The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-07-04
THE PERENNIAL SEA-sNAKE.
Evidences rs to the Existence of the
Marine MOnster-His Recent Annual
Appearance on tho New England
CONGRATULATIONS in Former Years
Scientific OpiuiOus Of Men. Ne rpenas.

Scientific Opinions Of Sen.serpenss.
LYNN, MASS, June 25.--Though little
late, the great sea serpent has made his
| annual appearance. With q lash of his
| snake like tail he overturns the boat contain
ing his discoveries, who finally reach land in
| demoralized condition to join the select few
who believe In his existence. New Haven is
| the fortunate place of his appearance. The
| defenders of the aserpent are by no means
| few in this neighborhood. Your correspond
! ent has walked along the beach with gem
| tleman Ga member of the Society of Friends)
who was one of our small party who saw the
great sea-serpent of 1910, and ran along the
| beach and watched its movements. The Lin
| mean Society of Boston appointed n commit
| tee to report on the matter. My informant,
man of undoubted varacity and not at all
| liable 10 be over-eycited, saysi "The report
came from the beach that the sea-serpent
had been seen. Doubling it, determined to
see for myself, and so went down with six or
seven others. Finally the sea-serpent or
whatever IL was appeared. 1t resembled a
huge eel, and should Judge it to have been
over 100 feet long" In answer to question:
he replied: 81 am perfectly familiar with
the movements of pQrpoises at all rates of
speed, and cannot be mistaken. AS fol-
lowed it along the beach for twenty minutes
at n run, | could distinctly see its eel-lilie
movement; sometimes the head was elevated,
and looked like that of an enormous eel, and
| have no doubt that it was n huge animal of
| that class. was not excited in the least,
and could not have made mistake" This
is plain statement, and can scarcely be
| refuted. Lynn Beach, one of the finest in
| the world, is hard as rock, and extends for
about four miles toward Nalant. and q per-
son so yards from the water, up the grade,
would SCARCELY be mistaken even II the OBJ
ject was n mile away, SO clear is the atmos-
phere. Scientifically, the sea-serpent was
fact, and We have in our museums and halls
| of science the remains of huge mariue
snake-likc animal = the C1ilastes - that
reached an enormous length. The bottoms
of the ancient seas of the cretaceons period
now the mdurdiseS terres of Colorado and Kan
sas-are the graveyards for these monsters.
In appearance, when restored, they rescm-
BILE monster cells, and II is 4 possibility that
there now exists, in the deeper waters, speci-
mems allied to these huge extinct forms, and,
like the devil-fsh, rarely coming into shoal
water to astonish the toilers of the sea. Ten
years ago tales were whispered around of an
octopus, or devil-lish, Of great size, and
laughed at and compared to Victor Hugo's
tale. The caricaturist took up the joke and
laughed it to death, as they thought, but
heavy gale on the coast of newfoundland, a
oyer 40 feet long by actual measurement
taken in the presence Of myself. So the sea-
serpent has been fact and is possibility.
Among other seeming authentic accounts
is that Of Mr.. Cook, of Merigomish, Nova
Scotia:
sin August of 1916 there was seen here
at Merigomish marine monster which was
estimated about SO feet long. II was aground
in still water, within 200 yards of the beach,
and after its motions had been watched for
about an hour it succeeded in getting off into
deeper water and disappeared. One gen.
tleman mounted high bank and over
looked it. 1t raised its head frequently
from the water, and its hack was either COW
cred with humps or they were caused by the
motion of the body. The skin was dark and
rough. 1t wrthed about continually, and
would bend its body into circle and I'M
bend it with great rapidly. 1t soon disap-
peared, and left long and wide wake, al
though no fins could be seen." In 1874 a
: large creature swan past a wharf at Arisaig,
! near the northeast end of Nova Scotia and
was observed by Mr.. w. Barry, of Picton,
who certified that he was within rs feet of it,
and judged it to be 80 feet long and feet in
width. The back was covered with natural
ridges or humps. The body moved in "long
undplatipns," thus causing the head and
: tail to appear and disappear at intervals.
, This evidence was all procured by Mr.. j. w.
, Dawson, of Picton, Nova Scotia, for Sin
Charles Lyell, +. R. s., F. G.. S. H., etc., a
gentleman who is an authority on almost
: any subject. In February of lS45 letter
was printed in the various newspapers
signed by Capt. Lawson, giving descrip
ton of a monster snake seen by him from his
vessel of Capes Charles and Henry. The
! length was stated as 100 feet, and on til,
back were seen sharp projections. The head
3 was small in proportion to the length. In
q the month of August Ofthat year and of July
7 1876, articles appeared in Norway paper,
' giving a description of a monster fish or ami
0 NAL seen by many people, and giving The
r names of surgeons, lawyers, and others VIII,
] had seen it, and who had certified TO the ve
t racity of the statement. This serpent WA
seen in the vicinity of Christiansand, an,
Z, also at Molde and I.und. 1t entered tn,
o fiords on calm days, and was supposed to b,
< from 70 to 100 feet in length of black color
: smooth, and about 2 feet in circumference
1 II moved through the water like an eel, an,
u came near the shore that the waves brOk,
Il on the beach AZ II a steamer had passed. On
the neck hair was observed, that waved Xix.
;, a name in the water. Archdeacon Deintoll
y in his report, says that the people who wit
;, messed this remarkable sight were not fright
d ened, but observed it carefully, and fire,
Il shots at IL, some of which must have hit, a
>, it Owed, but reappeared again.
IN the years 1877 and 1890 large marin
,, animal made its appearance quite frequent,
d on the New England Coast, especially be
e tween Gloucester and Boston. These visit
h created 80 much excitement that the Lin
I mean Society Of Boston appointed commit
p tee to investigate the matter. II was done
y. and Or. Bigelow and u. G. Gray, two well
n, known gentlemen of the committee, made til
a report, of which the following is an extract
l. "1'he monster was from 50 to 80 feet long
Y, his head usually carried about two feet aboy
II the water tie body of dark brown colol
with 30 or more protuberanees-oOm b
some to four-gallon kegs, by others to a slrin
id of buoys, and called by some lunches on th
st back. Motions very rapid--iastei than thos
o. of whale-swimmng mile in three mil
., utes, and sometimes more, leaving q wax
Ks behind him chasing maekerel, behring's, an
A. other fish, which We're seen jumping out
~ the water, so at time, as he approached
a He only came 10 the surface of the sea
II, calm and bright weather. A skififnl mark
n man fired at him from our boat and hayin
ed taken good aim, felt sure he must have h
Of him ON the head. The creature turned t,
ny ward him, then dived under the boat, an
reappeared a hundred yards on the 9th,
pit side.
W. Near the middle of Belhaven Bay, an
about quarter of mile from the pla'
where We We're standing, there certainly a.
peared a long and large black animal
the water, having all the appearance of Il
sauran described by DR.. Joass. When fir
Ia. observed II was proceeding shoreward, vii
70. what seemed to he its head and various n
rs dulated portions of the body above the su
lid face. After getting near the shore 1t turn'
nd to the westward, and kept moving about
me- that position for considerable time. Som
his times It appeared to stretch itself out to
to full length, at which times both its head al