Discovery of dragons

Discovery of dragons

For more than five years I have been investigating with a
friend of mine, a historian, on the origins of the discovery of
the Komodo dragon, the ora.

In most books, newspapers and scientific magazines, even the
latest ones, we find the same story:

"In 1911, a Dutch pilot crashed at sea, near the island
of Komodo, in shallow waters. He survived, waded ashore and was
saved by the villagers of Kampong Komodo -- a place where giant
lizards attacked him. Back in Surabaya, East Java, he told people
about his encounter with the dragons, but nobody believed him,
("Dragons do not exist, my poor man!"). He was even put into an
asylum for the insane, until Dr. Ouwens, of the Garden of
Buitenzorg (Bogor), heard rumors from pearl-fishermen in Flores
about the existence of ora ora. He asked his friend, governor of
Flores Lt. Van Speyk, in 1912 to prepare an expedition to Komodo.
That's how the giant lizard was discovered and trapped. A
specimen was sent to Jakarta, where it got the name Varanus
Komodoensis Ouwens, and the whole world received the sensational
news. The poor pilot was freed..."

To shorten the story, there was never a Dutch pilot in an
asylum.

We wrote, phoned all over the world, asked authors where they
got the story from, but without results. They all shamefully
admitted they copied the story from each other. It's such a nice
story which fits so perfectly with the mystique of the Komodo
dragon.

I would really appreciate if any of the Post's readers could
let me know if they have heard anything about the above story.

HENK KEGEL

"Ararat" Baudaric No 1128

06390 Contes

France