[ N°. 162. ] REPORTS AND PAPERS. 379 
fectly trustworthy gentleman, who hitherto has never believed in 
sea-serpents, but who has now seen one on a clear day; the tail 
which was coloured brown with black spots, was about forty feet 
out of the water. The captain estimates the total length of the 
monster at over one hundred feet.” 
I think it not too bold to consider this report almost a duplicate 
of our n°. 135. There the sea-serpent is called “a large snake 
about 100 feet long, of a dark brown colour, head and tail out 
of water, the body slightly under’. Most probably captain Tuits also 
saw only the head and the tail of the animal, and not the trunk. 
The tail is described here to be brown with black spots. It is 
evident that only the upper part of the tail was seen. 
I immediately enquired of the Editor of the Amsterdammer about 
the source of this article; he, however, promptly answered me that 
his correspondent did not remember from which of the five or six 
German newspapers daily read by him, he had copied it. — 
“To what class of known beings does this monster of the deep 
belong?” This question has caused various suppositions, to which 
we will turn our attention in the next chapter. — 
