The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-11-27
A GENUINE MERMAN.
CAUGHT BY PoRPOlSE HUNTERS IN
THE PACIFIC.

Scared In NAnH Battles.
What n-n"Iv> 10 h." @~uU.no norman
was krn -, l",o r. WA, Wash., the
other day lt a party Of Englishmen.
They had h,'n !oGpoiSe fishing in the
Pacific and were more than confoundrd
ut the Extraordinary creature they cap
turcd. They camc in with their prize
fully convinced that the old stories about
mermcn and m"rmuldS were al true IL
spite Of the scciIvrs. Che nan who de-
serves the crcuit Of this wonderful dis
covery is Major ". L. Thornclitf of the
British army. The major was at first
rather averse to giving the details of his
move adventure, fearing that be would
be Classed with the ep!nncrs of ordinary
fish yarns OF Puget sound, but. knowing
that his social and official position put
his word above question, he finally con
sented 10 relate 10 me his unique expe-
rience and toexhihit his interesting cap
tive, only STIMULATING that | should re-
peat the facts exactly as he stated them
and describe tic sea monster precisely
as it really is.
This is the story Of the majors adj
venture in his own words:
"Our party, whieh consisted Of sew
eral English noblemen, n French states
man and a Russian prince, left Hokon-
dach, Japan, on "a fishing and hunting
expedition to this coast on board of
Prince GerenOff's steam yacht Aneda-
moff on June 20, and we Cruised along
the shores Of the Alcutian peninsula,
calling into many very fine bays and
harbors along the coast.
eve shot on shore and fishcd in the
waters of both Boring sea and the Pa
cific ocean and have as trophies Of our
skill a fine collection of pelts as well as
skeletons of many rare creatures.
But the climax of all came on the
morning of July 26, when we were off
the island Of WatmOff. Our men sighted
1school of porpoises, among which could
be seen several white mes.
"Our hunting boat was lowered, and
Lord Devonshire, the earl and l, with
the boats crew, put of from the yacht,
determined to capture solne of the rare
sea pigs. After pulling about four
miles we found ourselves in the center
of the school, and Lord Devonshire got
a shot at one of the white boys with a
large express rife, which quickly ended
its career.
Just as we were putting our guns
away the earl called ont, See that
pointing to u most startling looking
beast not more than a cables length
away. Picking up his express, he fired
point blank at it, striking the creature
between the eyes. The shot, though it
did not kill it, SO stunned it that it lay
perfectly still on the surface of the sea.
LAS our boat hauled alongside we saw
the most hideous and uncanny looking
monster probably that human eyes ever
looked upon. Although at a distance it
might perhaps be mistaken FOR a por-
poise, as we came near we saw that it
could truly be described by no other
name than that of merman.
AS we reached over the side of the
boat to haul the creature in it regained
some of its vitality. 1t caught the boat
by the gunwalc amidships, and had it
not been for the fact that when the arms
came up out of the sea we naturally
ghrank to the other side of the boat it
would, without doubt, have capsized US.
One of the men picked up an Ak and
quickly dispatched the monster.
The better way now would be for
you to come with me, and | will show
you the strange creature which l AN
now taking TO England to present to the
British museum. After seeing it you
will, | am sure, be inclined to the Opin-
ion that, once il is placed there, it will
easily outrank all of the many stranSe
things to be found i'll that great reposi-
tory of the worlds r~arities.
Then the major led the way to q
storeroom on Pacific avenue, where, il
coffin shaped box. 1t was 10 feet long,
9 feet wide and 8 feet deep. Taking ;
screwdriver, the major unfaSten,d the
top. All that could be seen was some ict
covered with a white wColen blanket
Taking the blanket by tie end, ht
quickly removed 1t, Il as he did 81
the sight of the contents of the box al
AboSt " ~ bitcN' l'iy ilShe ONlNi'
my eyes, was apparently the naked BODY
of a large man.
The major then removed the cloti
which covered the lower part of thu
body. This is exactly the same AS tina
Of All ordinary porpOise. The monster i
one OF the most remarkable freaks Ia
ture ever put together. The strang
monstrosity measured 10 feet from it
nose to the end Of its tiuke shaped tail
and the glrth II its human shaped bod,
was just 6 feet.
1t would weigh. it is estimated, clos
to 500 pounds. From about the b-eas
bone to a point about where the base o
the stomach would be, were it human
it looked eA..rtly like IA man. It's arms
quite human III shape and form. ar
very long and covered completely wit
long, coarse, duuk reddish hair, as is tn
whole body.
1t had, Ol did have at one time, fou
fingers and IA thumb on each hand, a
most human Ill shape, except that j
place Of finger nails there were Ions