New-York tribune., 1905-06-18


that on August 6 of that year in latitude twenty
four degrees and forty yfOur minutes SOUTH and Ong
tude nine degrees and twenty two minutes east of
his midshipmen Mr.. Sartoris, saw something very
unusual" rapidly approaching the vessel. He re-
ported it to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant
Drurnmond with whom and Mr. William Barrett the
master was walking the quarter deck. On our atten
ton being called to the object it discovered to
be an enormous serpent, with head and shoulders
kept constantly about four feet above the surface of
the sea- while as nearly could approximate,
there least sixty feet of the animal visible
bevond. 1t passed so close under our lee quarter
that had it been of my acquaintance L
should easily have recognized his features with the
naked eye. 1t held on its course at twelve to fifteen
miles an hour apparently some determined
purpose. Behind the head which without
anv doubt that of snake, it was fifteen or sixteen
inches in diameter. Never, during the twenty
minutes it continued in sight of glasses, it
once below the surface of the water, In color it
was dark-brown but yellOwish- white about the
throat 1t had no fins, but something like the
name of a horse. The monster was seen by the
quartermaster the boatswain's mate and the man
at the Wheel in addition to myself and the officers
aforementioned
This, it must be admitted, is testimony which
cannot be explained away cast aside of
importance We cannot attribute it to illusion, to
ignorance or to wilful deception A British naval
officer does not go out of his way to invent lying
report for the entertainment of the Admiralty
and it will be noticed that Captain McQuhae
took good care to back up his statement with
the evidence of a number of his officers and men,
who also signed the document.
Leaving aside the question to what sort of
animal this actually was, and admitting that 1T
must have been a monster of some kind not fam1l1ar
nor easily identified the fact is worth mentioning
that two months and half later, September 20,
the officers and crew of the American brig Daphne,
in latitude four degrees and eleven minutes south and
longitude ten degrees and fifteen minutes east beheld
an extraordinary creature, which seems to have
bv the mariners of the Dpdalus. One of the deck
guns was brought to bear upon 1t, charged with
spikes nails and whatever other pieces OF IRON
could be got the moment, and was fired at
distance of about forty yards. 1t Immediately
reared its head in the air and plunged violently with
its bodv showing that the shot had taken effect.
The Daphne then stood toward the brute, winch
was "foaming and lashng the water at a fearful
rate" However, the brig approached, 1t made
off at a rate of fifteen sixteen knots an
hour. Its length estimated at one hundred
feet.
We have mentioned possible mammal and
not unlikely molusk as corresponding with reason
able accuracy the description of the conventional
sea-serpent. But may it not be a fish! Dr.
Theodore Gill one of the most famous of living
naturalists while not himself advocate of the
sea-serpent, suggests that possibly the actual
original of the monster may be giant selachian
related to the basking- shark, with elongated