566 ANOTHER SEA SERPENT. 



the surface of the water, extending about thirty feet, and varying from five 

 to six feet in height. On inspecting it by means of a telescope, at about, 

 one and a half cable's distance, he saw a head, two flippers, and about 

 thirty feet of an animal's shoulder. The head, as nearly as he covild judge,, 

 was about six feet thick, the neck narroAver, about four to five feet, the 

 shoulder about fifteen feet across, and the flippers each about flfteen feet in 

 length. The movements of the flippers were those of a turtle, and the ani- 

 mal resembled a huge seal, the resemblance being strongest about the back, 

 of the head. He could not see the length of the body, but judged it to be 

 about fifty feet. The tail end was invisible, unless the ridge of fins which 

 first attracted his attention, and which had disappeared by the time he had 

 got the telescope, were really the continuation of the shoulders to the end, 

 of the object's body. 



The head was not always above water, but was thrown upward for a 

 few seconds at a time, then disappearing. There was, however, no blowing: 

 nor spouting. 



This account was substantially confirmed by the statement of the en- 

 gineer and of others on board. The captain distinctly saw the seal-shaped 

 head, the immense size of the flippers, and a part of the body. 



These reports Avere considered to be of so much interest that the Admir- 

 alty thought projser to refer them to the criticism of scientific men as to the 

 probable nature of the apparition, and the matter was placed in the hands- 

 of Mr. Frank Buckland for the purpose, who presented the subject for con- 

 sideration to Prof. Owen, Mr. A. I). Bartlett, of the Zoological Garden, 

 Captain David Gray, and Mr. Henry Lee, and in a recent number of LandJ 

 and Water he j)ublishes the responses of these gentlemen. 



Professor Owen does not think there is any ground for supposing this 

 to have been an animal unknown to naturalists, but considers it probably 

 referable to some unusual movements of one or more marine animals, either 

 cetaceans or fishes. He, however, is entirely non-committal on the subject,, 

 beyond refusing to assent to the existence of any unknown monster. 



Mr. Buckland suggests that the phenomena may have been caused by 

 the procession of several basking-sharks, which are of sufficient magnitude 

 to have produced at least some of the appearances. 



Captain David Gray thinks that in^all probability the phenomenon was- 

 produced by several small whales moving together, the look of the head 

 and shoulders in the sketch furnished by the officers of the Osborne being- 

 quite similar to that of a whale when moving from the spectator. The ap- 

 pearance of the fins, which could not have come from any single whale,, 

 might possibly have been produced by a combination of several animals. 



Mr. Bartlett, on the other hand, thinks it possible, perhaps probable,, 

 that the animal seen by those on board the Osborne may have been a. 

 marine reiDtile analogous to some of the gigantic saurians known to geolo- 

 gists, such as the ichthyosaurus. As illustrating the possibility of the ex- 

 istence of monster animals for a long time unknown to man, he cites the- 



