34 
day, having a mind to put in at Molde, it happened that when 
we were arrived with my vessel within six English miles of the 
aforesaid Molde, being at a place called Jule-Nsess, as I was read- 
ing in a book, T heard a kind of murmuring voice from amongst 
the men at the oars, who were eight in number, and observed that 
the man at the helm kept off from the land. Upon this I in¬ 
quired what was the matter and was informed that there was a 
Sea Snake before us. I then ordered the man at the helm to 
teep to the land again, and to come up with this creature, of 
which I had heard so many stories. Though the fellows were 
under some apprehensions, they were obliged to obey my orders. 
In the mean time this Sea Snake passed by us, and we were 
obliged to tack the vessel about in order to get nearer to it. As 
the snake swam faster than we could row, I took my gun, that 
was ready charged, and fired at it: on this he immediately 
plunged under the water. We rowed to the place where it sunk 
down, which in the calm might easily be observed, and lay upon 
our oars, thinking it would come up again to the surface ; how¬ 
ever it did not. When the Snake plunged down, the water ap¬ 
peared thick and red; perhaps some of the shot might wound it, 
the distance being very little. The head of this Snake, which it 
held more than two feet above the surface of the water, resem¬ 
bled that of a horse. It was of a greyish colour, and the mouth 
was quite black and very large. It had black eyes and a long 
white mane that hung down from the neck to the surface of the 
water.* Besides the head and neck, we saw seven or eight folds 
or coils of this Snake, which were very thick, and as far as we 
could guess, there was about a fathom distance between each 
fold. I related this affair in a certain company where there was 
a person of distinction present, who desired that I would com¬ 
municate to him an authentic detail of all that happened ; and 
for this reason two of my sailors, who were present at the same 
Hus statement is not absolute proof that the animal here describ¬ 
ed was different from that seen near Gloucester. For when the head 
was elevated above the water, the white colour of the neck, or the 
spray of the sea, might possibly have been mistaken for a mane. 
