Reptiles. 2323 



knowledge of geology, seeing how their ideas about dragons come to such a conformity 

 in some respects, with the realities of these preadamite reptiles." 



The determination of a great marine species, however, and even a knowledge of 

 its habits and influence on the other inhabitants of the deep, are not, as I conceive, 

 the most obvious advantages to be desired from the settlement of this question. Let 

 it be admitted that a huge unknown creature of any description, provided its general 

 appearance is such as to redeem the various historians of the great sea-serpent from 

 the charge of wilful deception, does " swim the ocean stream," and the value of the 

 result cannot be too easily over-estimated. The cui bono philosopher, the bugbear of 

 naturalists, will no doubt have been highly amused with the recent excitement about 

 a discovery that at first sight appears of no practical consequence to the interests of 

 man. I know of no subject of research he would be likely to seize upon with more 

 secure self-complacency — nor of one which, though indirectly, supplies a more trium- 

 phant answer. To have our failing confidence in the value of human testimony reas- 

 sured (and no evidence can be more solemn than that which relates to the sea-serpent), 

 is surely no trifling gain of itself. But more than this : no circumstance has tended 

 so emphatically to stamp the " Yankee" character with the stain of a bold aud un- 

 scrupulous love of fiction and exaggeration as the story of the sea-serpent. Perhaps, 

 on the principle of Mr. Warren's " man about town," who, being called a splendid 

 sinner^ made it his pride to deserve the title, the thoughtless portion of our Trans- 

 atlantic family (the generous tribute of an Agassiz is sufficient warrant for the savans) 

 may have thence been led to indulge in a dangerous style of humour, through a spirit 

 of bravado. This source of misunderstanding once removed, the American character 

 may afterwards be regarded with more respect, and the people themselves — no longer 

 excited to defy the ridicule they were not able to escape — may sober down to the 

 legitimate standard of reason. 



C. Cogswell. 



November, 1848. 



The Great Sea-Serpent. — " Professor Owen correctly states [Zool. 2312] that I 

 1 evidently saw a large creature moving rapidly through the water very different from 

 anything I had before witnessed, neither a whale, a grampus, a great shark, an alli- 

 gator, nor any of the- larger surface-swimming creatures fallen in with in ordinary 

 voyages.' I now assert — neither was it a common seal nor a sea-elephant, its great 

 length and its totally differing physiognomy precluding the possibility of its being a 

 1 Phoca ' of any species. The head was flat, and not a ' capacious vaulted cranium ;' 

 nor had it 'a stiff inflexible trunk' — a conclusion to which Professor Owen has 

 jumped, most certainly not justified by the simple statement, that no ' portion of the 

 60 feet seen by us was used in propelling it through the water, either by vertical or 

 horizontal undulation.' 



" It is also assumed that the ' calculation of its length was made under a strong 

 preconception of the nature of the beast;' another conclusion quite the contrary to 

 the fact. It was not until after the great length was developed by its nearest approach 

 to the ship, and until after that most important point had been duly considered and 



