Page 57 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - Jan-Feb 2018, Vol 27, No 1

Enjoy A WESTGATE Vacation! 57

Champ - The Lake Two Native American tribes living in the close that he could see “round white spots inside
area near Lake Champlain, the Iroquois and the its mouth” and that “the creature appeared to be
Monster of Lake Abenaki, had legends about such a creature. The about 25 to 30 feet in length”. Mooney’s
Abenaki called the creature "Tatoskok". sighting led to many eyewitnesses coming
Champlain An account of a creature in Lake forward with their own accounts of Champ
Champlain was ostensibly given in 1609 by sightings. Mooney’s story predated the public
Champ, or Champie, or Big Rem, is the name French explorer Samuel de Champlain, the Loch Ness controversy by 50 years.
given to a reputed lake monster living in Lake founder of Québec and the lake's namesake, who Champ became so popular that P.T.
Champlain, a natural freshwater lake in North is supposed to have spotted the creature as he Barnum, in the late 19th century, put a reward of
America, partially situated across the U.S.- was fighting the Iroquois on the bank of the lake. $50,000 up for a carcass of Champ. Barnum
Canadian border in the Canadian province of However, in actuality no such sighting was wanted the carcass of Champ so that he could
Quebec and partially situated across the recorded, and it has since been traced back to a include it in his epic World’s Fair Show (Krystek
Vermont-New York border. While there is no 1970 article. 3).
scientific evidence for the cryptid's existence, A report in the Plattsburg Republican Some believe that Champ may be a
there have been over 300 reported sightings. The dated July 24, 1819, titled "Cape Ann Serpent on plesiosaur similar to “Nessie”, claiming the two
legend of the monster is considered a draw for Lake Champlain", gives the account of a "Capt. lakes have much in common. Like Loch Ness,
tourism in the Burlington, Vermont and Crum" sighting an enormous serpentine Lake Champlain is over 400 feet (120 m) deep,
Plattsburg, New York areas. monster. and both lakes were formed from retreating
Like the Loch Ness Monster, while most The first reported sighting actually came glaciers. Believers also claim both lakes support
regard Champ as legend, others have speculated in 1883 when Sheriff Nathan H. Mooney fish populations large enough to feed a supposed
it is possible such a creature does live deep in claimed that he had seen a “…gigantic water sea or lake monster. This legend would require
the lake, possibly a relative of the plesiosaur, an serpent about 50 yards away” from where he either a single animal, or a sizable breeding
extinct group of aquatic reptiles. was on the shore. He claimed that he was so population. []