The tribune. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1874-1876, 1875-08-25
SEA SERPENTS.
The Grent Probability that the Stories
about Them nre Not NIL sailors Inrns.

publishes an account Of sea serpent
seen by Il gentleman whom it describes
as :" well known and reliable His story
is Chat while the steamer Roman was on
her way from Boston to Philadelphia,
and was near the lighthouse on the ex-
tremity of Cape Cod, he and others had
their attention called to what they at
first supposed to be q shark, as small
but short dorsal fin appeared above the
water, but afterwards had reason to be-
lieve was sea serpent. Being attacked
by swordfish, it raised its flat and tor
toist-like head fully ten feet out of the
water, thus giving the party an oppor-
tunity of observing it moro closely. 1t
had n dorsal and several lateral fins,
looked Shiny, and was covered with large
and coarse scales. About four weeks
before this occurrence the animal had
first been seen near Cape Cod, and sew
eral whale boats had been fitted out to
be about sixty feet, but the pilot said
few weeks previously and that then its
length was thought to be at least one
hundred and twenty feet.
This account, which is evidently given
in good faith, recalls the numerous
stories of enormous sea serpents which
have long formed large part of the
stock of the old salt when spinning yarns
in the forecastle, as well as of others
who are naturally supposed to adhere
to the truth more closely than sailors do.
But the testimony which should lead to
the belief that sea serpents do in reality
exist is not to be cavalierly set aside ex-
ccpt for very much better reasons than
have over been brought forward. It is
not contrary to experience that enor-
nous marine animals should exist We
know that they exist now, and some
gigantic fossils show that at ono period
of the earth's history they abounded in
great numbers. There is much direct
testimony to their existence in modern
times. On August 6, 1S4S, H. NJ. S.
DDdalus, on her wly from the Cape of
Good Hope to st. Helena, came across
sea serpent. Captain McQuhae and
the officers observed it with glasses ut a
distance OF six hundred feet and distinct
ly traced its eye, mouth, nostril, and
form it resembled an animal of the
LIZARD typo rather than a serpent, and it's
movement was steady, rapid, and uni
form, as if propelled by fins rather than
by undulating power. The size seemed
to be enormous, but as only part of
the animal was out of water no correct
estimate could be made of it's length.
On the 18th December, 1857, the ship
Castilian, bound from Bombay to Liver
pool, and being twelve miles from st.
Helena, passed sea monster which is
thus described by Captain G. H. Har-
rington, Mr.. w. Davies, and Mr.. E.
Wheeler, the three chief officers of the
ship:
While myself and officers were stand
ing on the leeside of the poop, looking
toward the island, we were startled by
the sight of II huge marine animal, which
reared it's head out of the water within
twenty yards of the ship, when it sud
denly disappeared for about half min
ute and then made its appearance in the
same manner again, showing us distinct
ly its neck and head about ten or twelve
feet out of water. Its head was shaped
like long nun-buoy, and 1 suppose the
diameter to have been seven or eight
feet in the largest part, with kind of
scroll or tuft of loose skin encircling it
about two feet from the top. The water
was discolored for several hundred feet
from its head, so much SO that OH it's first
appearance my impression was that the
ship was in broken water; but the sec
ond appearance completely dispelled
those fears, and assured us that it was n
monster of extraordinary length, which
appeared to be slowly moving toward the
land. The ship was going too fast to en-
able us to reach the masthead in time
to form correct estimate of its cx-
treme length, but from what we saw
from the deck we conclude that it must
have been over two hundred feet longs
/ nm convinced that IL belonpeJ
to the serpent tribe; it was of dark
color about the head, and was covered
with several white spots.
Between 1874 and 1916 there were
several reported appearances of this
monster i'll the seas fronting the United
States and Canada, and at about the
same period IL similar creature was seen
near the shores of Norway, considered
as identical with one depicted in Pom
toppidan's "Natural History of Nor
way" Twenty years before such ser
pent had been repeatedly seen on the
coast of the United States, and also
about 1906 and 1918. The accounts
given of such sights are consistent, and
there seems to be no earthly reason for
rejecting them, except because they
sound like sailors yarns, which are no
tougher than travellers tales, such as
that of Du Chaillu when he told of the
discovery of that remarkable animal, the
gorilla, and was generally disbelieved.
Strictly speaking, the existence of enor-
nous marine "scrpents" is not i'm
probable, and this last report of one
seen will add to he crcdibility of tho
older accounts.