The Elbert County tribune., 1903-11-19


that the sea serpent. has been met
with? While the majority of scien-
tific men would also say no to this
question. now and then one might be
found who would admit that this is
possible in spite of the fact that no
naturalist has ever set eyes upon the
animal.
1t is true that the sea serpent has an
aggravating way of keeping out OF
sight of those who are most desirous
of making his acquaintance, and
neither bone, tooth. nor scale of the
monster has ever fallen under the eye
of n scientific observer. But while
this is very much TO his discredit. 1t is
habit shared by other animals. and
need not necessarily imply that he has
no existence. 1t is not so long ago
that whalemen's stories of giant squids
were generally dlsbelieved. and not un-
til one or two moderate sized speci-
mems were taken on the coast of New
foundland was their authenticity con-
sidered as definitely established.
There is certainly very consider
able amount of testimony to the occur
renee of some huge, snake-like Great
ure. sufficient, as Professor Wilson
notes, to establish any ordinary fact in
court of law. How abundant is this
testimony, and how well entitled to
credence. the reader may easily ascer-
tain by referring to The Strand for
August. 1895. where 1t is published in
considerable detail. 1t will not do to
say that all these statements are based
tel ..fa 10 ~
thing-a whale, school of porpolses.
flock of birds, or drifting kelp-for
the average ships officer is well ac-
quainted with such objects. Moreover.
neither flocks of birds nor kelp occur
in some of the places named, and it is
impossible to avoid the conclusion that
some animal was seen with which the
observer was quite unfamiliar.
Oudemans Dutch naturalist. was
so impressed with the belief that such
an amount OF testimony must rest on n
firm foundation of fact that he wrote n
book to show that the animal seen was
an enormous seal-like creature OF prim-
tive type. which now and again
came within the ken of senfaring men.
That such n creature should be SO sell
dom seen is not surprising. One may
be on the ocean for weeks without
catching n glimpse of sail. and IL n
ship with towering masts and spread
ing canvas escapes notice 1t is small
wonder that an animal which rarely
puts its nose above water should not
be more generally known.
Says Professor Andrew Wilson;
MANY of the tales of sea serpents are
amply verified when Judged by the or
dinary rules of evidence, and GER
tain gigantic marine animals. at pres
ent unfamiliar or unknown to science,
do certainly exist" And the late DIR.
G. Brown Goode wrote in the introduc-
ton to Ocean Ichthyology:" at can
not be doubted that somewhere in the
sea, at an unknown depth below the
surface. there are living certain fish
like animals, unknown 10 science, and
of great size, which come occasionally
to the surface and give foundation to
such stories as those OF the sea SER
pent.'
The hypothesis most commonly ac-
cepted, and one that fits admirably
with many descriptions of the sea SER
pent, is that n giant squid has been
seen swimming at the surface, the pro-
jecting tail serving for the head, while
the long tentacles. dragging for fifty
feet behind, constituted the body. Still,
this does not cover all the cases ON rec
ord, and 1t even remains to be proved
that the great squids ever swim in the
manner Indicated. A more daring sug-
gestion is that some of the extraordi-
nary sea monsters that fourlshed when
the earth was young are still living,
and at the time of the Hassler expedi-
ton, in 1876. no less an authority than
Louis Agassiz intimated that some ami
mails thought TO have been long extinct
might still linger in the depths of the
sea. The gar pike, that mailed fresh
water tyrant, is common enough in
ance. and we find practically the same
fish in Eocene strata of the West. The
Port Jackson shark of Australia traces
his pedigree back to Carboniferous
times. A great plesiosaur, swimming
at the surface, with head raised and
neck outstetched, would harmonize
well with some descriptions of the sen
serpent. Mosasaurus and his kindred,
the sea lizards, that abounded in our
Cretaceous sea, are also among the an
imals that have been nominated for the
post of sea serpentship. But truth
compels us to say that the close of the
Cretaceous period, during which these
creatures fourished. was most disas-
trous to living things. and scores of
strange species were then blotted out
of existence. Exactly what were the
causes of such widespread destruction
we know not. but Dana calls it zone of
the most noted in all geological his
tory" And while probably not n
tenth part of the animal species of the
world disappeared at the time yet