CONCLUSIONS. Dol 
6. PSYCHICAL CHARACTERS. 
a. Not taking notice of objects. 
There are instances that the animal is reported as taking no 
notice at all of men, vessels or other objects (29, 34, 48, 82, 83). 
b. Taking notice of objects. 
At other imstances, however, the animal was thought to notice 
objects (43), or is said to have turned its head two or three times 
slowly round towards and from the vessel, as if taking a view of 
some object on board (60), or that it slowly turned its head to- 
wards the observers (93), and numerous are the reports that it 
lifted itself high above the surface apparently to take a survey 
towards the vessel, or to take a view of objects (31, 36, 60, 63, 
74, p. 225, 80, 93, 121, 128, 181, 145, 149, 152 a). | 
c. Curiosity, probably mixed with suspicion. 
The many instances that sea-serpents are said to have followed a 
boat (p. 133, 31, 36, 1038, 110, 117, 158) or to have taken a 
survey towards vessels, sufficiently prove that they are curious 
beings, and that their curiosity as in so many animals, is gener- 
ally mixed with some suspicion, which of course is again a proof 
that the animal is constantly prepared for selfpreservation. One of 
the most striking proofs of this is to be read in n°. 92: the in- 
dividual swam towards a boat, passed within a few feet or some 
fathoms, and swam away, to repeat the same movement two times. 
d. Suspicion. 
That some of the eye-witnesses got the impression that it is 
sometimes really suspicious may be seen from the following lines: 
“he appeared to avoid the boat wherein I was” (39), “he seemed 
suspicious of the boat’ (69), “they chased the animal fruitless for 
seven hours’ (59), “Captain George Little made many attempts of 
pursuing and killmg it, but without any result, as the serpent 
ever kept a distance of a quarter of a mile” (19), “on both days 
it seemed to keep about us, and as we were always rowing then, 
we were inclined to think it might perhaps be attracted by the 
measured sound of the oars.” (137, 138). 
