CAPTAIN STEELE'S TESTIMONY. J?37 



« 



28th of August, in long. 40° E, lat. 37° 16' S., about 

 half-past two, we had all gone down below to get ready 

 for dinner, when the first mate called us on deck to see 

 a most extraordinary sight. About five hundred yards 

 from the ship there was the head and neck of an enor- 

 mous snake ; we saw about sixteen or tw^enty feet out of 

 the water, and he spouted a long way from his head; 

 down his back he had a crest like a cock's comb, and was 

 going very slowly through the water, but left a wake of 

 about fifty or sixty feet, as if dragging a long body after 

 him. The captain put the ship off her course to run 

 down to him, but as w^e approached him, he went down. 

 His colour was green, with light spots. He was seen by 

 every one on hoard' My brother is no naturalist, and I 

 think this is the 'first time the monster has been ever seen 

 to spout." 



The second statement is contained in a letter from one 

 of the officers of the ship : — 



" You will be surprised to hear that we have actually 



seen the great sea-serpent, about which there has been so 



much discussion. Information was given by a sailor to the 



captain just as we were going to dinner. I was in my 



cabin at the time, and from the noise and excitement, I 



thought the ship was on fire. I rushed on deck, and on 



lookino- over the side of the vessel I saw a most wonderful 



sioht, which I shall recollect as lono- as I live. His head 



appeared to be about sixteen feet above the water, and he 



kept moving it up and down, sometimes shewing his 



enormous neck, which was surmounted with a huge crest 



Y 



