OF REPTILES. 
303 
the water his motion was slow, at times playing about in 
circles, and sometimes moving nearly straight forward. 
When he disappeared, he sunk apparently down, and 
would next appear at two hundred yards from where he 
disappeared, in two minutes. His colour was a dark 
brown; did not discover any spots upon him. Saw him 
on the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth, August. Was 
round him several times within one hundred and fifty yards 
of him. Saw him nearly all the day on the thirteenth, 
at from one hundred and fifty to three hundred yards 
distance from the shore. His motions appeared to be to 
the right and left. When I looked at him from the shore, 
at about two hundred yards distance, his mouth appear- 
ed to be open about ten inches. At times he would carry 
his head about two feet above the surface of the water, 
at others, just upon the surface. He turned quick and 
short about, and the first part of the turn resembled the 
link of a chain; but when his head came parallel with his 
tail, his head and tail appeared near together. 
Here follow other depositions not materially differ- 
ing from the preceding. But the deposition of Mat- 
thew Gaffney of Gloucester, we shall quote in substance; 
it proceeds as follows: 
On the fourteenth of August, A. D. 1817, between the 
hours of four and five o’clock P. M., I saw a strange 
marine animal, resembling a serpent, in the harbour o f 
Gloucester, I was in a boat and within thirty feet of 
him; his head appeared full as large as a four gallon 
keg, his body as large as a barrel, and his length, that 
I saw, I should judge forty feet at least. The top of 
his head was of a dark colour, the under part nearly 
white, as also several feet of his belly that I saw. I 
supposed and do believe that the whole of his belly was 
nearly white. I fired at him when he was nearest me. 
I had a good gun, and took good aim: I aimed at his 
head, and think I must have hit him: he turned towards 
us immediately after I had fired, and I thought he was 
coming at us; but he sunk down and went directly under 
our boat, and made his appearance at about one hundred 
yards from where he sunk: he did not turn down like 
