THE GREAT SEA SERPENT. 391 



In his ' Journal of the Missions to Greenland ' this author 

 tell us that 



" On the 6th of July, 1734, there appeared a very large and frightful 

 sea monster, which raised itself so high out of the water that its head 

 reached above our main-top. It had a long, sharp snout, and spouted 

 water like a whale ; and very broad flappers. The body seemed to be 

 covered with scales, and the skin was uneven and wrinkled, and the 

 lower part was formed like a snake. After some time the creature 

 plunged backwards into the water, and then turned its tail up above 

 the surface, a whole ship-length from the head. The following evening 

 we had very bad weather." 



The high character of the narrator would lead us to 

 accept his statement that he had seen something previously 

 unknown to him (he does not say it was a sea-serpent) 

 even if we could not explain or understand what it was 

 that he saw. Fortunately, however, the sketch made by 

 Mr. Bing, one of his brother missionaries, has enabled us 

 to do this. We must remember that in his endeavour to 

 portray the incident he was dealing with an animal with 

 the nature of which he was unacquainted, and which was 

 only partially, and for a very short time, within his view. 

 He therefore delineated rather the impression left on his 

 mind than the thing itself. But although he invested it 

 with a character that did not belong to it, his drawing is so 

 far correct that we are able to recognise at a glance the 

 distorted portrait of an old acquaintance, and to say unhesi- 

 tatingly that Egede's sea monster was one of the great 

 calamaries which have since been occasionally met with, 

 but which have only been believed in and recognised within 

 the last few years. That which Mr. Egede believed to be 

 the creature's head was the tail part of the cuttle, which 

 goes in advance as the animal swims, and the two side 

 appendages represent very efficiently the two lobes of the 

 caudal fin. In propelling itself to the surface the squid 



