Part 50

=43=.--1817, August 17.--See also n^o. 43 on p. 175.--(Report of a Committee, 1817).--

“I, John Johnston, jun, of Gloucester, in the County of Essex, of the age of seventeen years, depose and say: That on the evening of the seventeenth day of August, A. D. 1817, between the hours of eight and nine o’clock, while passing from the shore in a boat, to a vessel lying in the harbour of said Gloucester, I saw a strange marine animal, that I believe to be a serpent, lying extended on the surface of the water. His length appeared to be fifty feet at least, and he appeared straight, exhibiting no protuberances. Capt. John Corliss and George Marble were in the boat with me. We were within two oars length of him. We immediately rowed from him, and at first concluded to pass by his tail; but fearing we might strike it with the boat, concluded to pass around his head, which we did, by altering our course. He remained in the same position, till we lost sight of him. We approached so near to him that I believe I could have reached him with my oar. There was not sufficient light to enable me to describe the animal.”

“John Johnston, jun.”

“Essex, ss. August 25, 1817. Personally appeared John Johnston, jr. and made oath that the foregoing deposition, by him subscribed, is true according to his best knowledge and belief.”

“Before Lonson Nash, Jus. of Peace.”

This account is as interesting as all the other ones; though no further particulars are described, it is again mentioned that more than fifty feet of the animal’s back part were visible, lying perfectly still on the surface of the water, showing no bunches at all.

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=44=.--1817, August 18.--In the letter of Mr. S. G. PERKINS to Mr. E. EVERETT, dated Boston Aug. 20, 1817, we read:

“But on Saturday, the day before yesterday, a vessel arrived at Beverly from the bank of New-foundland. The captain and the crew report that, off Cape Ann Harbour, they saw a Sea Monster of the Snake kind, lying on the water, of immense length. That the crew were so much alarmed, that they got away as soon as they could, and that they estimated it at 100 feet long.”

=44=.--1817, August 18.--See also n^o. 44 hereabove.--(Report of a Committee, 1817).--

“I, William B. Pearson, of Gloucester, in the County of Essex, merchant, depose and say: That I have, several times, seen a strange marine animal, that I believe to be a serpent, of great size. I have had a good view of him, only once, and this was on the 18th. of August, A. D. 1817. I was in a sailboat, and when off Webber’s cove (so called) in the harbour of said Gloucester, I saw something coming out of the cove; we hove to, not doubting but that it was the same creature that had been seen several times in the harbour, and had excited much interest among the inhabitants of Gloucester. James P. Collins was the only person with me. The serpent passed out under the stern of our boat, towards Ten Pound Island; then he stood in towards us again, and crossed our bow. We immediately exclaimed: “here is the snake!” From what I saw of him, I should say that he was nothing short of seventy feet in length. I distinctly saw bunches on his back, and once he raised his head out of water. The top of his head appeared flat, and was raised seven or eight inches above the surface of the water. He passed by the bow of the boat, at about thirty yards distance. His colour was a dark brown. I saw him at this time about two minutes. His motion was vertical. His velocity at this time was not great, though at times, I have seen him move with great velocity, I should say at the rate of a mile in three minutes, and perhaps faster. His size I judged to be about the size of a half barrel. I saw Mr. Gaffney fire at him, at about the distance of thirty yards. I thought he hit him, and afterwards he appeared more shy. He turned very short, and appeared as limber and active as the eel, when compared to his size. The form of the curve when he turned in the water, resembled a staple; his head seemed to approach towards his body for some feet; then his head and tail appeared moving rapidly, in opposite directions, and when his head and tail were on parallel lines, they appeared not more than two or three yards apart.”

“Q. At what time in the day was this?”

“A. Between the hours of five and six in the afternoon.”

“Q. How many distinct portions of it were out of water at one time?”

“A. Ten or twelve distinct portions.”

“Q. Can you describe his eyes and mouth.”

“A. I thought and believe, that I saw his eye at one time, and it was dark and sharp.”

“Q. How did its tail terminate?”

“A. I had not a very distinct view of his tail; I saw no bunches towards, what I thought the end of the tail, and I believe there were none. From where I judged his navel might be, to the end of his tail, there were no bunches visible.”

“William B. Pearson.

Essex, ss. August 27, 1817. Then William B. Pearson made oath to the truth of the above.”

“Before Lonson Nash, Jus. of Peace.”

In this account too there is not a single fact which has not been mentioned before, except that the tail did not show bunches, while the back did. From that point of the body where Mr. PEARSON judged his navel might be towards the end of the tail, the animal had no bunches. It is probable that we are meant to read: from the middle of the visible part, where the animal seemed to be thickest. It is also probable that the animal’s external characters, though Mr. PEARSON says he believed it to be a serpent, made on him the impression of a mammal.

=44=.--1817, August 18.--See also n^o. 44 p. 176 and hereabove.--In the above-mentioned letter from Mr. S. G. PERKINS to Mr. E. EVERETT we read:

“My Brother--Colonel Perkins--went down to Cape Ann two days ago to see it. He says that he is satisfied that such an animal is there. As he stood on the shore, it came within the eighth of a mile of him, but as he did not see it so distinctly, as to be able to state all its points, he has not said any thing to the public about it.”

Fortunately Col. T. H. PERKINS wrote down his experiences in a letter, dated Oct. 13, 1820, when on board the ship Ann Marie, to his friend JNO. P. CUSHING. He published it in the Boston Daily Advertiser of Nov. 25, 1848, after the excitement caused by the appearance of the sea-serpent seen by the Daedalus (n^o. 118). The whole is reprinted in the Zoologist of 1849, p. 2358, which I had the opportunity to consult. The part of the letter, treating of his visit runs as follows:

“Boston, November, 1848.”

“In the paper called the “Illustrated London News” of 28th. October, is an account given by Capt. M’Quhae, of H. R. M. ship Daedalus, of a sea-serpent, seen from his ship in August last, on her passage from the East-Indies, and between the Cape of Good Hope and St. Helena. The perusal of several articles on the subject leads me to send you a letter written by me on my passage from England to the United States, in August, 1820, to Jno. P. Cushing, my friend and then partner, residing at Canton in China. I also send you a memorandum from Commander Bolton, of the U. S. Navy, giving the report of the gentlemen of the Navy who were on board a tender called the Lynx, and who had a very favourable opportunity of satisfying themselves of the existence of the animal which had caused so much excitement. The serpent was seen in 1817, ’19, and ’20, from the shore, and the reports show the bunches to be produced by the vertical motion of the body when in action. From the drawings which accompany the letter of Capt. M’Quhae, there are none of the protuberances, and which would lead to the opinion that the animal seen on the other side of the Equator differs in genus from that which has been seen on our coast. The drawings of the sea-serpent seen on the coast of Norway, given in the report of the Bishop Pontoppidan, are identical with the appearance of the animal which has been so often spoken of as visiting our northern seas. T. H. Perkins.”