246 THE VARIOUS ACCOUNTS , [N°. 94. ] 
mane. The agitation which it caused in the water was very strong. 
The movements of the animal itself were serpentine, up and down, - 
like those of a smimming leech. When the animal had reached a 
spot, where the water was ruffled by a rising gentle wind, it 
disappeared. Moreover, I believe, that the animal is not much to 
be feared and that it would not easily harm men.” 
93. — 1831? — The same Mr. Raruxe also noted down the 
following declaration (published in the above mentioned journal.) 
“Mr. William Knutszon and Candidatus Theologiae Booklune 
gave the following written account: We together saw the sea-ser- 
pent in a narrow fjord, at a distance of about one sixteenth of a 
mile” (about 515 yards) “for about a quarter of an hour; afterwards 
it dived, and came up so far from us, that we could not see it 
plainly. The water was as smooth as a mirror, and the animal 
had, as it moved on the surface, quite the appearance of a worm, 
or of a snake. Its motions were in undulations, and so strong, 
that white foam appeared before it, and waves were caused at its 
sides, which extended over several fathoms. It did not appear very 
high above the water, and it was principally its length, which 
was quite considerable. Once, however, it stretched its head quite 
erect m the air. The body was somewhat dark, and the head 
nearly black; the body had nearly the form of an eel or of a 
snake, a length of about fifty ells” (above one hundred feet) “and 
in proportion to it an inconsiderable thickness. The breadth dimi- 
nished considerably from the head to the tail, so that te latter 
ended in a poimt. The head was long and narrow in proportion 
to the throat, as the latter appeared much greater than the former, 
which probably was the consequence of its being provided with a 
mane. The details of the head were not to be discerned, as the 
distance was too great.” 
I may observe here that if these eye-witnesses declare that the 
head seemed to be narrower than the throat, this may probably 
also be the consequence of the animal's contracting its neck. ‘This 
may be often seen in seals and sea-lions. If a common seal has 
contracted its neck, it appears as if the animal has no neck, as 
if the head is immediately connected with the body. In reality the 
neck is shortened , and has become thicker than the head. If stretched, 
the neck on the contrary is very well visible, and narrower than 
