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as if on a rock about a mile on the lee-bow, and the ship appeared to be 
rapidly drifting down upon it—so much so, that the men were hastened 
down to set the topsail; but before that could be effected, the supposed 
breakers were made out to be a large fish springing out of the water with 
incessant and tremendous leaps, making dead to windward, and in this 
manner it crossed the ship s bows within a quarter of a mile. But what 
constituted the most singular feature of the phenomenon was, that, while 
out of the water, the creature threw off such a cloud of spray, just like a 
Newfoundland dog shaking himself after taking the water, that neither 
shape nor size could be distinguished, though the writer watched it 
through an excellent spy-glass until it disappeared in the horizon to 
windward, still continuing the leaps as long as visible. Judging from 
the spray cloud in which it was constantly enveloped, it was the size of 
a grampus ; and as sailors must needs give a name to what they see, it 
was set down as such; but whether a grampus, or a shark, or a colos¬ 
sal cuttle-fish, or a sea serpent, to this day the writer has no means of 
judging. 
Now as to the “ Daedalus” animal; while repudiating the seal hypothesis, 
it must be confessed it is easier to say what the creature was not, than 
what it was; indeed the statements of Captain M‘Qhae and Lieutenant 
Drummond, both honourable men, differ so much from each other, that 
an inference fair enough if drawn from the one, will not correspond 
with both. With great deference it may be said, that Lieut. Drummond’s 
description is more precise; and were there no other data upon which to 
form an opinion than those supplied by him, the appearance might, with 
great probability, be set down as that of a rare cetaceous animal—for 
experience teaches us that the most natural explanation of an unusual 
phenomenon is generally the correct one. The long head, the projecting 
snout, the dorsal fin, the estimated size, the enlarging trunk, the depres¬ 
sion of the caudal extremity beneath the water, and the position when 
seen, all correspond with the idea of the animal being cetaceous, while the 
unusual circumstances under which it was seen have been shown, by the 
analogous case of the macrocephalus or sperm whale, to be not altogether 
contrary to the habits of the genus. But when we refer to Captain 
M'Qhae’s account, and to the sketch of the appearance as authenticated 
by him in the Illustrated London News —with its small head and obtuse 
muzzle, the tapering neck, and the dorsal fringe or mane, and the esti¬ 
mated size—the conviction becomes strong, that in most of the characters, 
the “ Daedalus” animal closely resembles the Stronsa derelict described in 
