Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1866-08-22
THE SEi-SERPEyT.

as | stood one night on the forecastle of an
American clipper. We had just escaped
/ from the China Sea- after sixteen davs'
| hammering against head gales, and were
gently gliding into the Pacific under a
crowd Of cotton canvas, which, in the full
moonlight. almost panied the eye by its
brightness. The deck vas crowded with
strange, motley mass Of human beings,
the prevailing type of humanity being
/ Chinese, for we had about six hundred
J Celestials on board, rushing 10 the Ell Do
rado of California.
The sailors were men Of all nations. and
| a vast variety of costume; many Of them
/ wore red shirts, thereby relieving the mon
/ otonous blue cotton of John Chinaman.-
| had wandered forward, and, finding
/ myself alone on the forecastle, had been
| standing there, mayhap, half an hour, en-
joying the rare luxury of solitude and
/ watching the porpoises darting backwards
and forwards across our bows, as the
noble old ship rose to each long smooth
! swell, and then made a stately bow to-
wards the blue hilIock, as it swept away
/ from her,
! twas a mild. peaceful night. and doubIy
/ delightful after the pitching and tossing.
! the Jerking and groanne, we had under
] = =
! ally reverted to the mysterious inhabitants
| Of the element on the surface Of which we
/ were floating. What wonderful creatures
| might at that yerv moment be beneath our
! keel, perhaps I ever requiring possibly
unable, 70 reach the surface The mons
! sters which are revealed to US by the mi
croscope may have IN immOth relatives
| the fantastic forms OF fossil reptiles may
be outdone by living creatures beneath
Us, and possibly in view Of those playful
long-snouted porpoises beside me. Per-
haps the sea serpent ah, the seas serpent
| Imagination at once mounted on stills
memory brought before me the various
accounts OF its appearance g
numerous, 50 fall in detail, attested bv
SO many witnesses, and agreeing in the
main so thoroughly with each other. that
IL seems impossible to diScrelitth The
objection raised by Professor Owen. that
none Of its bones have been found, weiahs
little against the positive evidence of the
captain and officers of a British man-or
war, 50 lately as 1913, that they passed
within one hundred yards of snake
which they estimated to show sixty feet Of
ms body above water, and to have prOba~
bly, forty feet more underneath
That sea snakes Of small size do exist
cannot be questioned 4 few miles off
the coast of Bornco, have passed many
hundreds Of them on the surface of the
smooth sea, measuring about eighteen
inches or two feet in length and OF darl,
color har...I ,.itIr yellow I rccoilected
= nat a stampede took place one night
board ship lying Ia the IIOO2hly, 0pp0-
site Calcutta, when the ferceastle was
taken charge of by n six foot snake.
which had crawled up the chain cable
and through the hawSCpipe.
Turning these matters over IN nay mind
rs | stood alone IN the bows of the ship
the words have commenced this paper
with inyoIuutarily found uttcrancc F" ]
believe in the Great serpent
= 50 do |, sin, came back to me like an
echo. The voice came from near my feet,
and looking closely at the place, I found
an old-sa.t coiled UP on tile heel Of the
cathcad, but hidden from me before bv
the black shadow Of the iib The maA
was quite 4 character on board singular
in appearance and manner, rough and
surlv with strangers, but improving on
acquaintance. lie was a thorough sea-
man, and had already proved himself one
of the most reliable men on board for any
service requiring courage and Judgment.
Our crew had found nicknames for each
other and ! had learned 10 distinguish
Irish Nike, Soldier Harry, and One eyed
Sar, Tho .f4 5f.r Ia.-.f., nm. -,. l-r,.t,,-,
~, tb, ,nbrianar oF ,T,ka. -t,a wal r.
80. !, sn,b ! n,,rI,aJ ,r,.1 ,,rnss, +,,,,,
FoNe ~ l Ss a l',.', @g,;., ''.,i ,yi ,oG
YOU believe in the great sea snake; have
/ YOU ever seen hin, Jake p
have, sir, said Jake.
I,l., ~, r..,-;-T, -, t,,..,,t 3i,r;,,,
,bilIa3 tha Mood or ff5,. Nh Irn., mes
( ~ ar,tl,e,. ,,-.r5 r,,ssn,l 81. saro-.I ,,;r,
-, IlI.o s,,,r,.t :, = -. "a g..
-l.1F ~. ,,.1,,.1,r,,,, ,,.i'.+l-,~ III, III
+ MN ,yos mad for cold not darbf his
+ Lein.. thorourbIv in narnast That v,i,,c
and look could not have been assumed Inv
tho hest actor tbat ever vvora LnsI,in
7 Arrer a rau,e. durinr which lirbta3 my
nipa and sat down IN Tbe anchor stool,
SaiI Conn, .Jak trll mo all about it.
when dil Il hapren. ana where ~
Il never tell it now. sir" said he. " /
cant bear Ia Le launched III and told tbat
ir was MI de}irium ana fever For two
wears mast I haven't ey,r hoard the name
of the sea-serreut. though dav and ni-hr
I think &c him, and shall while live"
g" But. Jake. said |. YOU need not fear
that | shall laugh at ANYTHING told in
earnest. and of all things in the world /
should ike a warm about she sea sernent.
f." Don't cali ira warm SIR sai4 Jake .
lis too true and too horrible to be ,alled