86 
SEA MONSTERS UNMASKED. 
generally believed to be as unreal as the sea-serpent itself 
— namely, the great calamary, the elongated form of which 
has certainly in some other instances been mistaken for 
that of a sea-snake. One of these seen swimming in the 
manner I have described, and endeavoured to portray 
(p. 77), would fulfil the description given by Lieutenant 
Drummond, and would in a great measure account for the 
appearances reported by Captain M'Quhae. " The head long, 
pointed and flat on the top',' accords with the pointed ex- 
tremity and caudal fin of the squid. " ITead kept horizontal 
with the surface of the water, and in rather a raised position, 
disappearing occasionally beneath a wave for a very brief 
interval^ and not apparently for purposes of respiration!' 
A perfect description of the position and action of a squid 
swimming. " No portion of it perceptibly used in propelling 
it through the water, either by vertical or horizontal undula- 
tions^ The mode of propulsion of a squid — the outpouring 
stream of water from its locomotor tube — would be unseen 
and unsuspected, because submerged. Its effect, the swirl 
in its wake, would suggest a prolongation of the creature's 
body. The numerous arms trailing astern at the surface 
of the water would give the appearance of a mane. I 
think it not impossible that if the officers of the Dcedalus 
had been acquainted with this great sea creature the im- 
pression on their mind's eye would not have taken the 
form of a serpent. I offer this, with much diffidence, as a 
suggestion arising from recent discoveries ; and by no means 
insist on its acceptance ; for Captain M'Quhae, who had a 
very close view of the animal, distinctly says that " the 
head was, without any doubt, that of a serpent," and one of 
his officers subsequently declared that the eye, the mouth, 
the nostril, the colour, and the form were all most distinctly 
visible. 
