A loud cry echoed across the partially frozen lake as a warrior announced to all that he was again victorious in his hunt for the elusive black bear. Spring had arrived early this year and the thaw had begun. The man knelt and severed one of the bear s ears with his knife and tied it with sinew to his buckskin belt. The young warrior had great hunting skills for his years and many a bear had adorned his belt. The warrior pulled his prize in a sled over the thinning ice on the lake to within earshot of his village as he could hear children playing in the spring sunshine. The black ice gave the illusion of walking on water. His silhouette was visible from below the ice as it was framed by the pale blue sky above. He glanced down through the ice and for a fleeting moment saw the creature of folklore smash headlong through the ice with great speed splintering the reflection of the young warrior s face. As he stood realizing it was he who had become the hunted.

The saga continues for generations and into the new millennium as the creatures of Serpent Island continue their quest for survival.

I grew up in Massachusetts and every year I summered with my family at New Hampshire s Lake Winnepesaukee. My sister, my brothers and I would cruise the lake in search of adventures; the most thrilling of which was climbing and exploring Rattlesnake Island. Rattlesnake Mountain, as we called it, afforded an unparalleled view of the lake as we climbed the rock-strewn landscape covered with low bushes and majestic pines.

These young adventures conjured up some interesting stories, one of which was Serpent Island.

Matt dipped his paddle, right side, left side, right, left, trying to keep the bow of the kayak as much into the breeze as possible. Two more strokes pushed Matt roughly over the area of the splashing. Matt then leaned forward looking intently around as small waves lapped at the sides of the kayak.

"Wouldn t you know it," he said as he glanced behind him. "As soon as I show up, whatever it was takes off."

Matt suddenly froze, trying to stay as still as possible. He thought he felt the back of the kayak lift ever so slightly as if he had bumped a rock. "Way too deep for rocks," he thought. The stern of the kayak lifted again, as though somebody was underneath playing a trick on him, as kids do with rubber rafts. "What should I do," Matt thought aloud. Matt dipped left and pulled. Something ten feet off his bow swirled in the water, whatever it was, it was huge. "There is nothing in this lake that big," Matt exclaimed under his breath, his heart now beating wildly.

The largest members of the pod, both of which were males, had risen slowly from the depths with only a couple sideways motions of their powerful knife-like tails. They moved about under the surface, knowing that similar objects they had encountered over the years had not been a threat to them. One of the creatures, just below the surface, bumped the underside of the kayak with his snout, apparently to test or smell the object. The creatures had very acute sensory organs along their mouths. The other creature had surfaced and had been circling the kayak in a defensive mode when, it was startled by the sudden motion of the kayak. Matt could not see under the surface due to the glare from the moon. He dipped left again then he dipped right to set a straight course to the closest spot on Perkins shore. Matt did not look back. He made smooth quiet deliberate strokes; left, right, left, right. He sensed the water rise and swell around him from the rear as if something was moving along with him right under the keel. He was actually being pushed forward by the rising water.

"What is it?...Damn it!" Matt yelled, determined to get to Perkins. A couple more strokes and the swell of water subsided.

"Alright, whatever you are...I can t believe this! Whatever you are get the hell out of here!" and he slapped the water with his paddle out of frustration.

In the slight chop twenty or so feet ahead of Matt, a glistening, smooth object floated motionless in the moonlight. Fifty plus feet and Matt would be safe on shore and even though he had not yet been harmed, he had a bad feeling about this situation. It frustrated Matt to stop paddling, as he could now define the rocks and bushes on the shore ahead but he had no idea what was still in store for him. Matt took a double-take at what lay before him, wishing he had never come out onto the lake this evening. From the floating object, Matt could now make out a slender appendage projecting from the object that seemed to be pointing in his direction. It even appeared to be moving in his direction as if it was slowly being lifted out of the water.... As his jaw dropped in disbelief, Matt made a reverse left to try to stop the kayak from moving forward at all costs. An oblong shaped head lifted out of the water at the end of that slender appendage, it turned slightly to the right and glistened in the moonlight.

"My God," Matt choked on his words. "It s alive!"

Matt reversed left again as he noticed the creature moving towards him. Matt felt the swell of water return. He tipped slightly to the right as he was determined to steer around the creature. He felt a hard jolt and then....water surrounded him. Matt froze, as something smooth seemed to move past him. He opened his eyes and saw nothing in the dim light under the surface. He popped his head up above water facing Perkins Island. Quietly, he started the breast, stroke, hoping not to attract attention to himself.

"Not attract attention..." he thought. "I m sticking out like a sore thumb," he said to himself.

After what seemed like an eternity, Matt pulled himself up on a rock. Cold, shaken and disbelieving, he sat for ten minutes or so waiting for his kayak and paddle to be blown ashore by the gentle breeze.