The Portland daily press., 1895-11-01
NO STA SERPENT.
But a Peculiar Member Of the Whale
Family.
CAPT CROSSMAN HAD NEVER
SEEN ANYTHING LIKE Ill.
Whale that Didn't Spout, but Reared
Like the Central Park Lions.

Whale that Didn't Spout, but Reared
Like the Central Park Lions.
"No.n said Capt. J. A. Crossman of
South Portland, last evening, eve didn't
encounter the sea serpent, but we had
a strange experience with whale, and
I don't believe anybody ever had the like
before, I've been at sea, man and boy,
since l was nine years old, and 1 never
saw the like of the whale we encountered.
I never saw whale before that didn't
blow. but the one we met didn't, but it
did give roar that was awful"
"It sounded like the lions in Central
Park. New York." said Miss Houston
who was one Of the party that had the
strange encounter.
'It certainly was more like the roar
of a lion than anything else l can think
of, said Capt. Crossman.
The schooner Grace Webster, Capt.
Crossman, was on her way from New
York to Portland with Ala tons of COAL
Beside the captain, and crew, Mrs. Cross
man. her daughter and Miss Houston
were Oh board.
The schooner was about 10 miles off
Wood Island, and making good Roadway
under full sail, the mate, Merrill Cross
man, at the wheel when there was sud
den commotion ahead, and then great
head shot up into the air and was on a
level with the deck.
One of the crew first sighted the strange
la
in a moment all on board, but the man
at the wheel, were looking at the strange
sight. They saw before them an enor-
nous head, one mass of great punches
through which the wicked looking eyes
of the creature cleaned. They expected
the whale, if such, would elbow,
but it lid not then or after. Once mar
row thread of what looked like steam,
shot up, but not a drop of water was sent
into the air. AS they looked at the GREAT
ure it roared savagely, and then drew
close up to the side of the schooner, Civ
ing them ample time to observe the head,
and all agree that it was very broad; that
it tapered almost to a point and that it
was not very thick through the thickest
part The creature was about rs to 80
feet in length. and had very broad tail
very different from that Of an ordinary
whale. In fact at the time sthere were
three or four whales in sight, and they
had no difficulty in noting the points of
difference betwee them and the strang-
er.
The great creature went down head
first, and then made series of attempts to
strike the side Of the schooner with its
tail. 1t did not succeed, and swan
around them roaring loudly in evident
anger. Then it went down and under
the schooner.
Capt. Crossman who had watched for
this movement, gave orders to be ready to
lower the boat, fearing that the whale
might come up under them and break
them in two. 1t was very fortunate that
they were not forced to lower their boat,
as it proved later to be leaking, and
would not have carried half their number
safely to land.
For more than an hour, the whale con-
tinued his remarkable acrobatic perform
ance, standing on his head with it's tail
waving in the air most of the time. 1t
seemed bent on hitting the schooner, and
it took the best of good seamanship to
prevent an encounter.
At last the whale seemed to get tired
of what had been funat first, and it
headed forthe westward.
Capt, Crossman is of the opinion that
this strange whale must have been mis-
many times. Seen but a short distance
of, the head would look more like
that of great serpent than OF whale.
The creature, while making it's long and
repeated attempts to hit the schooner,
continued it's roaring when above water.
schooner, and then would draw off, seem
to be calculating the distance and then
strike. The schooner was kept off at the
right moment and the creature missed
the vessel every time. 1t was an odd ex-
psrience, and for a time there. was some-
thing closely resembling q panic, the
women being badly frightened.
Miss Houston said last evening that the
sight Of that great mass standing al
most upright in mid was some-
thing not to be forgotten. Capt Cross
man is uncertain whether the whale is
a natural fighter, or whether it was
frightened when it came up out of the
water and as a result of its confusion
made the repeated a tempts it did, to sink
the schooner One of the crew hit it
with bolt, and many times Capt. Cross
man said he could have hit it with a
board from the deck. He did not venture
to do anything to still further arouse
his anger and so let it go in peace.