"Jacques Cartier, the French explorer who mapped much of the St. Lawrence river, kept a journal and in it he recorded that he and members of his crew saw what they described as “a giant finned snake” that moved like a caterpillar, using its side fins to propel itself forward in the water. Cartier’s crew tried to capture the beast, but it moved too quickly and dove beneath the waters. When Cartier consulted with the indigenous peoples of the region, they called the creature “Gaasyendietha."