News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-10-28
THEY SAW THE SERPENT.
Lieutenant Forster's experience with one
in the North River seen by half-a-
dozen people.

Those who are disposed to scof at
Cling marine serpent existing in the
Hudson River would better keep away
from the foot of Vest Twenty
st. while the United States receiving
ship Minnesota remains anchored there
with Lieutenant G. \. Forster on board.
The lieutenant solemnly declares that
he saw the huge reptile last Sunday
morning and says it with an emphasis
that makes contradiction dangerous.
Quartermaster Kane, of the vessel, says
the same thing: so does Sailmaker Macy
and half dozen more of the crew. All
the marines, of course, believed it from
the start, AMI such is the reputation of
the officers for truthfulness, that every
able odi d seaman on board now be-
lieves that the monster nonored the ship
with visit as thoroughly as those who
! were on deck when his snakeship hove
in sight, and are as ready as they to re-
sent the slightest suggestion to the con-
trary in the most unceremonious way.
Lieutenant Forster is a quiet, digni-
| fed gentleman of about thirty seven
years, twenty of which have been passed
in the Navy, and the last man in the
world, one would think, to give way to
his Imagination. He looked straight in
to TR BUNE reporters eyes last night
and told the story of the serpents ap-
| pearance and disappearance with an earn
est and candid air that would carry con-
viction to the most hardened sceptic's
soul. sit was about 8 o'clock in the
morning." said the gallant officer, "and
l was standing over there on the outer
gangway looking down the river. Sud-
denly | noticed what l thought at first
w a spar about thirty feet long on the
water about a hundred yards to the
southwest of the ship. 1t was such an
unusual thing to see a valuable piece of
wood like that floating about that I
looked more closely at it. Then to my
establishment, it began to wriggle about
in true snake fashion. A tug boat was
coming up stream and it seemed to be
moving slowly out of the way. | called
Quartermaster Kane, who was on the
upper deck, and pointed it out to him
He at once brought his binocular TO
bear upon it and watched it while it
remained in sight. When l first saw
the monster it was lying quite station
airy, but as tug approa he'd 1t began
to move up with the tide at a two-knot
Fate l had good square look at it.
Its head and tail sc med submerged.
but the part exposed was of dark gray
color. There were no fins or scales Wis
iDle upon it. At the largest part it
appeared to be about eighteen inches in
diameter and tapered toward each end
in such a way as to lead me to think it
was fully sixty feet in length. With
the glass the quartermaster was able to
discern the form of the head and tail
or the two ends under the surface.
When it got up to Twenty eighth st.
brick barge interrupted our view and
we did not see it again. At one time
it could not have been over fifty yards
from me, so l know ii was not a spar,
or hawser, or shark, or anything
else than a great big snake"
Some of the 'longshoremen who were
on the pier at the time declare that they
saw the head of the serpent and that it
was fully two feet long. Lieutenant
Forster and all the rest are willing to
make affidavits as to what they saw.
None of the officers, it Is said, has been
ashore in month and were as sober as
deacons at the time-N. Y. Tribune.