Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1896-02-05


thing Awful-It Was Eighty Feet In
Length and Had Queer Looking Head.
Tried TO swamp the Schooner.
"No, /" said Captain ]. A. Crossman
of South Portland. I'VE didn't encoun-
ter the sea serpent. but we had strange
experience with whale, and / don't
believe anybody ever had the like be-
fore. I've been at sea, man and boy,
since / was years old, and / never saw
the like Of the whale we encountered. l
never saw a whale before that didn {
blow, but the one we met didn {, but it
gave 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.
sit certainly was more like the roar
of lion than anything else / can think
of, - said Captain Crossman.
The schooner Grace Webster, Captain
Crossman, was ON her way from New
York to Portland with Ala tons Of coal.
Besides the captain and crew Mrs. Cross
man, her daughter and Miss Houston
were on board.
The schooner was about ten miles off
Wood island and making good Roadway
under full sail, the mate, Merrill Cross
man, at the wheel, when there was
sudden connection ahead, and the great
head shot up into the air and was on
level with Re deck.
One of IL crew first sighted the
strange creature and called Captain
Crossman, and in a moment all on
board hut the man at the wheel We're
looking at the strange sight. They saw
before them an enormous head, one
mass of great lunches, through which
the wicked looking eyes of the creature
cleaned. They expected the whale, if
such, would blow, but it did not then
or after. Once narrow thread Of what
looked like steam shot up, but not a
drop of water was sent into the air. As
they looked at the creature it Toared
savagely, and then drew close up TO the
side of the schooner, giving them ample
time to observe the head, and all agree
that it was very broad; that it tapered
almost to point, and that it was not
very thick through the thickest part
The creature was about 40 to so feet in
length and had a very broad tail, very
different from that of an ordinary
whale In fact, at the time there We're
three or four whales in sight, and they
had no difficulty in noting the points of
difference between them and the stran
ger.
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, i'll evident
anger. Then it went down and under
the schooner.
Captain 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 fortu-
nate that they were not forced TO lower
their boat, as it proved later TO be leak
ing and would not have carried half
their number safely to land
For more than an hour the whale con-
tinued its remarkable acrobatic perform
ance, standing ON its head, with its
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 fun ut first, and it
headed for the westward.
Captain Crossman is Of the opinion
kI,ak The at,a,,oxa W ha Ia taaTct haua hap1l
mistaken for a sea serpent many times.
Seen but short distance off. the head
would look more like that of a great
serpent than of a whale.
The creature, while making its long
and repeated attempts to hit the schoon-
er, continued its roaring when above
water. 1t would scrape against the side
of the 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 crea-
ture missed the vessel every time. 1t
was an odd experience, and for time
there was something closely resembling
a panic, the women being badly fright
ened.
Miss Houston said that the sight of
that great mass standing almost upright
in midocean was something not to be
forgotten. Captain Crossman is uncer-
tain whether the whale is a natural
fighter or whether it was frightened
when it came up ont of the water, and
as a result of its confusion made the re-
peated attempts TO sink the schooner.
One of the crew hit it with bolt, and
many times Captain Crossman said he
could have hit it with board from the
deck. He did not venture to do anything
to further arouse its anger and let it go
in peace. Portland { Me- Press.