Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-01-03
E sERPENTs.
A Leaf From the Log of an Old Sailor.
Cor. New Orleans Times.

- IL NS1AAA1A
at the time, we sent a boat alongside
of her to get the news. The boat re-
turned. Among the things she
brought back with her were a barrel
of potatoes, a bucket full of onions,
and a batch of newspapers-about the
most welcome articles that can be be-
slowed by the liberal hand fresh from
port Upon the crew who, for many
days, have only known salt-horse.
A day or two after this, in the dog
watch, l had a shy at the newspapers.
In overhauling the columns of one OF
them, / came athwart a report made
by the sweet-water skipper of a coast
ing vessel about some few snakes,
which he says he sighted somewhere
off the Tortugas," and as it seemed
to have excited some of the public GU
riosity, I thought it might perhaps be
of interest to you and to the readers of
the Times, to hear something about
sea-going snakes in a distant part of
the world.
In the Indian ocean, and amongst
the islands bordering the China sea,
it is not an uncommon event to fall in
with snakes. OF such size and num-
bers are they that, if they were seen in
the Atlantic north of the Tropic of
Cancer, the minds of our people would
be filled with establishment, possibly
with alarm, at the appearance OF such
a swarm of veritable sea serpents. /
believe, however, they are quite in
offensive. l never have heard of a
person who was injured by them. If
there was any economical use to
which snakes could be applied, it
seems to me that a smart schooner
could pick up a load of them without
much trouble. Indeed, Yankee cute
ness might persuade them to Wiggle
themselves on board.
l find in one ofmy journals the fol-
lowing account of what befell a vessel
l served in a few years ago. / give it
nearly as it is written, but with as
few sea phrases as possible, that the
general reader may not be confused
with words that are purely technical.
1t was in the year =, on board OF the
clipper bark - We were bound
from Sydney, through TOtres Straits,
to Maulemain. We had made good
progress north, and were in among
the islands and straits when one
morning, Just after three bells, we
were going along under all plain sail
about six knots, with a light breeze
from E.S.E., weather cloudy, as
usual, keeping a bright lookout for
shoal water and for Indian proas.
You must know that the Indians out
there are cannibals of the greediest
kind, who are particularly fond of
white sailors. They eat all they
can get, and they are very
venturesome in their efforts to make
captives. They do not hesitate to
attempt to carry vessels by boarding.
A man who was on the fOretOpsail,
engaged in rigging out the starbOard
topgallant studdingsail-boom, sings
out to the Second Mate, who had
charge of the deck: q" A shOalin sight,
two points on weather bow, about a
mile and a half of, sir-With a break
on it, sir" We put the helm up,
rounded in the after braces, keeping
off to bring the shoal abeam. 1t was
now plainly visible from deck, and
seemed to get rapidly nearer. We APP
peared to be setting on to it as though
we had a strong weather current.
The Captain came up from below.
We could see that he was taken aback
by the way things were going on. He
ordered a cast of the deep sea lead. A
man was stationed at the shoppers,
ready to let the anchors go. During
this time we had altered the course to
southwest, but we could not sail away
from the strange object, which was
now close aboard OF US. Suddenly
all hands seemed to sing out
at once, cit amt no shoaI sir!
It's alive, sir! It's school of snakes,
sirI" And so it was, an enormous
school of snakes swimming with
great rapidity to the southwark and
westward. We hauled by, heading
up northeast, the sooner to get clear
of them. At first we thought they
would board us, but with only one eX-
ception, no attempt of the kind was
made, and in this single instance the
involuntary intruder was easily in
duced, by the persuasive force of a
h~andspike, to withdraw his hideOus
head, and to make a stern bound from
the port hawsehole, and to tumble
back amongst his companions into
the sea. We offered no other violence
to them, being well satisfied to let
them alone if they left US alone.
They seemed about as big around as
a ships topmast studding-sail
boom, and just about as long
They resembled an eel mere than a
snake. Their eyes glittered like dia-
monds. Their skin was composed of
large scales of a dirty, blackish brown.
They were going fully nine knots.
The surface of the water was not very
much disturbed by the presented of such
a number of extraordinary creatures.
A little way off it looked like a rip.
They did not make any noise. They
did not appear 10 be at all concerned
about our presence. They opened a
passage for us through the school. 1t
was seven bells before we were clear
of them, and able to keep our course
After this we saw other snakes, but
never so large a school. Our captain
was of the opinion that they were
migrating. AT one time when we
were near the center of the swarm.
from aloft, in every direction, the sea
seemed to be covered with them as
far as the eye could reach. One of
the men, who had been spouting along
time, said it was nothing to what he
had once seen when he was a cruising
sperm whales. 1 never could get
latitude or longitude of the part of
the world he had seen them in; so l
came to think it was only a yarn of
his, that he had better have kept for
Cheeks, the marine, or some hay
making beggar from out of the woods.
This story may seem to have too
much of the marvellous about it, but
it will be borne out by almost any
who has knocked about much
the waters designated.
1t is a fortunate circumstance that
these sea-going snakes are harmless,
for otherwise, with their numbers,
strength and activity, no ship would
be safe from their attack, and we
would have to add another chapter to
the already large volume of the dan
gers of the sea Providence, in His
mercy, saves poor Jack from the ap-
conflict with the Shiny mon
'ters, or his fate would doubtless be
ike that of Laocoon's.