The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-07-19
SEA sERPENTS ANCIENT AND
MODERN.

Prof. Edwards of Trinity College, Re-
garding Them.
Prof. Charles l.. Edwards of Trinity
College told The Hartford Scientific
Society recently lot about the sea SER
pent and had shown on a screen pic
lures of the monsters calculated t.
scare an innocent youngster out of a
years growth. Unfortunately, none
of the pictures was an actual photo
graph, but the lecturer seemed to tend
to the belief that there was something
doing in the monster line, and the Rev
James Goodwin, the President os the
Society. allowed at the close of the lee
ture, that he, for one, believed more In
the thingI than he had before. AS to
how great that previous belief had
been he did not say.
Professor Edwards in the first part
of his lecture had thrown on the screen
pictures of sea monsters as represent
ed in years past. He explained in his
talk that while he spoke of "sea SER
pent," the so-called and oft-repeated
sea serpent could not be a big snake,
but some other kind of a monster Uf 1t
was anything). AS far back as job
mention is made of a great leviathan.
and accounts of some great thing are
found in all early histories. One myth
seems to have come from a sperm
W MAZE dnOlhtE luc SQulU
Even the Indians had a belief in a
monster serpent. and thought one lived
in the Great Lakes and broke the ice
in the winter when 1t became irritated.
Professor Edwards gave long list
of dates when the great sea serpent
has been reported. They stretch from
1889 down to 1908. A bishop, Com
modore Preble, crews of British war
ships, and many persons have Elade the
reports. A noted appearance was at
Gloucester and Nahant, Mass, in 1917,
when hundreds of reputable citizens
saw something and testified to It,. 1t
is estimated that from 500 to 700 per-
sons saw 1t, and people even drove
along the beach in crowds, keeping up
with 1T as it swan along the shore.
Professor Edwards said there was no
doubt that something was seen at that
time.
Another case was in 1S4s, when the
whole crew of a British warship saw
one and reported a sober and scientific
account OF it. The neighborhood of
Nahant Gloucester. and Sampscott
seems to be the most favored. for sew
eral reports from each have been made.
In 1899 800 passengers of the steam
err New England declared that when
two days out of Boston they saw the
sea serpent, describing 1t as 40 to so
feet long. feet in diameter, and spout
ing out spray. The latest report of it
was May 80. 1903 1t is noteworthy.
said Professor Edwards, that the thing
has been reported nearly always in
the summer or fall, and practically al
ways in the Northern waters. one year
between Halifax and Gloucester the
next time off Norway. perhaps.
1t is always described as black or
brownish. with eyes in the upper part
of the head. swimming at a speed OF
five or six knots, carrying its head out
of water generally with a name, and
proceeding with a humping motion
like a caterpillar A curious appear
ance was one reported in 1898 and 1899
in a Swedish lake. where 1t was de-
clared a huge animal had been seen a
number of times and had been watched
through glasses for long periods. Fin
ally a newspaper sent an eminent nat
uralist to investigate, and he reported
as his conclusion that several mon
sters from to As feet long had GER
tainly been seen in the lake.
Professor Edwards said that proba-
bly in all the many cases reported
something had been seen, for 1T is i'm
possible to believe that all these peo-
pie were liars. The universal declara-
ton that the thing proceeded with I'M
dulating motto does away with the
theory of its being actually big
snake. He showed that the stories
might arise from the appearance of a
a big stingray. a gigantic
squid Zone was caught with arms and
body 100 feet long). a basking shark.
whales or school of porpoises. A few
years ago what was called the Florida
was found near st. Augustine
with arms nearly 100 feet long. The