134 THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS, [ 1753. | 
things or persons. It is evidently a fable that it brings forth young 
ones on the shore, probably originating in the fact that the sea- 
serpent has sometimes been seen in fjords, even in small ones, or 
probably originating in the fact that also seals creep ashore in the 
critical moment, whelp there and return with their young ones to 
the sea as soon as possible. 
“The question which troubles us most is the following: Is this 
animal dangerous to men,.and how are they to defend themselves 
against this monster? ARENDT BerNnpsEN (Danmarks og Norges 
frugtbare Herlighed p. 308) answers the first question in the af- 
firmative, and tells us that the sea-serpent, as well as the sperm- 
whale, even often runs down men and ships. That such things 
happened in this region, I never heard of with certainty; but the 
north-sailors tell that it had occasionally happened that the sea- 
serpent raised itself and threw itself straight across a boat, nay 
across a large yacht of several hundred tons, and had dragged it 
to the depths. One of these north-sailors tells that he was once so 
close to the serpent, that he might have touched its smooth skin; 
he mentions at the same time that this serpent sometimes snatches 
a man from a boat, with its head raised upward and gives the 
others of the crew an opportunity to escape. Whether these reports are 
to be believed or not, I don’t know, because it is uncertain whether 
these serpents live on prey.” 
We see the Bishop weighing and considering whatever he heard , 
and not accepting everything for truth. We think that Ponropprpan 
is right in giving no credit to the narrative that the sea-serpents 
made themselves guilty of sinking ships and eating men. It is 
mentioned already twice, that the sea-serpent raised itself high 
above the surface of the water; yet the flappers are not mentioned ; 
so we may conclude that these are situated far from the head, or, 
what is the same, that the animal has a very long neck. 
Pontopripan further tells us that the sea-serpent sometimes en- 
closes ships by laymg itself round them in a circle, that the 
fishermen then row over its body there where a coil is visible, 
for when they reach the coil, it sinks, while on the contrary the 
invisible parts rise. Further, that the serpent swims with an incred- 
ible velocity, and that the fishermen who are much afraid of it, 
when seeing that it follows them, throw any object, for instance 
a scoop, at it, when the animal generally plunges into the deep. 
But most fishermen are in the habit of taking castoreum with 
them, for the serpent cannot bear the smell of it. And _ still 
