Madison, Wisconsin's Four Lakes
The following story is quoted from a booklet entitled "Sea Serpents", by Charles E. Brown of the Wisconsin Folklore Society in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1942. The subtitle is "Wisconsin Occurrences of These Weird Water Monsters in the Four Lakes, Rock, Red Cedar, Koshkonong, Geneva, Elkhart, Michigan and Other Lakes. The tale is set in approximately 1917, in Madison, Wisconsin...
"A university boy and a co-ed companion were one day sun-tanning their backs at the end of a frat house pier. They were lying on their stomachs with their feet toward the lake. They had been in this position but a short time when the girl felt something tickling the sole of one of her feet. Whenever this happened she looked at the young man, thinking it might be him. But he was lying quietly with his eyes closed. So the young lady lay down and closed her eyes, too. A few minutes later something began to tickle the soles of her feet again. This was not to be tolerated. Turning over quickly she saw the head and neck of a huge snake, or dragon, extended above the surface. It had a friendly, humorous look in its big eyes. With its long tongue this animal had been caressing the soles of her feet. She quickly aroused her companion and the two bathers were soon running as fast as they could go to the shelter of the nearby frat house."
This is definitely my favorite lake "monster" story. I've taken the liberty of drawing a cartoon illustration. The attire may not match what sunbathers would have worn in 1917, but you get the idea. :-)
Each of Madison's Four Lakes have at one time or another reported a large, unknown animal.
