The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-05-31
RECOGNITION or SEA sERpsnrs.
Many Are Whales, Lines Of Birds or
Patches Of seaWeed.

Fekenee OF SeaWeeos
The sea serpent. 1t least In many
modified forms. is an accepted SCI
sntiflc fact. 1t is coming to be gem
orally belieYed that the many and oft
recurring stories OF the sea serpent
cannot all BE- visions. pictures Of tna
fancy.
Many Of the supposed sea serpents
are whales. lines of birds or patches
Of seaweed, but it is the consensus OF
opinion among conservative natural
lists that there Is some gigantic ami
mai In the deep sea yet unknown 20
science which occasionally comes TO
the surface, showing portions of its
form to the amazement OF the mari
ner who may chance to be in the vicin-
N1ty. As to the nature OF those un-
: known animals we have several sug-
gestions. Several eel-like sharks have
been taken, long serpentine-like crea-
lures that when large must be the sea
serpents Of the deep sea, and have
convinced observers that the tales
which have aroused the credulity Of
people are not without foundation, and
that this mysterious realm conceais
strange and gigantic forms which only
rarely rise to the surface.
The eel-like sharks found are in
some instances luminous, emitting
strange light over the entire surface
the light giyers OF the deep SEA. Those
animals of the deep sea, which live
habitually in water tust above the
freezing point, In darkness that lie
profound, are among the most gro
tesque and singular Of living beingA
The fishes SO, far as known. are of
small size; but this does not prove
that there are no large animals In the
deep sea. The method Of taking deep
sea forms precludss the capture Of any
except the small and very sluggish
ones which lie In the deep ooxe. but
the time will come when large drsdgs
viii be invented In which the monsters
OF the deep will be taken. - there are
few naturalists who have given the
subject any attention but believe there
are In the greater depths some gigantic
animal which Is occasionally SEEN
An interesting form of the sea SER
pent Is the so-called ribbon FISH, sew
eral specimen Of which the writer
has seen on the shores of Santa Cata-
lima Island. This creature IL one Of
the most beautiful OF all fishes. 1t
resembles white or silver ribbon
slashed with black. A long fin ex
tends its entire length and over the
head forms a number of pIumes or
pompons of vivid red that in long
specimens might easily be taken for
. name waving to and fro
That this delicate ribbon fish at
tains a very large size is generally be-
lieyed, as good sized specimens nave
been captured. Some years age .
fisherman was hauling q net ON the
coast Of Scotland, when 1t was found
that some heavy weight was holding
the net back. Additional help was oD-
tanned, and dozen men finally maui
ed in monster fish, which was esti-
mated to weight eight hundred pounds
It was gigantic ribbon fish, thirty
feet or more in length, SO long and
heavy that it required the efforts OF
half dozen men to carry 1t along
the deck
It was yeritable sea serpent, ana
extending from its.head were tall deep
red or scarlet plumes, like fms, which
formed sort of name, frequently de-
scribed os being seen on the typical
sea serpent If these fishes attain
length Of thirty feet there is no reason
why they may not exceed this. and it
10 very possible that some Of the sea
saswsnts' which have been observed
at various times were gigantic RIB
bon fishes, which came up from the
deep aea and moved along with undu-
lifting motion at the surface. One OF
the most remarkable as we'll as gigan-
tic animals Of the daep sea In the giant
squid-a favorite tidbtt OF the sperm
whale.
The size to which these animals
grow, their strength and their hideous
appearance place them on par with
many of the weird and grotesQue crea-
lures Of past age. The squid un-
doubtedly attains a length Of nearly,
# not over, one hundred fest.