456 THE VARIOUS EXPLANATIONS. [The 17th.] 
floated upwards, and to which several pieces of the coral reef still 
adhered. The Captain had it hauled on board, but as it began to 
decay, was compelled to throw it over. He now regrets that he 
had not preserved it in a water-butt for the purpose of exhibition 
in the Thames, where the conflicting motion produced by the tide 
and steamers would in all probability give it a like appearance.” 
Again we read in the Z%mes of February 13th. , 1858 , republish- 
ed also in the Zoologist for 1858, p. 5990: 
“In your paper of the 5th. inst. is a letter from Captain Har- 
rington, of the ship Castilian, stating his belief that he had seen 
the great sea-serpent near St. Helena. His confidence is strengthened 
by the fact of something similar having been seen by H. M. Ship 
Daedalus near the same position. The following circumstance which 
occurred on board the ship Pekin, then belonging to Mrrs. T. & 
W. Smith, on her passage from Moulmein, may be of some service 
respecting this “queer fish.” On December 28th., 1848, being then 
in lat. 26° S., long. 6° E., nearly calm, saw, about half a mile 
on port beam, a very extraordinary looking thing in the water, 
of considerable length. With the telescope we could plainly discern 
a huge head and neck, covered with a long shaggy-looking kind 
of mane, which it kept lifting at intervals out of the water. This 
was seen by all hands, and declared to be the great sea-serpent. 
I determined on knowing something about it, and accordingly low- 
ered a boat, in which my chief officer and four men went, tak- 
ing with them a long small line in case it should be required. 
I watched them very anxiously, and the monster seemed not to 
regard their approach. At length they got close to the head. They 
seemed to hesitate, and then busy themselves with the line, the 
monster all the time ducking its head, and showing its great length. 
Presently the boat began pulling towards the ship, the monster 
following slowly. In about half an hour they got alongside; a 
tackle was got on the mainyard and it was hoisted on board. It 
appeared somewhat supple when hanging, but so completely cov- 
ered with snaky-looking barnacles, about eighteen inches long, 
that we had it some time on board before it was discovered to 
be a piece of gigantic sea-weed, twenty feet long, and four inches 
diameter; the root end appeared when in the water like the head 
of an animal, and the motion given by the sea caused it to seem 
alive. In a few days it dried up to a hollow tube, and as it had 
rather an offensive smell, was thrown overboard. I had only been 
a short time in England when the Daedalus arrived and reported 
