Part 119

Generally, however, I believe that these animals die a natural death.

Dead sea-serpents are more likely to sink than to float, as the enormous neck and tail are most probably not provided with a comparatively thick layer of bacon, and are, therefore, too heavy for the comparatively small quantity of air in the animal’s lungs, and for the layer of bacon of the animal’s trunk. Yet it may occasionally occur that sea-serpents dying near some shore, may be stranded by the waves. PONTOPPIDAN reports that a dead sea-serpent stranded on the cliffs near Amond in Nordfjord and that its carrion caused a dreadful smell (6), and that another stranded near the isle of Karmen (7), and that the stranding of dead sea-serpents took place in more localities (7). Such carrions must be a dainty to all kinds of mews, which sometimes even follow living individuals (69). The fear of the Norwegians of sea-serpents, even of such carrions, is great enough to keep them at a considerable distance. It may be true “that some time ago a part of a skeleton of a sea-serpent was present in the Museum of Natural History at Bergen” (p. 374). It is possible that the fate of this part of a skeleton was the same as that of so many meteoric stones (see my Preface), or as that of the two eggs of Platypus or Ornithorhynchus, which reached the Manchester Museum in the year 1829, and remained there for some years, till they were condemned to the rubbish hill (Nature, 11 Dec. 1884, p. 133), and it was not before September 1884 that zoologists knew that Ornithorhynchus and Echidna are really oviparous, and that the Manchester Museum was once in the possession of two eggs!!

9. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.

The Rev. ABRAHAM CUMMINGS, after having mentioned that the animal swims with vertical undulations, wrote in August 1803: “this renders it highly probable that he never moves on land to any considerable distance, and that the water is his proper element” (29).

I wish to express here my firm conviction that these animals never come ashore, nor even on the ice, but always remain in the water. It is true that we have one observation that an individual rested upon a sandy beach, which, however, at that time had about four feet water upon it. But we have other observations that individuals which, following a boat, come into shallow water, immediately and apparently with some difficulty took a turn and went away (31, 115).

It seems that in Norway it has happened a few times that these animals, which are in the habit of frequenting the fjords, swam even up the mouths or the lower parts of rivers, consequently swam in fresh water, which probably gave rise to the fable of these animals being born on land, remain there till they are too large to hide themselves, and then swim down to the sea, where they can move much more easily. Their swimming in fresh water is once recorded, viz. in the Hudson-mouth, New Jersey, U. S. A. (158).

Moreover they are sea-animals, and according to their air-breathing condition, live on the surface, though they may sometimes seek great depths (119).

I have already shown that these animals like sunshiny and hot weather. They don’t like wind, and consequently we may conclude that they are averse of cold weather and of cold water. Therefore they are seen near Norway especially in July and August, which led PONTOPPIDAN to suggest that they “perpetually live in the depths of the sea, except in July and August” (p. 129). The Bishop seems not to have hit upon the idea that the sea-serpents could be migratory animals.

The sea-serpents, it is true, may remain for a long time in a place where they enjoy all that they can possibly wish to have, i. e. room enough, bright weather and plenty of food. They may stay a few days in the same fjord (3, 4, 96) or in the same place or harbour (31 and 32, 34 and 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 and 49, 50 and 51, &c., &c.). But then, it may be that the fish is flown for the enemy, or that the season proceeds, the sea-serpents look for an other provender place, or swim to a warmer part of the ocean, i. e. they migrate.

And so we come to their horizontal geographical distribution. We may at once assert that they are cosmopolites though we have not a single report of an appearance at a higher degree than 46° S. latitude, i. e. they have not been met with in the Antarctic Ocean.

Up to this time the animals have appeared 1. In the Arctic Ocean, and 2. In the Atlantic Ocean.

a. All along the coasts of Norway from North Cape up to the boundary of Norway and Sweden, east of Christiania fjord (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 57, 58, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 72, 79, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 102, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 111 A, 112, 113, 115, 117, 125, 157). Of the whole coast of Norway that of the northern provinces (washed by the Arctic Ocean) seems to be frequented more than that of the southern (p. 130). It seems that they appear along these coasts almost every year.

b. Along the coasts of Sweden, from the boundary of Norway and Sweden, east of Christiania fjord, to the southmost point of Sweden, Falsterbo. I have but one report (2), and the locality of the appearance of the animal I have supposed to have been in the Sund near Malmö.

c. In the Baltic or Swedish Sea. According to OLAUS MAGNUS it is also recorded from this sea, but I think that this happens no more.

d. North of Scotland: between Iceland and the Faroe Isles (124), between the Faroe Isles and the Hebrides (56, 153, 154), and near Dunrossness, one of the Shetland Isles (78).

e. On the eastern coast of Scotland (141, 142, 143).

f. Along the western coasts of Scotland, Wales and England (31, 32, 82, 137, 138, 140, 155, 156).

g. A hundred miles west of Brest, France, (152).

h. In the Gulf of Biscay (74).

i. West of Portugal (120).

j. In the Mediterranean (148).

k. North-east of the Azores (25).

l. South of the Azores and west of the Canaries, 29° N., 34° W., (128).

m. From the Canaries to Cape Verde (135).

n. In a line from Cape Verde to the Cape of Good Hope and a little further south (93, 114, 118, 129, 130, 131, 132, 152 A), not along the coast, except three appearances in Table Bay (114, 130, 152 A).

o. In Davis Straits, 64° N., (5).

p. Along the east coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 59, 60, 62, 63, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 81, 83, 84, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 105, 106, 106 B, 107 A, 121, 133, 134, 158, 159, 160, 162). So these coasts seem to be frequented almost every year. In Mr. TRAILL’s paper on the subject (Proc. Roy. Soc. Edinb. 1854, Vol. 3,) we read: “I shall not here discuss the notices we have, from time to time, received of late years of a great sea-serpent seen by mariners in crossing the Atlantic to America”. I am convinced that these meetings took always place not far from the American coast. Our n^o. 161 is also one of these “notices received of a sea-serpent seen by a mariner in crossing the Atlantic from America”.

q. In the Gulf of Mexico (106 A.)