252 SPORT IN NORTH AMERICA. 



before, declare that off the Island of Nantucket he 

 had struck a Sea-serpent, and that the creature had 

 dived immediately, reappearing at a distance of five 

 or six hundred yards farther on, so that it was en- 

 tirely visible. According to his account, it was an 

 enormous creature, and although fear prevented the 

 sailors from giving chase to it, they kept it within 

 view with a glass for a considerable time, and at last 

 they lost sight of it in the direction of Cape Cod. 

 This story seemed to me at first to be little better 

 than a hoax, but the Newport journal published it 

 in extenso, and the editor announced, in an article 

 specially devoted to the subject, that a steamer was 

 being chartered to go in search of this Sea-serpent, 

 and to capture it if possible. 



Naturally a lover of the marvellous, I quitted the 

 hotel and repaired to the office of the newspaper, 

 where I found the editor preparing to start. He was 

 going after the Sea-serpent, and directly I introduced 

 myself, he invited me to accompany him. Of course 

 I was delighted, and accepted the invitation without 

 the slightest hesitation. A quarter of an hour after- 

 wards I was on board the steamer, where I found 

 about a couple of hundred of amateur sportsmen, 

 armed with rifles and other firearms of every calibre 

 and description. Evening had set in, and when we 

 started the horizon was gilded by the setting sun. 

 An enormous crowd thronged the wharf as we set off 

 under a full press of steam, and everybody wished us 



