History of Sea- Scrpentism. 351 



mately to render necessary, as a condition of admission, 

 much greater acquirements, especially in the classics, than 

 the laws of the college at present prescribe. The commit- 

 tee, however, do not deem it advisable that the corporation 

 should act on this subject, until they shall have availed them- 

 selves of the information and experience of the Faculty, and 

 received from them a specific recommendation. 



Yale College, September 9th, 1828. 



Art. IX. — The History of Sea-Serpentism, extracted f-om 

 Samuel L. Mitchill's summary of the progress of Nat- 

 ural Science within our United States, for a few years 

 past ; read before the New-York Lyceum, at a succession 

 of sittings during October, 1828. — No. 35. The Sea-Ser- 



PENT.* 



(Communicated for this Journal.) 



This subject, the author observed, would scarcely be wor- 

 thy of notice, before this learned and respectable assembly, 

 if it had not happened, that during several years, it, or some- 

 thing so imagined or so called, had frequently been present- 

 ed for public consideration ; and that paragraphs and state- 

 ments in the newspapers and journals, do yet, from time to 

 time, attract the attention of their readers. 



This alleged monster of the deep first haunted the coast 

 of Massachusetts, and frightened more particularly the neigh- 

 borhood of Gloucester with his presence. Observations were 

 made, and evidence was collected to a large amount. These 

 were so considerable and imposing, that the Linnean Socie- 

 ty of New England published a book on the subject, with 

 the figure of the enormous reptile under the name of Sco- 

 liophis. As the fishermen and naturalists could not catch 

 him and bring him ashore for inspection, it was concluded to 

 fortify the story by oaths. Accordingly, afiSdavits were made 



'■ JVote. — "We give place to the scepticism of the learned author, although 

 not ourselves sceptical on this subject. We do not see how such evidence as 

 that presented by Dr. Bigelow — Vol. II., p. 147 of this Journal — particularly 

 in the statements of Captain Little of the Boston frigate, and of Marshal Prince 

 and family, and of Mr. Cabot, can be set aside — although we have no doubt 

 that there have been on this subject both error and imposition ; and we are far 

 from believing that every thing that has been called a sea-serpent has really 

 been such. — Ed. 



