Part 48

“Sir”,

“Your favoured of the 2d. inst. has been received. The vote of thanks of the Linnaean Society for my services was highly gratifying to me, not simply on account of the high consideration I entertain for the members of that laudable institution; but likewise for the agreeable manner, and respectable channel, through which their vote of thanks was communicated to me.”

“You request a detailed account of my observations, relative to the serpent. I saw him on the fourteenth ultimo, and when nearest, I judged him to be about two hundred and fifty yards from me. At that distance I judged him (in the largest part) about the size of a half barrel, gradually tapering towards the two extremes. Twice I saw him with a glass, only for a short time, and at other times, with the naked eye, for nearly half an hour. His colour appeared nearly black--his motion was vertical. When he moved on the surface of the water, the track of his rear was visible, for at least half a mile.”

“His velocity, when moving on the surface of the water, I judged was at the rate of a mile in about four minutes. When immersed in the water, his speed was greater, moving, I should say, at the rate of a mile in two or at most three minutes. When moving under water, you could often trace him by the motion of the water, on the surface, and from this circumstance, I conclude he did not swim deep. He apparently went as straight through the water, as you could draw a line. When he changed his course, he diminished his velocity but little--the two extremes that were visible appeared rapidly moving in opposite directions, and when they came parallel, they appeared not more than a yard apart. With a glass, I could not take in, at one view, the two extremes of the animal, that were visible. I have looked at a vessel, at about the same distance, and could distinctly see forty five feet. If he should be taken, I have no doubt that his length will be found seventy feet, at least, and I should not be surprised, if he should be found one hundred feet long. When I saw him I was standing on an eminence, on the sea shore, elevated about thirty feet above the surface of the water, and the sea was smooth.”

“If I saw his head, I could not distinguish it from his body; though there were seafaring men near me, who said that they could distinctly see his head. I believe they spoke truth; but not having been much accustomed to look through a glass, I was not so fortunate.”

“I never saw more than seven or eight distinct portions of him above the water, at any one time, and he appeared rough; though I supposed this appearance was produced by his motion. When he disappeared, he apparently sunk directly down like a rock.”

“Captain Beach has been in Boston for a week past, and I am informed that he is still there. An engraving from his drawing of the serpent has been, or is now, making at Boston, but I have not been able to ascertain how far his drawing is thought a correct representation.”

“Respectfully, Sir,

Your most obedient,

Lonson Nash.”

Mr. W. D. PECK says of this declaration (Mem. Am. Acad. Arts Sc. Vol. IV. Pt. 1.)

“The account of it by Lonson Nash Esq. Justice of the Peace in Gloucester, from his own observation, is perfectly free from prejudice, and as clear and satisfactory as can be expected of an object at a distance of two hundred and fifty yards.”

Remarkable in this testimony is again the considerable wake the animal leaves behind it when swimming rapidly. Easy it is to explain why the speed is greater under water than when partly visible above the surface of the water. Those parts viz. which are above the surface must be borne by the body hidden under water, consequently this carries a burden, and the speed, it is evident, cannot be so rapid as when the animal is quite under water, in which position each part of the animal’s body is carried by the water itself, and not by the individual. It has no burden to carry, it is specifically lighter, and the speed can reach its maximum.--Remarkable too is the fact that the animal, when swimming under water, does so just below the surface, and causes the rippling of it. This is a habit of Pinnipeds.

Where Mr. Nash thinks that the apparent roughness is produced by its motion, I am convinced that he is right. He could not distinguish its head from its body, which cannot surprise us; both are of the same thickness, when seen from aside, and I believe too that the seafaring men, more accustomed to look with a glass, distinctly saw the difference between head and neck. Moreover the mode of turning, its length of more than seventy feet, its sinking down like a rock, when disappearing, need not be spoken of; they were mere repetitions of former statements.

I am sorry I have not been able to get a look at Mr. BEACH’S figure.

* * * * *

=42=.--1817, August 15.--(Report of a Committee, 1817).

“I, James Mansfield, of Gloucester, in the county of Essex, merchant, depose and say: That I saw a strange creature, of enormous length, resembling a serpent. I think this was on the 15th. of August, A. D. 1817. I should say he was from forty to sixty feet in length, extended on the surface of the water, with his head above the water about a foot. He remained in this position but a short time, and then started off very quick, with much greater velocity than I have seen him move with at any other time. I saw bunches on his back about a foot in height, when he lay extended on the water. His colour appeared to me black or very dark. It was a little before six o’clock P. M. when I saw him. I should say, he moved a mile in five or six minutes.”

“Q. How near the shore was the serpent?”

“A. About one hundred and eighty yards from the shore where I stood.”

“Q. Were its sinuosities vertical or horizontal?”

“A. Vertical.”

“Q. What were the size and shape of its head; and had it ears, horns, or any other appendages?”

“A. His head appeared to be about the size of the crown of a hat, at the distance from whence I saw him. The shape of his head I cannot describe, and I saw no ears, horns, or other appendages. I had no spy glass, and cannot describe him so minutely as I otherwise could. I have seen him at other times, but my view of him was not so good, as on this day.”

“James Mansfield.”

“Essex, ss. August 27, 1817. Then James Mansfield made oath to the truth of the foregoing deposition by him subscribed.”

“Before Lonson Nash, Jus. Pacis.”

We have here again the statement that the animal is able to keep its bunches, when it lies extended on the water.