LV426
10-05-2003, 07:54 PM
http://www.roadsideamerica. com/attract/images/wa/WALONalli.jpg
His name is Jake the alligator man and he now lives in a glass case in Long Beach at Marsh's Free Museum right across from the world's largest frying pan. No one is sure of Jake's origins but he was supposedly Jake the merman at a San Francisco museum at one time. But who is Jake, and where did he come from. I have seen this picture of Jake in a Time Life book called Reptiles. It is an old book that was published in the early 1950's and has information about all kind of reptiles. The picture above has been cropped because the original picture had crocodiles on the bank to the left of Jake, sunning themselves on a river bank in Africa.
Time Life mentions Jake, not by name but because of the legends of the local people that the crocodiles could turn into men and walk among them to either bestow gifts or to select sacrifices. Supposedly Jake is a human child's torso attached rather skillfully to a crocodile's body. At least that is what the Time Life book reported. The Marsh's won't let anyone actually examine Jake to verify who, or what he actually is.
This mummified creature however has been reported as proof of the existence of creatures referred to as Alligator Men. The Seminole indians have legends and stories regarding the alligators that walk like men and guard their home and land from those that seek to do harm. They are said to be taller than an average man and walk upright like one. Their skin is thick and scaly and their arms and legs are heavily muscled. A long powerful tail helps them navigate the waterways of the everglades. Their heads can be that of a man or that of an alligator or somewhat in between. To kill one means death, to see one is a warning that you should leave before something bad happens. They are not indigenous to Florida alone but inhabit any swamp from Georgia to Louisianna and are supposedly related to the were-crocodiles of Africa. To this day there is no proof that there are these alligator men but hidden in the vast reaches of the swamps could be creatures that even the bravest of men should fear.
In the 1800's as Florida began to become settled more and more, hunters began to traverse the dangerous Everglades. Wildcats, alligators, crocodiles, snakes and of course the native americans the Seminole Indians inhabited this forbidding expanse of high razor edged grass and slowly flowing water. The white man were unwelcome in the home of the Seminole but the white man refused to heed the warnings of the indians. The hunters swarmed through the swamps in groups or alone and camps were set up here and there as sort of trading posts. An old man came to one such trading post with a tale that none could believe. He and his friend had been hunting 'gators' in the swamps when his buddy had shot what they thought was an alligator.
The men had pulled it ashore only to discover that it was a beast they had never seen before. It had the body and head of a gator but the arms and legs like that of a man. Shocked the two men dragged the carcass back to camp and skinned it to bring back, for they thought none would believe their tale without proof. That night as they sat around their fire they heard noises and the growling cry of the alligators approaching them. The noises became louder and then they heard splashing at the waters edge. The two men grabbed their firearms and waited in the darkness for whatever was approaching.
Suddenly a cry rang out as if a man were screaming in some other language and the men were surrounded by great hulking beasts. The darkness made it difficult to see but the firelight shone off of scaly skin belonging to man shaped creatures. The man's friend fired his gun and shot one of the creatures and it let out a roar to shake the cranes from their nesting trees. The old man huddled in fear as his friend was grabbed by one of the creatures and another grabbed the skin of their comrad and they disappeared into the swamp.
There have been more recent sightings especially when the highway from the east coast of Florida to the gulf coast of Florida was built. Aptly named Alligator Alley, it has become a road of superstitions and strange sightings. People traveling the highway have reported strange upright alligator looking creatures crossing the road and one woman who had car trouble and was stranded at night reported strange men dressed in scaly type armor surrounding her car until dawn when someone finally drove by. The side of her car was marred with scratches where these strange creatures had brushed up against her vehicle as they peered in through her windows.
The stories of the african crocodile men are elusive but one article that caught my attention occurred in the 1960's.
In the mid-sixties a story appeared in the New York Times telling about the conviction of a witch doctor in a newly emerged African nation. He had agreed to transform himself into a crocodile and devour the mother in law of his client. After the event had transpired the two had a falling out over the price. The matter reached the authorities and both were arrested. They went to trail where the were found guilty and sentenced to death. Their appeals were denied and it was made clear that the crime was not conspiracy to commit murder, but conspiracy to commit sorcery, and illegal metamorphosis into a crocodile leading to the death of a citizen.
So is Jake one of these elusive creatures? Was he caught in the middle of a transformation and frozen in death as half man half beast? Was he a reptile at heart or as warm blooded as the rest of us. The mystery bring people from all around to look at Jake and speculate as to his origins and perhaps it is best that the truth is not known. For to reveal that he is a true shape shifter might lead to a hunt for magnificent and wonderful creatures and to reveal that he is not what he seems would destroy the magic that gives credence to his existence.
His name is Jake the alligator man and he now lives in a glass case in Long Beach at Marsh's Free Museum right across from the world's largest frying pan. No one is sure of Jake's origins but he was supposedly Jake the merman at a San Francisco museum at one time. But who is Jake, and where did he come from. I have seen this picture of Jake in a Time Life book called Reptiles. It is an old book that was published in the early 1950's and has information about all kind of reptiles. The picture above has been cropped because the original picture had crocodiles on the bank to the left of Jake, sunning themselves on a river bank in Africa.
Time Life mentions Jake, not by name but because of the legends of the local people that the crocodiles could turn into men and walk among them to either bestow gifts or to select sacrifices. Supposedly Jake is a human child's torso attached rather skillfully to a crocodile's body. At least that is what the Time Life book reported. The Marsh's won't let anyone actually examine Jake to verify who, or what he actually is.
This mummified creature however has been reported as proof of the existence of creatures referred to as Alligator Men. The Seminole indians have legends and stories regarding the alligators that walk like men and guard their home and land from those that seek to do harm. They are said to be taller than an average man and walk upright like one. Their skin is thick and scaly and their arms and legs are heavily muscled. A long powerful tail helps them navigate the waterways of the everglades. Their heads can be that of a man or that of an alligator or somewhat in between. To kill one means death, to see one is a warning that you should leave before something bad happens. They are not indigenous to Florida alone but inhabit any swamp from Georgia to Louisianna and are supposedly related to the were-crocodiles of Africa. To this day there is no proof that there are these alligator men but hidden in the vast reaches of the swamps could be creatures that even the bravest of men should fear.
In the 1800's as Florida began to become settled more and more, hunters began to traverse the dangerous Everglades. Wildcats, alligators, crocodiles, snakes and of course the native americans the Seminole Indians inhabited this forbidding expanse of high razor edged grass and slowly flowing water. The white man were unwelcome in the home of the Seminole but the white man refused to heed the warnings of the indians. The hunters swarmed through the swamps in groups or alone and camps were set up here and there as sort of trading posts. An old man came to one such trading post with a tale that none could believe. He and his friend had been hunting 'gators' in the swamps when his buddy had shot what they thought was an alligator.
The men had pulled it ashore only to discover that it was a beast they had never seen before. It had the body and head of a gator but the arms and legs like that of a man. Shocked the two men dragged the carcass back to camp and skinned it to bring back, for they thought none would believe their tale without proof. That night as they sat around their fire they heard noises and the growling cry of the alligators approaching them. The noises became louder and then they heard splashing at the waters edge. The two men grabbed their firearms and waited in the darkness for whatever was approaching.
Suddenly a cry rang out as if a man were screaming in some other language and the men were surrounded by great hulking beasts. The darkness made it difficult to see but the firelight shone off of scaly skin belonging to man shaped creatures. The man's friend fired his gun and shot one of the creatures and it let out a roar to shake the cranes from their nesting trees. The old man huddled in fear as his friend was grabbed by one of the creatures and another grabbed the skin of their comrad and they disappeared into the swamp.
There have been more recent sightings especially when the highway from the east coast of Florida to the gulf coast of Florida was built. Aptly named Alligator Alley, it has become a road of superstitions and strange sightings. People traveling the highway have reported strange upright alligator looking creatures crossing the road and one woman who had car trouble and was stranded at night reported strange men dressed in scaly type armor surrounding her car until dawn when someone finally drove by. The side of her car was marred with scratches where these strange creatures had brushed up against her vehicle as they peered in through her windows.
The stories of the african crocodile men are elusive but one article that caught my attention occurred in the 1960's.
In the mid-sixties a story appeared in the New York Times telling about the conviction of a witch doctor in a newly emerged African nation. He had agreed to transform himself into a crocodile and devour the mother in law of his client. After the event had transpired the two had a falling out over the price. The matter reached the authorities and both were arrested. They went to trail where the were found guilty and sentenced to death. Their appeals were denied and it was made clear that the crime was not conspiracy to commit murder, but conspiracy to commit sorcery, and illegal metamorphosis into a crocodile leading to the death of a citizen.
So is Jake one of these elusive creatures? Was he caught in the middle of a transformation and frozen in death as half man half beast? Was he a reptile at heart or as warm blooded as the rest of us. The mystery bring people from all around to look at Jake and speculate as to his origins and perhaps it is best that the truth is not known. For to reveal that he is a true shape shifter might lead to a hunt for magnificent and wonderful creatures and to reveal that he is not what he seems would destroy the magic that gives credence to his existence.