The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-27
SUBMARINE MEN AND WOMEN.
Stories of Mcrmnids of the Ocean Not
Devoid of Confirmation.


Devoid of Confirmation.
| 1t is not impossible to believe, from the
accounts of credible witnesses. that there
are such things as mermen and mcrmaids,
although the likeness of these creatures
to the human species has been greatly ex-
aggerated in the pictorial representations
with which We are familiar. BY some
writer's the creature upon whose real ex-
istence these fantasies have been built are
called sea apes. In the sea of Angola wa
learn that they are frequently caught, and
that the negroes eat their flesh. which is
said to resemble pork both in appearance
and taste. When the females are taken
they are heard to shrek and cry like VIC
men. In the Universal Dictionary. pub
lished by John Theodore Jablonsky. now a
rather rare work, is the following de-
scription of these curious creatures:
"Meer-man, meer- webb. meer- mime.
that is sea man. mermaid. or siren. called
by the Indians Amidst anguio. otherwise
Pesiengoni, and by the Portuguese. Pezz
Muger, is a fish found in the seas. and
some rivers in the southern parts Of
Africa and India, and in the Philippine
and Molucca Islands, Brazil. North
America, and Europe. in the North Sea.
The length of this fish is eight spans.
Its head is oval, and the face resembles
that of man. 1t has an high forehead.
little eyes. a fiat nose, and large mouth,
but no chin or ears. 1t has two arms,
which are short. but without joints or
elbows. with hands (Which are not very
fiexible) connected to each other by
membrane, like that of the foot of a goose.
The females have breasts to nourish their
offspring, so that the upper part of their
body resembles that of the human species,
81, - oh TkAtr obi lie
of brownish grey color. and their intes-
tines are like those of a hog. Their flesh
is as fat as pork. particularly the upper
part of their bodies. and this is favorite
dish with the Indians"
After somewhat of DEPRESSION the au
thor proceeds thus: las l may safely give
credit to this person, namely. the Rev
Mr.. Peter Angel. who is still living. and
minister of the parish of Vand-Elvens
Speld, on SundmGar. | shall relate what
he assured me Of last year when was ON
my visitation journey. He says that in the
year 1913 The being then about twenty
years old, along with several other in
habitants of Aistahong. in Norland. saw
what is called a norman, lying dead on
a point OF land near the sea. which had
been cast ashore by the waves, along with
several sea-calves and other dead fish.
The length of this creature was much
any before. namely. above three fathoms.
1t was of dark grey color all over; in
the lower part it was like Ash. and had
4 tail like that OF the purpesse. The face
resembled that OF man, with mouth,
forehead. eyes, etc. The nose was fiat.
and as it WERE pressed down to the face.
in which the nostrlls have ever been visi-
bic. The breast was not far from the
head the arms seemed to hang by the side
.r-s
or membrane. The hands were. to appear
ance. like the paws of a sea-calf The
back Of this creature was very fat. and
great part of it was cut off, which, with
the liver, yielded a large quantity of train
oil. That this creature. which is reckoned
among the whale kind, is a fish of prey
and lives upon the smaller sort. may be
from what Mr.. Luke Debs re-
lates in his description of Farce. He tells
US that they have there seen a mer- maid
with fish. which she held in her hand His
account is as follows: 49, s-..
=" There was also seen in 1870, at Farce
westward of Quelboe Eide, by many of
the inhabitants, as also by others from
different parts of Suderoe, mer- maid
close to the shore She stood there for two
hours and a half and was up to her waist
in water; she had long hair on her head.
which hung down to the surface of the
water all round about her: she held fish |
with It's head downward, il her right |
band. / was told also. that in the same year |
he fishermen in Westermanhaven. on Stro- |
noe, had in their fishing north of Farce. |
seen a mer-maid.'" There is a curious !
recount of the sixteenth century, deserib |
ng how one of these creatures was brought |
% Copenhagen and buried in a cemetery |
here by order of the Danish King, because |
is mead resembied that of 4 human being |
with cropped hair. and covered with a
monks hood of membranous fibre.