XT 
tail moving in opposite directions, and when his head and tail 
come parallel, they appear almost to touch each other. 
Q Did he appear more shy, after you had fired at him ? 
A. He did not; but continued playing as before. 
Q. Who was in the boat with you, when you fired at the ser¬ 
pent ? 
f A. My brother Daniel, and Augustin M. Webber. 
MATTHEW GAFFNEY. 
Essex ss. August 28, 1817. Then Matthew Gaffney made 
oath that the foregoing, by him subscribed, is true according to 
his best knowledge and belief. 
Before Lonson Nash, Jus. of Peace. 
VIII. 
t 
I, James Mansfield, of Gloucester, in the county of Essex, 
merchant, depose and say : That I saw a strange creature, of 
enormous length, resembling a serpent. I think this was on the 
fifteenth of August, A. D. 1817. I should say he was from for¬ 
ty to sixty feet in length, extended on the surface of the water, 
with his head above the water about a foot. He remained in. 
this position but a short time, and then started off very quick, 
with much greater velocity than I have seen him move with at 
any other time. I saw bunches on his back about a foot in 
f height, when he lay extended on the water. His colour ap¬ 
peared to me black, or very dark. It was a little before six o’ 
clock P. M. when I saw him. I should say, he moved a mile 
in five or six minutes. 
(J. How near the shore was the serpent ? 
A. About one hundred and eighty yards from the shore 
where I stood. 
Q. Were its sinuosities vertical, or horizontal ? 
A. Vertical. 
Q. What were the size and shape of its head } and had it 
ears, horns, or any other appendages ? 
