Steampunk Diaries – June 12th, 1878

Arrived at Schaffhausen early today. We came into much excitement upon the wharf. It seems a child had been taken by a monster of some sort. Questioning a local dock worker in his native tongue, I was able to discern that a creature of some sort reported to be about a meter in width has been often noticed recently in the river. It’s length was unknown and varied from a mere two meters to a no doubt exaggerated seventeen meters.

Based on it’s description from the dockman and his companions I gather that this creature is most likely of the family Lepidosiren. Probably closely related to the “minhocao” of the Amazon, discovered by M. Auguste de Saint Hilaire and written about in The Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal. Or more commonly known to those not of the scientific persuasion, the Giant Killer Lungfish. It’s presence in this country does pose some problems to that conjuncture though.

Making observations that such a beast is unarmored unlike many of the more ferocious sea creatures, and thus susceptible to both knife and blow, my recommendation of forming a hunting party of sorts to patrol the docks was seized upon with some vigor. Eliciting promises of being sent details of the outcome by a news boy, I turned to find my train and continue south.