THE GREAT SEA-SERPENT. 253 



singular feature, for here was found a waving line, pro- 

 duced by a series of permanent risings, which commenced 

 near the head, and extended, almost without interruption, 

 to the tail, their total number being forty. The body 

 could be bent with the greatest facility in the vertical 

 direction, especially at the undulations, but not without 

 great difficulty latterly. The Society applied to this ani- 

 mal the name of Scoliophis Atlanticus. M. de Blainville, 

 in analyzing the various documents which have been pub- 

 lished concerning this Serpent, remarks " That a new 

 species of Serpent has been discorered in America, which 

 is really very singular, especially as it regards its verte- 

 bral column, ribs, and mode of progression, appears cer- 

 tain; but that this small Serpent is precisely of the same 

 species as the great marine animal which has appeared 

 off the coast, and whose existence we can scarcely deny, 

 is very doubtful." 



But long before the Great Sea-Serpent was ever sus- 

 pected of being a visitor of the British Isles, or of the New 

 World, it was regarded as a well known member of the 

 Fauna of Scandinavia. In this connection, we will not 

 omit the unquestionably exaggerated statements of the 

 honest missionary, Hans Egede, concerning what he tells 

 us he himself witnessed off the coast of Greenland, in the 

 year 1734. After speaking of the Mermaid, &c., he adds, 

 " None of these sea-monsters have been seen by us, nor 

 by any of our time that I could hear, save that most 

 dreadful monster which showed itself on the surface of the 

 water off our colony, in 64 north latitude. This monster 

 was of so huge a size, that, corning out of the water, its 

 head reached as high as the main mast ; its body was as 

 bulky as the ship, and three or four times as long. It had 

 a long pointed snout, and spouted like a whale fish ; it had 

 great broad paws ; the body seemed covered with shell- 

 work, and the skin was very rugged and uneven. The 

 under part of its body was shaped like an enormous huge 



