Part 52

I have therefore chosen the above date.

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=48=.--1817, August 28.--(Report of a Committee, 1817).

“Sewell Toppan, Master of the schooner Laura, declares: That on thursday morning the 28th. day of August, at about 9 o’clock A. M. at about two miles, or two and half miles east of the eastern point of Cape Ann being becalmed, I heard one of my men call to the man at the helm, “what is this coming towards us”; being engaged forward, I took no further notice till they called again.--I then got on top of the deck load, at which time I saw a singular kind of animal or fish, which I had never before seen, passing by our quarter, at distance of about forty feet, standing along shore. I saw a part of the animal or fish ten or fifteen feet from the head downwards including the head; the head appeared to be of the size of a ten-gallon keg, and six inches above the surface of the water. It was of a dark colour. I saw no tongue, but heard William Somerby and Robert Bragg, my two men, who were with me, call out, “look at his tongue”. The motion of his head was sideways and quite moderate; the motion of the body, up and down. I have seen whales very often; his motion was much more rapid than whales or any other fish I have ever seen; he left a very long wake behind him; he did not appear to alter his course in consequence of being so near the vessel. I saw him much less time than either of the others, and not in so favourable a position to notice his head.”

“I have been to sea many years, and never saw any fish that had the least resemblance to this animal. Judging from what I saw out of water, I should judge the body was about the size of a half barrel in circumference.”

“Sewell Toppan”.

“Suffolk ss. Boston, September 1, 1817. Personally appeared captain Sewell Toppan, and made solemn oath, that the foregoing declaration by him subscribed is true.”

“Before me, Jos. May, Jus. Pacis.”

“Robert Bragg, of Newburyport, mariner, of the schooner Laura, of Newburyport, Sewell Toppan Master, testifies: That on thursday last, about ten o’clock A. M. coming in said schooner bound from Newburyport to Boston, off Eastern Point, (Cape Ann), about a mile and a half from the shore, I being on deck, the vessel being becalmed, looking at the windward, I saw something break the water, and coming very fast towards us, I mentioned it to the man at helm, William Somerby; the animal came about 28 or 30 feet from us, between the vessel and the shore, and passing very swiftly by us; he left a very long wake behind him. About six inches in height of his body and head were out of water, and as I should judge about 14 or 15 feet in length. He had a head like a serpent, rather larger than his body and rather blunt; did not see his eyes; when astern of the vessel about 30 feet, he threw out his tongue about two feet in length; the end of it appeared to me to resemble a fisherman’s harpoon; he raised his tongue several times perpendicularly, or nearly so, and let it fall again. He was in sight about ten minutes. I think he moved at the rate of 12 or 14 miles an hour; he was of a dark chocolate colour, and from what appeared out of water I should suppose he was two and a half feet in circumference; he made no noise; his back and body appeared smooth; a small bunch on each side of his head, just above his eyes; he did not appear to be at all disturbed by the vessel; his course was in the direction for the Salt Islands; his motion was much swifter than any whale that I have ever seen, and I have seen many--did not observe any teeth; his motion was very steady, a little up and down.”

“To this account I am willing to make oath.”

“Robert Bragg.”

“I, William Somerby of the Schooner Laura, testify and say: That on thursday last about 10 o’clock, A. M. as I was coming in said schooner from Newburyport, bound to Boston, off Brace’s cove, a little eastward of Eastern Point, (Cape Ann) about two miles from land, the sea calm, I was at helm. Robert Bragg, one of the crew, asked me if that was not the snake coming, pointing out a break in the water, south of us; a strange animal of the serpent form passed very swiftly by us--the nearest distance I should judge to be between 30 and 40 feet--the upper part of his head and back was above water--the length that appeared was about 12 or 15 feet, his head was like a serpent’s tapering off to a point. He threw out his tongue a number of times, extended about two feet from his jaws--the end of it resembled a harpoon--he threw his tongue backwards several times over his head, and let it fall again--I saw one of his eyes as he passed; it appeared very bright, and about the size of the eye of an ox. The colour of all that appeared was very dark, almost black. He did not appear to take any notice of the vessel, and made no noise. There appeared a bunch above the eye.--Should judge him to be about two and a half feet in circumference. Have often seen whales at sea. The motion of this animal was much swifter than that of any whale. The motion of the body was rising and falling as he advanced, the head moderately vibrating from side to side. The colour of his tongue was a light brown.”

“To this account I am willing to make oath.”

“William Somerby.”

“Commonwealth of Massachusetts, August 30, 1817. Then appeared Robert Bragg and William Somerby, and made oath to the truth of the above declarations, by them respectively subscribed.”

“Before me, Jos. May, Jus. Pacis.”

In these three depositions we find the same observation. As the head was moving moderately sideways, we may conclude that the animal, though it was also moving up and down, used its flappers too, so that with the use of the right fore-flapper its head went a little to the left; and otherwise went a little to the right by the motion of the left fore-flapper.--For ROBERT BRAGG’S “larger” in “the head was rather larger than the body”, we don’t hesitate to read “broader”.--It is the third time that the animal’s tongue was observed. The tongue most probably was rather pointed, which led the two mariners to compare it with a harpoon.--Remarkable is the statement of the animal having a small bunch on each side of the head just above its eyes. This is the heavy eye brow figured by BING (fig. 19) and so often described afterwards.

In a letter from Col. T. H. PERKINS dated Oct. 13, 1820, and published in the Boston Daily Advertiser of Nov. 25, 1848, we read:

“Captain Tappan, a person well known to me saw him with his head above water two or three feet, at times moving with great rapidity, and at others slowly. He also saw what explained the appearance which I have described, of a horn on the front of the head. This was doubtless what was observed by Captain Tappan to be the tongue, thrown in an upright position from the mouth, and having the appearance which I have given to it.”

I quite agree with Col. T. H. PERKINS as to the explanation of the horn (see n^o. 44, p. 180.)--In the Report of 1817 the name is spelt TOPPAN, whilst Col. PERKINS writes TAPPAN; but as the details of the two accounts of the prong, or spear, or horn, or tongue are the same, I am convinced that these two names identify the same person. So the statement of Captain TOPPAN, WILLIAM SOMERBY and ROBERT BRAGG is substantiated by COL. PERKIN’S letter.

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=49=.--1817, August 30?--In the same letter from Col. PERKINS we read:

“One of the revenue cutters, whilst in the neighbourhood of Cape Ann, had an excellent view of him at a few yards’ distance; he moved slowly; and upon the approach of the vessel, sank and was seen no more.”

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=50=.--1817, October 3.--In a letter from Mr. THOS. HERTTELL to Mr. SILVANUS MILLER, printed in the Report of a Committee, 1817, a passage runs as follows:

“Understanding that Mr. James Guion, a gentleman of character and respectability, had seen what was supposed to be the same animal, I yesterday conversed with him on the subject. He states that on Friday the 3d. inst. while on the point of land on the east side of the mouth of Mamaroneck harbour, he saw a little distance from the rocks, usually called the Scotch Caps, which lie at the extremity of Rye Point, a large marine animal, going with great rapidity up sound. He judged his speed to be little or no less than a mile in a minute. He describes the irregularity and unevenness of his back, about fifty feet of which appeared above the surface of the water, much in the way in which I have done.”

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=51=.--1817, October 5.--The abovesaid letter runs as follows: