The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-01-09
THAT SEA SERPENT.

=
81 Gallo late" said Harding mate OF tn
Marguerite, lit war just about here as
witnessed the wonderfulest sight / eve
zee in my life 1t war in the old brig Bet
sey B, four years ago, and we war lyir
Reclaimed in just about this latitood. A.
there war nothin to be did but wait fol
wind, we war loungin about. all bein quie
and still, when along about six bells thu
stiffness was broken by shout from the
lookout aloft.
".Well, jackson, what is it:' asks the
captain.
'Strordinary appearance on our wealth
or bow, Captain Morgan, sir, says Jack
son.
whats it look like'
& 'Blowed if / can make head or tail al
1t, captain. Looks as though it might be
sea sarpint and the biggest Of the breed
st that, says Jackson, says he.
Chawf says the captain, sea sarpint
nothin. There amt no SIGH thing be
says, like that, says he. Most like it's an
old hulk coated with sea drift or mebbe q
line o prancin porpusses,' says he.
just at the moment man on the bow
yells out that he sees the critter, and the
captain he ran for'ard with me after him.
There war some thick clumps of yaller fog
ahead, and the sea sarpint war just agoin
out Of sight into one of 'em. But we
caught a glimpse Of the beast, and dash
my grandmother's cats tail if he didn t
leave hole in the water behind him as
big as Coiorader canyon!
'Jacobsn the captain yelled, turnin
round to one Of the men, relieve Bill
Distance at the wheel and send him here
quick
I'm minute Bill come runnin for ard,
and as soon as the sarpint had cut through
the fog bank and war out into view again
the captain says, says he:
Here, Bill, look lively now and tell
US how long the critter is and how fur off. ,
''Bill was a curious sort O. chap and
armed his name by bein able to cock his
eye and tell to a fathom or two how far
we was from any large object. Bill would
stuff his cheek with backy tight as a ket-
tledrum, stick his old noddle one side
like iackdaw squintin into a marrow
bone and then make a calkylation. just
how he did it, blowed if he could tell, nor
could any one else, but the bobstay seemed
to have somethin to do with his figurin,
for he would look at the object and then
at the stay, and vice VERSA, when all of q
suddint he would sorter wake up, give his
leg TREMENDOUS slap and sing out his fig
ures proud and triumphantlike. And
they was most usually correct, they was,
go that's why we called him Bill Distance.
How fur, Bill!' asks the captain.
"'Half a mile, Captain Morgan, sir,
less IL fathoms, says Bill, says he, which
same, barrin the odd fathoms, 1 should
have answered myself
'''And how long''
-Four hundred and seventy-three feet
by 20 inches through his stummick.'
by this time the critter had disap-
peared into another column of fog, and we
looked to see him go through it and sail
out the other side like he did the others,
but he didn't, not bit of it, no sir.
Hang mel yelled the captain, if
don't think he's changed his course and is
bearin down upon us in that screen of yal-
Ter mist. Here lads, git the swivel loaded
nowp
The thing war no sooner done when
we was struck all abaft with q most TIRE
menjous and unarthly smell. 1t seemed
as though we war suddintly pizened or
bank drew nearer we grew wuss and wuss.
1t warn't exactly fear. Blow me if know
what it was Anyhow there we stood like
SO many shiverin apes, our eyes smartin
and blinkin, our tongues parched like
sticks and our hands a-hangin down limp
and useless. Obedience, you know, sir,
is very strong in us seamen, but blow me
sky high if any of us could have obeyed
. bf.o rai, -
if it was to drink his health in glass o.
grog!
Son came that sarpint envelope nearer
an nearer. i looked at the mate and blame
me if he didn't resemble a mummy that
had died with the spotted fever, and as for
myself, if / looked as felt, l must ha'
been sight. Then of suddint down
dropped two old hands all of a heap to the
deck, their narve completely gone. I grab !
bed my nostrils in my fist, and then felt /
better. Bilge water was vilet parfume /
compared to the smell o. that snake BARN
down upon Us, and yet it war a sort of /
sweetish smell, too, but awful sickish, |
and believe that pizenous that a few |
minutes more of il would done us all up. |
"Suddintly from short distance ahead
there sounded a deafenin roar, louder, by l
gracious, than Il thunderclaps! The corn
,ussion of it seemed TO split the fog bank /
right in two, and there busted through /
5he VERY heart of it great heavin green
md shiny mass The beast was tearin al
most straight down upon Us. His tremen-
Gus head was reared as high as our cross
rees, and he glared at us with two fierce
'aller eyes each as big as the headlight of
giant lokymoty. His mouth was about
s feet acrost and curled upward at the
orners into a sort o. grin, while two of
lis front teeth war missin, like as If he
lad tried to swallow some vessel end on
nd knocked 'em out against the bow an
hor. That's about all we had time to
otice about the critter, 'cept that he war
t dark, copperish sort of color and had
lot of long feelers a-sproUtin out all
yer his head. And then the captain pulled
he lanyard, and bang goes the gun.
'Did we hit the beast? Well, that
amt say. Ais know, there war a sud-
int swish, and next minute the Betsy B
rent plungin down in such a watery gulf
hat the wonder is she warn't left stickin
y her bowsprit into the basement o. the
"a
But the fust dash of brine brung us to
UT senses, and SO we held on all to what
Yer war handy, and presently up we
boots again, to meet a thunderin big wave,
hitch goes aud washes everything loose
& the deck and leaves the hold harf full
water
"For minute or two the poor old Bet
" B. darnced and staggered to it like a
psy bear; then the sea gradually grew
nooth again. and we picked ourselves up
nd began to arsk one another what had
appened. And blow me il an answer !
Il N Z come from away asfern in the shane |