𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗦𝗘𝗔 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗘𝗘𝗡 𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗔𝗗𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗~𝗙𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗔 "𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗 𝗢𝗙 𝗦𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘"

 

By Rene Torres

Sea monster stories have been around for centuries and living along the Gulf of Mexico we have heard our share. Such colorful stories from seafaring men and their encounters with creatures that are lurking off the waters of Port Isabel are not as common today as they were in the past.

But if you pry enough, you may find an old local fisherman that is willing to tell his story of the unseen creatures that still live in the undiscovered world that lies below the sea.

Sailors are good story tellers and without hesitation many can vividly remember that moonless night when the crew was attacked by a giant serpent or when they sighted a mysterious creature with two heads. Such stories were alive and well in and around the waters of Valley in the 1930s.

A fish tale that grew in sensation every time it was repeated .... A newspaper headline of then read, “Port Isabel men stirred by reports of a ‘Monster Fish’ in the waters near the Valley.”

In the summer of 1938 such tales of sea monsters was given wide attention as local fishermen, both sport and commercial had reported seeing a big fish in the peaceful waters of the gulf. The fish was described as so big that no one dared to move close enough to take a good look. The creature made a creepy crying sound that brought instant silence among the bravest of seamen.

B.B. Burnell, proprietor of a Port Isabel fish business, declared that he had seen it several times. Burnell said, “I steered my vessel, the Audrey, which was the same length as the fish, around it in consideration of my boat’s welfare, and my own.” Another well-known Port Isabel fishing captain, J.W. Pate, also had an encounter with this mysterious creature and he too kept his Gulf Ranger safely away.

As the story was repeated, so changed the content and description of the monster, but the most popular estimate of its size was 40 feet in length.

When the people of Port Isabel made a call for volunteers to form an investigating party, it was met with hesitation and head shaking on the part of the most experienced fishermen and boatmen.

A Hispanic Legend....Some from Point Isabel were relating the weeping fish story to a version of “The Weeping Woman,” La Llorona.  Decades before she drowned her children in Mexico and killed herself after being rejected by her lover. With fear of facing the Llorona…many old- timers responded with the “sound of silence” and decided not to engage in this fishing expedition.

                                      

Photo credit: The photo is not Llorona. It was taken from the book cover by Margarita Rosade Francisco, “Margarita Va Sola.” Which made a good representation for the attached story

“La Llorona,” (name given for her constant weeping) was destined to roam, fruitlessly searching for her children. Was this here, the weeping sea monster roaming off the waters of Port Isabel looking for her children? Perhaps!!

There was no solid evidence whether the monster fish was real or not, but in any case; it will always be a story worth repeating.

And the story goes on!