The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-07-25

10y al captain jim. Bill. his bro
litr' came into the room and said.
Now. JIM, YOU amt been drinkin
iiaNt you "Np. indeed. amt
louCh'"i drop. but the way my uarves
are l want a little. and he passed into
the har-room. After dinner. during
the progress Of which meal much
talk was INDUCED IN. the people
9auntered down 10 rescue the boat that
Captain Jim had left when he got into
low water 80 much Of his story q,
related to the boat and his hastv de
parture from her when she stranded
Was demonstrated Instantly upon our
arrival there. 1t would seem bv the
track marks that jim had jumped
from the rail about sixteen feet. and
each stride up the sand put him at
least nine feet furthef from the Thing
he flew from. The boat was properly
cared Tor and the procession moved NJ
the beach to the bathing houses. Won
derlng what had come over Captain
jim. whose nerves had never been
shaken before. II Was said. and whose
courage a II OF the li~fe--aving crew
mas. on more than occasion. been
DIaVely shown. Half an hour after
ward a scream from some ladies gath
erlng shells on the beach attracted the
attention of the party. among them
II writer, who were seated III the
bath house plaza. Looking in that di-
rectlon We aw Mrs. Seymour running
up the beach towards us and CHANGING
over her shoulder. In the direction
n pointed there was the sea monster.
which. for lack of a better name. |
Will call a sea serpent until naturalists
have decided what it really is.
GENERAL STAMPEDE.
Twenty years ago the steamship
JeWesS was wrecked on this OF and
her iron boilers stand out of the surf.
defNlng the action of the waves. The
tide never leaves it entirely Dare aud
at this time, the water being high,
there was quite a stretch OF green sea,
bordered on each side by the surf, that
broke over the wreck first and then
ran high on the strand. But Just be
tween the shore and the wreck was
the Thing that Captain Jim had seen
a hour before. His hasty description
did more than Justice to its appear
ance, for as tn. long head, hung to the
neck like a horses, turned seaward
and shoreward. it was easy to see that
1t was covered with scales, which glls-
tened in the sun and We're red, green
oiNA ol'o Go Niioil5 hShb SiS
tened upon them. To say that Con
sternation fell upon the party at the
plaza is to do Justice to the scene that
ensued. The ladies ran screaming to
the house and the men followed. at a
slower pace. Perhaps Victor Hugo.
in the ''Toilers of the Sea based his
description of the devil fish upon the
sight of some such creature as the one
rearing his head out of the water and
apparently watching the retreatmg.
frightened people. A herd of cattle
nipping the salt grass on a sand hlll
nea by attracted its attent. on and its
eyes remained turned in that direction
for a moment and then it gave vent to
a terrible noise that r~esounded loud
over the rOar of the surf. 1t was a
mellow tone, like that of tremendous
log-hOrn. long-cOntinued and ever
berating. By this time the people on
the Island were in a great state of ex-
element. The Holdzkom House
stands about two hundred and fifty
yards from the break of the water and
the fishermen and visitors lOstled each
other on the seward piazza. All eyes
turned toward the serpent. The APP
pealance of sea monsters is of such
rare occurrence that there is no for
III VI 1ttllIlS VI llISIl dlIdIlStd pN
precedent, but | suppose the general
impression may be fairly likened to
that produced by a ghost or other un-
canny thing being suddenly present in
a circle OF superstitious people. As |
write h monster is still IN sight,
evidently fouled in the debris of the
wreck, and a or more of men are
standing about, occasionally shooting
at it with ~Shot-guns and muSkets, but
without effect SO far. Although the
feeling of fear has generally passed
away there is still much mental com
motion, and many ladies of the house
have double-bolted their doors and
furtively gaze at the creature from
partly closed window-shutters.
THE SERPENT Gagged.
The snake having remained in the
position in which he was seen the
second time. the men finally ventured
closer. Occasionally it made h noise
previously spoken of, and the cattle
noticing it the second time, looked,
turned and with tails erect Stampeded.
BY four o'clock the tide was at low
ebb, and although the animal had not
made his full length apparent. at least
t~hirty-eight feet of it had been shown,
I'LL ii llICJllltItllCt tSliIldltb az
three feet. 1t is evident that his body
is caught about the middle, and his
tail, which is not shown, must be near
ly as long as the part OF the body
which he raises and thrashes about III
the air. His cOnyOlutiOnS became
more desperate and frantic as the tide
fell n his constant motion renders 1t
Impossible to describe him with any
great degree of accuracy. His head.
as has been stated, is not unlike a
horses and Is set at right angles to the
neck, which is long and about two
feet in circumference. This neck is
say seven feet long and runs into a
pair of shoulders without arms. at
which point the Thing is thickest.
From this maximum circumference
the body tapers slightly. The neck is
very sinuous. suggestive Of the alb
Sence of bones of any kind. while the