[ 356 ] 



LX. On the American Sea Serpent. 



1 HE voyage undertaken by Capt. Rich of Boston in 1818, for 

 the purpose of taking the sea serpent of which so much had been 

 reported in 1817, but which voyage terminated in his catching 

 a thunny, or horse mackerel, served for a time to throw discredit 

 on all the statements which iiad been published respecting this 

 wonder of the deep. The subject, however, has undergone fresh 

 discussion, and Professor Bigelow of Boston has collected and 

 pubhshed so many documents (in Silliman's Journal), as seem to 

 put the truth of the existence of this serpent beyond all doubt. 



It is a curious enough fact, that an account of a similar fish 

 had been sent to the American Academy of Sciences sixteen years 

 ago, but had been mislaid. This document is now brought to light. 

 It is a letter dated Wiscasset, May 22, 1804, addressed to the Hon. 

 John Q. Adams, corresponding secretary of the Academy, and sign- 

 ed A. Bradford, inclosing various information from individuals who 

 had seen the serpent. He states in his letter, as within phe recol- 

 lection of many, that various vague reports had been circulated, in 

 the course of a few years, of an animal of this description having 

 been seen in Penobscot Bay, to which, however, but little atten- 

 tion was paid ; but happening to hear that one was seen in that 

 bay in 1802, he instituted inquiries to ascertain the truth of the 

 report. This produced letters from the Rev. Mr. Cummings of 

 Sullivan, and the Rev. Mr. M'Lean. He afterwards learnt that 

 George Little, esq. late conimander of the Boston frigate, saw a 

 similar sea monster in the time of the revolutionary war, and on 

 writing to him on the subject he had the fact confirmed. He also 

 inclosed a letter from a Capt. Crabtree of Portland, who had at 

 another time seen one of these serpents. 



In July, 1802, Mr. Cummings saw this extraordinary sea mon- 

 ster in his passage to Belfast, between Cape Rosoi and Long 

 Island. He took it at first for a large shoal of fish with a seal at 

 one end of it; but as he drew near the boat, those on board saw 

 that this whole appearance formed but one animal : it seemed to 

 have an ascending and descending serpentine motion. The peo- 

 ple in the boat judged the length to be more than 60 feet : it had 

 " a serpent's head of a colour as blue as possible, and a black 

 ring round its eyes. The head was three feet in circumference 

 al least Two young men on Fox Island, intelligent and cre- 

 dible, saw an animal of this kind about 5 years since \i. e. early 

 in 1799]. They told me the one they saw was about 60 feet 

 long, and appeared to have an ascending and descending motion. 

 A few years before, perhaps 10 years [about 1794,] twoof tho:;e 

 large serpents were seen by two other persons on that island. 



About 



