If you’re England and you find out that Scotland may have a monster that will bring fame, power and tourist money, what should you do? According to newly uncovered documents, you put a bounty on the monster for it to be delivered, dead or alive, to London’s Natural History Museum.
David Clarke, author of “Britain’s X-traordinary Files,” uncovered documents detailing this sinister plot in his research. It was evident in 1934 that London had many MPs as well as other prominent and powerful people such as naturalist Sir Peter Scott who believed in the Loch Ness Monster and wanted it for England. That includes management of the Natural History Museum. A letter from an unnamed official gave these specific instructions to any English hunter or fisherman who might see Nessie:
Should you ever come within range of the ‘Monster’ I hope you will not be deterred by humanitarian considerations from shooting him on the spot and sending the carcase to us in cold storage, carriage forward. Short of this, a flipper, a jaw or a tooth would be very welcome.
Hell hath no fury like a Scot scorned, so when the Royal Scottish Museum caught wind of this plot, it sent a letter to secretary of state for Scotland Sir Godfrey Collins pledging to fight for the right to Nessie:
We think the Monster should not be allowed to find its last resting place in England. Such a fate would surely outrage Scottish nationalism which at the moment is thriving greatly under the Monster’s beneficent influence.
The last time we checked, the Natural History Museum doesn’t have a Nessie, dead or alive. Is it because the English are poor hunters? Are Scots superior defenders? Or was Nessie disappointed in the amount of the bounty?