3428 Reptiles. 



I shouted 'stern,' but there was no visible motion of his snakeship. I shifted ends with 

 the boat-steerer, and cleared away a lance as quickly as possible, beckoning them to 

 pull up, that I might get a lance, when a movement of the body was visible, and the 

 head and tail of the monster rushed as it were to ' touch the wound.' The frightful- 

 ness of the head, as it approached the boat, filled the crew with terror, and three of 

 them jumped overboard. I instinctively held out my lance, and its sharp point en- 

 tered the eye. T was knocked over and felt a deep churning of the water around me. 

 I rose to the surface and caught a glimpse of the writhing body, and was again struck 

 and carried down. I partly lost my consciousness under water, but recovered it; when 

 I rose again in the bloody foam, the snake had disappeared, and I shouted, ' Pick up 

 the line.' The third mate, Mr. Benson, caught a bight at my line near the end, and 

 bent on his, which in an instant began to be taken out rapidly. The mate picked me 

 up as soon as I rose to the surface, and in a few minutes all were picked up — one was 

 severely bruised and another insensible, but he recovered and both are now well. The 

 snake had taken my line, the third mate's, and was taking the second mate's, when 

 I ordered the mate to bend on and give his line to the ship. The snake was sounding, 

 and I cautioned the officers not to hold on too hard for fear of drawing the irons. At 

 first the line went our rapidly, but decreased gradually, nevertheless I was obliged to 

 get up a spare line out of the fore hold and bend on. For fear that the ship would by 

 its weight on the line draw the irons, I put on several drags and gave the line to the 

 mate, when it became stationary. There were now out four boats' lines, 225 fathoms 

 in a boat, and two-thirds of another line, 100 fathoms more — in all 1,000 fathoms, six 

 feet in a fathom — 6,000 feet — better than one mile and an eighth, an enormous depth, 

 and the pressure at that distance is inconceivable. It was now blowing furiously, and 

 I scarcely dared to carry sail enough to keep the ship up, the boat was in peril, and I 

 was obliged to take the line to the ship again, and run the risk of the irons drawing. 

 I made the end of the line fast and took in all sail but enough to keep her steady, and 

 waited in alarm the snake's rising, the parting of the line, or the irons drawing. At 4 

 p. m. the wind began to shift, which favoured us a little ; at 5 p. m. it, to our great 

 joy, began to abate. At 8 p. m. a sudden lull ; line taut. The night was beautiful, 

 sky clear, wind scarcely a breath, and sea rapidly falling. No eye was closed in the 

 ship — we were speculating on our prey. It was evident he was on the bottom. He 

 stayed down a long time ; but on reflection I considered that was his forte — that he 

 was at home there. At 4 a. m., of the 14th, 16 hours after he went down, the line be- 

 gun to slack, I had it taken to the windlass, when we got nearly two lines ' hand over 

 hand,' then there came a strain again. This strain continuing, I told everybody to 

 bear a hand and get breakfast, and just before we were through, the cook cried out, 

 4 Here he is.' In no time all were on deck, and sure enough he had risen ; but all that 

 was visible was a bunch, apparently the bight of the snake, where he had been fas- 

 tened to. I lowered three boats, and we lanced the body repeatedly without eliciting 

 any sign of life. While we were at work he gradually rose to the surface, and around 

 him floated what I took to be pieces of his lungs which we. had cut with our lances. 

 To make our work sure we continued to lance, eagerly seeking for his life, when he drew 

 himself up and we pulled away, and then witnessed the terrific dying struggles of the 

 monster. None of the crew who witnessed that terrible scene will ever forget it ; the 

 evolutions of the body were rapid as lightning, seeming like the revolving of a thou- 

 sand enormous black wheels. The tail and head would occasionally appear in the 

 surging bloody foam, and a sound was heard, so dead, unearthly, and expressive of 



