276 DIVISION I. VERTEBRAL ANIMALS. 



slow movement, ilistlnetly perceived one of its eyes. Al;irmed at the un- 

 usual aiipcarance and magnitude of the animal, 1 steered so as to be at no 

 "reat distance from the shore. When nearly in a line between it and the 

 sliorc, the monster, directing its lioad, which still continued above ^atcr, to- 

 wards us, plunged violently under water. Certain tiiat he was in chase of 

 us, we plied hard to get ashore. Just as we leaped out on a rock, and had 

 taken a station as high as we conveniently could, wo saw it coming rapidly 

 under water towards tlie stern of our boat. AVhen witliin a few yards of it, 

 finding the water shallow, it raised its monstrous head above water, and, by 

 a winding course, got, with apparent difficulty, clear of tlic creek where our 

 boat lay, and where the monster seemed in danger of being embayed. It 

 continued to move olf with its iiead ul)o\e water, and with the wind, for about 

 half a mile, before we lost sight of it. Its head was somewhat broad, and 

 of form somewhat oval ; its neck somewhat smaller ; its siioidders, if I can 

 so term them, considerably broader, and thence it tapered towards tlic tail, 

 which last it kcjit jiretty low in the water, so that a view of it cduld not be 

 taken so distinctly as I wished. It had no fuis that I could perceive, and 

 seemed to me to move progressively In' undulation up and down. Its length 

 I l;elie\-ed to l)e between seventy and eighty feet. When nearest to me, it 

 did not raise its head wliolly above water, so that the neck being under 

 water, I could perceive no shining filaments thereon, if it had any. Its 

 i)rogressive motion under water 1 took to Ije very rapid. About the time I 

 saw it, it was seen near the Isle of Canna. The crews of thirteen fisliing 

 boats, I am told, were so much terrified at its appearance, that they, in a 

 bodv, tied from it to the nearest creek for safety. On tlie passage from 

 Hum to Canna, fiie crew of one Ijoat saw it coming towards tliem, with tlic 

 .wind, and its head high abo^■e water. One of the crew pronounced its head 

 us large as a little boat, and its eyes as large as a plate. The men were 

 mucii terrified, Init the monster offered them no molestation." 



The Sea Seepext of New England. This alleged monster, accord- 

 ing to the various accounts, first made its appearance in the Harbor of 

 Gloucester, Essex Co., Massachusetts, in August, l.Sl.J. It is described as 

 having a serpent firm, and cajialjle of very rapid progression. It appeared 

 only when the skies were bright and sea tranquil, and floated on the surface 

 like a number of buoys following each other in a line. Many persons testi- 

 fied to its general ap[)earance, Init did not agree in all tlie particulars. ^\'e 

 will give one of these affidavits, which fLirnishcs as good a description of the 

 creature as we can obtain. "On the 20th of June, 1S15, my boy informed 

 me of an unusual appearance on the surf ice of the sea in the Cove. AVheii 

 I ^■iewed it througii a glass, I was in a moment satisfied that it was some 

 aquatic animal, wilii the form, motions, and appearance of which I was not 



