enough to be visible to the naked eye. The creature raised its head (the 
size of a barrel) 7 or 8 feet above the surface, and had the appearance of 
a mane on its neck; it was very long ; its motion in the water resembled 
that of a snake; and every time it put its head out of the water, it made 
a noise similar to the blowing off of steam. One of the crew had seen the 
animal which appeared off Nahant two years before, and declared this to 
be the same. 
In the same volume of Silliman’s journal is the following letter ad¬ 
dressed to Professor Silliman :— 
“ Boston, April 5, 1835. 
“ Dear Sir, —On my passage from the River Plata to this country in 
January 1834, being inlat. 34^° S. and long. 48° W., I saw what at first was 
supposed to be a fish called an albacore; but on further examination it 
was discovered to be a serpent, of which I cannot give a clearer descrip¬ 
tion than to say that a common dark-coloured land snake is in miniature 
a perfect representation. A light breeze prevailed at the time, and the 
sea was quite smooth. It first appeared within ten feet of the vessel; its 
head was perhaps two feet above the water, and appeared as large as a ten 
gallon keg; the eye was distinctly seen. The whole length of the serpent 
was about half the length of the vessel, say forty feet. The size and cir¬ 
cumference of the body was nearly as large as a barrel. Nothing like a 
fin was seen. I could not make out the distinct appearance of the tail. 
The serpent remained almost motionless while in sight, the head above 
the water, and eyes directed towards the vessel.” 
On this communication the editor makes the following remarks :— 
“ The distance of the place of observation being several hundred miles 
from the nearest coast, this serpent must have been a denizen of the 
ocean ; for the huge land-snake of South America could not navigate so 
far out to sea, if indeed they ever take the ocean at all. The snake was 
perfectly quiet, and appeared quite comfortable and at home on tbe 
waves. We must therefore consider this case as settling the question of 
the real existence of a sea serpent. The absence of paddles or arms for¬ 
bids us from supposing that this was a swimming saurian.” The editor 
also vouches for the integrity and honour of his correspondent, with whom 
he had been long acquainted, and who had travelled extensively and tra¬ 
versed the sea in many climates. 
Such are the American accounts, and all these appearances took place 
