WEBVTT 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:16.260 Welcome to Seneca Lake Mysteries, the podcast 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:19.480 where we explore the unusual, strange, and unexplained 00:00:19.480 --> 00:00:22.379 on New York's largest finger lake. First and 00:00:22.379 --> 00:00:25.039 foremost, I want to thank everyone truly for 00:00:25.039 --> 00:00:28.300 listening to episode one, sharing it, all the 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:30.960 feedback and comments and words of support. I 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:33.439 was optimistic that it would be well received, 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:36.979 but the response was way, way beyond what I expected. 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:40.399 And now that I've seen how many of you are out 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:42.899 there that are... interested in these stories 00:00:42.899 --> 00:00:46.020 of the unusual and anomalous around Seneca Lake 00:00:46.020 --> 00:00:49.060 I'm even more excited to keep sharing and collecting 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:52.219 and sharing these kinds of stories so again thank 00:00:52.219 --> 00:00:55.939 you so much and if you want to support Seneca 00:00:55.939 --> 00:00:58.500 Lake Mysteries the best thing you can do is subscribe 00:00:58.500 --> 00:01:00.640 to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:04.680 and share it far and wide also please subscribe 00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:08.159 to the email list by heading over to SenecaLakeMysteries 00:01:08.159 --> 00:01:11.530 .com and you'll be the first to know when New 00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:15.230 podcasts are released along with all other Seneca 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:18.390 Lake Mysteries related news. I'm lining up some 00:01:18.390 --> 00:01:22.769 great guests for future podcasts, and I'm always 00:01:22.769 --> 00:01:25.750 looking for more. If you have a story you'd like 00:01:25.750 --> 00:01:28.109 to share, or if you're an investigator of the 00:01:28.109 --> 00:01:31.489 unexplained, or have knowledge or expertise on 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:36.129 the topics we cover, or other unusual topics 00:01:36.129 --> 00:01:39.409 related to the Seneca Lake area, no matter how, 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:43.379 unorthodox or esoteric or bizarre, please email 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:47.060 podcast at SenecaLakeMysteries .com or leave 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:53.239 a voicemail at 607 -307 -1167. Keep in mind, 00:01:53.239 --> 00:01:55.879 if you want to tell your story but don't want 00:01:55.879 --> 00:01:58.180 to be identified on the podcast, you can tell 00:01:58.180 --> 00:02:01.620 me your story and I'll relay it while preserving 00:02:01.620 --> 00:02:05.900 your full... You can also contact me if you have 00:02:05.900 --> 00:02:08.919 any feedback or suggestions or complaints or 00:02:08.919 --> 00:02:12.360 comments or questions or whatever by emailing, 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:15.699 again, podcast at SenecaLakeMysteries .com or 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:24.219 leaving a voicemail at 607 -307 -1167. Now, here's 00:02:24.219 --> 00:02:26.879 what we've got for this episode. Up first, we've 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:29.979 got the... all -time champion of Seneca Lake 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:33.379 monster stories, the 1900 encounter with the 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:36.180 steamboat Otetiani. If you haven't heard it before, 00:02:36.319 --> 00:02:39.319 buckle up, and if you have, there's never a bad 00:02:39.319 --> 00:02:42.360 time to hear it again. Then we've got what I 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:45.039 consider the top contender for the second best 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.580 Seneca Lake monster story ever, one that I call 00:02:48.580 --> 00:02:51.960 The Blacksmith and the Giant Eel. Next, we're 00:02:51.960 --> 00:02:55.719 off to the year 1968 when a surge of UFO sightings 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:57.620 took place across the Finger Lakes and around 00:02:57.620 --> 00:03:00.780 Seneca, including one stunning encounter on County 00:03:00.780 --> 00:03:04.759 Road 23, not far from the lake. This UFO flap 00:03:04.759 --> 00:03:07.879 has been pretty well documented, but we'll take 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.520 a closer look at how some of the witnesses dealt 00:03:10.520 --> 00:03:13.460 with the aftermath of their incredible experiences 00:03:13.460 --> 00:03:17.500 in the following years in a story called Autumn 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:22.069 of 68, the Mud Lake Road Incident. And finally, 00:03:22.069 --> 00:03:24.110 we'll sift through some incredible forgotten 00:03:24.110 --> 00:03:26.949 history from the northern end of Seneca Lake. 00:03:27.090 --> 00:03:29.469 We'll look at discoveries of giant skeletons, 00:03:29.729 --> 00:03:32.689 mysterious burials, and tales of visiting giants 00:03:32.689 --> 00:03:37.569 in a story I call Giants of Geneva. So let's 00:03:37.569 --> 00:03:47.050 get to it. On July 17, 1900, a sidewheel steamboat, 00:03:47.210 --> 00:03:49.919 the Otetiani, Crowded with passengers, including 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:52.500 city officials and wealthy local businessmen, 00:03:52.520 --> 00:03:55.400 along with a Canadian geologist, was on its way 00:03:55.400 --> 00:03:58.840 from Watkins Glen to Geneva. Around 7 p .m., 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:02.020 about halfway to its destination, the Otetiani 00:04:02.020 --> 00:04:05.800 encountered a 25 -foot serpentine creature in 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:08.020 the lake. Now, there have been numerous essays 00:04:08.020 --> 00:04:11.699 and articles, videos, and podcasts dedicated 00:04:11.699 --> 00:04:16.019 to the Otetiani lake monster story. An independent 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:20.839 documentary from 2016, Exploring Seneca, recounts 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:24.339 the Otetiani story in great detail. So the story's 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:26.800 been told many times, but it couldn't hurt for 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.699 me to tell it one more time for those of you 00:04:28.699 --> 00:04:30.399 who may not have heard it yet, or if you've heard 00:04:30.399 --> 00:04:33.079 it, hear it one more time. I call this one the 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:37.199 Steamer Serpent Showdown. It was a few minutes 00:04:37.199 --> 00:04:40.180 before 7 p .m. and the passenger steamboat Otetiani 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:43.800 was about halfway between Dresden and Willard 00:04:43.800 --> 00:04:47.600 on the way to Geneva. The pilot, Frederick Rose, 00:04:47.939 --> 00:04:51.360 called out to the captain, Carlton C. Herondin, 00:04:51.439 --> 00:04:54.819 to alert him to what appeared to be an overturned 00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:58.879 boat in the water about 400 yards ahead. The 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.399 captain took a look through his glass at what 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:05.060 he assumed was a floating boat and described 00:05:05.060 --> 00:05:09.120 it as about 25 feet long, widest and highest 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.079 in the middle. with a sharp bow and a long, narrow 00:05:12.079 --> 00:05:16.720 stern. Meanwhile, a group of passengers made 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.139 their way over to Frederick Rose and Otetiani's 00:05:20.139 --> 00:05:23.699 pilot house to discuss the mysterious, abandoned, 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:27.420 overturned 25 -foot boat that was floating alone 00:05:27.420 --> 00:05:31.240 in Seneca Lake. But this wasn't a group of ordinary 00:05:31.240 --> 00:05:33.740 passengers. Instead, it included some of the 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:36.980 most influential and powerful men in the city 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.910 of Geneva. as well as a geologist from Canada. 00:05:40.110 --> 00:05:43.230 So on the Otetiani that night, gathered together 00:05:43.230 --> 00:05:46.490 and wondering about the lonely boat in the water 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:50.529 were the following Geneva residents. F .A. Mallett, 00:05:50.709 --> 00:05:53.629 president of the Board of Public Works and editor 00:05:53.629 --> 00:05:56.410 -publisher of the Saturday Review. Albert L. 00:05:56.449 --> 00:06:00.129 Fowler, the commissioner of public works. D .W. 00:06:00.329 --> 00:06:03.149 Hallenbeck, also commissioner of public works. 00:06:03.569 --> 00:06:07.560 George C. Schell, the police commissioner. and 00:06:07.560 --> 00:06:11.019 Fred S. Bronson, the manager of the Geneva Telephone 00:06:11.019 --> 00:06:13.399 Company. And one other passenger of note was 00:06:13.399 --> 00:06:17.120 Professor George R. Elwood of Guelph, Ontario, 00:06:17.540 --> 00:06:20.939 who was a geologist. So as the men hung around 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:24.040 the pilot house, speculating about the upturned 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:26.879 boat, Captain Herondine was signaling to the 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:31.399 engineer to slow their approach. When the Otetiani 00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:35.860 was within about 100 yards, the crew... swung 00:06:35.860 --> 00:06:38.779 the davits outward to lower a boat into the lake 00:06:38.779 --> 00:06:42.600 so they could approach the overturned boat. And 00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:45.860 suddenly, what they presumed was the abandoned 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:49.420 vessel turned and began moving away from the 00:06:49.420 --> 00:06:52.560 steamboat. Captain Herendine shouted full speed 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.259 ahead, and the Otetiani began chasing the slow 00:06:56.259 --> 00:07:00.240 -moving object. As the steamer quickly gained 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:03.899 on its target, The crew and passengers of the 00:07:03.899 --> 00:07:07.660 Otetiani got another surprise. The object turned 00:07:07.660 --> 00:07:10.360 toward the steamboat, suddenly lifted its head 00:07:10.360 --> 00:07:12.839 above the surface, looked directly toward the 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:15.680 Otetiani and opened its mouth to show off two 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:19.160 rows of sharp white teeth. Captain Herondine 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:21.819 needed to make another decision and quickly. 00:07:22.060 --> 00:07:24.939 He decided that the best course of action would 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:28.439 be to violently ram the creature in order to 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:30.779 wound it and then take it back to Geneva alive. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:34.439 If the serpent ended up dying, it would still 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:38.779 create quite a stir when they brought the carcass 00:07:38.779 --> 00:07:42.399 to land. The Otetiani turned so that it would 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:46.220 hit the serpent from the side. When the passengers 00:07:46.220 --> 00:07:49.600 crowded on the deck to get a view of the showdown 00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:52.199 between the steamer and the serpent, Captain 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:54.360 Herondine ordered them to move to the middle 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:56.920 of the boat in case the creature attempted to 00:07:56.920 --> 00:08:00.519 get on board after being attacked. Then the captain 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:05.180 further instructed the passengers to grab a flotation 00:08:05.180 --> 00:08:09.180 device and to try to stay calm because even the 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:12.579 crew was unsure how this lake monster would respond 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:18.160 to unprovoked violence. Understandably, the captain's 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.459 orders didn't inspire confidence in a lot of 00:08:21.459 --> 00:08:23.959 the passengers. Some of them were so upset they 00:08:23.959 --> 00:08:28.129 started crying before taking refuge in... the 00:08:28.129 --> 00:08:31.209 steamboat's cabin, which is not surprising. I 00:08:31.209 --> 00:08:33.629 know I'd be pretty wigged out by the visions 00:08:33.629 --> 00:08:37.509 of a giant, bleeding, angry water lizard jumping 00:08:37.509 --> 00:08:41.029 onto the boat to extract his revenge. Then the 00:08:41.029 --> 00:08:44.029 Otetiani made one last turn to take aim at the 00:08:44.029 --> 00:08:46.850 creature, and the captain called out full speed 00:08:46.850 --> 00:08:50.970 ahead, and the assault commenced. But as the 00:08:50.970 --> 00:08:53.889 steamboat rapidly approached, the serpent abruptly 00:08:53.889 --> 00:08:56.710 raised its head. and stared down the Otetiani 00:08:56.710 --> 00:09:00.330 again before sinking into the lake. As the steamboat 00:09:00.330 --> 00:09:03.389 churned over the spot where the monster had just 00:09:03.389 --> 00:09:06.429 been, a few passengers reported looking at the 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:09.269 water and seeing the dark outline of the creature 00:09:09.269 --> 00:09:13.009 passing by just below the surface. So at this 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:16.029 point, the captain made another decision, which 00:09:16.029 --> 00:09:18.649 was probably his best decision of the day so 00:09:18.649 --> 00:09:23.570 far. Rather than engage in a potentially lengthy 00:09:23.570 --> 00:09:28.169 and... risky game of chicken with the lake monster, 00:09:28.470 --> 00:09:31.350 Herondine told the crew to point the ship towards 00:09:31.350 --> 00:09:34.750 Geneva to complete the scheduled trip. Even though 00:09:34.750 --> 00:09:37.490 he wasn't able to capture the monster, he probably 00:09:37.490 --> 00:09:40.769 figured at least the people on the Otetiani that 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:44.590 night would have a wild story to tell about their 00:09:44.590 --> 00:09:48.769 rendezvous with the elusive water beast on a 00:09:48.769 --> 00:09:53.110 Tuesday night summer steamboat trip. And then, 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:57.029 from the afterdeck, a woman declared, There it 00:09:57.029 --> 00:10:00.629 is! The thing has come up! Captain Herondine 00:10:00.629 --> 00:10:03.370 rushed to the stern of the Otetiani, followed 00:10:03.370 --> 00:10:06.370 by the passengers, and they all looked out to 00:10:06.370 --> 00:10:09.710 see the serpent lying in nearly the same position 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.750 that it was earlier, like an overturned boat 00:10:12.750 --> 00:10:16.110 drifting on the waves. And once again, Carlton 00:10:16.110 --> 00:10:19.549 Herondine needed to make a quick decision. Should 00:10:19.549 --> 00:10:21.529 he just continue the trip and leave the serpent 00:10:21.529 --> 00:10:24.549 alone, or should he try to injure or kill it 00:10:24.549 --> 00:10:27.809 again? And the captain chose violence. This time, 00:10:27.909 --> 00:10:31.029 however, the steamboat was maneuvered so that 00:10:31.029 --> 00:10:33.750 the huge paddle wheel on the starboard side of 00:10:33.750 --> 00:10:36.490 the boat would slam into the creature about halfway 00:10:36.490 --> 00:10:39.370 between its head and tail. Full speed ahead. 00:10:40.370 --> 00:10:42.809 Somehow, the late creature didn't even see the 00:10:42.809 --> 00:10:45.750 steamboat coming, so when the Otetiani hit the 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:49.029 beast, a loud thud was heard as those on board 00:10:49.029 --> 00:10:52.789 were thrown off their feet. The steamer was careening 00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:55.950 wildly, but eventually the crew regained control 00:10:55.950 --> 00:10:59.529 and righted the vessel. The passengers and crew 00:10:59.529 --> 00:11:03.470 paused silently for a few moments. The only sound 00:11:03.470 --> 00:11:06.769 was the boat's engine. And then some cheers and 00:11:06.769 --> 00:11:10.009 some screams came from the stunned crowd. And 00:11:10.009 --> 00:11:13.429 floating, badly injured, next to the Otetiani 00:11:13.429 --> 00:11:17.210 was the Seneca Lake monster. It had a gaping 00:11:17.210 --> 00:11:20.289 wound in its side. The serpent again raised its 00:11:20.289 --> 00:11:23.399 head. But this time it took one last breath and 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:27.639 gasped before going motionless. They had killed 00:11:27.639 --> 00:11:31.679 the Seneca Lake serpent. Some of the observers 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.759 on the boat understandably speculated that the 00:11:34.759 --> 00:11:38.700 death was due to a broken spinal column. So just 00:11:38.700 --> 00:11:41.500 as he had planned, Captain Herendine sent his 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:45.019 crew to secure the carcass and hoist it onto 00:11:45.019 --> 00:11:48.019 the steamboat to take to Geneva. They lowered 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:50.679 the lifeboats. It rode over to the creature's 00:11:50.679 --> 00:11:54.860 side and then they tied ropes around the body. 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:58.519 The crew and the passengers then joined together 00:11:58.519 --> 00:12:01.379 to pull the ropes to raise the body from the 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:05.039 water. But at the moment the dead giant serpent 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:07.419 cleared the surface of the lake, one of the ropes 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:09.559 slipped off and the tail dropped back into the 00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:12.899 water. So the sudden weight on the other rope 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:15.799 was too much for the passengers and crew's hands 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.210 to handle. And faced with the choice of either 00:12:19.210 --> 00:12:21.649 letting go of the rope or being pulled into the 00:12:21.649 --> 00:12:25.029 lake with the dead monster, the rope was released 00:12:25.029 --> 00:12:28.049 and the Seneca Lake monster slowly submerged 00:12:28.049 --> 00:12:31.850 and disappeared. And notably, the carcass had 00:12:31.850 --> 00:12:35.190 sunk into one of the deepest areas of Seneca 00:12:35.190 --> 00:12:39.090 Lake at more than 500 feet. The Otatiani got 00:12:39.090 --> 00:12:42.870 to Geneva shortly before midnight, and while 00:12:42.870 --> 00:12:46.379 many of the stories being recounted by the passengers 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:49.659 were similar in most of the details there was 00:12:49.659 --> 00:12:53.840 some variation in their descriptions so the passenger 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.720 who was considered to be the most trustworthy 00:12:56.720 --> 00:13:01.720 and credible of all the witnesses was the Canadian 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:05.500 professor George R. Elwood a geologist by trade 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:09.980 and Elwood was able to inspect the carcass quite 00:13:09.980 --> 00:13:12.820 closely as he was one of the volunteers who rode 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:16.710 out and in the lifeboats and tied ropes around 00:13:16.710 --> 00:13:20.289 the dead lake serpent. And Professor Elwood concluded 00:13:20.289 --> 00:13:23.470 that the mysterious creature was a Clydastes, 00:13:23.710 --> 00:13:27.990 a marine lizard believed to have become extinct 00:13:27.990 --> 00:13:33.090 approximately 66 million years ago. Elwood estimated 00:13:33.090 --> 00:13:37.409 the length to be 25 feet and the weight around 00:13:37.409 --> 00:13:41.149 1 ,000 pounds, with a long tail that tapered 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:44.000 before broadening at the end. like a whale's 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.039 tail. Elwood said the head was triangular with 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:51.360 a long mouth containing two rows of sharp triangular 00:13:51.360 --> 00:13:54.539 white teeth, similar to the teeth of a sperm 00:13:54.539 --> 00:13:58.100 whale. The body was covered with a greenish -brown 00:13:58.100 --> 00:14:01.240 material reminiscent of a turtle shell. It also 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.740 had unblinking round eyes, kind of like a fish, 00:14:04.899 --> 00:14:07.620 according to the professor. And when the rope 00:14:07.620 --> 00:14:10.320 slipped and the carcass slid back into the lake, 00:14:11.370 --> 00:14:13.950 Professor Elwood was able to see that the creature's 00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:18.269 belly was a cream white color. Now this story 00:14:18.269 --> 00:14:22.590 of the steamer serpent showdown was not only 00:14:22.590 --> 00:14:24.669 published in local newspapers, but it ended up 00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:28.289 being picked up nationally. And the story gained 00:14:28.289 --> 00:14:33.029 a lot of notoriety around the country for a short 00:14:33.029 --> 00:14:36.929 period of time. And after its incredible rendezvous 00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:40.200 with the Seneca Lake serpent in 1900, The Otetiani 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.220 continued regular routes between Geneva and Watkins 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:46.779 Glen through late 1905, and for the next three 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:50.159 years, it was only intermittently in service. 00:14:50.220 --> 00:14:53.980 And then when the steamboat reached the end of 00:14:53.980 --> 00:14:58.980 its useful life, it wasn't simply disassembled 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:02.840 for parts. Instead, the Otetiani was brought 00:15:02.840 --> 00:15:06.539 ashore, cut in half, and began the next phase 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:10.649 of its life as a hen house. So now that we've 00:15:10.649 --> 00:15:14.169 covered the legendary meeting between the Otetiani 00:15:14.169 --> 00:15:17.669 and the Seneca Lake Monster, I want to tell another 00:15:17.669 --> 00:15:21.669 story. And this one's from the same era, actually 00:15:21.669 --> 00:15:26.289 approximately a year prior to the Otetiani encounter. 00:15:26.690 --> 00:15:30.269 And I really love this story. I think it's just 00:15:30.269 --> 00:15:35.590 as colorful and epic as the Otetiani story in 00:15:35.590 --> 00:15:38.769 its own way. And I call this one... The Blacksmith 00:15:38.769 --> 00:15:43.129 and the Giant Eel. George Sorner was a blacksmith 00:15:43.129 --> 00:15:46.470 who lived on the shore of Pine Bay on the west 00:15:46.470 --> 00:15:49.490 side of the lake about 17 miles south of Geneva. 00:15:50.129 --> 00:15:53.049 George loved catching and eating fresh perch 00:15:53.049 --> 00:15:56.289 and pickerel from Seneca Lake and had set a gill 00:15:56.289 --> 00:15:59.470 net in the water on the evening of Thursday, 00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:04.330 July 13, 1899. The next morning, George found 00:16:04.330 --> 00:16:08.470 a large hole torn in the net. The damage seemed 00:16:08.470 --> 00:16:10.909 to have been caused by a large animal that had 00:16:10.909 --> 00:16:13.590 become entangled in the net before breaking away. 00:16:14.049 --> 00:16:16.950 So George repaired the net and set it in the 00:16:16.950 --> 00:16:19.529 lake again that night. And the next morning, 00:16:19.590 --> 00:16:22.370 the net was in even worse condition than the 00:16:22.370 --> 00:16:25.769 day before. So the story of the blacksmith and 00:16:25.769 --> 00:16:29.529 the mysterious net -destroying lake monster spread 00:16:29.529 --> 00:16:31.970 quickly throughout the surrounding community, 00:16:32.049 --> 00:16:36.019 with each retelling taking on new details. So 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:38.419 some folks said it was a manatee, others said 00:16:38.419 --> 00:16:41.720 it was a dugong, while others claimed it was 00:16:41.720 --> 00:16:45.000 a hippopotamus with a hundred teeth as sharp 00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:48.879 as swords. So, unsurprisingly, George Sorner 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:53.659 felt uneasy. Of all the sea serpent stories he'd 00:16:53.659 --> 00:16:55.659 ever heard, none of them involved the beasts 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:59.759 appearing twice in the same place. George's neighbors 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:02.860 saw that he needed support, so they agreed to 00:17:02.860 --> 00:17:05.660 give him a hand, and they decided that... George 00:17:05.660 --> 00:17:08.319 would stand guard and watch the gill net all 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:11.440 night, and if the monster returned, George would 00:17:11.440 --> 00:17:14.559 fire his pistol to signal to the neighbors of 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:17.599 the creature's reappearance, who would then come 00:17:17.599 --> 00:17:22.700 and help him. So on the evening of July 15, 1899, 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:26.960 George set a new, stronger gill net in Seneca 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.059 Lake, then took position in the stern of his 00:17:30.059 --> 00:17:32.880 boat, grasping an edge of the net in one hand 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.869 to detect any movement. Now he just needed to 00:17:36.869 --> 00:17:39.009 stay awake through the night until the morning. 00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:43.730 George's vigil was interrupted, though, by a 00:17:43.730 --> 00:17:47.609 skin -soaking downpour in the early morning, 00:17:47.750 --> 00:17:52.049 but he kept on alert, and shortly before sunrise, 00:17:52.450 --> 00:17:55.430 for the third time in three nights, the creature 00:17:55.430 --> 00:17:59.349 came back. George felt something violently strike 00:17:59.349 --> 00:18:02.049 the net. He immediately drew and raised his pistol 00:18:02.049 --> 00:18:04.690 and fired a warning shot into the air. to notify 00:18:04.690 --> 00:18:07.690 the neighbors. But he didn't just sit around 00:18:07.690 --> 00:18:11.630 and wait for backup. As he quickly rode his boat 00:18:11.630 --> 00:18:15.130 out towards the disturbance in the water, a long, 00:18:15.130 --> 00:18:19.289 smooth, slate -colored body surfaced from the 00:18:19.289 --> 00:18:23.289 water and moved quickly past his boat before 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:26.670 retreating below the lake's surface. He drew 00:18:26.670 --> 00:18:29.329 his pistol up again, fired four more warning 00:18:29.329 --> 00:18:31.849 shots to let his neighbors know they needed to 00:18:31.849 --> 00:18:36.369 hurry up. And within minutes, Pine Bay was dotted 00:18:36.369 --> 00:18:39.710 with boats coming to George Sorner's assistance, 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:44.589 with each vessel carrying a farmer, a shotgun, 00:18:44.890 --> 00:18:49.230 and a fish spear. And as the disturbance in the 00:18:49.230 --> 00:18:53.609 water kind of subsided, the boaters noticed that 00:18:53.609 --> 00:18:56.329 a long snake -like creature was entangled in 00:18:56.329 --> 00:18:59.410 George's net. So two of the farmers each grabbed 00:18:59.410 --> 00:19:02.240 an end of the net. and slowly raised the serpent 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:06.039 out of the water. At that moment, five shotguns 00:19:06.039 --> 00:19:08.880 rang out, riddling the creature with bullets 00:19:08.880 --> 00:19:12.740 nearly from head to tail, and it turned out to 00:19:12.740 --> 00:19:17.059 be a very large eel. One member of the sea creature 00:19:17.059 --> 00:19:21.140 hunting party, a Robert William Sellers, stated 00:19:21.140 --> 00:19:24.900 that the eel was 13 feet long. So in case you're 00:19:24.900 --> 00:19:27.200 wondering, as of this writing, the longest known 00:19:27.200 --> 00:19:30.849 freshwater eel on Earth, is the European conger, 00:19:30.910 --> 00:19:33.990 which can grow to just under 10 feet in length. 00:19:34.289 --> 00:19:38.789 And the longest saltwater eel ever recorded in 00:19:38.789 --> 00:19:42.349 history was a 13 -foot -long slender giant moray. 00:19:42.609 --> 00:19:46.349 And unfortunately, it's unknown what happened 00:19:46.349 --> 00:19:49.789 to the bullet -riddled corpse of Seneca Lake's 00:19:49.789 --> 00:19:58.150 world -record -sized giant eel. So back in 1968, 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:01.410 the Finger Lakes experienced one of the largest 00:20:01.410 --> 00:20:04.849 UFO flaps in the area's history with a surge 00:20:04.849 --> 00:20:08.730 of sightings across the region. While this rash 00:20:08.730 --> 00:20:11.269 of UFO reports has been documented before, I'd 00:20:11.269 --> 00:20:13.430 like to present some additional information that 00:20:13.430 --> 00:20:16.569 has been overlooked, which tells the story of 00:20:16.569 --> 00:20:20.089 the aftermath of the UFO flap and how it affected 00:20:20.089 --> 00:20:22.809 the numerous witnesses, especially those around 00:20:22.809 --> 00:20:25.849 Seneca Lake. And I call this story... Autumn 00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:30.390 of 68, the Mud Lake Road incident. So on Thursday, 00:20:30.630 --> 00:20:35.589 October 17th, 1968, around 10 p .m., John Franklin 00:20:35.589 --> 00:20:38.650 was traveling east on Mud Lake Road on his way 00:20:38.650 --> 00:20:41.470 to Watkins Glen after passing through the village 00:20:41.470 --> 00:20:45.529 of Tyrone. John was a husband and a father in 00:20:45.529 --> 00:20:50.569 his 40s who worked as an industrial equipment 00:20:50.569 --> 00:20:54.190 salesman for a local company, and he was en route 00:20:54.190 --> 00:20:57.410 to his home. in the eastern Finger Lakes and 00:20:57.410 --> 00:21:00.309 was on track to arrive there within about an 00:21:00.309 --> 00:21:03.450 hour. So as John was driving on this very rural 00:21:03.450 --> 00:21:06.849 road, roughly seven miles from Watkins Glen, 00:21:07.029 --> 00:21:11.430 suddenly a brilliant floating white light caught 00:21:11.430 --> 00:21:14.069 his attention as it approached his car from behind. 00:21:14.849 --> 00:21:19.890 The object began to hover in complete silence 00:21:19.890 --> 00:21:23.490 about two stories above the ground over the car. 00:21:24.029 --> 00:21:28.630 And suddenly the vehicle came to a halt and everything 00:21:28.630 --> 00:21:31.289 shut off. The motor, the radio, the lights all 00:21:31.289 --> 00:21:34.349 went off. And for the next five minutes, John 00:21:34.349 --> 00:21:38.190 remained in the driver's seat and watched as 00:21:38.190 --> 00:21:41.890 this blinding light changed from white to an 00:21:41.890 --> 00:21:45.049 orange -red color and a blinding green. He was 00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:48.349 terrified. He was unable to discern any size 00:21:48.349 --> 00:21:53.079 or shape to the object due to the... uh overpowering 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:55.900 brightness but he was also too frightened to 00:21:55.900 --> 00:21:58.660 lean out the window or exit the car to get a 00:21:58.660 --> 00:22:02.400 closer look at the object and eventually the 00:22:02.400 --> 00:22:06.480 object moved southwest toward tyrone at which 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:09.799 point the car's engine and lights and radio all 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:14.579 came back on so john was completely rattled and 00:22:14.579 --> 00:22:16.960 decided he was going to drive directly to the 00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:19.480 sheriff's office in walkins glen to report the 00:22:19.480 --> 00:22:23.140 event So when Mr. Franklin got to the sheriff's 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:26.579 office, he was met by Deputy Sheriff Robert Reed, 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:29.839 who said that when John arrived, he appeared 00:22:29.839 --> 00:22:33.640 to be shaken. But, quote, he wasn't drunk or 00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:36.740 acting as though he wanted publicity. He didn't 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:39.299 ask for a police investigation. He just thought 00:22:39.299 --> 00:22:42.480 that the incident should be reported. So that's 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.720 exactly what John did. He recounted the entire 00:22:45.720 --> 00:22:49.700 harrowing story to Deputy Sheriff Alex Cole. 00:22:50.440 --> 00:22:53.859 stating, quote, laugh if you want to, but I was 00:22:53.859 --> 00:22:56.480 so scared and shook up, I did not know what to 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.039 do, end quote. After John left the sheriff's 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:03.720 office, he resumed his drive home, and Deputy 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.279 Cole drove to the location of the sighting, but 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:09.640 said that he found no evidence of a UFO visit. 00:23:10.140 --> 00:23:13.160 The next day, John Franklin received what was 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:16.259 most likely an unexpected phone call from a reporter 00:23:16.259 --> 00:23:18.839 at the Ithaca Journal. who asked him to comment 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:21.059 on his UFO encounter from the previous night. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:24.460 Now, although John had communicated very clearly 00:23:24.460 --> 00:23:26.299 with the sheriff's office that he wasn't seeking 00:23:26.299 --> 00:23:29.259 any attention, the local news media had somehow 00:23:29.259 --> 00:23:32.160 already gotten word of his statements to the 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:36.460 deputies within 24 hours. John Franklin gave 00:23:36.460 --> 00:23:39.140 the journalist a very short statement saying, 00:23:39.180 --> 00:23:42.380 quote, I just don't want to talk about it. I 00:23:42.380 --> 00:23:46.900 don't want publicity. The next day, October 19th, 00:23:47.180 --> 00:23:49.380 Newspapers in Ithaca and Watkins Glen published 00:23:49.380 --> 00:23:52.920 the details of John Franklin's encounter. They 00:23:52.920 --> 00:23:55.759 also published his full name, his home address, 00:23:56.039 --> 00:24:00.579 his age, and his occupation. So because he felt 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:04.380 a duty to notify the proper authorities after 00:24:04.380 --> 00:24:08.140 a terrifying and bizarre experience on a rural 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:12.140 road, his private life was laid bare and his 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:16.039 reputation became publicly associated with a 00:24:16.670 --> 00:24:20.289 controversial and often ridiculed subject. But 00:24:20.289 --> 00:24:23.109 the following couple of months brought several 00:24:23.109 --> 00:24:26.970 more dramatic sightings around the same area 00:24:26.970 --> 00:24:29.849 of the Mud Lake Road incident. A little over 00:24:29.849 --> 00:24:33.230 a month after John Franklin's experience, on 00:24:33.230 --> 00:24:37.950 Monday, November 26, 1968, a man was doing chores 00:24:37.950 --> 00:24:41.309 on his farm in the town of Redding around 6 .30 00:24:41.309 --> 00:24:44.369 p .m., around twilight. The farm was located 00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:48.480 around two miles northwest of the area of Mud 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:53.019 Lake Road where John had seen the UFO. When the 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:57.140 farmer's three children saw a bright light hovering 00:24:57.140 --> 00:24:59.759 in the night sky west of their farm, he grabbed 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:02.720 his binoculars to take a closer look. He watched 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.180 as the object changed colors from green to yellow, 00:25:06.299 --> 00:25:10.700 red, and white without making any sound. He then 00:25:10.700 --> 00:25:13.720 phoned his relatives. who lived about four miles 00:25:13.720 --> 00:25:16.680 north near Rock Stream, who also began watching 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:20.599 the same silent, motionless light in the sky. 00:25:20.819 --> 00:25:24.000 He also called the Schuyler County Sheriff's 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.079 Department, and Deputy Alex Cole, who had assisted 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.559 John Franklin at the sheriff's office just a 00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:33.500 few weeks earlier, was dispatched to the farm. 00:25:33.700 --> 00:25:36.819 Deputy Cole also observed the hovering object, 00:25:37.019 --> 00:25:41.549 although, strangely, Cole said that he didn't 00:25:41.549 --> 00:25:44.809 see the light change colors. Instead, it just 00:25:44.809 --> 00:25:47.470 appeared black and white to him. The object remained 00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.150 in the sky for around a half an hour, although 00:25:50.150 --> 00:25:53.410 it's unclear on whether it flew away or just 00:25:53.410 --> 00:25:56.950 disappeared. Then, a little over two weeks later, 00:25:57.029 --> 00:26:02.029 on December 12, 1968, around 5 .30 p .m., a fuel 00:26:02.029 --> 00:26:05.609 and feed business operator from Dundee was driving 00:26:05.609 --> 00:26:09.009 his delivery truck south on Van Dyke Road in 00:26:09.009 --> 00:26:12.539 Redding. heading towards Mud Lake Road. He saw 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:14.819 something in the distance that he thought at 00:26:14.819 --> 00:26:17.200 first was an airplane. Then he realized that 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:20.460 the object had no red or green wing lights that 00:26:20.460 --> 00:26:23.299 a plane would have, and it was a brilliant, constant, 00:26:23.400 --> 00:26:27.799 circular light he described as mammoth. He believed 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:31.480 that it was around six to eight feet wide, was 00:26:31.480 --> 00:26:34.779 moving from west to east, and traveling roughly 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:38.349 along the same path as County Line Road. which 00:26:38.349 --> 00:26:40.970 is also known as Mud Lake Road. And this object 00:26:40.970 --> 00:26:43.910 appeared approximately three and a half miles 00:26:43.910 --> 00:26:47.329 from where John Franklin had his encounter. For 00:26:47.329 --> 00:26:50.549 several minutes, the man watched the object as 00:26:50.549 --> 00:26:53.710 he drove approximately two miles south on Van 00:26:53.710 --> 00:26:57.750 Dyke Road when the light suddenly vanished. And 00:26:57.750 --> 00:27:01.009 according to the man, quote, as though it became 00:27:01.009 --> 00:27:04.410 aware it was being watched, it shut off. It didn't 00:27:04.410 --> 00:27:07.400 fade or fly away behind clouds. it shut off like 00:27:07.400 --> 00:27:09.960 someone flipped a switch. But first, it shot 00:27:09.960 --> 00:27:12.140 down a flat beam of light toward the ground. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:15.140 The next day, Barbara Bell, a reporter from the 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:18.019 Ithaca Times, interviewed the man about the Van 00:27:18.019 --> 00:27:21.079 Dyke Road sighting. And after asking around the 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:23.359 neighborhood of County Line Road to see if anyone 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:27.059 else saw the same object, Bell found a second 00:27:27.059 --> 00:27:29.700 witness. And this was a 15 -year -old boy who 00:27:29.700 --> 00:27:32.640 was driving a tractor in a field nearby when 00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:34.779 he saw an extremely bright cluster of lights 00:27:34.779 --> 00:27:39.150 in the sky. started driving toward the farm owner's 00:27:39.150 --> 00:27:42.450 home to alert them, but the lights, quote, turned 00:27:42.450 --> 00:27:46.029 off suddenly, end quote. And the entire sighting 00:27:46.029 --> 00:27:49.250 lasted about 10 seconds, and neither witness 00:27:49.250 --> 00:27:51.970 knew about the other until Barbara Bell came, 00:27:52.089 --> 00:27:54.269 investigated, and then wrote about the incident 00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:57.630 in the evening paper. Now, Bell's article also 00:27:57.630 --> 00:28:01.250 revealed a second witness. describing an unusual 00:28:01.250 --> 00:28:04.730 illuminated object in the sky over Mud Lake Road 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:07.089 in roughly the same location and time as John 00:28:07.089 --> 00:28:09.369 Franklin's encounter. A woman along with her 00:28:09.369 --> 00:28:11.710 teenage daughter from their home on Upper Glen 00:28:11.710 --> 00:28:15.250 Road had witnessed numerous anomalous lights 00:28:15.250 --> 00:28:19.569 hovering in the sky at night in the fall of 1968. 00:28:19.970 --> 00:28:23.670 And they carefully wrote down the date, time, 00:28:23.750 --> 00:28:26.390 and details of each sighting. And although the 00:28:26.390 --> 00:28:29.430 shape and size of the object weren't discernible, 00:28:29.869 --> 00:28:33.349 Due to the distance from the woman's home, all 00:28:33.349 --> 00:28:37.049 of them made no sound and some performed maneuvers 00:28:37.049 --> 00:28:39.349 that would be impossible for any known aircraft. 00:28:39.809 --> 00:28:43.470 Among all these sightings the woman and her daughter 00:28:43.470 --> 00:28:46.529 had, the woman's daughter had observed an unidentified 00:28:46.529 --> 00:28:49.529 light in the sky in the vicinity of Mud Lake 00:28:49.529 --> 00:28:53.750 Road on the same night and time as John Franklin's 00:28:53.750 --> 00:28:57.869 encounter. So it's very interesting to notice 00:28:57.869 --> 00:29:01.829 that. John Franklin made his report in October. 00:29:02.269 --> 00:29:05.269 Apparently, the deputy sheriffs there were laughing 00:29:05.269 --> 00:29:07.990 at him, if we take that from his quote, when 00:29:07.990 --> 00:29:10.650 he said, laugh if you want. And it turns out 00:29:10.650 --> 00:29:14.410 that he wasn't alone in seeing these lights in 00:29:14.410 --> 00:29:18.990 the sky. So winter settled in, a new year arrived, 00:29:19.210 --> 00:29:23.009 and media reports of UFO sightings dwindled. 00:29:23.319 --> 00:29:26.259 Months and years passed and the Finger Lakes 00:29:26.259 --> 00:29:30.980 UFO flap of 1968 kind of faded into memory. Then, 00:29:31.019 --> 00:29:36.640 in November 1977, the iconic UFO contact film 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:41.039 Close Encounters of the Third Kind began what 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:43.920 would end up being a six -month theatrical run 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:48.839 and it elevated the subject of UFOs to a pop 00:29:48.839 --> 00:29:54.319 culture phenomenon. By March of 1978, NBC had 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:57.099 a TV show called Project UFO, which was loosely 00:29:57.099 --> 00:29:59.740 based on the United States Air Force investigations 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:04.059 into the UFO phenomenon. And Project UFO was 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:07.779 a bona fide Friday night television hit. So the 00:30:07.779 --> 00:30:10.160 Ithaca Journal decided it was a good time to 00:30:10.160 --> 00:30:14.599 revisit the spate of unexplained objects in the 00:30:14.599 --> 00:30:18.859 local skies 10 years earlier. Ithaca's Close 00:30:18.859 --> 00:30:21.960 Encounters. was the name of the article that 00:30:21.960 --> 00:30:25.299 was published in the Inside section of the Ithaca 00:30:25.299 --> 00:30:29.579 Journal on Saturday, March 4th, 1978. The reporter 00:30:29.579 --> 00:30:32.160 was Judith Horstman, who would go on to become 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:35.279 an award -winning journalist, a Washington correspondent, 00:30:35.680 --> 00:30:39.279 an author, and a professor. And Horstman explained 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:43.339 the newspaper's renewed interest in the UFO wave 00:30:43.339 --> 00:30:47.440 of 1968 and the response from the witnesses they 00:30:47.440 --> 00:30:50.799 contacted. Horstman said, quote, We wondered 00:30:50.799 --> 00:30:53.839 about what the passage of 10 years had done to 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:56.000 the impact of the local encounters on the people 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:59.000 who saw them during the UFO flap here and how 00:30:59.000 --> 00:31:01.299 it changed them. We didn't have much luck in 00:31:01.299 --> 00:31:04.539 finding out. Many were unreachable. Four of them 00:31:04.539 --> 00:31:07.500 were unwilling to talk. Two of them pleaded with 00:31:07.500 --> 00:31:11.160 us not to use their names. One threatened to 00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:14.180 sue us. I can't face the loss of credibility, 00:31:14.500 --> 00:31:17.420 one man said. Please don't bring that up again. 00:31:17.579 --> 00:31:20.309 That's all in the past. My family went through 00:31:20.309 --> 00:31:23.250 hell over that, a woman told us. If I had known 00:31:23.250 --> 00:31:25.349 what was going to happen, I never would have 00:31:25.349 --> 00:31:28.390 said anything about it. I was harassed. It was 00:31:28.390 --> 00:31:31.349 really embarrassing. I'm sorry I ever talked 00:31:31.349 --> 00:31:34.490 to anybody about it and I never will again. End 00:31:34.490 --> 00:31:39.130 quote. Now, Judith Horstman did manage to find 00:31:39.130 --> 00:31:42.089 some people who were willing to have their names, 00:31:42.130 --> 00:31:44.250 photos, and interviews published. There were 00:31:44.250 --> 00:31:47.490 two witnesses. an investigator, and a skeptic 00:31:47.490 --> 00:31:50.210 that were all quoted in the article. There was, 00:31:50.210 --> 00:31:53.829 however, one witness who declined to comment, 00:31:53.849 --> 00:31:56.869 but the Ithaca Journal went ahead and republished 00:31:56.869 --> 00:31:59.849 details of that sighting anyway. And that was 00:31:59.849 --> 00:32:02.950 John Franklin's story. Once again, it was back 00:32:02.950 --> 00:32:05.450 in the local news with the Ithaca Journal again 00:32:05.450 --> 00:32:08.569 publishing his full name and the town where he 00:32:08.569 --> 00:32:11.329 continued to work and reside with his family. 00:32:11.509 --> 00:32:14.460 And because of the... similarities between Close 00:32:14.460 --> 00:32:16.460 Encounters of the Third Kind and John's experience, 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:20.279 it seems that the newspaper felt that his story 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:23.359 needed to be publicly retold regardless of whether 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:25.460 or not he agreed to speak with their reporters. 00:32:25.680 --> 00:32:29.160 The journal contacted John by telephone for an 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:32.440 interview, and he gave a what they called a polite 00:32:32.440 --> 00:32:36.480 but firm response. I don't want to discuss it, 00:32:36.539 --> 00:32:40.960 he said, and hung up. Now, it's unclear if the 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:43.819 Ithaca Journal tried to contact the witnesses 00:32:43.819 --> 00:32:46.880 that I mentioned earlier that all had sightings 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:50.799 in the Mud Lake Road area, and if they were among 00:32:50.799 --> 00:32:55.200 the witnesses who expressed a strong displeasure 00:32:55.200 --> 00:32:59.740 with the paper contacting them. But regardless, 00:32:59.819 --> 00:33:02.859 I decided to use, either not use their names 00:33:02.859 --> 00:33:05.640 or use pseudonyms for all the witnesses from 00:33:05.640 --> 00:33:09.000 1968, including John Franklin. That's not his 00:33:09.000 --> 00:33:12.009 real name. as it's impossible to know if they 00:33:12.009 --> 00:33:14.829 or their families would want their names and 00:33:14.829 --> 00:33:20.990 stories put out there again decades later. Of 00:33:20.990 --> 00:33:23.710 course, all their names are readily available 00:33:23.710 --> 00:33:27.150 to anyone who wants to read the original news 00:33:27.150 --> 00:33:31.509 articles. I'm just choosing to not put them out 00:33:31.509 --> 00:33:34.809 there. Now, it's been well over a half century 00:33:34.809 --> 00:33:38.210 since the autumn of 1968, and there hasn't been 00:33:38.210 --> 00:33:40.980 another... wave of UFO sightings in the Seneca 00:33:40.980 --> 00:33:45.019 Lake area that have generated as much local media 00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:47.900 interest. But this doesn't mean that there are 00:33:47.900 --> 00:33:54.019 no more UFOs being seen. Today, most local law 00:33:54.019 --> 00:33:57.779 enforcement offices won't take UFO reports from 00:33:57.779 --> 00:34:00.059 witnesses. So if you see a UFO, you call the 00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:02.579 police or the sheriffs. They'll tell you that's 00:34:02.579 --> 00:34:05.640 something we don't handle. And it's more or less 00:34:05.640 --> 00:34:07.539 the same with local media outlets. They won't. 00:34:07.759 --> 00:34:10.880 take interest in a sighting generally unless 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:14.679 there are multiple witnesses in multiple locations. 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:19.340 So instead, these days, witnesses are able to 00:34:19.340 --> 00:34:22.179 report their sightings anonymously to organizations 00:34:22.179 --> 00:34:25.199 like the National UFO Reporting Center and the 00:34:25.199 --> 00:34:28.840 Mutual UFO Network, who have collected and investigated 00:34:28.840 --> 00:34:33.980 dozens of reports over the decades of anomalous 00:34:33.980 --> 00:34:37.699 aerial objects seen above and around the lake. 00:34:38.139 --> 00:34:42.679 Also, the stigma attached to being a UFO witness 00:34:42.679 --> 00:34:49.019 isn't as intense as it was in the late 1960s, 00:34:49.019 --> 00:34:52.340 with an estimated 40 % of Americans believing 00:34:52.340 --> 00:34:56.559 in UFOs currently. But there still is a stigma, 00:34:56.639 --> 00:35:01.119 whether people are reporting UFOs or Bigfoot 00:35:01.119 --> 00:35:05.980 or ghosts. or a spiritual or mystical experience, 00:35:06.179 --> 00:35:09.119 or any other kind of unexplained phenomena. And 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:11.420 this is something that I acknowledge and I keep 00:35:11.420 --> 00:35:14.480 in mind with the Seneca Lake Mysteries Project. 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:18.780 So anyone who wants to contact me and share their 00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:22.760 story about experiencing something that isn't 00:35:22.760 --> 00:35:26.880 supposed to be, quote, real. And in many cases, 00:35:26.900 --> 00:35:29.579 these kinds of experiences can be transformative 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:32.650 for people. And in my opinion, these types of 00:35:32.650 --> 00:35:36.190 stories are important in helping all of us understand 00:35:36.190 --> 00:35:39.929 the nature of reality and the nature of life 00:35:39.929 --> 00:35:42.989 itself. Of course, it's good to be skeptical 00:35:42.989 --> 00:35:47.670 and seek a prosaic explanation. But still, people 00:35:47.670 --> 00:35:50.630 have been having these kinds of experiences for 00:35:50.630 --> 00:35:53.389 millennia throughout all known human history. 00:35:53.510 --> 00:35:57.050 And I believe they are perfectly natural parts 00:35:57.050 --> 00:35:59.940 of the human experience. Although some people 00:35:59.940 --> 00:36:02.340 don't agree with that. So they laugh, they mock, 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:04.719 they ridicule. And in doing so, they strongly 00:36:04.719 --> 00:36:07.880 discourage people from sharing these fascinating 00:36:07.880 --> 00:36:11.480 and important stories. So here at Seneca Lake 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:14.880 Mysteries, I always keep John Franklin's experience 00:36:14.880 --> 00:36:18.500 in the back of my mind. Respecting confidentiality 00:36:18.500 --> 00:36:21.179 and allowing people to share these incredible 00:36:21.179 --> 00:36:24.300 stories without fear of repercussions or shame. 00:36:29.800 --> 00:36:31.900 So after I released the first episode of the 00:36:31.900 --> 00:36:35.420 podcast, a longtime follower of Seneca Lake Mysteries, 00:36:35.480 --> 00:36:38.500 Jason Lamphere, reached out to me and said he 00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:40.559 had an unusual story and wanted to know if it 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:43.559 was something I'd heard about. I told him to 00:36:43.559 --> 00:36:46.239 send along and he sent me a clipping from an 00:36:46.239 --> 00:36:50.519 1873 book entitled History and Directory of Yates 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:54.400 County, which included a story about something 00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:56.940 very intriguing that was found near Keuka Lake, 00:36:57.139 --> 00:37:00.619 which lies roughly eight... to 10 miles to the 00:37:00.619 --> 00:37:03.500 west of Seneca Lake. And here's what the clipping 00:37:03.500 --> 00:37:07.039 said. Quote, There was an Indian burial ground 00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:09.960 on the west shore where large quantities of human 00:37:09.960 --> 00:37:13.599 bones were interred in a mound of conical shape, 00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:17.119 on the top of which grew an oak tree, 18 inches 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:20.059 in diameter. Many of the skeletons were judged 00:37:20.059 --> 00:37:23.719 by Dr. William Cornwell and others to have belonged 00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:27.440 to a very large and stalwart men. some of them 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:30.960 nearly seven feet tall. And it turns out this 00:37:30.960 --> 00:37:33.380 topic is something that I have been looking into. 00:37:33.440 --> 00:37:37.219 Not only legends of giant skeletons being found 00:37:37.219 --> 00:37:39.800 in the vicinity of Seneca Lake, but also stories 00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:43.500 about ancient Indian mounds and ceremonial earthworks 00:37:43.500 --> 00:37:47.280 in the area. Still, I was very interested to 00:37:47.280 --> 00:37:52.440 hear this story about these skeletons being found 00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:57.360 west of Seneca Lake near... Cayuga Lake because 00:37:57.360 --> 00:38:01.659 I had also uncovered a story of giant skeletons 00:38:01.659 --> 00:38:06.099 being found about 8 to 10 miles to the east of 00:38:06.099 --> 00:38:11.079 Seneca Lake in the town of Fayette near Cayuga 00:38:11.079 --> 00:38:15.539 Lake. Now this story was published in a 1900 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:20.860 book entitled Centennial Historical Sketch of 00:38:20.860 --> 00:38:23.840 the Town of Fayette, Seneca County, New York. 00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:29.440 After describing an ancient earthwork in the 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:32.059 area, which they referred to as an Indian fortification, 00:38:32.260 --> 00:38:38.000 it was an embankment of earth that formed a circle 00:38:38.000 --> 00:38:42.139 covering several acres of land about four to 00:38:42.139 --> 00:38:44.820 five feet high and about four feet in thickness 00:38:44.820 --> 00:38:46.840 at the bottom and three feet thick at the top 00:38:46.840 --> 00:38:50.159 with gateways or openings in the embankment. 00:38:50.989 --> 00:38:53.369 five feet or more in width, with large stones 00:38:53.369 --> 00:38:55.710 placed to protect the embankment on the sides 00:38:55.710 --> 00:38:59.949 of the openings, and a moat or ditch that had 00:38:59.949 --> 00:39:03.170 been dug around the outside of the earthwork. 00:39:03.230 --> 00:39:07.030 And after that description comes these tantalizing 00:39:07.030 --> 00:39:11.610 details. Quote, An ancient Indian burying ground 00:39:11.610 --> 00:39:14.429 was also found located nearly a mile southeast 00:39:14.429 --> 00:39:17.309 of this fortification, where human skeletons 00:39:17.309 --> 00:39:21.139 of unusually large size were found in mounds 00:39:21.139 --> 00:39:24.119 of earth. These were regarded by many persons 00:39:24.119 --> 00:39:27.360 as the bones of a prehistoric race of human beings. 00:39:28.219 --> 00:39:30.559 Now this is a story that I was planning on doing 00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:36.159 in a later podcast, as I had planned to kind 00:39:36.159 --> 00:39:39.199 of work my way up to some of the more bizarre 00:39:39.199 --> 00:39:43.980 or fringe kind of stories like this one. But 00:39:43.980 --> 00:39:47.739 after Jason reached out to me, I decided, hey, 00:39:47.840 --> 00:39:50.679 why not do this story? In the second episode. 00:39:51.460 --> 00:39:54.219 So that's what I'm going to do. And this one 00:39:54.219 --> 00:39:59.019 is called. Giants of Geneva. Now this story begins. 00:39:59.860 --> 00:40:04.519 At the location of. The former. Haudenosaunee 00:40:04.519 --> 00:40:09.880 Seneca. Village. Known as White Springs. Located 00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:12.159 at the corner of modern day. Preemption Road. 00:40:12.380 --> 00:40:16.760 And White Springs Lane. In Geneva. And where 00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:20.530 the White Springs Manor. is currently located. 00:40:21.050 --> 00:40:24.949 The Village of White Springs, which has a Haudenosaunee 00:40:24.949 --> 00:40:27.469 name, but I'm not entirely sure how to pronounce 00:40:27.469 --> 00:40:30.309 it, so I'm not going to try, but it's spelled 00:40:30.309 --> 00:40:37.170 G -A -N -E -C -H -S -T -A -G -E. If anyone out 00:40:37.170 --> 00:40:39.449 there knows how to pronounce that, please let 00:40:39.449 --> 00:40:42.110 me know for future reference. So the Village 00:40:42.110 --> 00:40:46.150 of White Springs was there from roughly 1688 00:40:46.150 --> 00:40:52.380 to 1732. 5 ,000 people lived there, likely drawn 00:40:52.380 --> 00:40:57.039 by the clear water springs that were on the site 00:40:57.039 --> 00:41:00.639 that ended up supplying water to the city of 00:41:00.639 --> 00:41:05.119 Geneva in later years. And also, I'm not going 00:41:05.119 --> 00:41:10.039 to get into the long history of the Seneca and 00:41:10.039 --> 00:41:13.539 Haudenosaunee people in the area, but in 1732, 00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:16.750 the residents of White Springs... moved to another 00:41:16.750 --> 00:41:19.550 location called New White Springs, just a few 00:41:19.550 --> 00:41:22.829 miles southwest, and then later they moved to 00:41:22.829 --> 00:41:25.269 what was referred to as the capital of the Seneca 00:41:25.269 --> 00:41:28.949 Nation, Gununda Saga, which is located at the 00:41:28.949 --> 00:41:32.670 top of what is now Castle Street in Geneva, roughly 00:41:32.670 --> 00:41:35.769 where the Cornell Agrotech campus now stands. 00:41:36.130 --> 00:41:39.409 So back to White Springs, after the Seneca people 00:41:39.409 --> 00:41:42.789 left, the land had a series of owners, and in 00:41:42.789 --> 00:41:46.679 1839 it was purchased. by a man named Gideon 00:41:46.679 --> 00:41:51.139 Lee. Now this site had numerous burial mounds. 00:41:51.300 --> 00:41:54.340 It's unclear of the number, but suffice to say 00:41:54.340 --> 00:41:57.780 there were many, many burial mounds around this 00:41:57.780 --> 00:42:02.159 village site. And in 1842, Gideon Lee decided 00:42:02.159 --> 00:42:05.159 that the land would be more valuable with these 00:42:05.159 --> 00:42:08.940 mounds removed. So he undertook a large project 00:42:08.940 --> 00:42:13.340 to grade all the mounds and flatten the land 00:42:13.340 --> 00:42:15.900 on White Springs Farm. Now I don't want to lose 00:42:15.900 --> 00:42:18.199 sight of the fact that this kind of undertaking, 00:42:18.420 --> 00:42:22.340 essentially destroying the graves of dozens if 00:42:22.340 --> 00:42:25.280 not hundreds of people, would be akin today to 00:42:25.280 --> 00:42:27.360 taking a bulldozer into your local cemetery, 00:42:27.619 --> 00:42:30.280 digging up the ground, and sifting through the 00:42:30.280 --> 00:42:32.719 dirt for artifacts. And then either keeping the 00:42:32.719 --> 00:42:35.820 artifacts for yourself or disposing of them. 00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:39.480 Now imagine taking bulldozers into cemeteries 00:42:39.480 --> 00:42:43.480 all across the continental United States. destroying 00:42:43.480 --> 00:42:47.139 sacred spaces and the final resting places of 00:42:47.139 --> 00:42:50.119 hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people. 00:42:50.320 --> 00:42:52.079 Now, with that in mind, I'm going to read you 00:42:52.079 --> 00:42:55.699 a passage from a book called The 14th Annual 00:42:55.699 --> 00:42:59.880 Report, 1909, of the American Scenic and Historic 00:42:59.880 --> 00:43:03.199 Preservation Society. And this excerpt describes 00:43:03.199 --> 00:43:06.460 the grading of the mounds at White Springs Farm 00:43:06.460 --> 00:43:12.170 in 1842. Quote, When the grounds were graded 00:43:12.170 --> 00:43:16.170 in 1842, numerous traces of the old Indian occupations 00:43:16.170 --> 00:43:19.230 were found. In a lane opposite the site of the 00:43:19.230 --> 00:43:21.730 old carriage house now occupied by a later building 00:43:21.730 --> 00:43:24.150 and near a tulip tree, which is probably the 00:43:24.150 --> 00:43:26.809 tulip tree still standing, there was a burial 00:43:26.809 --> 00:43:29.710 mound about three feet high from which many skeletons 00:43:29.710 --> 00:43:32.989 were exhumed. Another burial mound was located 00:43:32.989 --> 00:43:35.429 a short distance south of the one above mentioned 00:43:35.429 --> 00:43:39.440 and west of and in front of the mansion. from 00:43:39.440 --> 00:43:41.519 one -fourth to one -third of the distance from 00:43:41.519 --> 00:43:44.340 the road to the house. This knoll was about four 00:43:44.340 --> 00:43:48.360 feet high and yielded many skeletons. As the 00:43:48.360 --> 00:43:51.059 bottom of the ossuary was not reached in the 00:43:51.059 --> 00:43:54.699 grating, there are doubtless bones of the, quote, 00:43:54.739 --> 00:43:57.519 first families, end quote, still interred there. 00:43:57.820 --> 00:44:00.739 There are in the lawn gentle elevations of ground 00:44:00.739 --> 00:44:03.460 which strongly indicate other burial places. 00:44:04.400 --> 00:44:07.639 Inquiry, years ago, among citizens conversant 00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:10.610 with the work, and the workmen themselves, elicited 00:44:10.610 --> 00:44:14.190 many interesting facts about these sites. Most 00:44:14.190 --> 00:44:16.809 of the bones taken from them appeared to have 00:44:16.809 --> 00:44:20.250 been those of adults and of a good -sized race. 00:44:20.610 --> 00:44:23.570 In one or two instances, they were of extraordinary 00:44:23.570 --> 00:44:27.090 size. It is estimated that four or five wagon 00:44:27.090 --> 00:44:30.809 loads of bones and skulls, perhaps more, were 00:44:30.809 --> 00:44:33.789 removed, deposited in low places in the neighborhood, 00:44:33.989 --> 00:44:37.110 and covered up. Some degree of order appears. 00:44:52.080 --> 00:44:56.039 End quote. Now, obviously, the mention of skeletons 00:44:56.039 --> 00:44:59.079 of an extraordinary size is compelling enough, 00:44:59.320 --> 00:45:03.460 but I was also intrigued by the mention of some 00:45:03.460 --> 00:45:05.679 of the bodies being found buried in a sitting 00:45:05.679 --> 00:45:09.880 position. and covered with a sandy loam, a type 00:45:09.880 --> 00:45:12.800 of soil that was not naturally found in the vicinity 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:16.079 of the White Springs Farm, which was naturally 00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:20.760 a gravelly clay soil. So now we take a look at 00:45:20.760 --> 00:45:23.360 a document that came from the National Park Service, 00:45:23.539 --> 00:45:30.400 dated January 28, 2021, entitled Notice of Inventory 00:45:30.400 --> 00:45:33.199 Completion, Geneva Historical Society, Geneva, 00:45:33.360 --> 00:45:36.400 New York. Now in more recent years, The United 00:45:36.400 --> 00:45:39.980 States government has worked with museums, historical 00:45:39.980 --> 00:45:44.480 societies, and other entities to return native 00:45:44.480 --> 00:45:48.460 artifacts or bones to the appropriate tribes. 00:45:48.739 --> 00:45:51.059 So this document isn't particularly unusual. 00:45:51.260 --> 00:45:54.460 There's many, many similar documents in existence. 00:45:54.820 --> 00:45:57.820 And in this case, the Geneva Historical Society 00:45:57.820 --> 00:46:01.900 worked with the Seneca Nation to assess the remains 00:46:01.900 --> 00:46:04.340 and various artifacts they had in their possession. 00:46:04.840 --> 00:46:07.219 And for this particular case, I want to read 00:46:07.219 --> 00:46:10.480 the section called History and Description of 00:46:10.480 --> 00:46:16.519 the Remains. Quote, In the spring of 1969, human 00:46:16.519 --> 00:46:19.820 remains representing, at minimum, one individual, 00:46:20.119 --> 00:46:23.679 were removed from Reed Farm in Ontario County, 00:46:23.880 --> 00:46:28.099 New York. Two boys, James and Thomas Reed, discovered 00:46:28.099 --> 00:46:31.559 the human remains in a sandbound eight miles 00:46:31.559 --> 00:46:34.269 south of Geneva, New York. along Seneca Lake. 00:46:35.550 --> 00:46:38.730 They found the remains of one individual, possibly 00:46:38.730 --> 00:46:42.150 female, buried in a seated position with crossed 00:46:42.150 --> 00:46:46.550 arms and crossed legs and facing east. In May 00:46:46.550 --> 00:46:50.730 1969, the Reed family placed the human remains 00:46:50.730 --> 00:46:53.710 on loan with the Geneva Historical Society, and 00:46:53.710 --> 00:46:56.789 since 1995, the human remains have been under 00:46:56.789 --> 00:46:59.969 the Society's control. No known individuals were 00:46:59.969 --> 00:47:04.260 identified. no associated funerary objects were 00:47:04.260 --> 00:47:08.000 present. A written description of the burial 00:47:08.000 --> 00:47:11.460 at the time of discovery stated that no artifacts 00:47:11.460 --> 00:47:15.840 were discovered with the human remains. In 1995, 00:47:16.400 --> 00:47:21.019 Peter Jemison, NAGPRA coordinator for the Seneca 00:47:21.019 --> 00:47:24.380 Nation of Indians, opined that the human remains 00:47:24.380 --> 00:47:27.420 were of prehistoric date, as a Haudenosaunee 00:47:27.420 --> 00:47:29.699 burial would have included a beaded necklace. 00:47:30.510 --> 00:47:33.409 Along the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, seasonal 00:47:33.409 --> 00:47:36.190 settlements established for fishing marked the 00:47:36.190 --> 00:47:39.690 periphery of Seneca Nation territory. A few miles 00:47:39.690 --> 00:47:42.050 to the west of these settlements, archaeological 00:47:42.050 --> 00:47:46.349 evidence exists for the associated Seneca towns. 00:47:46.989 --> 00:47:50.289 Based on the totality of the information, the 00:47:50.289 --> 00:47:53.929 Geneva Historical Society has determined that 00:47:53.929 --> 00:47:56.750 the human remains listed in this notice are ancestral 00:47:56.750 --> 00:48:00.090 to the Seneca people. So I find this very interesting 00:48:00.090 --> 00:48:02.929 for several reasons. One, the representative 00:48:02.929 --> 00:48:06.090 of the Seneca Nation essentially said that this 00:48:06.090 --> 00:48:08.409 was not a Haudenosaunee burial and therefore 00:48:08.409 --> 00:48:11.449 not likely to be the remains of someone from 00:48:11.449 --> 00:48:13.909 the Seneca Nation, even though the Geneva Historical 00:48:13.909 --> 00:48:17.170 Society had determined that the remains were 00:48:17.170 --> 00:48:20.670 ancestral to the Seneca people. It's pretty clear 00:48:20.670 --> 00:48:23.250 that the person who was found in this burial 00:48:23.250 --> 00:48:26.150 mound was not from the Seneca Nation. They were 00:48:26.150 --> 00:48:29.469 from this period prior to the Seneca people living 00:48:29.469 --> 00:48:31.949 in the area. And also it's very interesting that 00:48:31.949 --> 00:48:35.250 the human remains were found in a sand mound 00:48:35.250 --> 00:48:38.510 and the individual was buried in a seated position 00:48:38.510 --> 00:48:41.090 with crossed arms and crossed legs facing east, 00:48:41.210 --> 00:48:44.170 not unlike the remains that were found at the 00:48:44.170 --> 00:48:47.090 White Springs site of people buried in a seated 00:48:47.090 --> 00:48:50.769 position and covered with sand or a sandy loam, 00:48:50.769 --> 00:48:53.880 which is just a soil that's heavy in sand. And 00:48:53.880 --> 00:48:56.579 considering it was determined that the remains 00:48:56.579 --> 00:48:59.360 found on the Reed farm was not someone from the 00:48:59.360 --> 00:49:01.320 Seneca Nation, that opens up the possibility 00:49:01.320 --> 00:49:04.119 that the remains that were found buried in an 00:49:04.119 --> 00:49:06.179 almost identical manner at the White Springs 00:49:06.179 --> 00:49:09.920 farm were also from the era prior to the Seneca 00:49:09.920 --> 00:49:12.440 people living there. And this would also indicate 00:49:12.440 --> 00:49:15.320 that people were living at the White Springs 00:49:15.320 --> 00:49:19.519 site long before 1688 when the Seneca people 00:49:19.519 --> 00:49:23.369 lived there. Now we're going to travel from the 00:49:23.369 --> 00:49:29.030 White Springs site, about two miles north along 00:49:29.030 --> 00:49:31.510 a perfectly straight stretch of County Road 6, 00:49:31.730 --> 00:49:34.349 also known as Preemption Road, to the location 00:49:34.349 --> 00:49:37.150 of what is likely one of the oldest human -made 00:49:37.150 --> 00:49:40.849 structures in the town of Geneva, the mound at 00:49:40.849 --> 00:49:53.219 Gananda Saga. academic archaeologists over time, 00:49:53.360 --> 00:49:56.579 plus the routine looting of the site by local 00:49:56.579 --> 00:50:00.139 residents in days past. But amazingly, the mound 00:50:00.139 --> 00:50:03.559 is still here. After hundreds, maybe thousands 00:50:03.559 --> 00:50:06.599 of burial mounds were wiped from existence across 00:50:06.599 --> 00:50:09.300 the landscape of New York State, the mound at 00:50:09.300 --> 00:50:13.860 Kananda Saga has survived. Lying behind a gas 00:50:13.860 --> 00:50:16.559 station and marked by a monument that was donated 00:50:16.559 --> 00:50:19.699 by the landowners, the mound continues to be... 00:50:20.059 --> 00:50:23.519 a significant and important historical, cultural, 00:50:23.719 --> 00:50:26.460 and spiritual site for the Seneca people. Again, 00:50:26.659 --> 00:50:29.300 it's not as big as it used to be, but it's still 00:50:29.300 --> 00:50:32.760 here, just like the Seneca people are still here. 00:50:33.639 --> 00:50:37.699 And there is an account written in the 1800s 00:50:37.699 --> 00:50:41.019 that is possibly the original story told by the 00:50:41.019 --> 00:50:45.639 Seneca people of how the mound came to be. And 00:50:45.639 --> 00:50:48.489 why do I say possibly? because it's important 00:50:48.489 --> 00:50:51.570 to know the author when reading Native stories 00:50:51.570 --> 00:50:55.070 in history. It's said that many anthropologists 00:50:55.070 --> 00:50:58.530 and researchers, especially those in the 1800s, 00:50:58.550 --> 00:51:02.889 weren't always reliable narrators of Native history 00:51:02.889 --> 00:51:05.489 and would often interpret those stories to reflect 00:51:05.489 --> 00:51:09.409 their own beliefs or biases. So the story of 00:51:09.409 --> 00:51:13.269 the Gananda Saga mound was written by renowned... 00:51:13.500 --> 00:51:16.340 anthropologist Louis Henry Morgan in his book 00:51:16.340 --> 00:51:19.260 League of the Iroquois, which was considered 00:51:19.260 --> 00:51:21.800 groundbreaking when it was published in 1851. 00:51:22.639 --> 00:51:25.480 Morgan was one of the first European Americans 00:51:25.480 --> 00:51:29.599 to study and document the social structure, customs, 00:51:29.699 --> 00:51:32.820 and history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, 00:51:32.840 --> 00:51:37.019 which consists of the Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, 00:51:37.059 --> 00:51:40.840 Cayuga, Seneca, and later the Tuscarora Nations. 00:51:41.840 --> 00:51:44.539 However, Morgan has been criticized by Native 00:51:44.539 --> 00:51:47.619 scholars and researchers for what they see as 00:51:47.619 --> 00:51:52.739 his biased approach, which often led to the interpretation 00:51:52.739 --> 00:51:55.199 of Haudenosaunee social structures and cultural 00:51:55.199 --> 00:51:59.820 practices from a European point of view, which 00:51:59.820 --> 00:52:04.039 could lead to misunderstandings and misrepresentations 00:52:04.039 --> 00:52:08.170 of Native American cultures. And today, Morgan's 00:52:08.170 --> 00:52:11.110 reputation among anthropologists is complex, 00:52:11.190 --> 00:52:14.130 as his contributions to the field were important 00:52:14.130 --> 00:52:18.989 and historic, but his recountings of some details 00:52:18.989 --> 00:52:22.289 are questionable. So keep that in mind when considering 00:52:22.289 --> 00:52:26.349 Lewis Henry Morgan's telling of the story of 00:52:26.349 --> 00:52:29.989 the Gananda Saga mound. And here's what he said. 00:52:30.869 --> 00:52:34.670 Quote, There is an interesting tradition connected 00:52:34.670 --> 00:52:38.820 with this burial mound. The Seneca's say that 00:52:38.820 --> 00:52:43.139 once they had a protector, a mighty giant taller 00:52:43.139 --> 00:52:45.920 than the tallest trees, who split the largest 00:52:45.920 --> 00:52:49.340 hickory for his bow and used pine trees for his 00:52:49.340 --> 00:52:52.980 arrows. He once wandered west to the Mississippi 00:52:52.980 --> 00:52:57.599 and from thence east again to the sea. Returning 00:52:57.599 --> 00:52:59.880 homeward over the mountains along the Hudson, 00:53:00.099 --> 00:53:03.760 he saw a great bird on the water, flapping its 00:53:03.760 --> 00:53:07.349 wings as if it wished to get out. so he waded 00:53:07.349 --> 00:53:11.210 in and lifted it on the land. He then saw on 00:53:11.210 --> 00:53:14.730 it a number of men who appeared dreadfully frightened 00:53:14.730 --> 00:53:17.809 and made signs to him to put them back again. 00:53:18.489 --> 00:53:22.550 He did so, and they gave him a sword and a musket 00:53:22.550 --> 00:53:25.369 with powder and balls and showed him how to use 00:53:25.369 --> 00:53:29.869 them, after which the bird swam off and he saw 00:53:29.869 --> 00:53:34.489 it no more. Having returned to the Seneca's Akananda 00:53:34.489 --> 00:53:38.280 Saga, He exhibited to them the wonderful implements 00:53:38.280 --> 00:53:40.920 of destruction and fired the gun before them. 00:53:41.539 --> 00:53:44.139 They were exceedingly terrified at the report 00:53:44.139 --> 00:53:46.880 and reproached him for bringing such terrible 00:53:46.880 --> 00:53:49.980 things among them and told him to take them away 00:53:49.980 --> 00:53:52.739 again, for they would be the destruction of the 00:53:52.739 --> 00:53:55.900 Indians, and he was an enemy to their nation 00:53:55.900 --> 00:53:59.659 who had brought them there. Much grieved at their 00:53:59.659 --> 00:54:03.500 reproaches, he left the council, taking the dreadful 00:54:03.500 --> 00:54:07.219 weapons with him, and lay down in a field. The 00:54:07.219 --> 00:54:10.199 next morning he was found, from some mysterious 00:54:10.199 --> 00:54:14.380 case, dead, and this mound was raised over his 00:54:14.380 --> 00:54:19.139 body where he lay. It is averred by the Onondagas 00:54:19.139 --> 00:54:22.840 that if the mound should be opened, a skeleton 00:54:22.840 --> 00:54:27.179 of supernatural size would be found underneath." 00:54:27.179 --> 00:54:31.760 So if we assume that this story is accurately 00:54:31.760 --> 00:54:35.519 told by Morgan, it would seem that, due to the 00:54:35.519 --> 00:54:38.300 Senecas at Ganondasaga having never seen a gun 00:54:38.300 --> 00:54:42.719 or a sword before, that this story predates the 00:54:42.719 --> 00:54:45.860 arrival of Europeans and their firearms in the 00:54:45.860 --> 00:54:49.900 1600s, as well as the founding of Ganondasaga 00:54:49.900 --> 00:54:55.079 as Seneca's capital in the mid -1700s. However, 00:54:55.219 --> 00:54:58.219 if we consider that some of Morgan's details 00:54:58.219 --> 00:55:01.260 are inaccurate, it's still possible that the 00:55:01.260 --> 00:55:06.050 actual original story did involve a giant being 00:55:06.050 --> 00:55:10.289 buried beneath the mound. So we have two spellbinding 00:55:10.289 --> 00:55:13.469 stories here, one about a giant buried in a mound 00:55:13.469 --> 00:55:16.469 in Geneva, and another about the remains of one 00:55:16.469 --> 00:55:19.570 or two giants being found buried in another mound 00:55:19.570 --> 00:55:23.130 in another part of Geneva. And naturally, these 00:55:23.130 --> 00:55:27.050 stories don't prove that giants once roamed the 00:55:27.050 --> 00:55:29.650 land near the northern shore of Seneca Lake. 00:55:30.119 --> 00:55:32.960 But these stories still have extraordinary value 00:55:32.960 --> 00:55:37.219 to all of us, inviting us to ponder the possibilities 00:55:37.219 --> 00:55:41.400 and experience the wonder about our shared distant 00:55:41.400 --> 00:55:46.019 past. Well, that's it for this time around. I 00:55:46.019 --> 00:55:47.900 hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for listening. 00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:50.760 And if you have any thoughts on any of the topics 00:55:50.760 --> 00:55:53.389 in this episode, please let me know. And remember 00:55:53.389 --> 00:55:55.650 to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts 00:55:55.650 --> 00:55:58.010 and get over to SenecaLakeMysteries .com and 00:55:58.010 --> 00:56:00.210 subscribe to the email list so you don't miss 00:56:00.210 --> 00:56:03.389 anything. A new podcast comes out every month 00:56:03.389 --> 00:56:05.710 on the 7th, so I'll talk to you again on the 00:56:05.710 --> 00:56:06.349 17th.