The Ischerwood Incident

The United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland has been preparing young men for six generations and, since 1976, young women to serve as commissioned Junior Officers in the Navy and Marine Corps.  In 1903, students attending the Academy were referred to as Naval Cadets, but they are now called Midshipmen.

            U.S.N.A., ANNAPOLIS, MD, OCTOBER, 1903   

            Naval Cadet 1st Class Albert Douglas Hurlock and his best friend and roommate, Cadet 1st Class Thomas P. Kelly, were members of the class of 1904.  On a chilly Saturday afternoon, late in September, they were aboard a small dingy rowing on the scenic Severn River past the grounds of the Naval Academy and near the newly constructed railroad bridge that linked the town of Annapolis with Baltimore.

            Huge old trees hung over the river all along the shoreline. There was a strange quiet surrounding them.  A light mist had formed on the surface of the water as the two Cadets talked about their upcoming exam in Navigation.  They also discussed the possible assignments they might receive after graduating as Ensigns in eight short months from now.

            Looking about, Cadet Hurlock commented, "How peaceful the river is today.  Seems like we're the only living things inhabiting this place."

            "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing."

            The water was calm and the visibility was less than a mile in the mist.  The Cadets continued to row further up the river to begin their sextant surveying exercises, which they had been assigned the day before in their class on navigation.

            They were also given several old hand-drawn maps of the region.  Today, they planned to check the shoreline station points for accuracy because their professor had indicated that sections of the charts might have been deliberately altered to test their abilities.

            Cadet Kelly steadied the dingy as Cadet Hurlock, standing amidship holding the sextant, said, "Ten degrees to the North, twenty degrees to the West.  What the...steady as she goes Mister Kelly."

            Cadet Hurlock spotted what appeared to be a log floating directly ahead of their boat.  The log appeared to be twice as long as their craft.  As Cadet Kelly raised his oars out of the water to slow the boat's movement, they both yelled, "Look! It's moving!"

            To their astonishment, the log turned out to be a living thing!  It began to slither away under the waves as the small dingy approached.

            "What the hell do you make of that?" said Cadet Hurlock to his quite startled companion.