probably arises from the inconvenience resulting from the waves at the surface, and the strong power which a swell would exert upon a body of such great length and comparative slenderness. According to Pontoppidan, a great Sea-Snake was seen at Amunds Vaagen, in Nordfiord, a few years before he wrote. It came in between the rocks, probably at high water, and died there, and its carcase tainted the neighbouring air for a long time. A similar animal was seen in the island of Karmen, where it perished; and several more are recorded as having occurred in other places. The SeaSnake, it is said, possesses a very quick scent, and has been observed to fly from the smell of castor. On this account, the Norwegian fishermen, during the warm summer months, when it is most likely to shew itself, are frequently provided with this substance when they go to sea; and when they apprehend the near approach of one of these monsters, they sprinkle a little on all sides overboard. The same device is said by Debes to be resorted to by the boatmen around the Feroe Isles, as a protection against the Trold-Whale, a mischievous species, which likewise dreads the shavings of juniper-wood. Many curious anecdotes, concerning the power of castor, may be found in the writings of Thomas Bartholinus.

The Bishop of Bergen mentions, that he has been informed by the northern traders, that the sea-snake sometimes throws itself across a boat in such a manner as to sink it by its weight. One person, in particular, informed him, that he has been near enough to some of these animals to feel their smooth skin; and he added, that sometimes they will raise up their frightful heads, and snap a man out of a boat, without hurting the rest; "but this," says the bishop, " I will not affirm for a truth, because it is not certain that they are a fish of prey.' Perhaps this animal may be alluded to by the prophet Amos: "And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them."-Chap. ix. v. 3. Its motion is said to be exceedingly rapid, and is compared by one Norwegian poet to the flight of an

arrow from a bow. When perceived by the fishermen, they generally row away in the direction of the sun, which favours their escape, as the creature cannot perceive them when its head is turned towards that luminary.

"It is said, that they sometimes fling themselves in a wide circle round a boat, so that the men are surrounded on all sides. This snake, I observed before, generally appears on the water in folds or coils; and the fishermen, from a known custom in that case, never row towards the openings, or those places where the body is not seen, but is concealed under the water; if they did, the snake would raise itself up, and overset the boat. On the contrary, they row full against the highest part that is visible, which makes the snake immediately dive; and thus they are released from their fears. This

is their method when they cannot avoid them; but when they see one of these creatures at a distance, they row away with all their might (by which they sometimes injure their health) towards the shore, or into a creek where it cannot follow them."*

When they are overtaken, without being provided with any castor, their only resource is to throw a scuttle or any light thing at it, which frequently has the effect of making it dive and take another course.

We come now to the more modern instances of the occurrence of this singular animal. The following letter from the Rev. Mr Maclean of Small Isles to the Secretary of the Wernerian Natural History Society, will be deemed sufficient to dispel the doubts of those who feel less inclined than ourselves, to place some degree of confidence in the accounts of the earlier writers.

"Eigg Island, 24th April 1809. "SIR,-Your letter of the 1st instant I received, and would have written in answer thereto sooner, had I not thought it desirable to examine others relative to the animal of which you wish me to give a parti

cular account.

66

According to my best recollection, I saw it in June 1808, not on the coast of

Eigg, but on that of Coll. Rowing along that coast, I observed, at about the distance of half a mile, an object to windward, which gradually excited astonishment. At first view, it appeared like a small rock. Knowing there was no rock in that situation, I fixed my eyes on it close. Then I saw it elevated considerably above the level of the sea, and, after a slow movement, distinctly perceived one of its eyes. Alarmed at the unusual appearance and magnitude of the animal, I steered so as to be at no great

* Nat. Hist. of Norway, vol. ii, p. 203.

turning, displayed a greater length than I had before seen; I supposed at least an hundred feet. It then came towards me,

in a southerly direction, very rapidly, until he was in a line with me, when he stopped, and lay entirely still on the surface of the water. I then had a good view of him through my glass, at the distance of a quarter of a mile. His appearance in this situation was like a string of buoys. I saw perhaps thirty or forty of these protuberances or bunches, which were about the size of a barrel. The head appeared to be about six or eight feet long, and where it was connected with the body was a little larger than the body. His head tapered off to the size of a horse's head. I could not discern any mouth. But what I supposed to be his under jaw had a white stripe extending the whole length of the head, just above the water. While he lay in this situation, he appeared to be about a hundred or a hundred and twenty feet long. The body appeared to be of a uniform size. I saw no part of the animal which I supposed to be a tail. I therefore thought he did not discover to me his whole length. His colour was a deep brown or black. I could not discover any eyes, mane, gills, or breathing holes. I did not see any fins or legs. The animal did not utter any sound, and it did not appear to notice any thing. It remained still and motionless for five minutes or more. The wind was light, with a clear sky, and the water quite smooth. He then moved to the southward; but not with so rapid a motion as I had observed before. He was soon out of my sight. The next morning I rose very early to discover him. There was a fresh breeze from the south, which subsided about eight o'clock. It then became quite calm, when I again saw the animal about a mile to the northward of my house, down the beach. He did not display so great a length as the night before, perhaps not more than twenty or thirty feet. He often disappeared, and was gone five or ten minutes under water. I thought he was diving or fishing for his food. He remained in nearly the same situation, and thus employed, for two hours. I then saw him moving off, in a north-east direction, towards the light-house. I could not determine whether its motion was up and down, or to the right and left. His quickest motion was very rapid; I should suppose at the rate of fifteen or twenty miles an hour. Mackerel, manhaden, herring, and other bait fish, abound in the cove, where the animal was seen.

(Signed) ELKANAH FINNEY." There are several other affidavits equally satisfactory in regard to the occurrence of this extraordinary creature, with the whole of which, however, we do not consider it necessary that we should trouble our readers. What we have already written must

be amply sufficient to dispel the doubts even of the most sceptical, and the satisfactory manner in which the opinions of Pontoppidan, and the writers who preceded him, have been thus confirmed, should render us extremely cautious in considering such opinions as vague and hypothetical, merely because they do not accord with the measure of our own experience.

We shall conclude our quotation on this subject by the following extracts. the Honourable Lonson Nash, one of The first is from a letter written by the committee appointed by the Linnæan Society of New England; the other from a communication by the Rev. William Jenks, addressed to Judge Davis, the president of the Society.

"I have seen and conversed with the woman, who was said to have seen the serpent dormant on the rocks, near the water, to whom you refer in yours; but she can give no material evidence. She says that she saw something, resembling a large log of wood, on the rocks, on the extreme eastern point of Ten Pound island (a small island in our harbour), resting partly on the rocks, and partly in the water. The distance was about half a mile. She took a glass, looked at the object, and saw it move. Her attention was for a short time arrested, by some domestic avocation, and when she looked for the object again, it had disappeared.

You request a detailed account of my observations relative to the serpent. I saw him on the 14th ultimo, and when nearest, I judged him to be about two hundred and fifty yards from me. At that distance I judged him (in the largest part) about the size of a half barrel, gradually tapering towards the two extremes. Twice I saw him with a glass only for a short time, and at other times with the naked eye for nearly half an hour. His colour appeared nearly black-his motion was vertical. When he moved on the surface of the water, the track in his rear was visible for at least half a mile.

His velocity, when moving on the surface of the water, I judged was at the rate of a mile in about four minutes. When immersed in the water, his speed was greater, moving, I should say, at the rate of a mile in two or at most three minutes. When moving under water you could often trace him by the motion of the water on the surface, and from this circumstance I conclude he did not swim deep. He apparently went as straight through the water as you could draw a line. When he changed his course, it diminished his velocity but little-the two extremes that were visible appeared rapidly moving in opposite directions, and when

they came parallel, they appeared not more than a yard apart. With a glass I could not take in, at one view, the two extremes of the animal that were visible. I have looked at a vessel at about the same distance, and could distinctly see forty-five feet. If he should be taken, I have no doubt that his length will be found seventy feet at least, and I should not be surprised, if he should be found one hundred feet long. When I saw him, I was standing on an eminence, on the sea shore, elevated about thirty feet above the surface of the water, and the sea

was smooth.

If I saw his head, I could not distinguish it from his body; though there were seafaring men near me, who said that they could distinctly see his head. I believe they spoke truth; but not having been much accustomed to look through a glass, I was not so fortunate.

I never saw more than seven or eight distinct portions of him above the water at any one time, and he appeared rough; though I supposed this appearance was produced by his motion. When he disappeared, he apparently sunk directly down like a rock."

The information conveyed by Mr Jenks is extracted from manuscript notes kept by him in America, and the letter which contains them is dated September 17, 1817.

June 28th, 1809. The Rev. Mr Abraham Cummings,' who has been much employed in missions in the district of Meine, and navigated his own boat among the islands, &c. in the discharge of his duty, ⚫ informs me,' in conversation, which was immediately written from his lips, that in Penobscot bay has been occasionally seen within these thirty years, a Sea Serpent, supposed to be about sixty feet in length, and of the size of a sloop's mast. Rev. Mr Cummings saw him, in company with his wife and daughter, a young lady of Belfast, Martha Spring; and judged he was about three times the length of his boat, which is twenty-three feet. When he was seen this time he appeared not to notice the boat, though he was distant, as nearly as could be ascertained, but about fifteen rods. Mr Cummings observes, that the British saw him in their expedition to Bagaduse; that the inhabitants of Fox and Long Islands have seen such an animal, and that a Mr Crocket saw two of them together about twenty-two years since. When he was seen by the inhabitants of Fox Island, two persons were together at both times. People also of Mount Desert have seen the monster. One of those which were seen by Mr Crocket was smaller than that seen by Mr Cummings, and their motion in the sea appeared to be a perpendicular winding, and not horizontal. The British supposed the length of that, which they saw, to be three hundred feet, but this Mr Cummings imagines VOL. III.

to be an exaggeration. A gentleman of intelligence (Rev. Alden Bradford of Wiscasset, now Secretary of the Commonwealth), inquired of Mr Cummings whether the appearance might not be produced by a number of porpoises following each other in a train; but Mr Cummings asserts, that the animal held its head out of the water about five feet till he got out to sea; for when seen he was going out of the bay, and Mr Cummings was ascending it. The colour was a bluish green about the head and neck, but the water rippled so much over his body that it was not possible to determine its tint. The shape of the head was like that of a common snake, flattened, and about the size of a pail, He was seen approaching, passing, and departing. Till this, Mr Cummings was as incredulous, in respect to its existence, as many of his neighbours. The weather was calm, and it was the month of August, in which month, Mr Cummings remarks, that as far as he has heard, the Serpent makes his appearance on the coast.'

I am inclined to suppose, that Mr Cummings' account is that, which in one of the public papers was lately alluded to, as having been communicated to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, but mislaid. (then of Bath, now an attorney of Boston), Aug. 23, 1809. Mr Charles Shaw, informed me, that a Capt. Lillis, with whom he had sailed, observed cursorily in conversation, that he had seen off the coast a very singular fish; it appeared, said he, more like a snake than a fish, and was about forty feet long. It held its head erect, had no mane, and looked like an ordinary serpent. He asked Mr Shaw if he had ever seen, or read, or heard of such an animal?

About two years after hearing this, while on a journey to Indian Old Town, as one of the Massachusetts Commissioners to induce the Indians to cultivate their lands, I had opportunity to make further inquiry, and find in my journal the following entry:

Sept. 10, 1811. Having heard to-day further testimony respecting the Sea Serpent of Penobscot. A Mr Staples of Prospect, of whom I inquired as I passed, was told, by a Mr Miller of one of the islands of the bay, that he had seen it; and it was as big as a sloop's boon, and about sixty or seventy feet long.' He told me also, that about 1780, as a schooner was lying at the mouth of the river, or in the bay, one of these enormous creatures leaped over it be tween the masts-that the men ran into the hold for fright, and that the weight of the serpent sunk the vessel, one streak,' or plank. The schooner was of about eighteen tons.'

Having, we trust, by means of the preceding extracts and observations, sufficiently cleared away all doubts from the minds of such of our readers

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