The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-24
A Lost Opportunity.


Fortune, they say. knocks one time at
every mans door. It is wise man who
recognizes the knocking and opens to the
visitor What is true of individuals is
also true Of municipalities. The other
day fortune in the shape Of a sea serpent,
knocked at tho door Of the village of
Carrabelle. in the state Of Florida. In
stead Of taking it in and making the most
of it, Carrabelle killed the sea serpent
Could more short-sighted and
ruinous policy have been devised
by the human brain? Here was
a denizen of the deep. the most
popular and widely advertised creature
in existence. trying to perform for the
town Of Carrabelle the same sort of serv-
ice that Coxey and Tom Watson rendered
the towns of Massillon, o.. and Thomson,
Ca, respectively, when they rescued them
from oblivion and made them represent
to the great public something more than
dots on the map. The sea serpent even
went TO the length of making a demon
stration Of its powers by towing the
steamer Crescent City for distance sea-
ward. Yet, Notwithstanding its good in
tentions, the sea serpent was ruthlessly
killed
AS its bones bleach upon the sands, the
people of the village, which must now re-
main a dot on the map, will gaze upon
them and in sorrow reflect upon what
might have been if the cruel murderers
/ of the sea serpent had only kept the
! creature tethered off shore for the allure
ment Of visitors Had they adopted that
course, Carrabelle might have rivalled At
/ lantic City or Tybee as a seaside resort
| But, alas, it must drop back in the class
of sullivan's Island
Its people did not know a good thing
when they saw it. That it was a good
thing is attested by DIR. Samuel G.. Dick
| inson Of the Academy of Natural Sciences,
at Philadelphia. who, upon reading the
account of the killing of the monster,
Immediately sent to Florida to have it
investigated. He says that the tele-
graphic description of the sea serpent
shows that It belongs to a class long rec
ognized as existing somewhere, but never
before found alive. Some years ago a
scientist had the fortune to come upon
the carcass of a sea serpent like that
which Carrabelle sacrificed but before it
could be gotten on shore and saved, a
storm arose and carried it away. Numer-
GUS sea-faring men have also given their
testimony to the effect that such mon
sters exist; and when sailors and
scientists affirm a fact, it can no longer
! be questioned successfully
AS to whether the sea serpent would
have proved a drawing card for Cara
belle or not, it is only necessary to re-
produce the description of it as given by
the veracious chronicler who reported its
sad death:
1T measures forty-nine feet and
two inches in length and seventy-two
inches around its body in the largest part.
1t is eel-shaped. with the exception of its
head and tail. 1t has a Spoon-bill shaped
head, with a mouth resembling a shark S.
except that it is a great deal larger Its
teeth are set at an angle of about IS de-
grees backward in the mouth. and ii has
a long, forked tongue. The tail is armed
with formidable fins, six to eight inches
/ long. The color is brown. with a greenish
back. making it appear black in the
water. The underside is yellow"
Such a creature as that tied out in the
surf would in a week have increased the
normal population of 500 of CarrabeIe to
5000, with 5000 more of floaters coming
and going daily. 1t would have been
better for the community than free coin
age. Narragansett Pier or Coney Island
would any day give 5000 for such a sea
serpent Yet Carabene ruthlessly
slaughtered it! II she should never be
come great resort it would he her own
fault She doesn't know the value of a
sea serpent when she sees one.