[ N°. 148. ] REPORTS AND PAPERS. BAT 
commander-in-chief (Admiral Sir George Elliot, K. C. B.), respect- 
ing a sea-monster which she encountered during her homeward 
voyage. At about five o’clock in the afternoon of the 2nd. instant, 
the sea being exceptionally calm, while the yacht was proceeding 
round the north coast of Sicily towards Cape Vito, the officer on 
the watch observed a long ridge of fins, each about six feet long, 
moving slowly along. He called for a telescope, and was at once 
joined by other officers. The Osborne was steaming westward at 
ten and a half knots an hour, and, having a long passage before 
her, could not stay to make minute observations. The fins were 
progressing in an eastwardly direction, and as the vessel more 
nearly approached them, they were replaced by the foremost part 
of a gigantic sea-monster. Its skin was, so far as could be seen, 
altogether devoid of scales, appearing rather to resemble in sleekness 
that of a seal. The head was bullet-shaped, with an elongated term- 
ination, being somewhat similar in form to that of a seal, and 
was about six feet in diameter. Its features were only seen by one 
officer, who described them as like those of an alligator. The neck 
was comparatively narrow, but so much of the body as could be 
seen, developed in form like that of gigantic turtle, and from each 
side extended two fins, about fifteen feet in length, by which the 
monster paddled itself along after the fashion of a turtle. The ap- 
pearance of the monster is accounted for by a submarine volcano , 
which occurred north of Galita, in the Gulf of Tunis, about the 
middle of May, and was reported at the time by a steamer which 
was struck by a detached fragment of submarine rock. The disturb- 
ance below water, it is thought probable, may have driven up 
the monster from its “native element’, as the site of the eruption 
is only one hundred miles from where it was reported to have 
been seen”’. 
The Graphic of June 16, 1877, tells us p. 563, 3d. column: 
“he Sea-Serpent has once more made his appearance, and this 
time the officers of the Royal Yacht Osborne are the witnesses to 
his existence. The Commander, says the Portsmouth Times and 
Navel Gazette, has sent an official report to the Admiralty, stating 
that on the 2nd. inst. a curious creature was seen off the coast of 
Sicily in a smooth sea. The serpent was “of immense length, with 
a smooth scaleless skin, and a ridge of fins, 15 feet in length, 
and 6 ft. apart along the back, a bullet-shaped head, and a face 
like an alligator. It moved slowly, and was distinctly seen by all 
the officers.” 
