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In the 1890s many people from the shores around lake Storsjön saw the monster. There had neither been accidents nor damage caused, but even so the life of Storsjöodjuret was to be threatened for the first time. In 1894 a number of people from Östersund conspired together and formed a company with the object of catching Storsjöodjuret. The company comprised among others, Captain (marine) A. Dedring, O. Dahlin, tradesman, A. Lindelius, bank-cashier, Miss Maria Helin and Vilhelm Sköld, cashier. Maria Helin, the owner of the amuse-ment park, was the company treasurer. King Oscar II, known for his interest in science was also involved and made a financial contribution to the company.
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Jetty from which Storsjöodjuret was to be captured. Photograph taken 1895.
Despite persistent enquiries no records of the company have been traced either at the County Company Records, at the Patents Office or at the Swedish Board of Commerce.
The company began at once with feverish activity. In the summer of 1894 a jetty was built into the lake from the sewer outlet north of the Frösö bridge. At the end of the jetty a wooden hut was erected in which a specially employed Norwegian harpoonist was to sit. Storsjöodjuret was to be lured to the spot by an electric light. The huge trap was placed connected to a barrel under the jetty which was designed to act as a sounding board to warn the harpoonist. Fixed hooks were also baited and placed here and there in lake Storsjön. A raft was built to enable a complete hunting arsenal to be ferried around the lake to where the monster had last been sighted. |
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The enormous trap and other equipment for use in the capture of Storsjöodjuret is now on display at Jamtli, the Jämtland County Museum.
Individual action was also taken. A wealthy Lady from Östersund had holes cut in the ice during the winter. She then employed a Norwegian whale hunter who tried to entice the monster up from the lake with the help of a candle lantern.
All attempts to capture Storsjöodjuret failed and at the beginning of the century the actions ceased. Nowadays the hunting of Storsjöodjuret is prohibited by law by the County Administrative Board in Jämtland. av Länsstyrelsen i Jämtlands län 1986. |
This trap, baited with a pig, was one of the tackles which was used trying to Storsjöodjuret. The trap and other tackles can nowadays be seen at Jamtli, Jämtland´s County Museum
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