The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-09 00:00:00

THE GREAT SEA SERPENT.

Mr. J. A. Herriman. commander of the ship
now lying near the principal entrance of the London
Doc;, r.,ialtes the following curious and interesting
statement:—

He left the Cape on the 19th of February, running
with a strong south-easterly wind for four days. On
the morning of the 24th the ship was becalmed in lati-
tude 26 south, longitude 8 east, being about forty miles
from the pace in which Captain M'Quhae, kt.N., is said
to have seen the great sea serpent. About eight o'clock
on that morning, whilst the captain was surveying the
calm heavy rippleless swell of the sea through his tele-
scope, the ship at the same time heading north-north-
west, he perceived something right abeam, about half a
mile to the westward, stretched along the water to the
length of about twenty-five or thirty feet, and percep-
tibly moving from the rhip with a steady sinuous motion.
The head, which seemed to be lifted several feet above
the watt rs, had something resembling a mane, running
down to the floating portion, and within about six feet
of the tail it forked out into a sort of double fin. Having
read at Colombo the account of the monster said to have
been seen by Captain M'Quhae i❑ nearly the same lati-
tude, Mr. Herrtriaqn was led to suppose that he had
fallen in with the same animal, or one of the
genus ; he immediately called his chief officer,
Mr. Long, with several of the passengers, who,
after surveying the objeot for some time, came
to the unanimous cot elusion that it must bo the sea-
serpent seen by Captain M'Quhae. As the Brazilian
was making no headway Mr. Herrimau, determining to
bring all doubts to an issue, had a boat lowered down,
and taking two hands on board, together with Mr. Boyd,
of Peterhead, near Aberdeen, one of the passengers, who
acted us steersman under the direction of the captain,
they approached the monster, Capt. Herniae standing
in the bow of the boat, armed with a harpoon, to com-
mence the onslaught. The combat, however, was not
attended with the danger which those on
it
sea-weed,
hended, fur on coming close to the object it was found
rmarreeesT, and drifting with
etovidbeenntol
jt.hdinefacmh7defrtohmanaancoi
the current, which sets constantly to the westward in
this latitude, and which, together with the swell, left by
the subsidence of the gale, gave it the sinuous snakelike
motion.

But for the calm which afforded Capt. Herrirnan an
opportunity of examining the weed we should have had
another " eye-witness" account of the great sea-serpent;
Mr. Ilerrinsan himself admitting that he should have re-
mained under the impression of having seen it. What
appeared to be head, crest, and Mane of the immensum
ve/umen, was but the large root which floated upwards,
and to which several pieces of the coral reef still adhered.
The captain had it hauled on board, but, as it began to
decay, was compelled to throw it over. He now regrets
that he bad not preserved it in a waterbutt for the pur-
pose of exhibition in the Thames, where the conflicting
motion produced by the tide and steamers would in all
probability give it a like appearance.
A curious accident occurred on board the
during her outward-bound voyage to Colonart• e
h Whilst
in latitude 39 south, longitude 28.30 east,
by lightning,
has Bank, at midnight, she was struncnk
which killed a seaman named David on
mast, and after destroying some
deck near the mainmast,
itnhe
descent,ittospgal lant
and splintering a portion of theeissipated
itself
among
the
descended into the bold,and
cargo, without doing other injury than filling the
aew were struck down and stispi-
anyauff6cating, sulphurous
sbeetvivereaelnotteecrisisofwti
without serious injury. The most
',bock, but
fied by
extraordinarythe ',bock,
circumstance connected with the accident
44. the shock had on the compasses of the
hthe cr
was the e..ect
ship, the polarity of which was totally destroyed, and
had only recovered their proper magnetic powers on the
arrival of the vessel at Colombo. It is easy to conceive
the difficulty which the loss of this valuable index occa-
sioned to the captain, who, however—and it redounds
greatly to his skill and ability as a seaman, when we take
into account that the space traversed without this impor-
tant adjunct to navigation was 2,700 miles of latitude—
succeeded in bringing his vessel safely into port in the
unprecedentedly short space of 10t days from London.

Wootwicti, JULY 7.—ROYAL ARTILLERY.--Capt.
Ormsb3's company (6th battalion), recently returned
from St. John's, New Brunsw,ick, and Captain Crofton's
company (7th battalion), and Captain Munday's com-
pany (3d battalion), from Canada, assembled at half-
past ten o'clock A.M. yesterday, on the barrack-field, for
the Commandant's inspection. Lieut.-Genera! Sir
Thomas Downman, C.[3. and K.C.11., accompanied by
Colonel Cruttenden, Brigade-Major Bingham, and the
commanding officers and adjutants, arrived shortly after,
and made a minute inspection of the men. At the con•
elusion the Commandant expressed himself highly
pleased with their clean and soldierhke appearance, and
the exc,llent manner in which their appointments were
kept.
CITY DI6PENSARY.7YeSterday the Right Hon.
the Lord Mijor, the Sheriffs, the Aldermen of Cord-
wain( Ward. and the Common Council, attended at
the Church of Et.Marv.le-130W, oh
,iietipslde, to hear the
Right Itev. the Lord Bishop of Hereford, who preached
a sermon in aid of the funds of the City Dispensary,
situate in Queen-street, Cheapside. Th• service was
well attended, and the collection was liberal.