The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-26
WAS 1T THE SEA sERPENTt
A Strange Monster Seen From the
shore at spring Lake.

ShOre At spring iSAlAes
From the New York sun.
Another chapter has been added to the
rather fragmentary history of the great
sea serpent. This time the story comes
from the Jersey coast, and its sponsor
is Mr. Willard p. Shaw of Al Wall street.
Not only did Mr.. Shaw have an excel
lent view of the monster, but his wife,
their 9-year-old son, and Miss Ella B. d.
Salter of Paterson, who was visiting
at the Shaws cottage at Spring Lake,
Also watched it for several minutes.
Moreover a neighbor who was walking
along the beach observed the phenome-
ron, and his observations tailed ex-
actly with those of the Shaw party.
As ii is Mr.. Shaw, who Is sponsor Tor
the story 1T is worth while to take into
consideration four points regarding nm.
First. he rs temperate; second he is not
subject to Authorizations; third, his slgnt
is excellent, and fourth his veracity Is
unmpeachable. The same IS true OF the
other observers. Mr.. Shaw who Is law
yer at Il Wall street, and also president
of the New York Balance DOCK COM
pany lives In Paterson, and has cot
tage at Spring Lake, n. j., Just across
the road from the sea beach. on SUNDAY
afternoon he, Mrs. Shaw. Miss Salter,
and young Willard Shaw were sitting on
the front porch which overlooks the sea,
trying to keep cool. The aIterno OBJ was az
the water was a long, quiet SVEN preaK-
I ing monotonOusiy on the beach. Inc
| conversation, which had been desultorys
had almost died away. and about half
/ past l Mrs. Shaw was considering the
| ACCESSIBILITY of going. upstairs for nap.
/ when Miss Salter, who had Deeh looklnS
/ intently out to sea toward the north,
| said: -. 49,.
| in the water, and 1t Is coming this way.
| Looking where she pointed, the others
! saw a black object projecting from the
water, and about it considerable COM
perhaps it's school of porpoises,"
suggested Mrs. Shaw.
! ''Or a whale" exclaimed the boy, clap
! ping his hands. oh, papa, do you sup
'it doesn't act like any whale I ever
saw. and I've seen good many re-
/ piled Mr. Shaw, shading his eyes with mis-
! hands, land IL certainly isn't porpolses.
II believed in such things si I Should say
Running into the house the hoy qulcA-
ly came out with a pair of very powerfui
| field glasses. BoyliKe, he held them 10
his own eyes for moment before giving
them to his father, and, on getting the
object in range, he cried out;
.'Why, papa. it's big snake.
Mr. Shaw took one long look at the crea-
ture in the water and passed the glass 70
Miss Slater Who after using H. handed ~
/ TO Mrs. Shaw. Then they all looked at
I one another.
BY this time the creature, which was
! ploughing through the water with tremen-
dous rapidity had reached point oppo--
| site them. Judging from the fishing-net
/ poles set out in the water Mr.. shaw thinks
| that it must have been about half mile
| out from shore, about where the excur-
| sion steamers usually run. The wafer
| there is sixty or seventy feet deep; As
| there were no waves to impede the sight,
| an excellent view was obtained OF the
/ monsters every motion
As near as they could judge the ser
pent was from 70 to 100 feet long. The
head, which projected about six feet above
the water as II swami, was hat-snouted
like an alligator's head. 1t seemed five
or six feet long and as large as Hour
barrel in circumference. No part or the
body was as large as the head, the mean
diameter being perhaps two feet Its tail
was long and tapering. In color the crea-
ture was very dark, No fms could be
! seen, nor were there tentacles projecting
from the head, as described in the case OF
the serpent recently alleged to have been
seen in Long Island sound. 1t made no
noise, but the water was greatly stirred
up by its movements. Progress was made
by a series of writing movements, NOT
sidewise, but up and down. Its speed was
estimated as being at least forty miies
an hour. At times nearly all the body
could be seen as the huge serpent con-
torted itself, and again only the head was
out of water. From the time il was first
sighted to the time 1t disappeared in the
distance the head was not once Withdrawn
beneath the surface of the water.
Evidently the serpent had some definite
objective point in View said Mr.. Shaw
i'm describing it, for it never paused or
turned from its course but kept pointing
south. skirting the coast at distance
of half mile out. A little further in and
! il would nave struck Inc nets ana Inen
there would have been a fine commotion,
1 suppose. Luckily, the creature kept to
the deepest water. think II II had turned
toward shore l should have been inclined
to collect the family and run for the
woods. 1t was in sight for not more than
seven minutes. When Miss Salter first
saw the serpent 1t was more than two
miles down the shore, and altogether we
must have seen IL cover considerably
more than five miles. / should say thar
forty miles an hour was moderate esti-
mate of the speed. In describing our
strange visitor generally l should say that
il looked like an enormous smooth-sktnned
serpent, with an alligator-like head"
After the monster had vanished from
: slight, its uplifted head being the last
thing seen, the spectators went back to
the porch to talk it over. In comparing
their observations they found that all
| their estimates agreed. While they were
talking neighbor who owns cottage not
far from Mr. Shaw's, came up breathless
and in great excitement.
i've seen the sea serpent" he gaSped,
when he reached the porch. Il was walk
ing along the beach and saw il as plain
as ! see you now, swimming south faster
beyond the FISH poles. Didn't any of you
see it?
seen it and asked him for his description
of IT, which he gave 1t tailed with theirs
exactly. Before he went away he said to
Il hope you'll make this thing public.
1t is too wonderful to keep quiet about
I'll go any time and take oath to what L
In his excitement the neighbor went way
without giving Mr. Shaw his name but
he can be found easily at any time. The
question of the eXpediency of making
public their adventure was discussed by.
the Shaws. Mr.. Shaw was very doubtful
i about what he should do.
"A great many people will think that
you are romaneing,' said his wife, and
many others will make fun of you or think
you are trying to make fun of them.
| Nevertheless, as there isn't any reasonable
doubt that it was the sea serpent we saw,
i think as matter Of scientific interest
you ought to give out the facts"
Let people guy If they want to- de-
cided Mr. Shaw. Il know what I've seen.
and m not going to be afraid to tell
about II. l guess my reputation is strong
/ enough TO carry q sea sprpanf