222 PLEASANT WAYS IN SCIENCE. 



Force. Kamptee, and was to the following effect (I abridge 

 it considerably) : When at a considerable distance south- 

 west of the Cape of Good Hope, Mr. Davidson, Captain 

 Petrie, of the Royal Saxon, a steerage passenger, and the 

 man at the wheel, saw "an animal of which no more correct 

 description could be given than that by Captain M'Quhce. 

 It passed within 35 yards of the ship, without altering its 

 course in the least ; but as it came right abreast of us it 

 slowly turned its head towards us." About one-third of the 

 upper part of its body was above water, " in nearly its whole 

 length ; and we could see the water curling up on its breast 

 as it moved along, but by what means it moved we could 

 not perceive." They saw this creature in its whole length 

 with the exception of a small portion of the tail which was 

 under water ; and by comparing its length with that of the 

 Royal Saxon, 600 feet, when exactly alongside in passing, 

 they calculated it to be in length as well as in other dimen- 

 sions greater than the animal described by Captain M'Quhae. 

 In the year 1852 two statements were made, one by 

 Captain Steele, gth Lancers, the other by one of the officers 

 of the ship Barham (India merchantman), to the effect that 

 an animal of a serpentine appearance had been seen about 

 500 yards from that ship (in longitude 40 E. and 37 16' S., 

 that is, east of the south-eastern corner of Africa). "We 

 saw him," said the former, "about 16 or 20 feet out of the 

 water, and he spouted a long way from his head " that is, 

 I suppose, he spouted to some distance, not, as the words 

 really imply, at a part of his neck far removed from the head. 

 Down his back he had a crest like a cock's comb, and was 

 going very slowly through the water, but left a wake of about 

 50 or 60 feet, as if dragging a long body after him. The 

 captain put the ship off her course to run down to him, but 

 as we approached him he went down. His colour was green 

 with light spots. He was seen by every one on board." 

 The other witness gives a similar account, adding that the 

 creature kept moving his head up and down, and was 

 surrounded by hundreds of birds. " We at first thought it 



