Flap: Memphis, Tennessee, Sep–Dec 1877

The reports, in order

1. Sep 29, 1877 A report claimed the river monster was seen passing Memphis wharf and later Flournoy’s Landing at 4 o'clock, bellowing loudly.
   Water Monster · Memphis, Tennessee
2. Oct 12, 1877 Captain John Carraway and his crew reported seeing a large aquatic creature with a pelican bill and bull-dog head pursuing their tow-boat on the Mississippi…
   Water Monster · Shelby County, Tennessee
3. Dec 9, 1877 Witnesses report seeing a sixty-five-foot snake-like creature with a pelican bill and black mane attacking a produce boat on the Mississippi River.
   Water Monster · Mississippi River Park, Tennessee · rabbit hole

Sources: Newspaper (3).

How we find flaps

• Plain rules, no model: reports within 37 miles and about four months of each other are grouped, and a group counts only when it is at least 5 times what that place usually sees over the 10 years either side.
• A flap needs at least 3 reports from at least 3 separate documents: one article listing six sightings is one telling.
• Copies are not confirmations: a story reprinted in thirty papers counts once.
• Investigator logs (BFRO, NAWAC, the Loch Ness Register) are left out, because a busy field season looks just like a flap.
• Only reports placed to a town or county and dated to the month are used. A flap is a burst of reports, not proof of a creature: panics, hoaxes and newspaper fashions make flaps too.

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