American Sea Scr petit. 357 



About 20 years since, [about 1804,] two of ibem were seen by 

 one Mr. Crocket, who then lived upon Ash Point. 



Mr, M'Lean states that a sea serpent was seen by the deceased 

 Capt. Paul Reed of Boothbay, about 30 years before 1804 ; and 

 another was seen in Muscongus Bay in the time of tiie American 

 war, two miles from the place where he then lived ; and another 

 soon afterwards off Mediuicook. 



Capt. Little states, that in May 17S0 he was lying in Round 

 Pond, in Broad Bay, in a public armed ship, and at sunrise dis- 

 covered a large serpent, or monster, comin{< down the bav, on 

 the surface of the water. " The cutter was manned and armed. 

 I went myself in the boat (says Capt. Little), and proceeded after 

 the serpent. When within a hundred feet, the marines were 

 ordered to fire, but before thev could make ready the serpent 

 dove." Judged to be from 45 to 50 feet long ; largest diameter 

 of body about 15 inches: head about the size of a man's, and 

 carried from 4 to 5 feet out of the water — had every appearance 

 of a common black snake. " When he dove he came up near 

 Muscongus Island — we pursued him, but never came up within 

 a quarter of a mile of him again." . ..." A monster of the same 

 description was seen in the same place by Joseph Kent of Marsh- 

 field, 1751. Kent said he was longer and larger than the boom 

 of his sloop, which was S5 tons. He had a fair opportunity of 

 viewing him, as he was within 10 or 12 yards of his sloop." 



Capt. Crabtree, then of Fox Island, in the Bav of Penobscot, 

 being informed by a neighbour that a large sea serpent was on 

 the water near the shore, just below his house, and having before 

 heard stories of the same kind, which he discredited, went to sa- 

 tisfy himself, and " saw a large animal in form of a snake lying 

 almost motionless in the sea, about 30 rods from where he stood" 

 — his head about 4 feet above water — apparent length 100 feet 

 — diameter about 3 feet. He also states, that before that time 

 many people living on these islands declared to him that thev had 

 seen such an animal. 



So far from the communication to Mf. Adams in 1804. These 

 statements Professor Bigelow follows up by other statements, 

 most of which having appeared in the newspapers, we shall notice 

 them very briefly : 



Capt. Perkins saw a monster of this description at Gloucester 

 in 1817. 



On the Gth of June, 1819, ("aptain Wheeler, then in his sloop 

 Concord sailing from New York to Salem, fourteen miles west 

 of Race Point, about five in the morning, saw a sea snake di- 

 rectly a head, aI)out 100 yards from the sloop, moving in a 

 S.W. direction, which it ke|>t till it passed athwart the course 

 of the vessel, and appealed directly over the wcalhcr bow, when 



he 



