The Coconino weekly sun., 1895-02-28
SEA SERPENTS.
A Sea-Faring Man Tells of Those
 Of the Coast of Brazil.

"The ocean off the northeast coast o1 Brazil" said the bronzed seafaring man, lis regular marine jungle What the dense forests and inaccessible fastnesses of it's vast area are to the land of that interesting country the submerged tangles of coral growth are to the water off the northeast coast of Brazil. If one might see them and thread their unknown labyrinths such wonders would confront him at every turn as never existed in any wood or swamp or jungle on which the sun has ever shone. Those submarine coral for ests are the homes of sea monsters be- yond belief. There the sea serpent lives. There it brings forth and rears its young. There, and there only. When l hear landsmen laugh and de- ride the idea of there being such a thing as sea serpent l pity them and say:
 "'Alas, what pent-up lives you live! you know! If you might only go to the Brazilian coast, off Cape San Roque, in latitude, say, five degrees, thirteen minutes north, and longitude thirty five degrees vest Belay me! But what sights you'd see."
 "No sea serpent? thought so once myself. l don't know that I should pity those pent-up landsmcn after all, for if l had not shipped as able seaman on the bark Pauline of London, Capt. Drewar, on that July of 1875, it is like ly that would be just as pent-up and ignorant now as they are.
 'Know you, there are no ports on that part of the Brazilian coast off Cape San Roque; no place for ship to go in, even if there was anything there that ship should have business in going in to do. But the bark Pauline went in there. Singular about that, sir. We were looking for whales incl dentally. If, in those days, after doing our legitimate business, we might man. age to overcome a whale, then we were just so much in, from the captain down. So on this trip, having dis charged what we had on board, and taken on what we were to take on, Capt. Drewar said to the first mate, and l heard him:
 :" 'Mate,' said he, we have three days to spare. What do you think of sailiu' up and loolfin' over the mysteries2'
 "Now, mind you, the mysteries is the northeast coast of Brazil, where there are no ports, and where every sailor knows the sea serpent has its only home.
 "'Cap'n,' says the mate, touching his hat, why notT
 "'Then it's go?' says the capn.
 The goen'est kind, sirr says the mate.
 And we sailed up along the coast. Being man who was not sailor through necessity, 1 may have been more alert as to the things that might occur on this recreation voyage than was the ordinary seaman doing his routine duty a-shipboard for his living. Anyhow, one day, as we were off Cape San Roque, in an unknown sea so far as commercial interests are concerned, the lookout shouted:
 'Waterspoutr
 "Now, s'pose it had been water spout? Whats waterspout? There's nothing in waterspout to scare any body. As far as was concerned per sonally didn't care whether it was waterspout or an earthquake. As matter of fact, think I would have been glad if it had been an all-envel- ,oping earthquake, so far as was per sonally concerned, for was way down in the dumps. It was because of that l went to sea. loved the girl so much and she threw me overheard, and r. but let that pass.
 'Waterspoutr shouted the lookout.
 Where away?' sung out the cap tain.
 "'Three points to the sta'boardr shouted the lookout.
 "Sure enough, sir; there it was. At least there was what the lookout said was a waterspout. It wasn't spout though. It seemed to be great foun- tain squirting out of the sea. It shot up as high as a ships mast, undulated there moment like huge watery column swayed by wind, then dropped back to the ocean level; instantly rose again to its tremendous height, glis- tened in the sun like lofty white pin uacled rock; swayed and fell; rose, glistened, swayed, fell, all in quick succession, each fall to the water being followed by the upward splashing of great spumes of foaming sea. Around this eccentric fountain several big black objects moved here and there, quickly, and without apparent aim.
 'Waterspout be blowedr the cap tain said.
 ",Then he seized his glass and gazed through it at the strange affair. His eyes had scarcely taken in the scene, enlarged and made distinct by his glass, when saw him turn pale. But shc couldn't cease looking.