Semi=weekly graphic., 1897-06-26
PLENTY OF SEA sERpzaTs.

FLEN Y OF SEA 2En-le4 ] ~5' Among the Varieties the Ancient MansEaf May Possibly Exlst.
 is there such thing as a sea ser- pent? Yes, indeed, there are many species of sen serpents well known to naturalists
 This was the answer given by Dr. Theodore CHI, the eminent naturalist of the Smithsonian, to the question above repeated. Dr. Gill is known in scientific circles as the highest Ameri- can authority on fishes and other creatures of the sea. He Is quoted in all the worlds standard works on ich- 1 thyology, besides having written nG- merous volumes himself devoted to that particular branch of his life study. He has given much attention 1 to sea serpents, and hasrevealed many l interesting facts concerning them iz his writings and lectures.
 .So you place eredenee in the many statements lately come to hand con 1 aerning the appearance of the monster l sea serpent in Long Island sound2
 q do not by any means. As soon as 1 read the accounts Of the large snake i found at Blaelswelfs island l told seV- eral fellow-members of the Cosmos club that it was large python, orroel5 snake There are no monster sea ser- pents. There is no animal of gigantic size now living in the sea which could be properly classed as : serpent or even q reptile. There is, however, an abundance of sea serpents iG the east ern seas and along tho Pacific coasts of tropical America.
 sThere are enough of them iR these parts to annoy end threaten the lives I of sailors who frequent the waters, but they are very small creatures, as com. pared with the sea serpents which we read about in popular literature. Most of these are known Co scientists aa hydride, which means sea snakes, or, If you like, sea serperts. They in- clude numerous families inhabiting the salt water estuaries and tidal streams of the Indian and Pacific oceans, from Madagascar to the isth. mus of Panama.
 ''Some of them are as much as twelve feet long They are very poisonous, and 1 have heard that 9 sailor, once bitten by one, died within an hour and a quarter They have eonspieuously small heads and bodies, somewhat like the land snakes. but particularly thick in their hind half, and very compressed and flat or oar-lilce, ut the tail. Trey live entirely in the sea, and when thrown upon shore are helpless and almost blind. These sea serpents are frequently seen in great numbers swimming close to the surface of the water
 ''But is it not possible that there are giant animals of this kind rowing the seas which have not yet been found by seientists9"
 '.Yes, there is a possibility, but TO probability that such an animal still exists It is possible that giant selaehian may be found related to the frilled shark of Japan. This would have an eel-like body, fin back of the head, and if very long would agree to some extent with descriptions of the great sea serpent As matter of fact. there was discovered not many years ago small snake-iike shark, re- sembling the gray sharks found in the Pacific This would have an eel-lil5e tail and fin extending from the back, behind the head.
 Then there are also the aueient ] zeuglodents, with their long tails and horizontal caudal fms, like those of the whales. It may be that one of these with q long neck stiti exists, having outlived his ancestors of millions of years ago. During the geological period known as the ooceRe tertiary, which was many millions of wears back, there were living in the seas , zeuglodonts somewhat resembling ser. pents. Some of these were perhaps nearly forty or fifty feetlong but none of them could swim in the water with vertical un6ulations, or ba adoyned with the mane, both of which are as soeiated with the mythical monster.
 But, as l said, all of this is . mere pos sibility, according to the laws of na- ture. There is no probability that any
 one will ever enjoy the sight of any of these possibilities
 Now, suppose a summer tourist or V superstitious mariner should catch sight of giant baslziug shark, such as inhabits the north seas7 They often measure moro than thirty feet in length. It is frequently the case that they travel in pairs, one following the other. The front portion of the one and the hind portion of the other of these appearing above the water at the same time would be sufficient to scare any unsuspeeting observer. I remember hearing Prof simon New comb, our eminent astronomer telling how he once thought he saw the veri- table sea serpent of Cape Ann. But the supposed monster resolved itself into school of porpoises. enc follow ing the other. "-Washingtop Star