Columbus (S. C.), May 31st—A remarkable story of a flying serpent comes from Darling county. The report is that on Sunday evening Miss Ida Davis and her two young sisters were taking a walk in the woods, when a huge serpent appeared above them, moving through the air with the speed of a slow-flying bird. It did not seem to be very high in the air, and moved without any visible effort. It appeared to be about fifteen feet long and ten inches thick.
    The girls stood spell-bound until the formidable looking object was out of sight. The flying serpent was seen by several other people in a different part of the county early in the afternoon of the same day, and they tell all sorts of stories about its appearance.

[*** A remark concerning the alleged superstitious nature of African Americans has been omitted. Be assured, even today, there is nothing so superstitious than prejudice in any of its forms. ***]

    At, the village of Grasslands ten miles to the southeast of where the aerial monster was seen by the Davis sisters, a panic was caused among the inhabitants by the approach of the creature. The steeple of the Methodist Church is crowned by a weathercock in the form of a gilded dove. The last rays of the sun caused this dove to glisten bright, and the eyes of the serpent were attracted by it. Descending in its flight, it soared to within a few feet of the dove, and circled around it as if moved either by curiosity or a desire for prey. Suddenly it appeared to discover the inanimate and inedible nature of the dove, and with a furious mash of its tail, knocked the weathercock from its fastenings and sent it to the ground below in a hundred pieces. Some of the fragments picked up are stained with blood, showing that the monster’s tail came into contact with the stout iron rods by which the dove was held in place.
    Reverend Richard Medway, pastor of the church, vouches for the accuracy of the details here given. He was approaching the sacred edifice at the time, on his way to hold the evening service. His wife, who was on his arm, fainted at the sight of the monster hovering like an evil spirit over the church. Mr. Medway says there can be no doubt of the aphidian nature of the creature. His description of it agrees substantially with that given by the Davis girls.

From— The Clifton Clarion. (Clifton, Graham County, A.T., Ariz.), 13 June 1888. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.