Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1876-12-29
A Wonder Of the Deep.
A MARINE FROG FIFTY FEET LONG FOL-
Lows A BRITISH STEAMSHIP.

A MARINE FROG FIFTY FEET LONG FOL-
LOWS A BRITISH STEAMSHIP.
in the month of October last the British
steamship hester arrived at Shanghai from
the Straits of Malacca. Shortly after the
anchoring of the vessel at Shanghai, John
K. Webster, the master, and James An
derson. the ships surgeon, appeared before
Mr.. Donald Spence, acting Law Secretary
in her Britannia Majesty's Supreme Court
and made affidavit to the following mar
vellous statement of facts:
We, John Keller Webster, of Liverpool
and James Anderson, surgeon, of Liver
pool, do solemnly and sincerely declares as
follow: And, first, l, the said John kell-
Ter Webster, in command OF the steamship
Nestor, do declare that, on Monday. the
day OF September, at 10:s0 A. M, fifteen
miles northwest of North Sand Lighthouse
in the Malacca Straits, the weather being
fine and che sea smooth the air also per-
fectly clear, | saw a little forward OF the
beam, on the starboad side, about Two
hundred yards distant from the ship, an
object first pointed out to me by my third
officer who remarked, ''there is a shoal."
Surprised at finding a shoal in such a well
htOUh ulOSh L WNtC1So ohS 00JNoS ~'N
found that it was in movement; keeping
up the same speed with the sup. and re-
tanning about the same distance as first
seen. The speed of the ship was min and
th%ree-quarter knots, and The object WAS
moving parallel with us during six min
utes. Just after I observed it, the Chinese
deck passengers discovered it and raised a
great cutlery, and about the same moment
1t was deserted by three saloon passengers
and the surgeon. The shape of the crea>
ture, for that it was alive there is no doubt
[ would compare to that OF gigantic frog.
Referring to the head and body, as far as
they were apparent above the water-the
head of a pale %yellowish color. was about
twelve feet in length, and six feet OF the
crown was aboye the water occasionally
the head subsidized until Only a foot or a
foot and a half remained above the water.
l tried in vain to make out the eyes and
mouth /; the mouth, however, may have
been below water. The head was immedi-
ately connected with the body, without
any indication of q neck.
The body was about forty-fve or fifty
feet in length, and of an oval shape, per-
fectly smooth, but there may lave been a
slight ridge along the spine. The back
rose some five feel above the surface. An
immense tail, fully one hundred and fifty
feet in length, rose a few inches above the
water. This tail | saw distinctly from its
junction with body, to its extremity it
seemed cylindrical, with q very slight ia
per. and [ estimate its diameter at four
feet. The body and tail were marked with
alter nate bands of stripes, black and pale
yellow in color. The stripes were distinct
to the very extremity Of the tail. [ can
not say whether the tail terminated i'll a
fin or not. | examined it carefully at The
above mentioned distance, but could not
satisfy myself how the tail terminated.
The creature possessed no fins or paddles
| as far as we could perceive, never having
seen any part OF it's belly. L cannot say IT
! it had legs. 1t is very possible that the
| creature was much broader and more mas
| sive than the dimensions above given, for
the greater part OIL il was evidently under
water and we never caught a glimpse of
any but the extreme upper parts. 1t ap-
peared to me to progress by means OF an
uudulatory motion of the tail in a vertical
| plane. The tail seemed to have I; indepen-
| dent motion that is to say, q quicker and
Il different one from tie body. The head
| would rise slowly and the body become
simultaneously lower, and vice versa. The
| undulations of the tail were brlSher aud
very dist ct, and l closely watched them
| through good glasses. [ had for some no
ments the idea Of running the creature
down, but | shortly dismissed the lnten-
| ion on account OF the danger Of breaking
| the screw blades. The creature showed no
| sign of fear. l cannot even Say if it was
| conscious of our presence. 1t finally drop
ped under our stern and passed over to the
port side, somewhat Stacking its speed.
Some time afterwards, however, it in
creased it's pace, and nhen last seen was
on our port beam. at about II to 2 miles
distance. The creature formed a distinct
wake, and seemed to exude an oily matter
as he moved.