A photo from open sources
On the morning of February 8, 1855, they lived in South Devon (England) with surprised to find traces of hooves in the snow. It would seem that here weird? The goat inherited a burro or pony. But the fact is that the creature that left its tracks was … one-legged!
Topsem Village
The winter of 1855 stood out in England extremely harsh. Residents the countries grieved sadly: “Why did the Lord decide to punish us?” IN the night of February 7-8, heavy snow fell over South Devon. TO in the morning the streets of villages, cities and fields were covered with white crispy snow, clearly preserving every trace, every print.
Henry Pilk, a baker, was one of the first to wake up in Topsham village. Going out onto the porch, he was surprised to see a chain of footprints passing through the courtyard of his bakery. He first decided that he had untied and escaped someone’s little donkey. But the passing director of the local school Albert Brailford laughed him: “Where did you see the donkey left such strange traces? ”
Strange footprints
People began to gather. Traces were elongated smooth a chain of successive ones at a distance of 20-40 cm hoof-like prints 10×7.5 cm in size. The impression was such that the creature that left them was not four-legged, and not even two-legged, and one-legged!
Photo from open sources
The inhabitants were seized with the excitement of hunting. Several formed at once search groups that searched for one-legged traces throughout the village. However, gradually excitement was replaced by fear, and then by horror. “One-legged” jumped over fences of four-meter height, traces found on the walls and roofs of houses, at the entrance and exit of gutters 10 centimeter diameter pipes. And then someone said: “Devil!”
Journey of the Devonshire Devil
In addition to the village of Topshem, the Devonshire Devil inherited in Torquay, Exmouth, Totnes, Doulish, Mumhead, Teinmouth, Powderham, Limpstone, Woodbury and other county villages – just over 30 places! If you bring everything together, it turns out that for the night Devonshire Devil walked (jumped) about 150 km!
In his journey, the Devil not only jumped over fences and climbed on the walls. Curious trackers, following the chain of tracks, reached banks of the river Ex. Crossing to the other side, they found there continuation of the chain! Devonshire Devil jumped over the river.
Fear
Panic swept through the people. To reassure the population, it was announced that badgers, otters, toads, frogs, mice left traces. Vicar McGraw seriously assured parishioners that the bounces left traces kangaroo. (I wonder where the vicar saw a kangaroo with hooves?)
But the people believed in the Devil. Residents locked up in homes and preferred not to go out. Men armed themselves, the most the desperate gathered in groups and prepared to begin the hunt for the Devil. But the Devil did not appear.
Can this be believed?
Information about these events appeared in the newspapers in 1855. The Western Sun, The Times, and Illustrated London News. Besides newspaper reports and many spoken stories transmitted from generation after generation, there are four private letters from 1855 with a description of the incident and the recollections of Henrietta Fersdon, daughter a pastor from the town of Dawlish, who personally saw the tracks and in detail describing them.
Moreover, the case in Devonshire was not the only one. In winter 1839-1840 similar traces were found in Scotland in 1855 in Poland, in 1886 – in New Zealand, in 1909 – in the USA. Besides, in different times the Devil “inherited” in Belgium, in Brazil, in Sicily, in Alps and in Norway.
South Devon again
In 2009, on a winter morning, pensioner Jill Wade left her at home and was dumbfounded. A chain of footprints stretched right in front of her porch. in the form of a split hoof. Mrs. Wade was born in Devon and of course knew the story of the Devonshire Devil. Traces had time to explore, and to photograph. Now no one says that Devonshire Devil – the invention of newspaper men.
Specialists, rejecting the version of the Devil put forward their own: footprints left a hare jumping on its hind legs. I wonder why this this hare sniffed that decided to jump on its hind legs?
Posted by Klim Podkova
Kangaroo Snow
