Reptiles, 2307 



on our lee quarter, crossing the stem in a S.W. direction : the appearance of its head, 

 which, with the back fin, was the only portion of the animal visible, was long, pointed, 

 and flattened at the top, perhaps ten feet in length, the upper jaw projecting consi- 

 derably ; the fin was perhaps twenty feet in the rear of the head, and visible occasion- 

 ally: the captain also asserted that he saw the tail, or another fin, about the same 

 distance behind it : the upper part of the head and shoulders appeared of a dark brown 

 colour, and beneath the under jaw a brownish white. It pursued a steady, undeviating 

 course, keeping its head horizontal with the surface of the water and in rather a raised 

 position, disappearing occasionally beneath a wave for a very brief interval, and not 

 apparently for purposes of respiration. It was going at the rate of perhaps from twelve 

 to fourteen miles an hour, and when nearest was perhaps one hundred yards distant : 

 in fact it gave one quite the idea of a large snake or eel. No one in the ship has ever 

 seen anything similar, so it is at least extraordinary. It was visible to the naked eye 

 for five minutes, and with a glass for perhaps fifteen more. The weather was dark and 

 squally at the time, with some sea running." — Edgar Drummond, Lieut. H.M.S. Dce- 

 dalus ; Southampton, October 28, 1848. 



The Great Sea-Serpent. — " When the Daedalus frigate, Captain M'Quhae, which 

 arrived at Plymouth on the 4th inst, was on her passage home from the East Indies, 

 between the Cape of Good Hope and St. Helena, her captain, and most of her officers 

 and crew, at four o'clock one afternoon, saw a sea-serpent. The creature was twenty 

 minutes in sight of the frigate, and passed under her quarter. Its head appeared to 

 be about four feet out of the water, and there was about 60 feet of its body in a straight 

 line on the surface. It is calculated that there must have been under water a length 

 of 33 or40 feet more, by which it propelled itself at the rate of 15 miles an hour. 

 The diameter of the exposed part of the body was about 16 inches, and when it ex- 

 tended its jaws, which were full of large jagged teeth, they seemed sufficiently capa- 

 cious to admit of a tall man standing upright between them." — ' Times,' October 9, 

 1848. 



The Great Sea-Serpent. — " The following very interesting report respecting the 

 appearance of the extraordinary animal seen by some of the officers and crew of 

 Her Majesty's ship Daedalus has been forwarded to the Admiralty by Captain 

 M'Quhae :— 



" Her Majesty's ship Daedalus, Hamoaze, October 11. 



" Sir, — In reply to your letter of this date, requiring information as to the truth of 

 a statement published in ' The Times ' newspaper, of a sea-serpent of extraordinary 

 dimensions having been seen from Her Majesty's ship Daedalus, under my command, 

 on her passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you, for the infor- 

 mation of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at 5 o'clock, p. m., on the 

 6th of August last, in latitude 24° 44' S., and longitude 9° 22' E., the weather dark 

 and cloudy, wind fresh from the N.W., with a long ocean swell from the S.W., the 

 ship on the port tack heading N.E. by N., something very unusual was seen by Mr. 

 Sartoris, midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before the beam. The cir- 

 cumstance was immediately reported by him to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant 

 Edgar Drummond, with whom and Mr. William Barrett, the Master, I was at the 

 time walking the quarter-deck. The ship's company were at supper. 



" On our attention being called to the object it was discovered to be an enormous 

 serpent, with head and shoulders kept about four feet constantly above the surface of 



