FINALLY,  INDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE- After years of listening to otherwise intelligent people  poo-poo the idea of there being an unknown, possibly prehistoric, serpentine-like creature existing in the shallows of the Shawsheen, I hope this indisputable photographic evidence will dispel any doubt such naysayers may have once had.
   Through incredible luck I happened to be sitting on the bank with my camera when he(?) rose to study a flock of geese, probably choosing the weakest for his prey. I shook so hard I almost dropped the camera in the river.
   I can only guess as to the total length.The reeds he is swimming through are dead loosestrife and I estimate the water depth, ( this was high water, after much rain), to be 2-3 feet.
   I estimate the head that you can see above water to be 14 to 16 inches long, this would probably make him 12-15 feet long, if you compare it to other amphibians.Despite this incredible size, it can move and surface in the water with hardly a ripple, as evidenced by this photograph.
   The most incredible features to me were the eyes, when he realized my presence, one burning eye fixed on me, seemingly as amazed to watch me as I was he.
   The obvious intelligence of this creature can only be appreciated by someone who has had these eyes stare into his soul, and I will not diminish the experience by trying to describe it to you in mere words.
   One can only experience this to believe it, and one can only experience it on the Shawsheen river.