The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-09-23

hntleman of such Cquablo and consCrva-
I've mind rs Boston schoolmastcr may
, 10 presumed to possess, have reported
3thc appearance near Cape Ann of what,
s jim defercnco to an established phrase,
thoy are pleased to call "thc sea ser
. pent." The account they give is sub
| stantially tho same as annually finds its
/ way to public notice, and is likely to be
received in the same spirit Of sccptlcal
leyity which these narratives have al
ways encountered. An attitude OF frank
unbolicf toward all stories that smack OF
tho sat water seems to be an inCrndlca-
bic popularity of the human mind. y
"fish story" is a synonym for fnlschood
the world over; and indeed II the court
of public opinion ovcry man who tolls
tale of sights ut sea is presumed to be
liar until he is proved innocent. The
person, therefore, who has the tCrmcrity
to state that he has seen the sea serpent
{ quito regains his old position in public
esteem; to havo chanCcd to observe an
unfamiliar marine animal "swiitly I'M
dulating along quarter of Il mile to
lceward" is Il violation Of tho proprictics
which one can hardly hope to live down.
This state of things may be only one
phase Of the gencralindisrosition Of man
to acknowledge that others have seen
what circumstances have concealed from
his own sight, but at all events the So
called sea serpent, whose persistent re-
appearance may be regarded as q pathetic
attempt Oh its part to prove its own OK
istencc to skeptical world, is either
jccrcd by the paragraphist OF silently
rclcgatcd to that region of myths over
which Munchauscn and Sinbnd hold
sway.
But oven Sinbad's tales. when read III
the light of modern science, are readily
interpretable i'll many cases as distorted
,, and magnitCd versions OF actual facts.
And, in much the same way, beneath the
CXaggcrationS and abSurditiC3 with which
different observers have described the
IL so-called sea serpent, there is ImdOubtcd-
ly basis of truth. Indeed, what reason
is there to doubt that such al animal
exists? The only considerable argument
against its existence is that advanced by
Professor Owen, who objects that if It
existed we should be able to find either
its separate bones or its complete sbclu-
ton. Such objection, however, has no
, validity, because We never find the bones
of whales or seals save on beaches where
men have killed them; nor do we ever
discover the skeletons Of the countless
thousands of birds that die in the forests.
Nature is her own scavengcr; We never
come upon her burying places. We may
not, therefore, deny the existence Of Il
sea monster simply because its skeleton
is not obtainablc for the museums.
On the contrary, the fact Of the exist
Incc of some snakc-likc marine animal
unknown to the present 2oologist is at
inStnl Inv , t,rnnrr { Nit,
not rehcarsC here tho long list Of circu!n-
! stantial and oGte!lrd narratives Of those
moro or less eminent men, from Diudo-
rus Siculus to the president uf the Gl0u-
ccstcr Common Council, who profess to
q have seen the monster i'll question. ANY
Il librarian can furnish the imuuiring read
81 or with a sufficient number Of these Qc
q counts to keep him in interesting read
s. ing for two days at |, ast. The nnrrators
s. include clcrgymcn of all nationaltics and
n creeds, physicians, experienced Travellers
u hard-headed business men, naval officers
n of such roputo rs Or own Commander
& Preblc, and q host of others equally dis
& Interested. Many of these accounts
unjust DC set aside rs obviously colorcd up
+ for et1ecU. But even then there remains
y an accumulation of evidence too weighty
+ to bo withstOod. THERE'S, of course, much
Y but after setting aside the
''pcrsonal error" for which trained OBJ
servers always allow, tho general cohc-
s8rence OF the details given in these yari-
ous accounts is indeed remarkable. All
Is tho observers have found the animal ouly
in northern latitudes; all agrcc that ifs
color is blacliiSh brown above and white
beneath; that its prominent eyes are ON
q the top of its tlattcned head; that il
moves at the rate Of five or six knots an
Eehour; that it is harmless and even timiI
And that its undulatOry movement is
~ catcrpillar-hkc, TINT is, vertical and not
< lateral. There Is, too, substantial agree
mont in placing its size at seventy feet
in length and twelve in circumference.
8 This concurrent testimony from hun
81 dreds of witnesses, strangers to each
gsSother and often soparg ted by centuries
sof time sufficiently proves the existence
&of such'Gn animal rs they describe 4
line OF porpoiseg, a school OF horse
lEmackefel, q mass Of sea weed, IN , ld
mast covered with barn0clcs and tossi. :
Hon theiwayes, have each been mistaken
tor q sea serpent many times. Never
theles& unless all the laws Of evidence
\, pre- at tSault, there IS in actual existence
y precisely such q marine monster as
reported near Cape Ann. The so-callcd
pea serpent is not a myth.
Whab, however, as matter Of TACT, is
the animal which bears in popular
1hraBeology this allitorativo name? We
fasay .heldly assert that it is not serpent.
au observers ngrce that it unduatcs vor-
5ieallyghke caterpillar. But any one
Eho takes the trouble to examinc the
psEueEure OF the Tertebrp of serpents will
ee once tlat they ore capable of no
aiono. There are plenty of sen s scr-
lents, but none over five feet in lcnGfb
sd Ill have their tails nattcnod SD,
#ey"> 10 that they movc through tho
' Afater nkN ees. We hayco then, No do
scFlhcd h,y It's Observers, an animal nttor.
unkndwn to ii &c Hoologist, ut least 90
eonten pOrary form. The only infer.
nee therefore is that it is a syuryiTTal from
sonle group &fanim ais now on tho vorgr