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The Fresno Dragons

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The Fresno Dragons​

By Kevin J. Guhl
(originally posted on thunderbirdphoto.com)

In 1891, newspapers were abuzz with the thrilling report of two pterosaur-like "dragons" in Fresno, CA. Were they true cryptids, a 19th century newspaper hoax, or more bizarrely, a socialist plot to fight the U.S. Army?

The Fresno Dragons ©2023 thunderbirdphoto.com (illustration by zettoart on Fiverr)
The Fresno Dragons ©2023 thunderbirdphoto.com (illustration by zettoart on Fiverr)

One year after the infamous Tombstone Epitaph article about a flying reptilian beast killed on the Arizona desert circulated through U.S. newspapers, another story about not one but TWO winged monsters broke into the national news. Dozens of articles ran between August 1891 and the end of the year detailing the saga of the Fresno Dragons. Had offspring of the (later-named) Tombstone Thunderbird survived and relocated to Fresco County, California?

Here is the story of the Fresno Dragons as it appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on Aug. 3, 1891:

A FRESNO MYSTERY.
Gunning for Huge Winged Monsters.
They Resemble the Fabled Dragon.
Mudhens Their Diet — Are They Survivals of the Pterodactyl?
Special Correspondence of the CHRONICLE.

FRESNO, July 31. —The report that two strange dragons with wings have recently appeared in the swamps east of Selma was at first regarded by many as a sensational story without foundation in fact, but after different persons at different places had claimed to have seen the strange creatures it began to be thought worth investigating.
The history of the unusual visitors, so far as reported, is as follows:

The men who live along the swales and sand hollows east and southeast of Selma on the evening of July 13th heard strange sounds in the air just after dark, like the rushing of wings when some large bird passes swiftly through the air overhead. At the same time a cry was heard, resembling that of a swan, though enough different to make it plain it was not a swan. But on that evening nothing was seen. The sound of the rushing of wings and the peculiar cries were heard at intervals for two hours, when about 10 o’clock all became still. The last cries heard were far away in the direction of Kings river.

Two nights after that the poultry yard of A. X. Simmons, four or five miles from Reedly [sic—Reedley] was visited and a large number of his chickens were killed and partly eaten. It was a mystery as to what had done the mischief, as it was plainly not the work of coyotes or any ordinary night prowler. Many of the hens were bitten in two and left half devoured. Others had been crushed, as though in monstrous jaws, and were left lying on the ground.

But there was no clew to the perpetrators of the havoc and it remained a mystery till subsequent events threw light on the subject. Those who examined the chickens that were killed say that the teeth marks on them resemble those that might be made by a large dog.

Nothing more was seen or heard of the mysterious visits till on the evening of July 19th, when a carriage load of young people were returning from a picnic at Clark’s bridge. It was about 10 o’clock at night, and when they had reached the lower swamp, six miles from Selma, they were startled by a distant cry and a moment latter [sic] heard a fearful rush of pinions through the air overhead.

The monsters, two in number, were in plain sight, for the moon shone brightly. There were circling rapidly through the air, swooping down and again rising high and uttering their weird and discordant cries, which were accompanied by snapping of jaws.

The young people laid whip to the horses, which were only too willing to go, and were soon out of the vicinity of the swales and the unwelcome visitors were seen no more that night.

On Monday night, July 21st, Harvey Lemmon and Major Henry Haight were out looking after their hogs that feed in the tules. As the men were returning to Selma they were surprised to hear a strange, strangling noise in the deep swale under the bridge. In a moment there was a heavy flapping of wings and the two monsters rose slowly from the water and flew so near the men that the wind from their wings was plainly felt.

Mr. Haight described the dragons as resembling birds, except that they had no feathers, and their heads were broad and their bills long and wide. He judged that the expanse of their wings was not less than fifteen feet. Their bodies were without covering. Their eyes were very large — Mr. Haight was sure not less than four inches in diameter.

Up to this time there had been no effort made to capture the dragons or to kill them. But when the reports continued to come in of persons who had seen them, there were those who began to believe that there was truth in the stories, and a crowd got together to investigate.

J. D. Daniels of Sanger heard of the matter, and on Wednesday went over to Selma and joined those who were going out to capture the dragons. Your correspondent saw Mr. Daniels to-day and had from him the account of the searching party. It is best given in Mr. Daniels’ words:

“When I reached Selma I found the company, which, with me, consisted of five persons, preparing to go down to Hog lake to set watch. This is a small pond of water, and was considered as liable as any to be visited by the monsters.

“We drove out to the lake, and there being no brush convenient for a hiding-place, we dug holes in the bank, and soon after dark we took our places in the holes, with our guns, ready to see what could be done in case the visitors put in an appearance.

“We remained there till 3 o’clock in the morning, and nothing of an unusual nature having taken place we returned to Selma, somewhat disappointed.

“About 10 o’clock that day, Thursday, Emanuel Jacobs came in and reported that the monsters had evidently been in Horn valley, about four miles above, the night before. They had killed a number of ducks, and the banks of the pond were strewn with feathers.

“We had no intention of giving over the plan of capturing the dragons, and Thursday night two of us returned to watch — Mr. Templeton and myself. We secreted ourselves in the holes which we had made the night before and waited patiently with our guns, determined to secure one of the strange visitors at least, should they make their appearance.

“About 11 o’clock the cries were heard in the direction of Kings river, seeming two or three miles away. The ominous yells drew nearer, and in a few moments we heard the rush and roar of wings, so hideous that our hair almost stood on end. The two dragons came swooping down and circled round and round the pond in rapid whirls, screaming hideously all the while. We had a good view of them while flying. Two or three times they passed within a few yards of us and their eyes were plainly visible. We could also see that instead of bills like birds they had snouts resembling that of the alligator, and their teeth could be seen as they snapped their jaws while passing us.
“Evidently the dragons were trying to decide whether or not they should come down in the pond. They were probably examining if there was any food to be had, such as ducks, mudhens and fish.

“At length they came down with a fearful plunge into the pond, and the mud and water flew as though a tree had fallen into it.

“They dived and floundered around in the water, and as nearly as we could judge at the distance of thirty yards they were about six feet long, and while wading in the water they looked not unlike gigantic frogs. Their wings were folded, and appeared like large knobs on their backs. Their eyes were the most visible parts, and seemed all the time wide open and staring.

“They were very active, and darted about among the tules and rushes catching mudhens. One of these fowls was devoured at two or three champs of the jaws.
“As soon as we saw a good opportunity we leveled our guns at the one nearest us and fired. One rose into the air with a yell and flew away, every stroke of the wing showing immense strength.

“The other floundered about in the water till it reached the edge of the pond, when it crawled out, dragging a long, wounded wing after it, and started across the plain. We loaded our guns and gave chase. We soon lost sight of it, for it went much faster than we could. However, we were able to follow by its dismal cries in the distance. We followed it half a mile, when it passed out of our hearing.

“The next day a company went in pursuit and trailed it by the blood on the grass. It was followed three miles to the Juniper slough, which it entered, and all trace of it was lost. Whether it is yet concealed in the tules or whether it has died is not known.

“Where it passed down the bank it left several well-formed tracks in the mud. One of the best was cut out with a spade, and, after drying, was taken to Selma, where it is in the possession of Mr. Snodgrass. The track was like that of an alligator, though more circular in form. It had five toes, with a strong claw on each. The track is eleven inches wide and nineteen long.”

The most probable solution of the matter is that these dragons are solitary specimens of some geological animal supposed to be extinct. It most nearly fits the description of the pterodactyl, a weird nocturnal vampire, half bat, half lizard, that infested the vast swamps of the earth in the carboniferous age. The pterodactyl is described by geologists as attaining a size often four-times as large as the eagle, while the bill became a snout, and its mouth was set with ghastly teeth that devoured birds, reptiles and all small animals that came in its way.

It may be that this species of animal has not become entirely extinct, as has been supposed, but that these are veritable pterodactyls. It is now recalled that a strange monster resembling these was reported a few years ago in the vast swamp between Tulare lake and Kern lake.

It may be possible that in the immense sultry and miasmal swamps surrounding Lake Tulare these hideous monsters have survived the destruction of all their kindred and have come down to the present day. It is not impossible. There are places in that vast expanse of swamp bordering the lake on which no human being ever set foot. The tules grow a perfect wilderness, and they may have furnished a refuge for these hideous things until the present day. This seems the most probable solution of the matter.


Some newspapers concluded the article with:

The search for the monsters will be carefully carried on, and the hunters believe that ere many days they will secure this wounded mammoth bat-lizard, which is creating no end of talk among the scientists of California to-day.

Pterodactyl, Rhamphorhyncus phyllurus from the The Structure and Life of Birds by F. W. Headley, 1895. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
"Pterodactyl, Rhamphorhyncus phyllurus" from the "The Structure and Life of Birds" by F. W. Headley, 1895. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

As expected, some editors expressed their doubt in a pair of dragons lurking in the wilds of central California. Reprints of the article referred to it as a “Munchausen story,” a product of the “silly season,” a “Result of California Wine,” a reason to enact prohibition in Fresno, and a tale recited at “the last meeting of the Amalgamated Association of Fish Liars.”

The Morning Call of San Francisco, on Aug. 5, 1891, went so far as to publish a lengthy piece contesting the possibility that pterodactyls could had survived into the 19th century when no remains younger than millions of years old had ever been found. “There is no more chance of finding at the present day a living member of the vast reptile family which flourished in the cretaceous age than there is of Noah’s Ark coming into port and anchoring off Meiggs Wharf,” chided the Call. (Meiggs Wharf was an enormous San Francisco pier that became a center of society life until it was destroyed by fire following the city’s devastating 1906 earthquake.)

Coverage of the Fresno Dragons raised the hackles of some local reporters. "There must be something wrong with the Selma Enterprise... a stranger who has never been in Selma would get the impression that it is... a land of horrors, the home of dragons, inhabited by thieves and robbers," complained a writer from the Reedley Exponent. The Selma Irrigator lamented that Fresno papers should have enough "space fillers" to write about "without rehashing fake stories about 'winged monsters' that give the impression to the world at large that we are living in the midst of a swamp and a million years behind the rest of the world."

Indeed, there was no shortage of ridicule in other California newspapers. A few amusing examples:
  • Louis Allgewhar, a prominent brewer of Buffalo, N.Y., is in Fresno, where he contemplates establishing a large brewery. The effect of such an industry on the Fresno pterodactyl crop is difficult to predict. [San Francisco Call]
  • The Fresno people have done many foolish things in order to bring to the notice of the public their county and its resources, but the yarn about the dragons recently seen there caps the climax. What sort of tarantula juice the saloons of Selma furnish is not stated but it must be strong indeed. What sort of farmers do the Fresno people expect to entice thither to a country populated by dragons? [The Merced Star]
  • A. E GRIBI had a large, dark colored object on exhibition on his show case last Saturday. An inscription on it conveyed the information that it was a dragon's egg, found in a slough near Selma. To the average citizen it looked like a vegetable, but it was probably not more of a beet than a fellow who wrote the dragon story to the city press. [Hanford Journal]
The Examiner in San Francisco, which had the previous year published the Tombstone Thunderbird article along with a fabulous illustration and obvious doubts, apparently had had enough of these dragon tales. The Examiner printed this exposé of the Fresno Dragons in its Aug. 6, 1891 edition:

A Sensation Spoiled.
[Special to the EXAMINER.]

FRESNO, August 5. — An EXAMINER correspondent visited Selma to-day and investigated the story concerning the alleged discovery of a “winged monster with great phosphorescent eyes, and feet like an African ostrich. A weird nocturnal vampire, half bat, half lizard, that infested the vast swamps of the earth in the carboniferous age.”

The story is the worst sort of a “fake.” It was originated by one of Selma’s famous storytellers, and elaborated by a reporter and published as a joke in a Selma paper. Later a correspondent here garnished it with liberal extracts from the “Encyclopedia Britannica”; stretched it to a column and a half, making it plausible by the use of names, the owners of which were never known in the section where it was located.

The owner of the pond where the monster was reported to have been seen lived there many years, and no stranger bird than a harmless pelican or crane has ever been seen in the tules.


As for the names included in the Fresno Dragons story, research on Americans from that timeframe is complicated by the fact that 99.99% of records from the U.S. Census of 1890 were lost through the combination of two separate fires, in 1896 and 1921, and Congressional-approved destruction of the damaged remnants in 1932. One surviving find from the 1890 census was the sobering declaration that there was no longer an American frontier due to the density of of westward settlement.

Despite the Examiner's claim, some of the Fresno County locals mentioned in the winged monsters article appear to have been real. Area newspapers from the late 1880s and early 1890s separately mention D.S. Snodgrass, a well-known Fresno County resident who was secretary and cashier of the Bank of Selma; H.A. Lemmon, who owned a saloon on Front St. in Selma; and Henry W. Haight, who was apparently not the same Henry Haight who served as tenth governor of California from 1867-1871, lived in Alameda, and died in 1878.

On Aug. 13, 1891, the San Jose Daily Mercury printed what it claimed was essentially a retraction by the publisher of the Fresno Dragons story:

The Selma Enterprise, which first gave currency to the story about the great Fresno pterodactyl, now comes forward and says the item was given to it by a literary man living at Sanders, who saw the animal shortly after attending a picnic. The original story, it is asserted, has been exaggerated and distorted so much that it is no longer recognizable, and the Enterprise having been called a liar 4,000,000 times on account of it is now about to hit the salary of the literary man at Sanders with a club.

(It should be noted that issues of The Selma Enterprise prior to October 1891 do not appear to exist in any library or archive.)

So, if the pterodactyl story was a greatly stretched version of reality, what really happened? The Hanford Journal, on Aug. 11, 1891, published what it said what the true identity of the Fresno Dragons:

The dragons found near Selma, Fresno county, of which much has been written within the last week or two, are not dragons at all, but simply two Australian birds known in their own country as Boa. They are a very destructive species and have not been hibernating in the “vast tule swamps of Tulare county,” as the San Francisco Chronicle puts it, for the reason that there are no such swamps in this county. The birds were imported to this county by the Kaweah colonists, at great expense, and were expected to work their destructive arts on the government horses and mules in the Sequoia National Park, but having been ordered “off the grass” in that section by a U. S. land agent, wandered into Fresno county in search of something green. As they are working toward San Francisco the Chronicle editor will do well to keep indoors.

While this blurb appears to have tongue planted in cheek to some degree, it references a true and controversial event from California's past. The Kaweah Colony was a utopian socialist community founded in 1886 near groves of giant sequoia trees in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Developing an economy based on logging, the colonists ran into legal trouble when the federal government established Sequoia National Park on their land in 1890. U.S. Cavalry troops soon arrived to patrol the new national park. Convicted of illegal logging, the settlers disbanded Kaweah Colony in 1892.

This author has yet to find what Australian bird was known natively as the Boa, but hints in the description suggest a potential culprit—the Southern Cassowary. Sometimes considered the world's most dangerous bird, the Southern Cassowary is a large, flightless species related to emus and ostriches. They are native to rainforests and savanna woodlands of northeastern Australia and New Guinea. Striking in appearance, the Southern Cassowary possesses black feathers, a blue face, a horn-like casque on its head, and a long neck. Among the heaviest birds on Earth, the Southern Cassowary can weigh up to about 190 pounds and stand nearly six feet in height. Able to to run fast, jump high and kick powerfully with knife-like claws, they have been known to kill humans on rare occasions. Southern Cassowaries also are known to attack dogs and even horses. While I've yet to uncover evidence of the Kaweah Colony importing these massive birds, the Southern Cassowary would explain the reference to the Australian birds working "their destructive arts on the government horses and mules in the Sequoia National Park," probably belonging to the U.S. Cavalry. The Hanford Journal article also describes the birds as wandering, not flying, which would fit a flightless ratite. While spotting a Southern Cassowary in central California would certainly have been startling, it's an open question of whether it could ever have been mistaken for a pterodactyl.

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Southern Cassowary. Photo by Ben Keen, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What the Fresno Dragons story makes clear is that these monsters — and possibly similar beasts such as the Tombstone Thunderbird — were likely inspired by the popular and relatively recent conception of pterosaurs.

Just 15 days after reporting on the Fresno Dragons, the San Francisco Morning Call ran the following blurb about a future exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution:

The Government has been for nine years digging up and putting together the vast collection of fossils that will occupy fully one-half of the National Museum in Washington. In the collection are the gigantic skeletons of prehistoric reptiles 100 feet in length, flying dragons, with a 25-foot spread of wings, and other curiosities well worth seeing.

In case there was any doubt, the Cincinnati Enquirer underlined the connection when it ran this illustration within its Aug. 8, 1891 coverage of the Fresno Dragons story:

rs=w:1280


Fresno was evidently a hotbed of strange news in the late 19th century. On Oct. 17, 1891, The Fresno County Enterprise in Selma boasted, "Fresno is a great country. Petrified men and women, pterodactyls, and other fly-by-night monsters, and now a veritable mummy, are among its marvelous productions. The Selma correspondent of the Chronicle gives a half column account of the mummified men found on the west-side."

Whether speculative fiction of the late 19th century, a shocking eyewitness account of antediluvian dragons that survived into modern history, or a wild exaggeration of an already bonkers tale about Southern Cassowaries set loose among the sequoias as a weapon against the U.S. Army, the Fresno Dragons live on as colorful central California lore. They are a relic of a murky and mysterious past, set on shores that no longer exist as they did in 1891. Lake Tulare, once the largest freshwater lake in the western United States, is now mostly extinct, having been drained by settlement starting in the final decade of the 19th century, not long after the Fresno Dragons story was written. The expression "out in the tules," named after the giant sedge plants that lined the lake's banks, persists as a reference to a remote, inhospitable locale. Perhaps the Fresno Dragons simply migrated to more desolate surroundings!

Imagine for a moment that the Fresno Dragons were real and that the articles about them proclaimed bold-faced truth. Could they be early documentation of the pterosaur-like cryptid, the ropen? Would it give life to the romantic idea that prehistoric creatures managed to survive in the world's most remote corners, at least until man filtered in and disturbed them, not very long ago? At the very least, stories like the Fresno Dragons reflect humankind's unquenchable desire to experience the amazing monsters that ruled the Earth eons ago in a frustratingly unreachable past. A similar sense of longing, for mystery and discovery, might also have played a role as the American frontier faded into the nation's memory.

Tulare Lake, 1875. Originally published in the San Francisco Call, Volume 84, Number 75, p. 19. 14 August 1898. Hosted by California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Tulare Lake, 1875. Originally published in the San Francisco Call, Volume 84, Number 75, p. 19. 14 August 1898. Hosted by California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons



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