The Sun.
London, England, 1818-08-04 00:00:00

Giu4;Ar SEA SERPENT.

Captain WOODWARD met, in the-beginning of
May, this year, with au enormous Serpent, which
!Seems to be different from that seen last year near
Cape Anne. The following is the declaration of
Captain WootawAan, and it seems to us to be
worthy of the attention of Naturalists:—
" I, the undersigned Joseph Woodward, Cap-
tain of the Adamant schooner, of Hingham, being
on my route from Penobscot to Hingham, steer-
ing W.N.IV. and being about ten leagues from
the coast, perceived I.st Saturday, at two P M.
something on the surface of the water, which
seemaul to me to be of the size of a large boat,-...
Supposing that it might he part of the wreck of
a ship, 1 approached it ; but when I was within
a few fathoms of it, it appeared to my great sur-
prise, and that ot my whole crew, that it was a
monstrous Serpent. When I approached nearer,
it coiled itself up, instantly uncoiled itself again,
-awl withdrew with extreme rapidity. On my
approaching again, it coiled itself up a second
time, and placed itself at the distance of sixty feet
at most from the bow of the ship.
I h id one of my guns loaded with a cannon-
ball and musket-bullets; I fired it at the ',end of
the monster; my crew and myself distinctly neard
the ball and the bullets strike against his body, •
from which they rebounded us it they had snuck
against a rock The serpent shook his head and
his tail in an extraordinary manner, and advanced
towards 01%, ship with open jaws ; I had caused
the cansnoti to be reloaded, and pointed it at his
but he had come so near that- all the crew
wereleiz,d wiih terror) and we thought only of
getting Out of his way. He Almov touched the.
vesse%yr!d hill I not tarked as I did, he would
certainly have come on hoard. He divea ; hut. in
a moment we saw bon appear again, with his
head on one siee of the vessel, and kis tail on
the other, .ts it Ile was going to lift us up and to
upset us. llowever, we did not feel any shock.
He remainett five hours near us, only going back-
ward ;m4 tortvArd
" The feirs widi which he at first inspired us
having subsided, we were able to t xamine him
atteniively t esiniate that his itng his at least
twice that of my schooner ; that is to say, a hun-
dred and thirty :Let . his head is hill twelve or
fourteen ; the diameter of his hotly, below the
neck, is not less than six feet ; the size Of the
head is in proportion' to di-vit.of his body. Ile is
of a blackish colour ; his ear-holes (orzies) are
about twelve feet from the .-extremity of his head.
1n short, the whole has a certilfle. look.
" When he coils himself up he places his tail in
such a manner, that it aids him in darting for-
ward with gre.at force : lie moves in all directions
with the greatest facility, and astonishing ra-
pnlify. •

(Signed) " JOSEPH 'WOODWARD.
" Hingham, May 12, 1315."
declaration is wtested by Peter Holmes
and John Mayo, who made affidavit of the truth
of u before a Justice of Peace.

LAW.—The Lou) CHANCELLOR, on coming
into Court yesterday, gave several jotlgnients,
which were, however, of no public interest what-
ever.

On Thursday, a Court Martial wis held at
Portsmouth to inquire into the conduct and to try
Captain 305',;rit' Daopr„late ColUvina rder of
his Majesty's 'ship Volage, for having lej that
ship at Batavia, on or about the 9th of Oc-
tober, 1816, .on 'account of ill health, viving to
Lieutenant IVARDR, the senior Lieutenant, an
order to keep charge and command the ship,
and proceed in her io join Rear Admiral Sir
RICHARD KING.—The Court agreed that Captain
JOSEPH DRURY, when he quitted the command of
the VOLAGE, at Batavia, was in a state of health
requiring change of climate ; that, a 3 he had not
produced any document to the Court to justify
his leaving her, he ought to have proceeded
to join Rear-Admiral SIL RICNAIIi) KING ; and,
that blame was therefore imputable to am, and
the Court did adjudge him to be severely repri-
tnan,ed. _ .

•
SURPRIFIVG PEDESTRIAN.—CRISP, the brick-
layer, better known by the title of the Champion
of Pedestrians, has laid a wager of twenty to forty
pounds, to go on foot one hundred and ten miles
in twenty-four successive homes. He intends
starting at five o'clock in the afternoon of Thurs-
day, the 13th instant, near-the Black Lion, Read-
ing, for the Catherine Wheel Inn, Henley, and
back ; the distance to he me: sured ten miles out.
He is to go through Twytord and Wargrnve, five
ntiles•of the road being very rough and hilly ; he is
to be accompanied during the night by umpires on
horseback, to protect him, and seelhat be faith
fully perfutius the distance.