|
Nellie |
|
An aggressive and elusive creature terrified the Decatur,Illinois, area in July 1917.Called "Nellie" by reporters,it was said to look like a large female African lion.It attacked Thomas Gullett,a butler at the Robert Allerton estate,southwest of Monticello,as he was picking flowers in the garden.Over the next month,three-hundred-man posses searched for the beast.Sightings continued, and hunters found two sets of catlike prints. At 10:30 on the evening of July 29,1917,Chester Osborn,Earl Hill, and their wives were driving near Decatur. The two men,sitting in the front,spotted Nellie standing in the weeds next to the road. It leaped,crashed into the car's side,and fell onto the highway. The party rushed back to Decatur to summon the police.Nellie was still there when they returned,but it soon was lost to sight over an embankment and there after managed to elude searchers. Soon after that,Nellie vanished forever. - entry provided by Nessie13, KELLYDCARNEY@hotmail.com
|