Part 21

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The following hoax is not inferior to any of the foregoing (Nature, of 13th. of June 1872):

“Mr. J. COBBIN of Durban, forwards to the Natal Colonist the following account of a “sea-serpent” seen by him:--“During my last passage from London, I saw no less than three sea-serpents, but an account of the last will suffice. On 30th. December last, on board the Silvery Wave, in lat. about 35′ 0″ S., and long. 33′ 30″ E., at 6.20 P. M. solar time, an enormous sea-serpent passing nearly across our bows compelled the alteration of our course. He was at least one thousand yards long, of which about one third appeared on the surface of the water at every stroke of his enormous fan-shaped tail, with which he propelled himself, raising it high above the waves, and arching his back like a land-snake or a caterpillar. In shape and proportion he much resembled the cobra, being marked by the same knotty and swollen protuberance at the back of the head on the neck. The latter was the thickest part of the serpent. His head was like a bull’s in shape, his eyes large and glowing, his ears had circular tips and were level with his eyes, and his head was surrounded by a horny crest, which he erected and depressed at pleasure. He swam with great rapidity and lashed the sea into a foam, like breakers dashing over jagged rocks. The sun shone brightly upon him; and with a good glass I saw his overlapping scales open and shut with every arch of his sinuous back coloured like the rainbow.”

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I don’t know whether the following, taken from the Graphic, is a true hoax, or an optical illusion, but I think it is a hoax. There we read in the number of August, 17th., 1872:

“Concerning this much discussed animal, whose existence mariners from the earliest times have firmly asserted, and landsmen as obstinately persisted in doubting, we have received the following from Mr. Walthew, a well-known ship-owner and merchant in Liverpool:--“Report of Captain A. Hassel, of barque St. Olaf, from Newport to Galveston, Texas.--Two days before arrival at Galveston, and about 4.30 P. M. on May 13, weather calm, smooth sea, lat. 26° 52′, long. 91° 20′, I saw a shoal of sharks passing the ship. Five or six came under the vessel’s stern, but before we could get out a line they went off with the rest. About two minutes after, one of the men sang out that he saw something on the weather bow, like a cask on its end. Presently another one called out that he saw something rising out of the water like a tall man. On a nearer approach we saw it was an immense serpent, with its head out of the water, about 200 ft. from the vessel. He lay still on the surface of the water, lifting his head up, and moving the body in a serpentine manner. Could not see all of it; but what we could see, from the after part of the head, was about 70 ft. long and of the same thickness all the way, excepting about the head and neck, which were smaller, and the former flat, like the head of a serpent. It had four fins on its back, and the body of a yellow greenish colour, with brown spots all over the upper part and underneath white. The whole crew were looking at it for fully ten minutes before it moved away. It was about six feet in diameter. One of the mates has drawn a slight sketch of the serpent, which will give some notion of its appearance.--A. Hassel, master of Norwegian barque St. Olaf.--Witness to signature, J. Fredk. Walthew.”--

The accompanying engravings are also published, and I give facsimiles of them in Fig. 3 and 4.--I think that Captain HASSEL after having seen the shoal of sharks, two minutes afterwards saw four of these individuals swimming perfectly in a line, the foremost occasionally lifting its head above the surface, and the backs with the backfin of each animal being visible. The distance between the first and the last being about seventy feet, the whole row looked like a huge serpent, and gave thus rise to the story, which, as I have already said above, may be a hoax, or a true statement of what they saw. Evidently one of the mates first drew the sketch exactly as he saw the four sharks, but afterwards, answering his own question: “how would the serpent look, if floating on the surface?” sketched the second figure, where a boa or python with four fins is represented floating on the water like a cork, or better like the skin of such an animal puffed up!

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A splendid hoax was again communicated by a correspondent of the Monde Illustré to the Editor, and published in the number of October, 8, 1881, of that journal.

“On board the steamer The Don, of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company.--Captain ROBERT WOOLWARD.”

“Sunday, August 14, 1881”.

“To the Editor.”

“I commence my letter by asking you a correspondent’s diploma of the journal Le Monde Illustré for my friend Mr. E. DE CONTRERAS Y ALCANTARA, an inhabitant of Ponce, Isle of Porto Rico, Spanish colony.”

“I owe to Mr. DE CONTRERAS the subjoined sketch, the exactness of which is guaranteed by the seven signatures of the eye witnesses, who are:

“Mr. E. DE CONTRERAS Y ALCANTARA, of Ponce, Isle of Porto Rico,

Mr. CARLO LOPEZ ALDANA, of Lima, Peru,

Mr. HENRIQUE ROMAN, of Cartagena, Columbia,

Mr. A. E. XIMENES DE SAN JOSÉ, of Costa Rica,

Mr. MAURICE RENARD, of Paris,

Mr. C. RENARD, of Paris, your correspondent.

“The appearance lasted for ten minutes, in full moonlight. As I made the sketch, my son noted down his observations, Mr. CONTRERAS too; we compared and exchanged our several observations, these gentlemen at the little window of the smoking-saloon, and I just above, resting upon the port-hole and supported by a rope.”

“The monster seemed to measure about forty or fifty meters, from the head to the tail, as far as the numerous coils made an approximative estimation possible. The body from the dorsal ridge to the midst of the belly seemed to be covered by several ranges of scales, or a rough skin like that of sharks, but forming overlapping layers of scales. The back is very darkish and gradually growing lighter towards the belly, where it is a dirty grey. The entire body is marked with alternating transversal stripes, darkish green, chesnut coloured, and grey; the tail seems to taper in a point, like that of eels. I preserve for the end the description of the head, which we have properly examined, and which is very remarkable. This head is not oval, and rather pointed, as in most of the snakes; it forms at its cranium a great mass with rough and irregular outlines. From the occiput it is provided with a hard and movable crest, with very sharp points; this crest may be lowered on the neck so as to become invisible. The upper jaw projects, as is shown in the sketch, the end is doubled up, and a dark hollow, like a nostril is visible there; the lower jaw, more pointed, shows below hollow and convex outlines, like sacs, doubtless for the act of swallowing. The teeth are sharp, enormous, and white. From the throat, attached to a kind of cushion, projects a hard tongue, pointed, provided with suckers, and glittering like steel, and phosphorescing as the sea occasionally does; the eye is round, very glittering, very movable, and seems to be able to look backward, so rapid and “bien combinées” are the animal’s evolutions; the orbit is bordered by a ring of lighter colour and seems to be overarched by an eye-brow provided with hairs or bristles.”

“The face, from the snout to the neck presents a lateral oblique line, grey in colour, on both sides of which three other similar lines run towards it.”

“The movement of the animal in the water, seems to produce no sound at all, but undulating waves and a very slight ripple.”

“It caused a stench enough to make one ill; this smell, which hung about us for more than half an hour, was like that of a fermentation by heat on a large scale of the house of LESAGE, the great gatherers of Asnières, mingled with that of a dozen of charcoal-black works of Billancourt.”

“To neutralize it, all the shops of several of our best perfumers would be wanted.”

“The monster seems to be old, judging partly from its dimensions, and partly from its colour and the roughness of its integument.”

“This is not the first time that similar animals are observed.”