Fluelen, Lake Lucerne, Switzerland — 1619
Fiery dragon
Herr Christophorus Schere, prefect of Uri County, saw a bright, long object, fiery in color, near Fluelen, flying along Lake Uri: “As I was contemplating the serene sky by night, I saw a very bright dragon flying across from a cave in a great rock in the mount called Pilatus toward another cave, known as Flue, on the opposite side of the lake. “Its wings were agitated with much celerity; its body was long as well as its tail and neck. Its head was that of a serpent with teeth, and when it was flying, sparkles were coming out of it like the ones thrown by an incandescent iron when struck by smiths on an anvil. At first, I thought it was a meteor, but after observing more closely, (I saw) it was truly a dragon from the recognizable motion of the members. This I write to you with respect, that the existence of dragons in nature is not to be doubted any more.”
Source: Athanassius Kircher, Mundus Subterraneus (Amsterdam, 1665), Lib. VIII, 93-94. Case: W178