THE GREA T SEA SERPENT. 
67 
portray the incident he was deahng with an animal with 
the nature of which he was unacquainted, and which was 
only partially, and for a very short time, within his view. 
He therefore delineated rather the impression left on his 
mind than the thing itself But although he invested it 
with a character that did not belong to it, his drawing is so 
far correct that we are able to recognise at a glance the 
distorted portrait of an old acquaintance, and to say unhesi- 
FIG. 16. — THE ANIMAL WHICH EGEDE PROBABLY SAW. 
tatingly that Egede's sea-monster was one of the great 
calamaries which have since been occasionally met with, 
but which have only been believed in and recognised within 
the last few years. That which Mr. Egede believed to be 
the creature's head was the tail part of the cuttle, which 
goes in advance as the animal swims, and the two side 
appendages represent very efficiently the two lobes of the 
caudal fin. In propelling itself to the surface the squid 
F 2 
