Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1877-02-08
Another Immense Sea-MOnster.

Another Immense Sea-MOnster.
BRITISH sea captains are becoming
famous by reason of their discoveries of
Some weeks ago (says the
New York W0fkd) the World published an
amazing story of monster marine-frog
seen by the officers and crew of an En-
glish steamer in the Straits of Malacca,
and now Capt. Drewar, of the bark Paul
inc, of London, who has just arrived at
Cork from a long voyage, favors the pub
lie with the following account Of an
ocean marvel:
Bark Pauline, July s, 1875, latitude 5
deg. IL min. north, longitude 50 deg
west, Cape San Rogue, northeast coast of
Brazil, distance twenty miles, at eleven
a. m, the weather fine and clear, wind
and sea moderate, observed some black
spots on the water, and whitish pillar
some thirty feet high above them At the
first sight took all to be breakers, as the
sea was splashing up fountain-like about
them, and the pillar a pinnacle rock,
bleached with the sun, but the pillar fell
with a splash and a similar one rose.
They rose and fell alternately in quick
succession, and good glasses showed me
it was monster sea-serpent coiled twice
round large sperm whale. The head
and tail parts, each about thirty feet long,
were acting as levers, twisting itself and
its victim round with great velocity.
They sank out of sight every two minutes,
coming to the surface still revolving; and
the struggles of the whale and two other
whales that were near, frantic with eX-
element, made the sea in their vicinity like
a boiling caldrOn; and loud confused
noise was distinctly heard. This strange
occurrence lasted some fifteen minutes,
and finished with the tail portion of the
whale being elevated straight in the air,
then waving backward and forward, and
lashing the water furiously in the last
death struggle, when the whole body dis.
appeared from our view, going down
foremost to the bottom, where, no
doubt, it was gorged at the serpent's leis-
ure; and that monster of monsters may
have been many months in state of
coma, digesting the huge mouthful. Then
two Of the largest sperm whales that |
have ever seen, moved slowly thence to-
ward the vessel, their bodies more than
usually elevated out of the water, and not
spOuting or making the least noise, but
seemingly quite paralyZed with fear; in
deed, cold shiver went through my own
frame on beholding the last agonizing strug-
gle of the poor whale, that had seemed as
helpless in the coils of the vicious mon
ster as bird in the talOns of a hawk.
Allowing for two coils round the whale, l
think the serpent was about 100 or no
feet long, and seven or eight feet in girth.
1t was in color much like a Onger-eel,
and the head, from the mouth being al
ways open, appeared the largest part of
its body 1t is curious that the whale,
that lives on the smallest food of any fish
in the ocean, should itself be but a meal
for another monster; for [ think it as
feasible that the serpent swallowed the
whale as that a Oa-constrictOr can con-
sumo whole bullock.
/ am aware that few believe in the ex-
istence of the great sea-serpent. People
think that as so many vessels are con-
stantly On the ocean it would be seen
oftener. But the northeast coast of Bra
zil, noted for its monster reptiles, is pc
culiarly adapted for the growth of sea-
monsters. The temperature of the air
and water is seldom below 81 degrees,
the shore for thousand miles is bord cred
by coral wall or reef, and mum erous
banks and reefs extend for a considerable
distance from the land, while there are
strong and various currents and no ports so
ships, for business or pleasure, seldom go
near it. Itwas unexpected circumstances
that led me to the home of the sea serpent,
and [ think it may be allowed that the
serpent retains some portion of that Gun
ming mentioned in Scripture. At least ~
has wit enough not to leave a good feed
ing ground and secure home to 90 wan
dering about the ocean like a fish, and be
+Nx,f ,o
or profit. | think Cape San Rogue is a
for the North Atlantic. The warm water
is also good for its breeding; and if the
Crystal Palace Company or some enter
prising Barnum offered Il suitable reward
for the serpents capture, [ am sure a
steam whaler, with suitable hooks baited
with some animal and steel wire lines,
would effect its capture while following a
profitable whaling business.
I wrote thus far, little thinking I would
ever see the serpent again; but at seven
a. M, July Is, in the same latitude, and
some eighty miles east of San Rogue,
was astonished to see the same or SINH
lar monster. 1t was throwing its head
and about forty feet of its body in hori-
zontal position out of the water as it
passed onward by the stern of our vessel.
[ began musing why we were so much
favored with such a strange visitor, and
concluded that the band Of white paint,
two feet wide above the copper, might
have looked like a fellow-serpent to it,
and no doubt attracted its attention.
While thus thinking, was startled by the
cry of "There it is again!'' and a short
distance to the leeward, elevated some six
ty feet in the air, was the great leviathan,
grimly looking toward the vessel. AS |
was not sure it was only our freeboard it
was viewing, we had ali our axes ready,
and were fully determined, should the
brute embrace the Pauline, to chop away
for its backbone with all our might: and
the wretch might have found for once in
its life that it had caught Tartar. This
statement is strictly true, and the occur
renee was witnessed by my officers, half
the crew and myself; and we are ready at
any time to testify on oath that it is so,
and that we are not in the least mistaken