St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-06
THE SEA SERPENT CAUGHT.

The Body, Sixty-four Feet Long.
May Arrive by Schooner at Any
Day.
New York Sun.
Capt. Paul Boynton, the man who
floats and paddles long distances in
rubber suit, with the American flag
waving from the toe of his boot, says he
is going to establish monster aquatic
museum in this city, to contain all the
wonders of the deep. He talked with
Sun reporter yesterday on board the
steamship Trave of the North German
Lloyd line, which arrived about noon at
her pier in Hoboken. She had brought
with her ten North German sea seals,
consigned to the captain.
All the time the captain had been
displaying his animals and seemed to
be laboring under some great mental
strain. He had something to tell, and
didn't want to tell it, Atlast he took
the reporter to part of the saloon
where nobody could hear him except the
steward, who is discreet gentleman,
and made clean breast of it. He be-
gan by taking package from his inside
Waistcoat pocket. He undid it and took
from it letter. For moment even
then he hesitated. He fumbled the let
ter for long quarter of minute. Then
he burst out:
"We've caught the sea serpent! Look
at it (the letter, land then tell me II am
WrOng.n
And yet before he gave up the letter
he paused. 1t was to explain that he
was backed in his museum enterprise
by wealthy New Yorker. 1.-THE sea
is neglected study" he said. "There
are things in it that no man has ever
yet set eyes on"
"Dear Captain" the letter began, 81
have captured something wonderful. |
don't want to tell you what it is, for |
know that when the people hear of it
they will say l am crazy. But I'll tell
about 1t. We were sailing along the 10th
1.-THE. letter was written in Octoberl,
when we sighted school of por-
poiSes. We trained our dynamite
gun to shoot one, when suddenly the
porpoises disappeared. A moment after
ward hideous head appeared above
the water and came toward US. A long
body followed. The thing was swimming
with an up and down motion. We were
thunderstruck, but we got the gun
ready and fired bomb at it. 1t struck
just below the head, and the monster
lashed the water furiously. We manned
a boat and succeeded in harpoOing him
after a long struggle, and then we took
him aboard. don't want to say that
the monster is sea serpent, but in all
my experience / have never seen any
thing to equal it.
cit measures siXty-three feet seven
inches and is about foot IN diameter.
Its eyes are about the size Of small sau-
GERS. Its head is something like horse.
The back of it is covered with shell-like
Jumps. 1t has two rows of sharp-point-
ed teeth. Its back is all covered with
shell-llke barnacles, and its tail
ach is spotted dirty white and
mouse colored. 1t has two fiippers, one
on each side of its body, just below its
head. From each sheil-like lump on its
head there is sticker like those on
catfish, only about ten times as large,
and like needle points sticking out.
These in the water while the thing
was fighting were like steel
prongs, but after it was dead
they wilted. What the thing is I
will let the scientists of America
tell. 1t is wonderfully strange. that is
all. I have been at work on the body
since we captured it, and with our new
fluid | think it is safely preserved, all
but the eyes, which am afraid cannot
save as well as l should like. I will
have it ready to ship by week, and
when you see it you can name it your
SELF"
The letter concluded with some COM
ments on the action of new gun.