The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-06-22
IRISH SEA SERPENT.
Wiewags Its Tail and Signals Big
Ocean Liner.

tN6W 1OTk lines
Some Of the officers and crew. ant
even lot Of passengers who were OF
the Campania on her last voyage. are
willing to refute the familiar statement
that there are no snakes in Ireland
The Cunarder, which has arrived al
| this port, reports gravely, and has i
duly chalked down in her log, thai
when only few miles off the Irist
coast a monster sea serpent was sight
ed. Following this entry in the ships
log there is nothing which would serve
TO identify the monster. but there were
eyewitnesses who swear.
1t was late afternoon. The zest of
homecoming was in the air and all
was merry aboard ship The flying
| spume carried clear of the pinnacle
lights on the port side. and sailor
sat in the crows nest spinning rope
yarn. The gigantic twin screws were
churning up the channel, and pleasant
Migratory chills chased up and down
spines in he steerage.
Suddenly an old whaler of the sixth
mates watch seized a Delaying pin
from the short bulwarks and shouted:
There she blows"
Where away?" came from the skip
per.
Five cable lengths over your port
quarter and a right whale for 1000
gallons or I'm a-shiver my tO'gallants
it's a genu-wine sea sarpint,"
The mysterious creature of the deep
rose out OF the water only a few hun
dred feet from the vessels side. Eight
feet of the body stood erect, and it
nodded its head in the most friendly
manner. 1t was also noted that its ma
tiOnality VAS ITish-American, as its
colorings were green and red, white and
blue.
Thus far the officers of the vessel
agree as TO the essential facts, but at
this point they fall into a discussion
that makes it hard to tell just what the
shape and size of the creature was. The
second engineer thought that it was
about forty feet long and had head
like a cat, While the sixth mate con-
tended that it was really ninety feet
long and had a shape like a python
anG a head much resembling a young
monkey.
Captain r. c. War; was on the bridge
when he got his glimpse of the sea
serpent as it rose out OF the water on
his port bow. The eight front feet of
the catlike head turned inquisitively to
one side while the serpent watched
with deep interest the passing of the
vessel. Thirty feet from the head a
coil of body showed above the water,
and perhaps twenty feet further ten
feet of tail wig-wagged above the sea.
The appearance of the briny deni- |
zen created something akin to a sensa- !
tion, and the officers gathered TO watch |
the creature. Purser McCubbin, who is
rather inclined to stoutness, was the |
last TO come putting UP the stairs to |
TIE deck below the bridge. The ser
pent rose three times and then disap- |
peare1.
1T was horful sight said the sew
enth mate. THE blooming thing e |
'ad a cad like n cat, and the way e
wagged is tail was something wonder
full. The hold man-rneaning the skip
per-'e was that took with the beast
that q got the chief nofficer to make
a sketch Of it. The captaing says he:
'Wot's e a loking at?' And the pur-
ser. he ups end says e recognizes the
cat head and then they wanted TO
throw I'm off the bridge"
1t vas at this point that the assist
ant to the fourth assistant engineer
broke IT. to describe the creatures head.
AMI this led to an argument which was
only stopped by the po'sns whistle.
Most of the men are agreed that it
looked like a cat and had a rather neat
fringe of whiskers under its chin.
Did it talk?" the seventh mate was
asked.
Sure, he rsplied. ''As it bobbed I'M
Ter the water it let off long drawn
neouw. What you might call a regu-
ar sea new
The sea serpent was sighted too far
rom this port 20 make it possible that
he monster was disguised at the back
ward summer season at nearby resorts
md was seeking pastures new on the
,tner side of the water
The following is the opening para
sraph of a report written by the third