Please see the comment at the end of the post.
Cowichan is situated beside the Cowichan River and is the second largest lake on Vancouver Island, measuring 34 km long and in places over 500 feet ( 166 metres)deep.
The
people of Cowichan have a history of stories of a giant serpent-like
creature that lives in the deepest parts of the lake. It is said to be
over 50 feet( 16 metres) in length, with a very large head, furious eyes
and an enormous mouth and teeth. The creature named Stin-Qua is said to
be capable of swallowing whole canoes and their contents.. The first
story I came across is from the Kaatza Station Museum and is by Nitinat Charlie:
There was an Indian encampment near where the March’s now live. In
the camp was a very old woman who cautioned the young women to beware of
the Stin-qua. Next morning three young men and three women set out in a
canoe for Bald Mountain across the Lake.
The men were left on the mountain to hunt deer and the women were to
return for them later. The women were returning to the camp when one of
the maidens stoop up in the canoe and, waiving her paddle said that she
was not afraid of the Stin-qua. Almost immediately it began to get dark,
the wind roared and the Stin-qua rushed through the water and swallowed
the canoe and all the women. The Stin-qua disappears from the lake by
an underground passage down the West Coast.
At the time it was thought to be just a legend but then reports started to appear.
The following report appeared in the Cowichan Leader newspaper on Thursday, June 12,1930: ( extracts from the report)
Is there a giant water serpent in Cowichan Lake similar to the reputed Okanogan Lake
Ogopogo? There are of course, many doubters, but the mass of evidence
from reliable sources has grown to such an extent that there would
appear little question about there being one or more large serpents in
the waters of the lake. Some time ago The Leader gathered information
from various people who had seen this unusual fish and without
exceptions the witnesses are most emphatic that this thing actually
exists. They are anxious, also to come across it again and photograph or
capture it so as to have proof of the “fish story” A new interest has
been aroused in this strange reptile by the report from Mr. C. E.
Cauldwell (Cougar Charlie) that last week he saw the serpent.Mr.
Cauldwell and Mr. Fred Fillinger, planer foreman of the Industrial Mill,
Youbou, were together at the time on the shore at the head of the lake.
The serpent was distinctly seen swimming Interested in the fishing,
nothing more unusual was noticed until Mr. Jarvis, looking around saw
about eight feet of tapering neck and a serpent like heard standing
straight out of the water.He called to Dr. Hill to look at the
“apparition” and at the same time reached for his gun. Difficulty in
locating his ammunition was responsible for the fact that he did not
obtain a more tangible souvenir. The serpent kept it’s neck up for about
four or five seconds then moved it’s head back and forth and
disappeared with a serpentine motion of the body which could be seen for
several seconds. The tail did not come into view although it was two or
three seconds before all the body had wriggled out of sight. The main
portion of the body appeared to be about a foot thick.. It appeared to
them to be of a whitish color. Mr. Norman G. Thomas, proprietor of
theRiverside Inn, Lake Cowichan
and Mrs. Thomas report having distinctly seen the ogopogo early in
October between 8:30 and 8:45 am. It was a beautiful morning and they
were taking a run up the lake in their speedboat when they sighted what
appeared to be two logs. Steering to go between them they bypassed
around the end of one long and were within the 60 feet of “the other
log” when it suddenly bowed up the middle and disappeared with great
commotion.Mr. Thomas states that, on another occasion when four tourists
were also on board, a long neck about 10 or 12 feet above the water was
sighted. He stopped the boat and in order to get a better view and what
he saw looked like a large snake about 30 to 35 feet long.
On yet a third occasion Mr. Thomas obtained a glimpse of the ogopogo
while taking a party up the lake.. Mr. Thomas says that Mr. Victor
Rundquist is another former lake resident who has seen the serpent. He
also relates the story of an old lake resident who tells of sighting the
reptile while coming down the lake in a rowboat near shore. This man
saw what he took to be a telephone pole lying in the water and thinking
that it would come in handy at his cabin he went over towards it,
intending to hitch on a towline. When within a few feet of it “ the
pole” flopped tail and disappeared. This man, although he had seen the
serpent the years previously did not tell anyone about it until he
recounted the incident to Mr. Thomas following the latter’s first report
of having sighted it. He thought that people would be too much tempted
to believe that poor liqueur was responsible.Mr. Thomas and Mr.
Cauldwell compared notes at the weekend and the latter’s observance
corroborates the formers estimate that the length of the serpent is
about 30 to 35 feet. Whether an authentic picture or the indisputable
remains will ever be obtained is left for the future to disclose.
Sawmill workers at Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island
reported seeing a large lake creature during the 1960s and a local
fisherman, also in the 1960s,said he hooked something that pulled him
and his boat around the lake for an hour.
So a large eel or water snake? There
seems to have been no recent sightings I could find but an interesting
tale nevertheless and the descriptions match many others in other lakes
around the world. What sort of creature can stand up in water like that ,
like a telegraph pole? I suspect it is something undiscovered because I
don’t think eels can do that though some snakes rear up such as cobras.
Anyone got any theories then please post a comment.
