Beware, dear reader! This tale of a gilded moose, leaping epochs through Chateaugay’s mists, may confound thy reason, unsettle thy dreams, and challenge the fortitude of thy well-anchored philosophy!
Steamboat Dispatch, Week of August 3, 1910
The East Chateaugay correspondent writes as follows of a “time-traveling moose” said to have startled locals and vacationers alike along the tranquil shores of Chateaugay Lake:
“Lo, these are things which no mortal mind can fathom!”
—Mose Sangamore, local woodsman and amateur philosopher
Yes, Mr. Editor, there are more things in the wilderness of Chateaugay than in all the tomes of scientific learning, and one of the most astounding has made its startling appearance this past week: a time-traveling moose—and not just any moose, but one reputed to be wearing a gilded collar marked with runes not of this Earth!
Eyewitness Reports
The moose was first spotted by young Elsie Belmont, a summer visitor at the Lake View House, who described it as “both regal and terrifying, as though it had stepped from the pages of some ancient, enchanted chronicle.” This was followed by sightings from reputable locals such as Captain E.E. Thomas, steamboat pilot extraordinaire, and none other than Nat Collins, famed local guide and rumored “troglodyte,” who was overheard muttering to himself about “rift energy anomalies” near the Narrows.
The beast’s most peculiar feature, apart from its towering antlers said to glint with unearthly light, was its disappearing act. Multiple witnesses claimed the creature would materialize, shimmering like a heat mirage, only to vanish into thin air with an audible pop.
A Portal in the Narrows?
Old Veritas himself—Eugene Miller—has corroborated these accounts. He recalls that the Narrows, long rumored to be a ley line convergence point by local Abenaki elders, have always been “stranger than they ought to be.” Miller even suggests the moose may be traveling through some sort of cosmic portal, speculating that it might hail from the fabled Age of Wendigo Elders, where creatures of great wisdom roamed the Earth alongside ancient humans.
“Could this moose be a Wendigo scout?” Miller pondered, stroking his well-worn beard.
Scientific Theories (or Lack Thereof)
Dr. Horatio Wingate, a visiting physicist from Boston, has proposed the entirely reasonable idea that the gilded moose may be the result of “quantum entanglement” caused by subterranean metallic deposits beneath Lyon Mountain. Wingate, however, admits he cannot explain the accompanying phenomenon of the beast emitting haunting moose-calls that, according to reports, can be heard as far as Lower Chateaugay Lake—backwards.
Historical Connections
And here, dear reader, is where things grow most intriguing. Old-timers like Richard “Uncle Dick” Shutts have long spoken of golden-collared moose as part of Native legends tied to the Indian Lead Mine. Some claim that such creatures were guardian spirits, bound to protect sacred passages. Abenaki storyteller Mose Sangamore adds, “These moose are watchers of time, and only those with pure hearts—or great need—may see them.”
A Challenge to Skeptics
Let the doubters scoff! We who believe in the wonders of this great wilderness know that if time-traveling moose can wander from other epochs to Chateaugay Lake, why, they can wander back.
To all the great minds of science, metaphysics, and natural history, I say this: prove us wrong! Until then, the gauntlet is thrown, and the time-traveling moose remains an indelible part of Chateaugay lore.
Signed,
Your humble correspondent and ardent defender of the unbelievable,
X. Archibald Featherstone
What mysteries of Chateaugay Lake haunt you?