Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1909-02-11
|SOME TALES OF THE
DREADED SEASERPEN7
a Creature That May Not Be
Entirely Imaginative.
After All.

dle-wheel yacht Osborne is. after her
long years of royal service, to be bro
ken up recalls the interesting fact that
1t was from her quarterback. just over
40 years ago, that the public received
one of the most circumstantial and
credible reports of the existence of the
sea serpent, that congener of the giant
gooseberry and laughing stock of the
skeptic. says the London Globe. II
was of the coast of Sicily, on the at,
ternoon of June 2, 1877, that the COM
mander and officers of the yacht
deserted the great unknown" Not
only detailed description, but pen
Gil sketch taken by one of the officers.
weather at the time was fair. the sea
calm and the creature was studied by
those on board through powerful glass
es. The total length of head and back
visible on the surface of the water was
estimated at some 80 feet. with u
breadth at the shoulders of 10 feet. The
skin was smooth and scaleless. like
| that of seal, while the head re-
senbled an nlligator's. A ridge of fins
stood up from the back, while other fms
seemed TO propel 1t through the water
| Two years previous a somewhat sim
liar creature had been sighted off Cape
San Rogue from the deck of the collier
i Pauline, of London. 1t rose suddenly
from the depths Of the SEA and attacked
one OF a school of sperm whales, coillng
1
| the manner of a boa constructor. The
| cracking of the whales ribs as 1T strug-
| gled and beloved was distinctly heard.
| In 184S the commander of her majesty .
| ship Daedalus encountered sea ser
! pent off the coast of Africa. The
creature differed materially, however.
| from that seen by the officers of the
i Osborne Although some 60 feet of Its
body was visible. no fins We're observed
by the captain, but fringe of some
thing resembling seaweed chung about
\ its back. 1t held its head and neck
four feet above the water, and pursued
Il steady and undertaking course, pass
Ing close to the ship at u rate of 10 or
16 miles on hour.
1t is impossible to treat these and
I other similar reports, given as they are
by men of education and of long expert
ence of the common objects of the sea,
as sailors yarns, or to believe that the
objects which they saw were nothing
but seals, 81 flock of sea birds or Il
mass of floating seaweed. The utmost
explanation that can be suggested
other than the admission of the sea
serpents existence-is that the creature
seen In combat with tho whale was
that most tremendous and horrible of
brutes, the giant squid, whose ten
tacles wound about the whale. would
have serpentine appearance. The
squid, again, is known to attain some
40 feet in length and ms 1t possesses
the power of swimming backward, its
tail fin, raised above the water, might
not impossibly be taken for n serpent's
head: while it's tentacles and the COM
motion raised by it's passage in calm
sea might give undue Impressions of Its
real length. 1t is to be remembered,
however, that so eminent a scientist
as the late Philip Henry Gosse thought
that species of plesiosaurus, generally
believed extinct, might still survive in
remote ocean depths. though he cau-
tiously suggested 12 or Is feet as the
limit OF it's length. Darwin was also
inclined to take this view, though
owen asserted that an unusually large
sea was the true foundation or all sea
serpent stories.
A very remarkable case of circum-
stantial evidence for the existence of
some unknown and predatory monster
OF the sea occurred about 40 years ago.
attracting much attention at the time.
The trading brig Marie Celeste left
Boston with a general cargo for the
Mediterranean. She was manned by q
crew of IL hands, while the captain
was acconpanieel by his wife and little
girl. In diia course She was Sighted
outside the Strait of Gibraltar, appar-
! emily making for the passage. But it
soon became evident to those on shore
that she was not under control, and a
boat was dispatched to board her. She
| was found to be absolutely abandoned.
eDuI lne lcSeIIloH ~ ileI CiptdHl uliu
crew, if desertion ii were. was OF the
most extraordinary nature All sail was
set and not n spar or rope was out of
place Not one of the brigs boats WAS
missing, the captains papers and valu
ables were intact; while both in the
cabin and the forecastle freshly
cooked and half consumed dinner was
on the table. Only one suspicious sign
was to be seen---a single deep cut. as
though made by the blow OF an ak, on
the bulWarks.
In spite of All inquiries no light was
ever thrown upon the mystery Not
one Of the crew, nor yet the captain on
his wife and child WAS ever heard of.
Piracy and nutiny seemed alike out of
the question; there Was no blood, no
sign of 4 struggle. The freshness OF
tho half4eaten meal and the fact that
the brig w3s making 50 directly for
the strait pointed conclusiYcly 10 the
recent occurrence of whatever catas-
trophe had taken place. 1t was be
lcved by many at the time that SOM
sea serpent, or at least some cuttlefsh
or squid. had reared itself upon the
vessels deck, had swept from his post
the stccisman-thc sole man in charge
and then, as one after another had
come on deck to learn the reason of
the vessels vccrng from her course
had dealt with each in iurn.
, Mrs. Newlywed in Real Life.
A b.fv how with 4. coruically SpriOIs