Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1886-08-14
A MONSTER SERPENT.
People by the sea Horrifled at Marvellous
Visitor.
Boston Dispatch.

Boston Dispatch.
Renewed evidence is given that a sea
serpent is really off the New England
coast. A week ago the monster was
plainly seen by party Of gentlemen
from Gloucester whose varacty is un-
questionable and who honestly believe
IN what they saw. Wednesday Glon-
cester fisherman saw the monster close
by his boat a half mile from shore.
Tonight dispach from Portland says /:
''Last Sunday afternoon Mr.. Robert
Costello, his son Fred and Mr.. James
N. Cronk were in a boat some little dis
tance southwest Of Fort Preble, the sea
being very quiet, hardly ripple dis
turbing the surface OF the water. Sud
denly Fred Costello, looking carelessly
out at sen, saw something that caused
him to spring up in wild excitement,
crying, look at that thing The others
looked in the indicated direction and
saw not 100 feet off in line with their
boat the head OF what Fred called a
thing, but which was plainly the head
OF an enormous snake. The monster s
head and about two feet OF the neck
was out OF the water. He was moving
with great rapidity seaward. The head
was turned from the boat, and the crea-
ture was apparently pretty badly fright
ened at finding himself in strange COM
pany. Mr.. Costello says that the neck
was perhaps three feet thick, gradually
tapering upward to the head, and the
neck appeared to be smooth. In short,
it was a perfectly formed snakes head
that was lifted out Of the water at their
approach. There is no material differ
ence in the statements made by all
members of the party"
Two boys, who were out in boat
near the same locality about one hour
before, saw the same serpent, the
creature being then apparently fast
asleep and with, as they think, about
twenty feet of his body on the surface.
They commenced to row rapidly for
the shore, which evidently aroused the
serpent, who went under the water for
minute and came to the surface again
in apparently almost an upright po-
sition, his head coming out and perhaps
six feet of the body. He made no
noise and didn't desire 10 come any
closer to the boat, but, on the contrary,
started for the open sea. After going
we'll out the creature seemed to change
its purpose and came back, but not so
rapidly as it went out. A sailor or fish
erman named Sullivan says he saw the
same serpent Sunday afternoon, and
the head appeared to him to be about
| five or six feet in length before the neck
was reached. Sullivan says the snake
seemed to be very timid and couldn /
have been overtaken, as it moved
through the water with great rapldity,
He saw the creature near the spot
where Mr.. Costello and party saw it a
few hours later. The captain of the
fishing vessel, who declined to give his
name, because, as he said, Il don't
want to be thought insane tells the
following story:
'About month ago / was beating
into port one bright moonlight night
when noticed about three boat Lengths
from the schooner a round log-like
body resting on the waves, and rising
and falling in the swell ] called to my
brother, who saw the same object dis
tinctly. We ran close to it and actual
| ly surged against it, when great blacl
snakes head came up from the surface
and a pair of big eyes looked at us
JIm--that's my BROTHER called out t
me that we would be swallowed alive
but the snake looked at lis and ther
went slowly down, being that big tina
he made the schooner rock as in ;
storm. In a little while after, we saw
him on the top OF the water. His head
was we'll up over the rail when he came
up this time, SO | told Jim that mayb,
we might capture it, but Jim said h,
hadn't lost no snake that he knowed OF
and he'd be hanged if he'd hunt fo
that one."