in chapter 2, otters swimming in a line can create the appearance of a giant undulating serpent. Perhaps they are the explanation for an incident in the I940S in which two men encountered a huge snake, described as a foot in diameter and I50 feet long. A I976 sighting by a man fishing on the lake is also highly suggestive ofan otter: the man spied "a seal with a long neck. ... It was black and well above the water" (Citro I994)· As at Lake Champlain, there has been a tendency, over time, for descriptions of the purported monster to evolve, conforming to the concept of the day. The early characterization of "sea serpent" largely gave way to "snake," and more recently, the creature has been likened to a prehistoric aquatic animal called a plesiosaur (Malloy 2oo4)-a popular notion seemingly influenced by the I934 hoaxed photo of "Nessie," the Loch Ness monster (see chapter I). WHAT'S IN A NAME? Only recently has Memphre achieved widespread fame, benefiting from the attention given to Champ. Indeed, on our first trip to the area, Ben Radford dubbed the reputed monster "Champ Lite." The 73 LAKE MONSTER MYSTERIES very name of the creature has sparked controversy. Newport resident Barbara Malloy, who heads the International Dracontology Society of Lake Memphremagog (dracontology derives from the Latin and Greek words for "dragon"), claims exclusive rights to the appellation Memphre. She has threatened to sue reporters and historians who write about the purported creature or use its name without obtaining permission from her. Indeed, her threat to sue the local chamber of commerce delayed its merger with another regional chamber. The problem stems from Malloy's one-time collaboration with her Canadian counterpart, diver Jacques Boisvert of Magog, Quebec. They had a...