The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1845-10-17
'rl,r sea Scrpcct.


Our correspondent "RhodoiPh" has been look
ing at the grra, SEA serpeul skeleton now on eA-
hibition in New York, and kindly furnishes Us
The following account OF il:
The magnificent scale upon which ma
iure wrough, in the formation oi this
country, has elected the admiration Of
the eloquent. the wise. and the scientific
men Of all civilized counties. The aw-
fully sublime. grandeur Of Niagara : the
impetuous torrent of the majestic Mis-
sissippi; the fairy.like beauty of the
bnundless pralrics. have called forth alike
The song Of the poet, the learned disqul-
siiions Of the naturalist, and the ESSAYS
If the scholar. Nor has II been Ihe srI-
king characteristics in the natural turma-
,ion of This country that have alone arres-
ted attention, and excited wonder. Ma
iure ever working by uniform and harmo-
Nous laws. extended the same scale Of
magniiiceuce To the animal kingdom, and
created the MyIoduu, Mammoth, and
Notwithstanding mountains of flesh
and blood. But great as has been the
wonder excited by the discovery Of the
remains of these monsters, II Is entirely
overawed by the recent discovery Of the
complete skeleton Of the Hydrargos, or
Sea Serpent. TdiS is no longer fabu-
Ious monster Of the mighty deep, but
lives. or has lived, in as much reality as
whales and sharks. The skeleton is
now exhibiting in this city, and is so per
feet in its formation, and 50 well preServ-
ed, tina, the doubts of the most scepucal
are at once removed on behoIdiugii. DR..
Koch discovered it in Alabama, and
brough, it to this city. lie found 1t
embedded IN stone, and wish great labor
succeeded in removing it nearly entire.
The length Of this monster is IA feet as
the bones are now put together, without
estimating any space Cor the carlliges be-
tween the Joints, which would probably
make it 1870 feet. The diameter across
the ribs is eight feet, and the circumier-
ence. when alive, mus, have been at least
~ feet. The skeleton alone weighs
1900 lbs. The length Of the jaws is six
feet. 1t is the opinion OF professor Silt
man, who pronounres it the greatest won.
der ever discovered, that it lived about
the mouths of tie large rivers, and swan
upon the surface Of the streams, carrying
IT'S head twenty feet out of the water, and
feeding upon aligators, buhaloes. and
every thing that frequenled the sides
of the rivers. 1t could have swallowed
buffalo at single gulp, and must have
required about ten of them for a meal.
lis lend1I system proves 1t to he carnivO-
rous. The dorsal and lumbar veriebrp
are greatly elongated, measuring from Il
to | s in. in length, and have a olrcumfc-
renee of from 81 to 30 inches. Their
construction differs from any animal hi
;her,o known, as each body Of the verte.
brn is divided into five sections. In the
centre Is the main body, to which I'll The
processes are attacked, and which mea-
sure from five to seven inches in length (:
TO both eX,Temi,es Of this is a pcvs.
The section is angIeIozed, measuring
from TO 4 inches in length, and to tie
extremilies of these again is an apevis.
The whole is anglelozed and osslied TO-.
gelher. 1t must have possessed great
power, and been capable Of gliding over
the water with great rapidity, when alive.
1t is a mos, extraordinary spectacle, and
one almost doubts his senses while be-
holding it.
II is to be hoped hat our government
will purchase this skeleton, and place it
in the National Institute at Washington,
or that individual liberality will prevent
It's beng carried out OF the country, as
was the case with the Missourium. No
exeriion was made TO keep tina, wonder
full skeleton in the country, and it was car
ried to Europe, and now adorns the Bril-
fish Museum, and is justly considered its
greatest wonder. |! could not be bought
at any price. Is this right! Are we al.
ways 10 see these great natural wonders
carried oil 10 adorn the collections Of
foreign countries They are part of
our country, one Of its striking character.
is,ics, and we should no more allow our
selves to be stripped Of them, than con-
sent to the destruction Of Niagara, if it
were possible. Our national pride should
stimulate us 10 colec, all these wonders
of the animal kingdom, which are in
truth scattered pages of the early history
Of this country, in which we may read
the power of the Creator, and presages
of the high and mighty destiny 10 which
this country is 10 attain.
Further Developments,
Some new and very important disclo-
sures have recently been made, involving
"a n oh,r,,,ar Of MAJ, haratofnr ,,,,,..,