156 
APPENDIX. 
would say, “ He is now turning,” and by the aid of 
my glass I saw him distinctly in this movement; he 
did not turn without occupying some space, and, 
taking into view the time and the space which he 
found necessary for his ease and accommodation, 1 
adopted it as a criterion to form some judgment of 
his length. 1 had seven distinct views of him from 
the long beach, so called, and at some of them the 
animal was not more than a hundred yards distant. 
After being on the long beach with other spectators 
about an hour the animal disappeared, and I proceeded 
on towards Nahant; but on passing the second beach, 
I met Mr. James Magee of Boston, with several ladies, 
in a carriage, prompted by curiosity to endeavour to 
see the animal, and we were again gratified beyond 
even what we saw in the other bay, which I con¬ 
cluded he had left in consequence of the number of 
boats in the offing in pursuit of him, the noise of 
whose oars must have disturbed him, as he appeared 
to us to be a harmless, timid animal. We had here 
more than a dozen different views of him, and each 
similar to the other ; one, however, so near, that the 
coachman exclaimed, “ O, see his glistening eye ! ” 
Thinking I might form some calculation of his length 
by the time and distance of each turn, and taking 
an angle with my two hands of the length which he 
exhibited, that is to say, from his head to the last 
protuberance, and applying the same angle to other 
objects, I feel satisfied of the correctness of my de¬ 
cision that he is sixty feet long, unless the ripple of 
his wake deceived me. Nor, my dear sir, do I 
undertake to say he was of the snake or eel kind,— 
though this was the general impression of my family, 
the spectators, and myself. Certain it is, he is a 
very strange animal. I have been accustomed to see 
whales, sharks, grampuses, porpoises, and other 
large fishes ; but he partook of none of the appear¬ 
ances of either of these. The whale and the 
