The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1883-11-20
PORTLAND NATURAL HISTORY
SOCIETY.

some Account OF the Finding of the Bones
of an Unknown Monster ON Ragged asl-
and-The Unsuccessful Search of Lnst
Summer.
At the meeting Of the Portland Natural His
tory Society last evening, DR.. William Wood,
president of the society, Mr.. @. B. Fuller, the
Rev, Francis Southworth, and Mr.. John M.
Could the secretary, made remarks concern
ing the strange bones found on Ragged Island.
The following report gives summary of the
facts developed by the remarks of these gen.
tlemen:
Ragged Island is well named. 1t lies a few
miles east of Harpswell. entirely exposed to
the sea, and is now uninhabited. Mr.. Thomas
Skolfeld moved othe island about 1885, and
few years later began to dig boat harbor by
tearing down the natural "sea wall" of boul-
ders, shingle and sand that lay at the head OF
q very small cove on the Southwest end Of the
island. After clearing this away he came to a
rift in the ledge, and dug channel hundred
feet or more long, through 1t, and then came
to low land, covered with red top grass
The formation here consisted of four feet OF
feet of peat, with blue clay underlying all. he
was greatly aided in all this labor by the sea,
which constantly breaks on Ragged Island.
He had only to throw out the stones and loosen
the earth, and the tide would carry it out
When finished, he had sort OF inland pond,
about 200 feet in diameter, connected with the
ocean by the channel before named.
While digging out the peat he came to the
bones that have made the place famous. Mr..
Skolfsld's recollection of the bones agrees
Substantially with DIR. Woods. A model
made by Mr.. Fuller under DIR. Woods direc-
tion, according to bis recollection, was shown
to the audience. II measures fourteen inches
long (fore aad aft) by nine or ten inches in
diameter, and consequently roughly resembles
piece of stove funnel, only that it is solid.
Mr.. Skolheld found plates three inches thick
separating the bones. None of these plates
were saved.
Bone No. 2 is small cone with fattened
sides, only a few inches in length and
diameter.
The large bones were plainly from the back
bone Of some monster, but they do not agree
with the description of any animal known.
The faces of all the bones wsrs perfectly hard
and smooth. No sign of protuberance was
noticed upon any Of them and no trace of a
rib was discovered. There were, however,
dug out what Mr.. Skolfeld took to be the fore
legs of the creature. These were found lying
about three feet on each side of the back bone
Each leg had two joints, or rather two only
were found, and all four of these leg bones
were hard and firm while the vertsbr@ were
somewhat spongy. Mr.. Skolfeld's recollection
of the shape and length of the leg bones does
not appear to be SO vivid as it is about TIE
joints of the back bone, hut they were small in
comparison with the great length of the back
bone of which he unearthed sixty-dve feet and
had not then reached the monsters head, aud
apparently did not dig out the end of the tail.
1t is surmised that Bone No 2, may be a
part of these fore lags though there are other
| good theories as to what part of the body it
Came from.
A few, and few only, Of the back bones
were thrown out upon dry land, the remainder
washed into the sea. or the bones saved two
found their way to this society and are well
remembered by the older members. They
were destroyed in the fire of 1852 which burnt
up the Exchange" containing the society's
collection. Mr.. Skolfsld says that shortly af-
ter he dug the bones the island was visited by
gentleman who gavs his name as Coolidge
and said he was connected with the Philadel-
phia Academy of Sciences. He took two of
the bones away with him.
Dr. Wood has written to and visited the
Philadelphia Academy but gets no clue to
these bones. 1t would be a source of gratifca-
tion to the Portland Society if some Philadel-
ph la scientist could hunt up Mr.. Coolidge or
the lost treasures. 1t should be noted however
that the name OF William Coolidge appears as
the original donor to the Portland Society and
it is not known who this MIR. Coolidge was.
Eight or ten years after the peat bones were
dug up hump back whale fosted ashore on
Ragged Island and its bones were thrown
around the beach and some have been carried
off by the people of neighboring islands under
the impression that they were the bones dug
out ofthe peat The society has number of
these bones, and attention was especially call
ed to vertebra and a rib recently obtained
through the secretary from Hiram Totm an,
Esq, of Great Island. Mr. Fuller and the late
DIR. Benjamin f. Fogg paid two visits to the
island before the war and searched the shores,
san and surface OF the island. In 1867 par
ty consisting OF president Wood, Rev. E. c.
Bolles, Messrs. Bicknell, Fuller and others be-
gan digging for the bones supposed to be still
remaining. They lacked tools and time but
more particularly workmen; they were also
visited by storm which filed the tr ench
already dug, destroyed their boat and broke up
their operations.
Mr. Southworth gave an account of the ex-
pedition of July, 1883. Eight men, favored
with fair weather, dug for Eve days, and by
means Ct probes and augers sounded into the
peat, hoping to strike bone, but not one vas
found. There is still possible chance of find
ing something and it is hoped that the at
tempt may be made another season.
Mr.. Southw worth also called attention to the
difficulty of deciding what sort of an animal
it might be, since it does not answer the de-
scription of anything known. He admitted
that he was a firm believer in the sea serpent;
and if there is sea serpent his vertebral
column would most likely be made of such
bones as these found at Ragged Island.
According to Mr.. Southworth's measure
ment, the bones already taken out were eighty
feet in length Instead of sixty-fve, as esti-
mated by Mr.. Skolfield, and allowing for head
and tail, the animal would have been one hun
dred and ten feet or more long.
Specimens of the pest, clay and rocks of the
island were exhibited. Two bones of some
small animal, not yet identified, were found in
the peat, but there was no evidence of marine
life in it. Mr.. Skol6eld did not find even
clam-shell there.
Messrs. VIM. w. Brown and VIM. A. Quin-
cy and Miss Kate Furbish OF Brunswick, we're
elected members of the society.
THE CANADIAN PACIFIC.
What is fn she Way of Its Comiag TO Port
land How the Obstacle can be Over
cOme-saggesfions of Great importance
10 Portland.
To the Editor of the Press:
The people of Portland having, failed to realize
their most ssnguine expectations in regard to the
Grand Trunk and the other railway enterprises
which our city and citizeus have been interested
in promoting, appear to have become somewhat ap-
athletic, and Indifferent to the substantial advanta
ges derived by reason of such lines making this city
their Atlantic terminus.