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dead creature's head.
    The second photograph was taken in 1948. This monster was said to have crawled ashore and tried to hide in an old fort. But it was killed, though it took 500 machine gun bullets to do the job. The dead snake was measured at 115 feet.

    If the man in this drawing is six foot tall, imagine the length of the giant snake.
    Where are these astonishing photographs? They were supposed to have been published in a newspaper in Rio de Janeiro. But no one seems to know which paper or where the original photos are.
    Unless these photographs are found, or a skull, a skin, or a whole snake turns up, the giant water snake of the Amazon will just have to remain another of the world's elusive monsters.

CHAPTER 10

    THE TAZELWORM

    As far as monsters go, the tazelworm really isn't too much. It is only supposed to be about two or three feet long. There are stories that the bite of the tazelworm is highly poisonous. It has been said that the creature is so poisonous that even its breath can kill you. According to legend, the tazelworm is very mean, and will attack anything that moves.
    But even people who believe in the tazelworm do not believe all of these stories.
    The most responsible beliefs about the tazelworm are this: It is a largish lizard, with two or four short legs. It may have a poisonous bite, but this is not absolutely certain. Far from being aggressive, the beast is very shy, though, like other animals, it will attack if cornered.
    In fact, it is its very shyness that makes the tazelworm so interesting and, in a way, makes it a monster. For the tazelworm, if it exists at all, is a fairly large creature that has remained undetected by scientists, right in the middle of Europe. It would be the largest lizard in Europe, and one of the largest in the whole world.
    If the tazelworm exists, it would be proof that large and unusual-looking animals can remain undetected in the modern world. If the tazelworm exists, it would strengthen the case for the existence of other monsters. After all, if the tazelworm could escape detection, so could other animals.
    But does the tazelworm exist? That is the problem. As far as monsters go, the evidence for the tazelworm is very good.

    Drawing of the tazelworm from a Bavarian hunting manual of 1836.
    The creature is supposed to live in the valleys of the Swiss, Bavarian, and Austrian alps. It is known by many different names. "Tazelworm" is the most common. The name means "worm with feet." It has also been called a tunnel worm, a jumping worm, or a mountain stump. Of course, it is not a worm at all, but some sort of lizard.
    Stories about the tazelworm are so common that it was included in an 1861 book on the animals of the Alps. The author said the creature was thick, from three to six feet long, had two short legs, and generally appeared before storms after a long dry spell.
    The author added, "Many honest and respectable people swear that they have seen it with their own eyes." The author also said that in 1828 a Swiss peasant found a dead tazelworm. The creature's skeleton was sent to the University at Heidelberg, in Germany. But whether it arrived or not, no one seems to know, for all trace of the skeleton was lost.

    The tazelworm as shown in an 1841 Swiss almanac.
    In the 1930s a scientific society and some local newspapers put out a call for people who had seen the beast. More than sixty witnesses stepped forward. In general, the witnesses agreed as to the size and shape of what they had seen. Some said the thing had four very tiny legs, while others said it had no back legs at all. (Two-legged lizards are not unknown.) Most of the witnesses said it had scales, and hissed like a snake. A few said that it was able to jump two or three yards. How it was able to accomplish this with tiny legs, or no back legs at all, was not explained.
    One hunter said he saw the thing in 1909. Knowing that it was supposed to be poisonous, he approached with great caution. Suddenly, the