Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-06-16

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puts tin vertical plane
1t may be remembered that in 1878 a
monstrpus cuttlefish was encountered by
two fishermen in Conception Bay, New
foundland. When attacked, the creature
threw its long arms across the fisher
mems boat, which it seemed to regard
as veritable object of prey; but one
of the fishermen cut off the tentacle with
an AK, on which the cephalopod with
drew, apparently regarding the mans
action as unfair. This tentacle was % feet
in length, and as the fishermen considered
that it was cut off fully ten feet from the
body, the entire length of the tentacle
must have been about IS feet They esti-
mated the body at go feet in length and
five feet in diameter.
In 1861 the French steamer Alecto en-
countered monstrous cutie at sea about
l20 miles northeast of Teneriffe The
crew got moose around the body, but I'M
fortunately it slipped to the tail, which it
pulled off. The weight of this little bit of
the creature was found to be over forty
pounds. 1t was estimated that the body
was fifty feet long and the weight not less
than 1000 pounds. Now, the manufact-
urers Of small jokes before the time of the
buccaneers of the press, the jeering testers
of nearly two thousand years ago, had held
Pliny up to ridicule for asserting that a
cuttle-lish had been captured on the Span
ISL coast which, according to his account.
would have weighed about 1000 pounds
But PlIny's cuttle-tish would have been
little one compared with the Alecto's. As
for Victor Hugo's Devil-fsh it would have
been but mouthful for either the Alecto's
or the Conception bay devil.
In passing be it remarked that the
Devil-fish Ray and the Devil-tish Cepha-
lopod are by no means to be coniounded
Victor Hugo's Devil-fsh was no more a
fish than it was devil. But to many
persons every water creature, whale, seal,
crab, shrimp, oyster, etc, is fish, even as
all things that creep on the earth with
more legs than four are insects. No natu-
ralist can allow spiders to enter the insect
family, though many insects may enter
perforce the spider family.
With regard to sea monsters, which have
been described as sea serpents, | need only
to refer to the multitudinous accounts
which have been well accredited, since to
quote them in full would require several
pages of this Journal. 1t may be safely
asserted that every single account among
those which have been started for the pur-
pose of willfully deceiving has been quickly
dealt with, and whatever amusement the
inventors of the story may have found in
taking in those who uuwisely regarded
them as truthful aud not idiotir has been
Immediately balanced by appropriate con-
tempt. Again, every story which has ad-
mitted OF being OK piajned by some decep-
tive appearance, rs floating seaweed, lines
OF p0rp)i-cs, blsiing sharks, and so forth,
has been dealt with in that way; nay,
probably more sea-serpent stories have
probably been so explained away than can
so be fairly dealt with. A number of sto-
ries remain, which can neither be treated
rs foolish falsehoods Stupid story-tellers
are luckily not quite so numerous as many
imagine), nor explained as relating to OBJ
jects mistaken for sea monsters, nor inter
preted as describing known sea creatures
ribbon-fsh, cuttle-fish, basking sharks. or
the like, unusually large or seen under
unusual conditions. The opinions of nearly
all naturalists who have considered these
outstanding stories carefully is that they
indicate the existence of sea creatures
as yet unclassifed, which, though they
may not be-most probably are not-sea
serpents, yet when seen at the surface pre-
sent the appearance of serpent with head
reared above the water, and often progress
ing with great rapidity.
The most remarkable account of sea
monster of this kind is that given by the
Captain and officers of the Pauline. 1t
was sworn to by George Drevar the Cap
tain; Horatio Thompson, Chief Mate ;
John Landells, Second Mate, and by the
Steward and a seaman. 1t runs (Some-
what abridged) as follows:
On July Sth we observed three large
sperm whales, one of which was gripped
around the body by two turns of what APP
peared to be huge serpent. The head
and tail appeared to have length beyond
the coils of about thirty feet, and a girth
of eight or nine feet. The creature whirled
the whale round and round for about
fifteen minutes, and then suddenly dragged
it to the bottom head first
Five days later the same creature or a
similar one was seen about two hundred
yards from the ship, darting along the sur
face, head and neck being out of the water.
Only Captain Drevar and an ordinary sea-
man saw this But few minutes later
the Captain, First Mate and two seamen
saw the monster raise its head ard neck
above the water to a hight which they es-
timated at sixty feet.
1t is certain that neither Drevar nor
Thompson had any reason for inventing
such a story as they and the rest swore to
on the occasion. 1t is hard enough, thanks
to the penny-a-liner buffoon, to get an Off
Ger of a merchant vessel TO relate what he
has seen, if it be at all remarkable. As
Captain Drevar wrote to me soon after his
story had been published, the master of a
merchant craft gets little thanks from his
employers when he publishes story of
this sort. "We don't want you to see sea
monsters, but to attend to business" is the
customary comment of the merchant owner
when one of his captains has anything to
tell of the living wonders of the deep.
Drevars case illustrated this somewhat
badly. He was very soon out of employ
ment; not because they doubted the truth
of his story, but because they did not care
to have any Captain in their employment
exposing himself to ridicule.
Is it to be wondered at that those who
dIe luteIeStSu Ill lSdTIllllS all ln2l travellers
have to tell feel something more than mere
contempt for flippant fools who, BY their
feeble but spiteful testing, silence those
who alone have good opportunities of ex-
tending our information about the little
known wonders of the great deep.
Here are two cases of sea monsters, one
of which was certainly, the other probably,
not really, serpentiue.
Some ten years ago Commandant Viii
leneuve and the officers of the French
man-of-war, the Leander, saw creature
corresponding in appearance with the
" sea-serpent" travelling rapidly along, the
head slightly raised above the water, and
with Il sort of name streaming backwards
while the back of long body could be
seen under the water. A creature exactly
answering to this description was seen by
Major James Harding, then officer in the
King OF Figis army, passing within few
yards of his canoe, and swimming towards
a small island outside Suva Bay, known as
the Home of the Big Snake. Captain, the
Hon. George Hope, of the British ship Fly,
when in the Gulf of California, thesea being
unusually calm and transparent, saw at the
bottom large marine animal with the
head and general figure of an alligator,
but the neck much longer, and with four
large paddles instead of legs.
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