The following item from the Perth Courier bears out a general opinion that the little lake three miles from Perth, known as Otty, is the most mysterious body of water. In fact, if Robert Service had been a camper out on the shores of Otty Lake many years ago we might well believe he had it in mind when he wrote the following wellknown lines: “We have seen strange sights “ ’Neath the Northern Lights, “But the strangest we ever did see “Was one night on a barge “On Lake Lemarge “They cremated Sam McGee.”

And now for the Courier’s hairraising tale: “Probably a dying Esox Lucius (pike) coming to the surface to get as much air as it can,” says an eminent authority on the frightening monster seen recently in Otty Lake by Ken Erwin and family. The body of this strange marine animal is some four feet long with a very prominent nose and the head resembling that of a dog. It was first seen last week by the children who were on shore.

When they saw it they threw stones and the monster promptly dived out of sight. Last Sunday, Mr. and Mrs. Erwin were on the lake at the upper end when Mrs. Erwin noticed this strange being floating on the surface. She called her husband’s attention to it but by the time he had turned the boat around, the monster had dived and was out of sight.

Apparently there are other strange sights around Otty Lake. There seems to be a skunk whose only means of livelihood is water, for the simple reason that a bottle, stuck over his head, cannot permit his eating food. To obtain water, the skunk dips his head in the water, fills the jar and then tips it upward, drinking the water issuing out.

If it were not for the undoubted respectability and sobriety of the campers around Otty Lake we might have our doubts about the monster and, as for the skunk, that is just about out of this world. There used to be a monster on Bennett’s Lake in Bathurst Township and a strange thing about it is that the only eye witnesses who testified about seeing it were gentlemen who had been fishing up there and who had been addicted to the bottle—not the kind of bottle that is said to have adorned the skunk’s head.

We don’t recall that the Bennett’s Lake monster ever was captured— it just seemed to disappear many years ago. Maybe it found some underground channel through which it was able to make its way to Otty Lake. That theory is worth considering especially in view of the antics of the skunk. If we hear any more about the monster we may send a party of local explorers over to survey the scene and bring back a report.

We have in mind certain local scientists who have braved the hardships encountered in a recent expedition to the wild shores of Bowley Lake in Ramsay Township. There are, too, hardy adventurers who go to White Lake and have all kinds of horrifying experiences with porcupines, snakes and skunks. We recall one person who was sitting in a certain building when a skunk walked up to the open door and stared right at him. This man screamed for help and the skunk shrunk back in horror.

But, according to our informant, this skunk was not wearing a bottle over his head. We have several friends who camp on the shores of Otty Lake and we may interview them about the monster and the skunk and publish their views on the phenomena in a later issue.

August 1950