Among Other Things: 'Monsters' and more!

Hadn’t heard much about the Flathead Lake monster sightings for a few years until the past couple weeks. Then, just days apart, two instances popped up albeit the sightings were years ago.

First, Valerie Lindstrom wondered if I’d like to talk with her mother, Mrs. Charline Sciphers, who lived in Polson from 1927 to 1941. Mrs. Sciphers’ father, Charles Henry Mullen, planted an 80-acre cherry orchard for Dr. Richards, about 12 miles up the east shore in the mid-1930s. As he looked down into the clear lake water from a cliff at the edge of the orchard, he saw what he believed was a large sturgeon.

A trail crew from the small state fish hatchery nearby also spotted some large fish – at least one of which was “as large as the rowboat” in which they were riding. They also felt the fish were sturgeon.

Incidentally, Mrs. Sciphers’ father-in-law, Bill Sciphers, drove the Allard stagecoach between Ravalli and Polson during the early homestead era. In fact, he set the speed record for the four-horse stage, which would stop at Fort Connah to change teams.

As the road was improved, seven-passenger auto stages replaced the stagecoach in 1912. These were operated by Frank Latimer, Si Sawyer and Stanley Scearce. And there were two 12-passenger “buses” like the one that Tom Parsons drove between Polson and Ravalli.

In 1916 the Northern Pacific started construction of the spur line from Ravalli to Polson and the first rail passenger coach arrived in Polson Jan. 17, 1918. That gave way to the “Galloping Goose” gasoline-powered rail service which lasted less than three years before the NP replaced it with bus service from 1935 until 1963. The last Northern Pacific Mainstreeter rail stop was made in Ravalli in 1970.

Oops, kinda got sidetracked there.

Back to Flathead Lake Nessie sightings. A few days after I visited with Mrs. Sciphers, Chris Cunningham dropped by the house. He was on a coast-to-coast venture compiling various lake monster reports that he plans to publish as a book.

In addition to Flathead Lake sightings, he had gathered information on such notables as the “Pend Oreille Paddler” near Sandpoint, Idaho, “Champ” of Champlain Lake on the New York-Vermont border, “Ogopogo” in Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, and others. I look forward to hearing from him in the future.

Incidentally, my book on Montana Nessie of Flathead Lake is out of print now. Gull Printing and Treasure State Mercantile have just a few copies left. Also out of print are Flathead Lake Steamboat Days and Buffalo Savers. Miracle of America Museum has only three or four copies left of the hard-cover, Proud Heritage, an Illustrated History of Lake County, the lower Flathead, Mission and Jocko Valleys. All four titles can now be considered “collectables!”