2028 Reptiles. 



was still alive, and I hope was too wise again to put himself in the way of being 

 swallowed. — H. T. Frere ; Aylsham. 



Capture of a Snake in a Mole-trap.— About three years ago my mole-cateher 

 brought me a snake, upwards of thirty inches long, which he had taken in one of his 

 common wooden traps. The situation where it was caught was at the bottom of the 

 park, by the river-side (the Wansbeck), where water-rats considerably abound, and 

 there is no doubt that the snake had been pursuing the rat in his underground run 

 when caught. The mole-catcher, who was a very old man, told me he had heard of a 

 similar circumstance, but had never previously in his practice met with the like occur- 

 rence. The snake was caught about three inches from the head. Until this animal 

 was so caught, it had not been suspected that water-rats had enemies of this 

 description. — /. Cookson ; Meldon Park, near Morpeth, Northumberland, February 7, 

 1848. 



The Cheat Sea-Serpent. — " I, the undersigned, Joseph Woodward, captain of the 

 Adamant schooner, of Hingham, being on my route from Penobscot to Hingham, 

 steering W.N.W., and being about ten leagues from the coast, perceived, last Sun- 

 day, at 2 p. m., something on the surface of the water, which seemed to me to be of 

 the size of a large boat. Supposing that it might be part of a wreck of a ship, T ap- 

 proached it, but when I was within a few yards of it, it appeared, to my great surprise, 

 and that of my whole crew, that it was a monstrous serpent. When T approached 

 nearer it coiled itself up, instantly uncoiling itself again, and withdrew with extreme 

 rapidity. On my approaching again it coiled itself up a second time, and placed it- 

 self at the distance of 60 feet at the most from the bow of the ship. I had one of my 

 guns loaded with a cannon-ball and musket-bullets. I fired at the head of the mon- 

 ster ; my crew and myself distinctly heard the ball and bullets strike against his body, 

 from which they rebounded as if they had struck against a rock. The serpent shook 

 his head and tail in an extraordinary manner, and advanced towards the ship with 

 open jaws. I had caused the cannon to be reloaded, and pointed it at his throat ; but 

 he had come so near that all the crew were seized with terror, and we thought only of 

 getting out of his way : he almost touched the vessel, and had not T tacked as I did 

 he would certainly have come on board. He dived ; but in a moment we saw him ap- 

 pear-again, with his head on one side of the vessel and his tail on the other, as if he 

 was going to lift us up and upset us. However, we did not feel any shock. He re- 

 mained five hours near us, only going backward and forward. The fears with which 

 he at first inspired us having subsided, we were able to examine him attentively. I 

 estimate that his length is at least twice that of my schooner, that is to say, 130 feet ; 

 his head is full 12 or 14 ; the diameter of the body, below the neck, is not less than 

 6 feet ; the size of the head is in proportion to that of the body. He is of a blackish 

 colour ; his ear-holes are about 12 feet from the extremity of his head. In short, the 

 whole has a terrible look. When he coils himself up, he places his tail in such a man- 

 ner that it aids him in darting forward with great force : he moves in all directions 

 with the greatest facility and astonishing rapidity." 



[The foregoing statement was formally signed and sworn to at Hingham, by Cap- 

 tain Woodward, on the 12th of May.— E. N.~] 



