Morsel
… reportedly consumed four of six mine ponies, one hauling mule, and thirteen men of various age and size. Such an appetite is a thing of rare occurrence. Rarer still is consumption with no elimination. The beast produces nothing. No waste, no sound, no tears.
… [the] animal may be struck repeatedly by a man with all his strength who is neither timid or fainthearted. There is no time even for it to bleed before its wounds heal.
I want to beg a favor of you, for which I know I can offer no apology.
I have the greatest curiosity to continue observation of the beast. The quantity of new observations, profound and at times artful, has not yet begun to slow.
Perhaps it is presumptuous of me to make a suggestion to a man of esteem such as yourself; but from what I have seen and have heard I have begun to suspect it is no beast at all.