The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1894-02-16
NO SEA-SE ERPENT.
But There are Several Strange Mn.
rine Animals That Look Like 1t.

rine Animals That Look Like 1T.
The question Of the existence Of the
''sea-s2rpcnt' is solely one of fact.
There is no prior reason why such rep
tiles could not exist, and creatures to
which such Il name would apply did
exist in abundance in mt sozoic tines.
Nevertheless, although thcrc have been
many reports of the discovery of the
'Sca scrpcntS," there is not at present
the slightest positive evidence to prove
that such creature now inllabtS the
sea. 1t is not within the realm Of pro
liability that any marine reptile OF
large size other than sea turtles now
exist
The sea has been as fully explored
as the land. The fishes of the sea, from
the surface to the depth Of five miles,
are as Well known as the animals OF
similar size on any Of the continents
except Europe The larger animals
which swim near the surface in the
oDpn ocean are for tE@ most part Well
known and have been known ever
since oceanic navigation began. Pro-
badly not half Il dozen species OF ma
rine animals reaching a length OF 10
feet have been discovered ii our cen
tury. Most Of those now known were
known To the &ncicntS.
The sea serpent stories may be elias
sitied as follows
l. Pure inventions, forccastlc yarns,
etc
. AlcohoiislnS.
3 Stories With foundation Of fact,
the basis being a seal, 4 fragment ~ a
wreck, a long strip of kelp, or some
other natural object mistaken for d
serpent.
4 Practical jokes, as the India rub
ber sea-sn"ppnt seen on Silver Lake,
n T., about 1s.t, This appeared usu-
ally in the evening and in sight OF the
yeranda Of the hotel.
s. The great oal1ish. or King OF the
herrugs iRcgalecus gieSnc.) This is
long, slender, ribbon shaped fish OF the
open sea. 1T SwmS in swift ,lndula-
tons, with great speed, on the surface
Of the water. 1t reaches a length or ~
feet or more The dorsal fin on its
/ head forms a high crest like the name
of a horse and the fish is altogether
striking object. 1t has been but once
/ taken in American waters, a specimen
having come ashore in bermuda some
years ago This fish is remotely allied
| to tho mackcrel. According to DIR.
/ Goode, al the sea serpents with up
! reared heads and the name OF a horse
can he rcfclTed to Regalecus
A smaller fish Of this type, too small
to seem like Il serpent, is occasionally
taken off our coast and known as king
of the salmon CFrachypterus reX-sal-
monolum) The Chinook Indians be-
lieye that if this fish is caught the sal
mon will cease running. A similar
| noxious influence is eXertel by the
/ birth of twins Other sWif1-mOving,
ribbon shaped surface fishes, as the
thread eel, the cutlass fish. etc. have
been reported as young sea-serpents.
g. The great frill-shark (Chlamydose-
lachus anguineus) has been reported as
a sea serpent. 1t was correctly drawn
rs such by Maine fisherman before its
occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean was
known. This is a very rare shark, as
slim and flexible as 4 snake, and grow
to be Is feet or more in length. 1t has
! the general structure of the shark, or
rather of the extinct shark. for one has
to 20 back to the carboniferous age to
/ find any like him This shark, with it's
! frill of gills about its neck, is one of
the rarest of fishes. only about four eX-
listing in collections. 1t is thought to
/ be the oldest living vertebrate, for all
other sharks of similar structures have
/ long since passed away. It is the or
! iginal of the sea-serpent that sWims
| low, with its head under water.
/ Z. The great killer, or gladiator tOr-
| caorca). This creature is a water
mammal allied to the porpoise and dol
phin It is very swift and strong, and
Of SO savage a disposition that it is the
terror of whales. seals sharks. sword
/ fishes and Of large fishes generally. 1t
reaches a length Of 20 to 30 feet. IT is
ordinarily detested by fishermen, but
this su",mer it served them a good turn
by rounding up" in Monterey Bay the
shoals of salmon from the neighboring
/ ocean.
/ In it's spiteful attack on the whale
and it will kill even the biggest Of
thcm-it has been taken for se.l-ser-
pent. Its word shaped dolsal fin, some
| 6 feet high, helps on the illusion. All
the ea-serpents which attack whales.
choking them in their gigantic folds"
and flashing the water for rods into
/ bloody foam are doubtless killers.
8. Nenomous little snakes exist in
the Indian Ocean. These are we'll
krown and are never taken for "sca-
eerpents."
| The above record includes all the sea
serpents Of which l have seen records
up to date.-Prof -. S. Jordan in the
San Francisco Examiner.
/ A Sign of Hard Times.
i Mr.. Morris Park--I see Pete Amster-