The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-04-10
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 1873.


steamship Nestor arrived at Shanghai from
the Straits Of Malacca. Shortly after the
sncboring of the vessel at Shanghai, John
4. Webster, the master, and James Ander-
son, the ships surgeon, appeared before Mr..
Donald Spence, Acting Law Secretary in her
Britannia Majesty's Supreme Court, and
made afidavits to the following marvellous
abatement of facts, according to the Chicago
Tribune:
We, John KELLER Webster, of Liverpool,
and James Anderson, surgeon, of Liverpool,
do solerlnly and sincerely declare as follows:
And, frst, I, John Keller Webster, in COM
mand of the steamship Nestor, do declare
that on Monday, the 18th day of September,
at 1876 A NJ, fifteen miles northwest of
North Sand light house, in the Malacca
Straits, the weather being fine and the sea
smooth, the cir also perfectly clear, l saw q
little forward of the beam, on the starboard
side, about two hundred yards distant from
the ship, an object first pointed out to me
by my third officer, who remarked There
Is shoal-" Surprised at finding q shoal in
such n well known track, 1 watched the
object and fol n l it was in movement, keep
ing up the same speed with the ship, and
retaining about tho came distance as when
first seen. The speed of the ship was nine
and ~threo-quarter knots, and the object WAS
moving parallel with us during six minutes.
Just after l observed it, the Chinese deck
passengers observed it and raised a great
outcry, and about the same moment it was
deserted by three saloon passengers and the
surgeon. The shape of the creRture-for
A. Ia -. III 49,. = 80 1lA ---1l
compare to q gigantic frog. Referring to
the head and body. as far as they were ap-
parent above the water, the head Of n pale
yellowish color, was about twelve feet in
length, and six feet of the crown was nbovc
the water; occasionally the head subsidized,
until only q foot or n foot and a-half re-
manned above the water. / tried in vain to
make out the eyes and mouth; the mouth,
however, may have been below water. The
head was Immediately connected with the
body, without any indication Of a neck.
The body was about forty or fifty feet in
length, and of an oval shape, perfectly
smooth, but there may have been a slight
ridge above the spine. The back rose some
6ves feet above the surface. An immense
tail, fully 100 feet in length, rose n few
inches above the water. The tail l saw dis
tinctly from its junction with the body to
its extremity; it seemed cylindrical, with n
very slight taper, { n l estimate its diameter
at four feet. II e body and tail were mark
ed with alternate bands of stripes, black and
yellow in color. The stripes were distinct
to the very extremity of the tail. / cannot
say whether the tail terminated in a fin or
not. i examined it carefully at the above
mentioned distance, but could not satisfy
how the tail terminated. The creature pos
sessed no fms or paddles, as far Is We could
perceive, never having seen any part of its
belly. l cannot say if it had legs. 1t is
very possible that the creature was very
much broader and more massive than the
Dimensions above given, for the greater
nart Of II wns evidently under water, and
10 never caught q glimpse OF any out Lle
ktrsms upper parts. 1t appeared to me to
rogress by means Of an undulatory motion
8 the tail in q vertical plane. The tail
pemed to have an independent motion, that
} TO say O quicker and a different one from
he body. The head would rise slowly and
be body become simultaneously lower and
Ice persa. The undulations of the tail were
Irisker and very distinct, and / closely
Fatched them through good glasses. / had
or some moments the idea of running the
reaturs down, but I shortly dismissed tho
mention on account of the danger of break
ng the screw blades. 1t showed no sign Of
ear. 1 cannot even say if 1t was conscious
u our presence. 1t finally dropped under
Ir stern and passed over to the port side,
.omevhat slackening its speed. Some time
afterwards, however, it increased its pace,
md when last seen was on our port beam,
u about one and a-hnlf to two miles dis
hnee. II formed a distinct wake, and
eemed To eIude an oily matter as it moved.
And, secondly, ], the said James Anderson,
10 solemnly and sincerely declare ms follows,
hat the shape and color of us much as was
Gstinguishahle of the monster bore an exact
nander; the stripes, however, We're more
lsfnite, yellow-the peculiar yellow of u
aiamander-alternating with deep black.
There were eight or ten stripes on the back.
almost Immediately said, at is an enor-
mons salamander," and the more l examined
I the more / was satisfied OF the resem-
ilance. The back was much higher, some
light or ten feet at times, than the head and
all. / was standing on the deck, and from
ny position l could not form any opinion
If its mode of progress. 1t was apparently
" q gelatinous q. c. fabby) substance.
Though keeping up with US, its movements
semed lethnrgic. l saw no eyes or fins,
md am certain that the creature did not
low or spout in the manner of n whale. ]
bould not for a moment compare it to n
make. The only creatures that it could be
compared with are the newt or frog tribe
~. Drr1 ron Hnnars, Mnrrus LII