ORDER VII. rACIIYDERMATA. 277 



previously acquainted. It was about a quarter of a mile from the shore, and 

 was movinpf witii great rapidity to the southward. It appeared almost thirty 

 feet in length. It tlien came towards mc very rapidly, and lay entirely still 

 on the surface of the water. Its appearance then was like a string of buoys. 

 I saw thirty or forty of these protuberances, which were about the size of a 

 barrel. The head appeared six or eight feet long, and tapered off to the size 

 of a horse's head. It then appeared about one hundred and twenty feet long ; 

 the body seemed of a uniform size; the color deep-brown. I could not dis- 

 cover any eye, mane, gills, breathing-holes, fins, or lips." 



In August, 1819, a similar monster is said to have made its appearance 

 off Xahant, the celel)rated watering-place, near Boston. Tliis animal is 

 described very much as the former, seen at Gloucester, with this addition : 

 the eyes are " brigiit and glistening." Again, in July, LSoo, it rca[i|>cared 

 at Xahant, and was observed by a large number of ladies and gentlemen, 

 ilany connnunications in regard to it wci'C published at the time, among 

 others, one from the Hon. Lonson Xasli. It will be seen that these descrip- 

 tions agree, in the main, with Pontopjiidon's representation of the Xorwcgian 

 serpent, especially in the resemblance to a string of buoys. 



From what we have already said, the reader will perceive that we ha^e no 

 strong faith in the existence of such a monster. The evidence, although 

 positive, will scarcely bear a severe scrutiny ; besides, the well-known cre- 

 dulity of the people of those regions, their proneness to believe in marvellous 

 things, and to exaggerate and adorn the simplest facts, until they assume tlie 

 most wonderful proportions and features, make it prol)able that some unusual 

 a[)[iearance, like that of a shoal of i)orpoises, marching in single file, in a 

 straight line, as is their habit when travelling, showing their backs above 

 tlie water, like so many buoys, was transformed, in their imagination, into 

 the terrible animal they have described, with so many serpent attributes. 



ORDER VII. — PACHYDERMATA. 



Tiie pachyilcrmes, or tlilrh-slcirnK.'d animals, form a remarkable group. 

 The gigantic elephant,. wiiich delights in the luxuriant forests and shallow 

 streams of the warm latitudes of Asia and Africa, the gi-aceful and useful horse, 

 which from the beginning has been the constant companion and friend of man, 

 wiicise fidelity and beauty are celelirated in history, romance, and song, — 

 the fierce rhinoceros,- — i\\Q uulcorn of the ancients, — the iiipijopotamus, 

 and the valuable, but imromantic swine, are all meniliers of tliis order. The 

 huge mastodon, and all those vast wrecks of an unknown period, separated 

 from us by thousands of ages, and whose mighty forms peopled tlie primeval 

 forests when the earth was young, also belong to this family. 



