[N°. 149. | REPORTS AND PAPERS. 359 
which as we know are a little prominent, in short, expressing in 
its features hurry and a wild longing for its prey, may under 
these circumstances have had a feature terrible enough to cause 
Mr. Senior's expression “the shape of the head was not unlike 
pictures of the dragons I have often seen, with a bull-dog appear- 
ance of the fore-head and eye-brow’. We have learned already that 
on such occasions the animal curved its neck swan-like and diving 
head foremost like a duck, disappeared. Here we have another 
habit of pursuing: “when the monster had drawn its head suffi- 
ciently out of water it let itself drop, as it were, like a huge log 
of wood, prior to darting forward under the water. This motion 
caused a splash of about fifteen feet im height on either side of 
the neck, much in shape of a pair of wings’. This last might 
have been fairly omitted as every one can imagine the splash of 
water, caused by a log of wood falling into it. I think this com- 
parison also far-fetched: such a splash cannot be compared with 
an object. 
Our figure is taken from Mr. Lex’s often quoted work. It is 
the middle third of the one which illustrated the text in the 
Graphic, but as it is drawn on the same scale, I saw no reason 
to give my readers the whole illustration of the Graphic. 
150. — 1879, March 30th. — Nature of the 24th. of July, 
1879, contains the followmg of Surgeon Barnert, respecting the 
appearance of a sea-serpent near Cape Naturaliste in Australia. 
“In Nature, Vol. XIX, p. 286, I observed some remarks res- 
pecting sea-serpents, and especially noted one passage which stated 
that “The age of incredulity is past, and naturalists are now pre- 
pared to admit that several distinct kinds of oceanic monsters 
probably exist.” 
“T was pleased to read this statement, as I have for many years 
been convinced that some of the accounts published from time to 
time in the newspapers are accurate descriptions of what has actu- 
ally been witnessed, but I little expected that I should so soon 
be able to forward to you a description of one of these creatures , 
as given by an eye-witness, of whose accuracy there can be no 
question, and whose observations were made when very close to 
the animal.” 
“Busselton is a little seaport about 150 miles south of Fremantle, 
