OF REPTILES. 
305 
proach towards his body for som^ feet, then his head 
and tail appeared moving rapidly in opposite directions, 
and when his head and tail were on parallel lines, they 
appeared not more than two or three yards apart. 
The last depositions we shall notice, are those of 
Sewell Toppan, master of the schooner Laura, and two 
others of said schooner, William Summerby, and Ro- 
bert Bragg. 
The deposition of Sewell Toppan proceeds thus: 
On Thursday morning, August 28th, about 9 o’clock 
A. M., at about two, or two and a half miles east, of the 
eastern point of Cape Ann, being becalmed, I heard one 
of my men call to the man at helm, “ What is this com- 
ing towards us ?” — being engaged forward, I took no 
further notice till they called out again. I then got on 
top of the deck load, at which time I saw a singular kind 
of animal, or fish, which I had never before seen, pass- 
ing by our quarter, at the distance of about forty feet, 
standing along shore. I saw a part of the animal, or 
fish, ten or fifteen feet, from the head downwards, in- 
cluding the head. The head appeared to be the size of 
a ten gallon keg, and six inches above the surface of the 
water. It was of a dark colour. I saw no tongue; but 
heard my men cry out, u look at his tongue.” The mo- 
tions of his head were sideways, and quite moderate: the 
motion of the body up and down. I have seen whales 
very often; his motion was much more rapid than that 
of a whale, or any other fish I have ever seen: he 
left a long wake behind him: he did not appear to alter 
his course in consequence of being so near the vessel. I 
saw him much less time than either of the others, and not 
in so favourable a position to notice his head. Judging 
from what I saw, out of the water, the body was about 
the size of a half barrel in circumference. ^ 
The deposition of Robert Bragg contains some other 
particulars. It observes, that, u he had a head like a 
serpent, rather larger than the body, and rather blunt: 
did not see his eyes; when about thirty feet astern of the 
vessel, he threw out his tongue about two feet in length; 
the end of it appeared to me to resemble a fisherman’s 
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