The Wilmingtonian., 1823-09-18

this mixture is To he taken AS snuif,
per day.. Gpoulson. IA R
From the President Of the New- Lyre In.
ceum of Natural History, to Me Msn.
bers, dated .NsU FORK, Sept. II, 1928,
TIE VAMPIRE OF THE OCEAN.
On the 9th day Of September, 1898, re.
turned from cruise off Delaware Bav
the fishing smack Una. She had sailed
about three weeks before from New York
for the express purpose of catching an
enormous fish, which had been reporied
TO frequent the ocean, a few leagues hp.
yond Cape May and Cape Henlopen. Ina y
in this bold enterprise hay
been successful. They have brought fv
the enlargement of science and the gra,
fcation Of curiosity, an uncommon inha,
Iitant of the deep, which has never bea
seen on the land before.
The creature is one of the huge ndiyi
duals of the family of Raja or rerhaB
may be erected, from its novelty ana h, n
cullarity, into new genus, betwset
Squaius and the .Acipenser. Its v;rt 4
was such, that after the body had !
penetrated by two strong and WI 'of
rigs, OF the best tempered iron, the Il
oi one ni them was broken i,if ard q
other singularly bent. The T. on
linz the three intrepid men, John tehcn,
rheophilus Beebe and William Petite
was connected, after the deadly insttu
; Iment had taken hold, with the wounde
linhabtant of the deep, by strong war
or line. The celebrity with which the fl,
,swam, could only be compared to that
the harpooned whale, dragging the but
!, after it with such speed as to cause wau
to rise on each side Of the furrow in whic
=. he moved, several feet higher than the boz
g Itself.
The weigh, Of the fish after death VIZ
csuch, that three pair of oxen, one horse ad
If rtwenty-two men, all pulling together, viii
&c the surge of the Atlantic wave to heb
J. could not convey it as far as the dry beach 1
,tIlt was estimated from this, and probaB
N estimate, to equal four tons and halt, \
n. perhaps five tons. Il
I.l The size was enormous; tor the dla
,o tance from the extremity of one wing n
Of pectoral fin to the other, expanded like th1
ne wing of an eagle, measures, 10 ieel
lover the convexitv of the back, and
nj on the right line of the belly, teei
i The distance from the snout to
q. the end of the tail, IA tes
:. - I.enoth of the tail, 4 fed
mo- Width of the mouth, 2tt.9Il
en- The operation of combat and killlI
,m,lasted nine hours. 1t was a heroic achierI
ny ment, and was witnessed by crowdsAl
ler citizens, on the shores of NewJersey all
IN Delaware, and by the persons on boai
he the flotila of vessels in the bay and otlltI
ats During the scuflle, the wings. side RaP
in or vast alated fine OF the monster, lashd
,e- the sea with such vehemence, that Y
me spray rose to the height of thirty feet. all
owlrained round to the distance of fifty fee
lav|It was a tremendous encounter. On shoT
,us all was awe and expectation. y,
md MIR. Patchen, whose taste and zeal
ore zoology are we'll known, has attend
tie very much to the manners of the pampf
hatof the Ocean, to the preservation OF U
eed skin and external parts, to the osteolc;
the and skeleton, the internal organization
my and in short, to every circumstance tn
pa was practicable during such hazardc
BY business, and the tempestuous wea'l
as which distressed them almost from u
(. beginning to the end of their voyage.
| merely mention, before lay 1o'
mn my pen, that this animal is ylviparous, al
BE-. of course connects fishes with memm'
,rn. Irous animals; and that the respira'o
we'd lmotory, generative and sensitive orsa
an extraordinary amount OF II
rain and interesting particulars. incoml
thelhcnsible as well as wonderful are
tier works, o Creator. in consummate So
nuld city thou hast executed them all
vour This is but an outline; intend to il'
With this sketch. and prepare it as well as II
byfor the Socetys formal notice. !,
,eep While express full appreciation ol
' be|frienls, whom neither difficulty nor dan
on a could discourage, | utter further SCI
NJ. ment, that they may be well repaid
their intended exhibition.
SAMUEL l.. MITClllL