River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1888-09-13
THE SEA-SERPENT.
Ancient Descriptions of the Monster Fur
nished by Yeraoious ChronicIers.

Ancient Descriptions of the Monster Fur
nished by Yeracious ChronicIers.
It is hardly necessary 10 say how old
is the notion that huge monsters of the
snake sort make their home deep in
the seas. now and then showing them
selves TO ssrr'ify mankind. In fact. II
the notion were not SO old as to seem
10 find its source in fables and mytho-
lo0fesl legends, one reason for doubt
ing the reality of the creature would
be removed Most OF these extremely
pncient descriptions come from the
Northern lands, and the cold oceans OF
Scandinavia. Thus. one ancient au-
thor. CLAUS Maglus. speaks OF sea-
snake two hundred feet long that rose
from the waves. lowered ai,oYe Sinps
mast. and snapped up cattle ana men IN
its laws. Il. the old Chronicle OF
:Prodigies and Portents. by Conrad
Wolfhart, German Of the sixteentn
century, we find strange, rude pictures
of serpentine creatures, in which ne
put all due faith; there is the "Alcete.'
an animal with scaly body and s.
head like a wild boar, and the
fs.Physeter." horrible freak of the
imagination. which has a horses head,
the teeth OF dragon and the blow
holes of d whale Wolfhart narrates
that in 15I b. C.. on the coast oi
Sardinia, several mighty snakes came
up from the sea and attacked vessels;
but. as his picture shows the alarmed
crew discharging cannon at the foe
some twelve centuries before cannon
were in use. there may be other errors
To come to later accounts. In l0ig
an English traveller named Josselyn,
who came over to New England on q
visit. was told OF sea-serpent that lay
cOiled on some rocks at Cape Anns
Mass And il should be observed how
early Massachusetts waters and the
New England coast became the regions
linked with appearances of the mystic
rious creature Some Indians who
rowed near this one. in a skiff, were
sorely frightened and warned the En-
glishmen with them not TO fire At it, or
they would be in peril. Unluckily,
Mr.. Josselyn was not of the boat party,
anu ttAt result - LlAak " = SLb AAAAH az
count only by hearsay.
The next nari alive OF value is a sin
gtilar description by Rev. Hans Egede,
distinguished missionary to Green
land. who records in his diary in 1884,
the rising to the surface of the sea near
his parish OF a monster so huge If
size that, coming out of the water, it,
head reached as high as the mainmast-
II had a long, pointed snout. and spout
ed like a whale. The under part oe
the body was shaped like that OF a huge
serpent. This remarkable creature
seems to have been more like "a giant
squid than like any animal Of the ser
pent kind.
Two records Of our mysterious
monster, with plenty OF details, soon
follow. Joseph Kent, seaman, behold
in Broad Bay, ia May. 175l, a great
serpent longer and thicker than the
main-boom Of his eighty-fve ton ship;
and good Bishop Pontopidan, in his
famous Natural History Of Norway"
tells us that the Norwegian coast is
the only European shore visited by the
creature: and that formidable speci-
men, six hundred feet long. with its
extended back looking like a row Of
floating hogsheads, was chased by
boats crew Of eight sailors under a
certain Captain de Ferry, but that il
escaped.
Passing by the statement Of Eleazar
Crabtree, who declares that IN 177S he
saw this shy swimmer on the surface
OF Penobscot Bay, we reach a really
important record dated the next year.
1873 In that year Commodore Preble
(afterward so famous as one OF our
naval heroes. but then a young mid
shipman) pursued with boat and
twelve seamen, d monster-a sea-ssr-
pent between one hundred and one
hundred and fifty feet in length, with
huge head. Its motion was 50 rapid
ti.at it could no. be overtaken. It was
OBJ srved at intervals for an hour. II
is q. least odd. If there was any decep-
tio1, that one year later Mr.. George
Little sighted what seems to have been
the same snake. IN Round Pond, Broad
Pay.-Edward Iren0ts Stevenson, ~
81. Nicholas.