1897.] The Florida Sea-Monster. 305 
in letters received by me. Moreover, Mr. Wilson who visited 
it, when first found, claimed to have found a portion of an at- 
tached arm, 36 feet long, buried in the sand. This last state- 
ment, in the light of later investigations, must have been erro- 
neous and was entirely misleading.’ At that time, however, it 
seemed quite consistent with the form and appearance of the 
mass, Which was described by Dr. Webb as closely similar to 
the body of the common small octopus. The photographs 
show this resemblance very clearly ; and the ridges at the muti- 
lated end, then supposed to be the stumps of mutilated arms, 
seemed to confirm the view that the mass was the mutilated 
body of a huge octopus,’ and as such it was described by me 
in the American Journal of Science and elsewhere. 
As soon as specimens of the tissues were sent to me, even a 
hasty examination was sufficient to show that this view was not 
correct, for instead of being composed of hardened muscular 
fibers, as had been supposed, the thick masses of tissue were 
found to consist almost wholly of a hard, elastic complex of 
connective tissue fibers of large size. The masses sent vary 
from four to ten inches in thickness. They are white, and so 
tough that it is hard to cut them, even with a razor, and yet 
they are somewhat flexible and elastic. The fibers are much 
interlaced in all directions, and are of all sizes up to the size of 
coarse twine and small cords. The larger fibers unite to form 
bundles extending from the inner surface radially. According 
to Dr. Webb, who opened the mass, these cords were attached 
‘The memoradum written by Mr. Wilson and forwarded to me by Dr. Webb 
is as follows: “One arm lying west of body, 23 feet long; one stump of arm 
about 4 feet long; three arms lying south of body and from appearance attached 
to same (although I did not dig quite to body, as it laid well down in the sand 
and I was very tired), vr one measured over 23 feet, the other arms were 
three to five feet shorter 
* This was also the djin of a large number of naturalists who saw the photo- 
graphs sent to me. 
Sary contractile muscular integument is an essential feature of all cepha- 
pods. 
Statements that the creature cannot be an Octopus, but is of cetacean nature, 
were published by me in several local daily papers within a day or two after the 
specimens were first examined by me, and shortly afterwards in the New York 
Herald and in Science 
