Gideon Mantell on Dragons

Summer 1839, London- From the Desk of Dr. Gideon Mantell

My wife has left me, and Walter has left for New Zealand by way of China. My one consolation is that Hannah remains with me. My recent articles on Iguanodon and Hylaeosaurus have raised much attention to my work in both England and the world. Many are calling me the premier authority on prehistoric reptiles, much to the frustration of Sir Richard Owen. Walter has written, saying that he has sent me a large package, and that I shall recognize it by the size of the crate and the ice that is packed around the specimen within. I cannot say that I am not intrigued, but it will probably be some curiosity- another large snake perhaps.

Spring 1840, London- From the Desk of Dr. Gideon Mantell

Hannah has died. There was very little I could do to stop it, despite my medical training. As Walter promised, the specimen has arrived, but in a shape much larger than any I was anticipating. The crate it was shipped in was massive, almost fourteen feet long, and four feet high. It was packed to the brim with ice and the wood was bound in cloth. The creature within was something that could have sprung from the imagination of a medieval naturalist, for its shape was decidedly that of the dragons which we are told so much of in tales, and of which tales occasionally emerge from Wales and Scotland. The creature was a full ten feet long, and standing would have likely been almost waist high at the shoulder. Its neck was long and slender, its head like a crocodile's, long and low, with a small horn jutting out from its cheek and a small fan of spines and one larger horn along the back of its head on either side. Two tendrils hung from the lower jaw, and the creature had legs like those of an emu. Its wings were huge, and like those of a bat, and powerfully built- no doubt aiding the creature with walking. The span of the wings was massive, almost double the creature's length, with a gentle curve which tapered much more sharply towards the end of the wing like that of a seabird. The creature was covered in a leathery, pebbled hide, like that of a lizard, which was bronze in colour with a cream underbelly and black stripes running across the back of its neck, and black spots speckling its broad shoulders.

Its tail ended in a long fleshy crest which was a foot in length, perhaps more, resembling in shape the leaf of a silver birch. The creature was in terrible shape when I received it, perhaps having been killed violently by some wild beast, a tiger perhaps. Walter was right, this is indeed a most suitable gift. I shall tease out the secrets of this beast- whatever they may be.

Winter 1840, London- From the Desk of Dr. Gideon Mantell

My examination of the creature has grown into an obsession. I am rarely seen in public anymore, but spend more time with this spectacular corpse which I preserved using all my knowledge of the medical arts. The creature is, without a doubt now, a dragon- though what manner of beast a dragon is I am not sure. More fossils of ancient beasts are discovered every day- yet none even remotely resemble this creature. It flies like a bird, but with the wings of a bat- it walks like a saurian, but with the feet of an emu- it has the jaw of a crocodile, but with the teeth of a great lizard. The true nature of this beast escapes me constantly- though I have Walter send me all manner of creatures from New Zealand and Australia to compare this beast to. Nothing is similar in the slightest. I have discovered that the creature fed mostly on fish, as shown from its digestive contents, but was near-starved at the time of death, and that like a serpent it has a great quantity of poison. I have extracted some, and after many experiments have determined that it is similar to the venom of a spider, or the great vipers of the Americas in that it destroys tissue- but at a much faster rate than anything I've seen. To those uneducated in the matters biological, could this have seemed to be fire? I have tried finding similar creatures in Europe, where many tales of dragons take place, but to no avail. I fear I'll need to give up on my study of it soon.

[Here there is a break in this particular journal- Mantell returned to studying other reptiles, especially dinosaurs- discovering another two species -after a terrible carriage accident in 1841 meant he couldn't be nearly as active with his study as before, and was content with studying fossils instead of corpses, however, things changed in 1851 when Walter sent him an unexpected surprise.]

Autumn 1851, London- From the Desk of Dr. Gideon Mantell

Walter has come through for me! I'd given up all hope on discovering all I could of this creature, and now at last, after 10 years, I can continue. When aiding the government of New Zealand in digging a mine, Walter and his workers discovered the corpse of a creature passingly similar to my own mystery beast. Walter had the corpse- which was mostly bone, and with little flesh -packed up, pickled, and sent to me. The creature was very small- standing on two legs like an emu it was only waist high, and it's wings were tiny compared to the span of the Chinese specimen, I deduce it was barely able to glide, let alone fly. It's head was long and low, though built more along the lines of the head of a flightless bird than a crocodile, with a horn jutting from the cheek, and a small crest atop its head, and a ragged dewlap of skin on the throat. What little skin covered the body was a deep forest green, mottled with black stripes and spots. I am told that when it was uncovered some of the Maori workers were terrified, calling it a "Taniwha", a kind of guardian spirit that their people believe in. After a period of study, I have deduced that they are in fact the same kind of creature- and that, perhaps, these beasts that we called dragons were once a very real, very dangerous part of nature. My studies continue with increasing fervour as I draw ever-closer to uncovering the nature of this creature. In spite of the ridicule I'm sure to receive, once I'm done writing the thesis on these two primordial beasts, I shall present it to the scientific community. The world must know of these astounding creatures!