25 
deep emerged from the surface, and swept off two of their number, itself 
losing one of its tentacula by the blow of an axe. Beale, the writer on the 
sperm whale, relates a struggle he had with a cuttle fish of ordinary size, 
which he found on the shore of one of the Pacific islands, and which 
fastened on his arm. He describes these creatures as possessing the 
power of projecting themselves through the air 80 to 100 feet, by the 
rapid rotatory motion of their tentacula. He also mentions being startled 
one day by seeing a sepia octopus rising rapidly to the surface, using its 
long arms with a spiral motion. A specimen of this species was found 
dead in the Pacific, and described by Drs. Solander and Banks on Cook’s 
first voyage ; its body was 6 feet long, and flocks of birds were feeding on 
it. Part of the remains were brought home, and deposited in the Museum 
of the College of Surgeons. Beale considers that the spermaceti whale 
feeds on the cephalopods, descending to great depths for that purpose. On 
one occasion, after the capture of a cachalot, an enormous limb or tenta- 
culum of a cuttle fish was found in its mouth, and though partly corroded, 
was 27 feet long. 
Having considered briefly the more prominent arguments and analogies 
which bear directly or indirectly on the question of sea monsters, we 
hasten in the ensuing sections to examine the evidence on which their 
actual existence is asserted. 
