Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1845-05-01
A Most Singular Sea Monster.

A Most Singular Sea Monster.
The following description of an anomalous
Sea Monster is received from an old resident
al Cape Island, Cape May. The writer is a
man of The most undoubted veracily, and his ac-
count is worthy Of implici. credence.
Extract of a letter from resident al Cape May,
10 a gentleman IN this city.
CAPE May, April l3, ls45.
Respected Friend:-ln consequence of the
many events, not of an every day character.
that have occurred here since The / ST OF March,
] have taken the liberty of writing you, know
ing thai in one you would take an interest, ia
asmuch as it rs 10 US great curiosity. Indeed
II is so much SO, that at any lime, when the OBJ
ject is IN sieh, you may see twenty or thirty
persons al Time watching its maneuvres, and
almost every one differs in opinion respecting
this monster Of the deep. What it is do not
pretend TO say, bu, ,ha, it is not whale am
quite certain. will give you The best descrip-
lion of it that am able, and you can draw your
own conclusions. 1t appears TO be about sixty
or seveniy feet long and not more than eight
feet wide at the widest part, which is about one
ahird OF the way from The head; from This point
it gradually iapeIs to the tale. 1t cannot be ve-
ry thick, as we had an opportunity Of viewing
ii yesterday, as ii lay, apparently lifeless. on
the top of the wafer in not more than ten feet
OF water for fifteen minutes at time; it would
then sink out Of sight, then come up again in
The same place and blow, but its blowing is not
like the blowing Of whale, since the je, of
wafer appears 10 proceed from very near the
widest part OF ii. After blowing, it will rear its
head on high, (say at leas, feeD look around,
and then lay quietly down. The water caused
by the blowing does not rise higher than Ten
feet, and lhe column is not larger than your
cane, (3 10 feeI) and does not keep in body,
but flies about in every direction. After it 0he
animal) has gone one half the height TO which
it raises, the head is abou, as large as hogs
head, and appears TO be fat on the top, as some
say who have been along side Of him, hooked
beak, like a loggerhead turtle.
The person who gave me this information
respecting the appearance of the head is man
whom | can depend upon; the animal passed
within ten feet from him whilst he lay 10 an
anchor in one Of the pilo, boats, and he thus
had fair opportunity of seeing him. The
monster is perfectly black and is covered with
kind of black muscle or barnacle. AS re-
an idea of them TO you-sometimes it appears
10 have fins, or Aappers all along his sides,
which make great foam and wake in the wa.
ter-at another time he will appear TO be rigged
ou, with one of the most powerful propelers,
after the fashion of the Princeton, and he goes
faster than any steamboat, but does not make
any wake-again he will go tumbling along
like an old bay porpoise. His faroriie resort
appears 10 be from Cold Spring Inlet to around
IN the Bay. say two or three miles above the
steamboat landing. and almost always so near
the shore that you can see him without the aid
of spy glass; al times, when il is smoolh he
is observed 10 be just outside Of the breakers
Il was first seen on the 18th of March by a
great many persons al once; these spectators
were principally strangers, twenty-five of whom
were down here al work at McMakin's house.
Il is not seen every day-someiimes il will mol
be seen for three or four days at time.
We have made up our minds to take him at
every hazard--we have four good whale boats
and every thing which may be requisite for the
enterprise, except that we are still wanting the
proper number Of men necessary for the under
taking. Yours, &c.
PSI you could only see our rig to catch
this strange bird, you would have hearty laugh.
am furnished with search warran. in the
shape Of harpoon.-P Philad Morning Post.