Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-04-07
SEA SERPENT SEEN,
SAYS CAPTAIN
MEHAFFEY
COMMANDER OF THE SCHOONER
SAMUEL 3. HUBBARD TELLS
STORY OF A MONSTER
OF THE DEEP.

BRUNSWICK, Ca, March pa real
monstrous seatserpent, vicious and awful
looking, was the sight that brought fright
to the crew Of the schooner Samuel B.
Hubbard only few days ago.
This vessel, of which Captain Mehaffey
is master, has just arrived In port from
New York. Her commander. who is well
known in all the north Atlantic ports,
vouches for the authenticity of the story,
and the facts are corroborated by his first
mate, Mr.. Coverdale. Captain Mahaffey
says:
ut was on the 2Sd instant, in north lat
itude "a degrees Al minutes, and west
longitude 76 degrees 10 minutes. The ship
was lying becalmed about II noon. when
the chief mate called my attention to
something in the water just abearn, a
quarter Of mile off. A long, slim object,
moving from side to side and coming to-
ward us with such great rapidity that IL
looked like an old thrasher at work. II.
very quickly worked under our quarter,
and in the clear water we saw the queer
est fish out AS II lay quiet within fifteen
feet of the vessel it appeared to be about
thirty feet long by three feet in circum-
ference. A smooth body, showing no fms
but the dorsals, three of them, one short,
one, say, about a foot long, near the
head. Then half way down the body a
long, tail-like I'm about seven feet long
and about five inches wide, and near the
tail small hind fin. The tail was unlike
a fish. ending at a point, without a fin.
The body was deep pink color to the
middle, and darkening to light brown
at the tail.
The head was fully three feet long,
the mouth close to the top. The eyes were
large and close to the top Of the head.
We had a good look at the fellow as he
stayed byNfully half an hour. Then the
mate got a shot gun and as the fish lay
with half of his upper body exposed, sent
a charge Of small shot in It, 1t evidently
hurt him for he leaped out of the water
about half his length and sounded like
whale 1t came to the surface in a few
seconds and If it kept up the gait it
started with the serpent is near the west
ern coast of Africa by this time
In this connection other experiences of
a similar nature will be found very inter-
esting.
Some years ago, Captain McQuhae, COM
manding her majesty's ship Daedalus, en-
countered serpentine form off the coast
of western Africa. In his report to the
admiralty he describes 1t with confidence
as IAN enormous serpent, with head and
shoulders kept about four feet constantly
a bove the sea- and he adds "as nearly
as we could approximate by comparing it
with the length Of what our main top sail
yard would show in the water, there was
portion Of which was to our perception
used in propelling it through the water,
either by vertical or horizontal undulation.
1t passed rapidly but so close under our
lee quarter that had 1t been a man of my
acquaintance, 1 should have easily recog-
nized his features with the naked eye, and
1t did not, either in approaching the ship
or after 1t had passed our wake, deviate in
the slightest degree from its course to the
northwest, which it held on at the pace
of from u to Is miles per hour, apparent
ly on some determined errand. The diam
eter of the serpent was about IS or is
inches behind the head, which was with
out any doubt that of a snake; and it
was never, during the 20 minutes that 1t
continued in sight of our glasses, once
below the surface of the water; it's color
was dark brown with yellow-white about
the throat. 1t had no fms but some.
thing like the name of horse, or rather
bunch of sea weed washed about its
back.
Lieutenant DrummOnd, another mariner,
reported some time later having seen
serpent which differed in some important
points from the one described by the cap
tain of the Doedalus. Lieutenant Drum
mond says: 1.-THE appearance of its head,
which with the back fin was the only
portion of the animal visible. was long
pointed and fattened at the top, perhaps
ten feet: the upper jaw projecting con-
siaerably. The fin was, perhaps, twenty