In the hushed whispers of old, legends speak of Thunderbirds—beings more myth than reality in the eyes of modern zoologists. Yet, ancient fossils whisper a different tale, telling of skies once ruled by these colossal avians. Known as Teratorns, these vulture-like titans once painted shadows across both the American continents.
Their wings stretched vast distances, from 12 to even 18 feet, though skeptics murmur doubts about the feasibility of their flight. And, as ancient human footprints intertwine with the tales of these gargantuan birds, one can’t help but wonder if tribal folklore carries fragments of long-forgotten truths.
A curious note from 1890’s ‘Tombstone Epitaph’ unfolds the tale of ranchers who came face to face with an enigmatic winged entity. The chronicle speaks not of a bird but of a creature echoing the essence of a mighty alligator from the skies. A head measuring 8 feet and a staggering 92-foot body, its wings—almost ethereal but vast—enveloped the sky, while its beak hid razor-sharp secrets.
An image from the tumultuous days of 1864, seemingly from Vicksburg, whispered its way into the 1950s. It unveiled a tableau of Civil War soldiers posing with a creature reminiscent of ancient Pteranodons. Though the power of the photograph is undeniable, whispers of deception surround it. Still, its uncanny resemblance to the Arizona creature of 1890 cannot be ignored.
The 1940s carried murmurs of Thunderbird encounters. A peculiar tale from 1948 tells of men in Illinois who, while looking to the sky for aircraft, beheld a colossal avian silhouette. Its vast 25-foot wings flapped, revealing a body that seemed plucked from another era. Not much later, a father and son would recount a similar, spine-chilling sighting.
In 1977, a tale emerged from Lawndale, Illinois, that chilled many a spine. Amidst playful laughter, two gargantuan birds descended upon playing children. While two escaped, young Marlon Lowe became a captive of the skies, lifted by talons until his cries summoned his mother. The child was released but bore scars of the ordeal—a horrifying testament.
The narrative took a curious turn when Marlon’s tale, reported to authorities, met scoffs and disbelief. While some sought logical explanations in the forms of known birds, others couldn’t shake off the eeriness of the incident.
The dawn of the millennium in 2002 carried tales from Alaska of a bird echoing the echoes of ‘Jurassic Park’. This magnificent entity, with its reptilian aura and 14-foot wingspan, couldn’t be dismissed as a mere eagle or seagull. The tale found its way even to the columns of the Anchorage Daily News.
The line between the myths of Native American Thunderbirds and these sightings is gossamer thin. Could it be that in the legends of old, truths have been sleeping, waiting to be awakened?
Writer: Karen Harris. Source: https://historydaily.org
