356 History of Sea'Serpentism. 



destination on the southern shore, was reported by the men 

 at the tavern and the printing office, to be the very creature. 

 Mr. Printer wrote a paragraph on the subject, and inserted 

 it in his paper, in which it travelled far and wide. It may 

 be relied on that this alleged inhabitant of that inland sea, 

 has been reduced to genus and species, by a distinguished 

 naturalist, and registered very orderly in zoology. Now let 

 us find what the production really turned out to be. The 

 sheriff of the county, a sensible man, heard of the marvel, 

 and conceiving that he knew as much about the lake as any 

 person whatever, went on board, full of curiosity, to make 

 inquiry about it. He found but one of the people on board, 

 whom he interrogated closely concerning the wonderful 

 sight, with which he and his associates had entertained the 

 neighborhood. The sailor was soon implicated in contradic- 

 tions. The querist, aware of the fellow's confusion, asked 

 him if he was not ashamed to propagate such falsehoods ? 

 He then said, if the sheriff would not be affronted, he would 

 relate the whole story just as it was. At the place aforesaid, 

 they passed a dry tree afloat ; and concluding that the butt 

 or root would do for a head ; some knots on the trunk for 

 knobs or bunches ; and the top for a tail ; they would have 

 a little pastime by telling a story of a sea-serpent, which they 

 thought their lake was as much entitled to as any other wa- 

 ter. The whole three had agreed to tell the same tale and 

 support it ! 



(g) When the skin, &c. of the huge basking shark, that 

 had straggled from the Northern Ocean and had been killed 

 in Raritan Bay, (Squalus Maximus,) was exhibited in New- 

 York city, the inhabitants were openly and earnestly invited 

 by notice in words at length displayed in front of the house, 

 to enter and behold the sea-serpent. The conceit took very 

 well ! 



Now, after all these mistakes, deceptions, and wilful per- 

 versions on the subject, every person of consideration may 

 admit that the gambols of porpoises, the slow motions of 

 basking sharks, and the yet different appearances of balce- 

 nopterous whales, all of which have fins on their backs, may 

 have given rise to those parts of the narrations, not already 

 herein commented upon. 



