Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1829-03-07

uuder the command Of Captain Rich. Day at
ter day he cruised over tracts where the sea.
serpent had, according to information, been OBJ
served, without discovering any thing like him.
Al length creature was deserted, which some
Of the men on board said they had seen before,
and that it was the sea-serpent. The captain
pursued the game considerable time longer,
with much vigilance and patience, until It was
at distance ne ar enough to be har2oonrd. He
was then taken on board, and found to be a fish
Of the Mackerel family. saw the preparation
of il in the Greenwood Museum, and satisfied
myself that il was an individual OF awe'i known
species called Tunnv in the Mediterranean, and
abicors in the Atlantic sea.
After the capture Of the fish, tie persons who,
when they saw him in the water, declared posi-.
lively tina. he was The sea-serpent, how changed
their minds, and swore he was not.
Atieng,A the man of Successful exeition ar
rived with his prize; and Unexpectedly and
unfortunately drew upon him the dispeasure Ut
his employers for attempting to impose upon
them Horse Mac kereI (as they called iD for
Sea Serpent He told me the story himself.
(e) In this fervor Of opinion, it was supposed
for time that sea-serpent existed IN Lake
tween Kingston and York, had several times
during his trips observed among the islands and
rocks something that appeared 10 be long
animal with vertical Textures OF the back, re-
sembling Jumps or humps of sariesated black
and white hues. He told some OF his acqualn.
tances wha: peculiar appearances mad present.
ed themselves to his view; and that he intended
the next opportunity to take more close and
correc, survey. lie did so, shortly after, when
the whole phenomenon assembled into the air!
II turned out to be speckled mother duck,
with numerous breed of young ones. They
swan in line, with the parent bird al the head
And as they rose and descended on the undu-
Ialions, gave an appearance so like that aScrib-
ed 10 the sea-serpeni, that the captain, though
wary man, would have solemnly declared, un-
Ill he was undeceived his belief in the existence
Of sea.serpent there!
% Lake Erie brought forward her preten>
sions too for sea-serpent. One OF the coast
ing vessels, navigared by three men, as she was
steering eastward from Detroit, discovered
some thing af1oat on the hither side OF the Is
lands called 1.-THE Sisters" which, when she
arrived at the place Of her destination on the
southern shore, was reported by the men at
the tavern and The printing office, to be the We
ry creature. MIR, Printer wrote paragraph
on the subject, and inserted i, in his paper, in
which il travelled far and wide. II may be re.
lied on that this alleged inhabtanl of that in-
land sea, has been reduced to genus and spe-
cies, and registered very orderly in zoology
Now let us find what the production really
turn.e out to be. The sheriff Of the county, a
sensible man heard Of the marvel, and conceiv-
ing that ne knew as much abou, the lake as a
ny person whatever, went on board full oil Gu
riosi,y, to make inquiry about it. He found
but one of the people on board, whom he in
terrogated closely concerning the wonderful
sight, with which he and his associates had
entertained the neignp~prhood. Fhe sailor
was soon implicated in contradictions. The
ouerist aware Of the fellows confusion, asked
him if he was not ashamed 10 propagate such
falsehoods! He then said, if the sheriff would
not be affron,ed he would relate the whole story
lust as il was. At the place aforesaid, they
passed dry tree af1oat; and concluding that
the but or root would do for head; some
knots OIL The trnnk for knobs or lunches, and
the TOD for o tail;-they would have little pas
time by telling a story OF a sea-serpent, which
they thought their lake was as much entitled
TO as any other water. The whole three had
agreed to tell the same tale, and support it!
Cd When the skin, &c. of the huge basking
shark, that had struggled from the North
em Ocean and had been killed in Raritan
Bay, (Squalus Ma1imusl was exhibited in New
York city The inhabitants we're openly and ear
nestly invited by notice in words at length
displayed in front of the house, to enter and be-
hold The sea-serpent. The conceit took very
we'll!
Now after all these mistakes, receptions,
and willul perversions on the subject, every
person OF consideration may admit that the
gambols Of psrpoises, the slow motions Of bask-
ing sharks, and the yet different appear
ance OF balenopterous whales, all OF which
have fins on their backs, may have given rise
to those parts which have not been comments
ed upon.
ITEMS.