The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-06-08
DEAD SEA SERPENT IN TRAP
If HE WASN'T THE SERPENT HE
SURELY WAS DEAD.
May Have Had Eyes as BiE 40 saucers and
Did Have . scaly Neck and Twin Pin
TO Port and StarbOard-G Course,
~ Dead as He Was. He Got Away.

70 ToFt ana oIefDOtIu-OI SouT &c,
as Dead As He Was. He Got Away.
ORIENT, L. l., june III Jack Barre
and Jim Fox and Cap'n nber hadn't
had 10 get under way 30 early in the
morning On the fishing sloop Angler
to-day one would have been able to find
out more about the sea serpent Jack and
Jim caught last week in their fish trap
of Montauk Point.
u sh'd s'pose," said Jack as he spat
or his hands and gave a final tug or two
bn the throat halyards. -thet tibet there
sarpint might We ben twenty-five or
twenty-three foot long firm stem to starn.'
1T were all O. thet,' affirmed jim,
taking in the slack Of the halyard and
making 1t fast to a deck cleat. 'Derned
Of 1t warn't as queer a lookin' oontraption
g ever ! seen in all my life. sorter he'd
scales on his neck an a kinder crest on
his head like. Bout as big round ez
a Urinary water pail. Ye see, we come
over ter Montauk bout sunup AM
Shove her Off" commanded Cap'n
Taber. So the Angler sailed away loaded
with information on the subject OF sea
serpents.
Cap'n Taber. who owns the Angler,
had already declared that he didn't
know anything personally about the
serpent because last week he stayed
home instead Of going fishing with the
boys. Jack and Jim sail away from
Orient every Monday morning over To
Montauk, where they fish in Fort Pond
Bay during the week. returning to Orient
on Saturday. Jack and Jim spent last
week as usual fishing In Montauk waters.
They have a large number of fish traps
set over there and in one OF these traps,
they averred. they found the serpent.
They were very glad indeed that 1t was
a dead serpent. Otherwise. it was to be
from their language, they would
not have cared to meet that serpent.
But from the point Of view Of science
the untimely death OF the serpent is much
to be lamented. 1t all goes to show that
every fisherman should be obliged to
in his early education a course OF
study in paleontology or ancient ichthy-
ology. Had Jack and Jim been thu
equipped they would not have been
guilty OF making such a deplorable mis-.
take as they actually did make in the
OF that serpent. They didn't
save the middle OF him at all. They
chopped him up and consigned the middle
OF him to the deep. They should Of
course have towed him to the shore and
then have sent an urgent telegram 10
HermonC c. Bumpus. director OF the Ameri-
can Museum OF Natural History, imploring
him to come at once.
But being comparatively ignorant Of
paleontology, the two fishermen did
nothing Of the kind, not knowing that
here wat a chance OF establishing beyond
doubt forever the existence OF the common
or garden sea serpent that is 80 often seen
and 20 seldom caught. Still. n must
not be too YER on Jack n Jim. because
there Is reason to believe that at the
time they found the body in their fish trap
that serpent was more tina common
dead.
1T were nothin' but a body said Jack,
body too
1T sure were corroborated Jim.
Ike Here Jim appealed
to his mate to supply him with
the necessary smile. But Jack was
remembered. but found no language that
was appropriate.
In this manner the two mariners ac-
counted for the fact that a heap OF bones
and a lively recollection were all that they
brought from Montauk OF h sea SER
pent they captured in their fish trap.
From various odd remarks let fall about
town yesterday by Jack and Jim 1t ap-
pears that the serpent was quite as queer
a looking ~contraption as Jim said 1t was
the moment before Cap'n Taber gave the
order to shov 'er of. They was a sort
OF a kind of a fuzzy crest on it's neck.
like. and it had a tail that-well, that tail
was-er-well, it appeared to be a tail
that defed successful description. Jack
seemed to be OF the opinion that that in
describable tail was largely employed
by the critter in the process Ct navigation,
and steering.
Then they was a couple o pairs OF fins.
too. Them fins, it seems. was located
about half way from the head to the tail,
one pair on 'em to port an one pair to
Them fins, Jack and Jim agreed.
must have helped in navigation, too.
An then, don't forget the scales. Them
the mariners said, was fixed in
rows long the critters neck. They was
harder'n the rest O the body. But I'M
the same cause that prevented
the fishermen from bringing home the
the hull c~ontraption had been
dead too derned long.
From a scientific point Of view. in fact.
things went about as badly as possible.
In the first place the critter had to go and
discovered by two paleontologyless
In the second place II had
been dead so long they couldn't even
save them scales and them fins. And
In the third place Jack and Jim sailed
too blamed early this morning or the
sloop Angler. They showed 'er