Evening star., 1902-08-02

young lady of Belfast, Martha Spring, and
judged he was about three times the length
of his boat, which is twenty-three feet.
His head was larger than that of horse.
The Rev. Donald Mclean, missionary to
the Hebrides, wrote that in June, 1903, he
encountered a sea serpent which chased his
boat and caused him to land. Its head was
oval" its length seventy to eighty feet A
number of hShemen who saw il at the same
time reported that its head was as large as
a little boat and Its eyes as large as a
plate" Again, in August, 1919, the Rev.
Cheever >Felch, chaplain of the United
States steamer independence, reported that
he had seen off Dallvan's Neck sea SER
pent 100 feet long, dark brown in color
and with a motion partly vertical and part
ly horizontal. In a scientific journal the
Rev. David Twopeny of Kent-both British
parsons-describe a sea serpent forty-five
feet long, which they encountered in Au-
gust, 1872 in a channel near the Isle of
Skye. So much for the men of God.
Unhurt by Cannon Ball.
Nautical evidence is ever under the ban of
suspicion.
Il had one of my guns loaded with a cam
non ball and musket bullets" writes Joseph
Woodward, captain of the Adamant, Hing
ham, Mass, in 1918. 81 fired it at the head
of the monster; my crew and myself dis
tinctly heard the ball and bullets strike
ed, as if they had struck against a rock.
The serpent shook his head and tail in an
extraordinary manner and advanced to-
ward the ship with open jaws" Two other
sailors made affidavit to the truth of the
account before a justice of the peace
"a party encountered the monster in Bal
lycotton bay, fired into him and made him
disgorge a shoal of fishes, some of which
fell into the boat, and, being handled, gave
the crew the most terrific electric Shocks"
reads report of sea serpent hunt made
off the coast of Ireland in 1850
The most terrible encounter with the sea
serpent on record was described by Chas.
Seabury, master of the Whaler Mononga-
hela of New Bedford, in 1852: The fright
fulness of the head as it approached the
boat filled the crew with terror, and three
of them jumped overheard. l instinctiVely
held out my lance and it's sharp point en-
tered the eye. l was knocked over and felt
a deep churning of the water around me.
l rose to the surface and caught a glimpse
of the wrthing body, and was again struck
and carried down. partly lost my con-
scousness under water, but recovered 1t.
When l rose again in the bloody foam the
snake had disappeared, and l shouted, Pick
and we lanced the body repeatedly without
eliciting any sign Of life. While we were
at work he gradually rose to the surface
and around him floated what l took to be
pieces of his lungs, which we cut with
lanCes. To make our work sure, we con-
tinued to lance, eagerly seeking for his life,
Wnen ne pulled himSelf up and We pulled
away, and then witnessed the terrific dying
struggles of the monster. None of the crew
who witnessed that terrible scene will ever
forget it; the revolutions of the body were
rapid as lightning, seeming like the re-
VolVing of a thousand enormous black
wheels. l took off my hat and
nine terrifice cheers broke simultaneously
from our throats. Our prey was dead! " - :"
1t was a male; the length 103 feet seven
inches. We cut the snake up but
found great difficulty, and had to 'fonse
him. The body would not roll and the blub-
Der was very elastic that when stret ched
twenty feet by the blocks 1t would, when
cut off, shrink to five or six feet. We took
in the head, frightful object, and are
endeavorinS to preserve it with salt
Swallowed the Staysail.
! There was about thirty feet of the SER
pent out of the water; must have been at
least 800 feet long; was about the circum-
ference of a very wide crinoline petticoas," I"