And curious enough it is to remark the persistence with which all these anomalies are announced as ‘the sea serpent,’ as if the sea produced but one solitary specimen, which is now the shape of a ‘turtle;’ next of a ‘frog,’ with ‘one hundred and fifty feet of tail;’ then a creature with ‘fins’ and a ‘mane,’ ‘flippers’ and ‘flappers’ and ‘ridges of fins.’ All these appendages are one after the other described, and yet as belonging to a ‘serpent,’ which has no such appendages.
A few of the recorders do really describe something more of the true ophidian, and those who do this, not being familiar with ophidian manners, are more useful as witnesses than those who at once report a ‘serpent,’ and afterwards proceed unknowingly to disprove their own words.
Among the more noteworthy, the following account, copied from the Liverpool papers at the time, is worth considering:—
‘The story of the mate and crew of the barque Pauline, of London, said to have arrived in port from a twenty months’ voyage to Akyab, about having seen a “sea serpent” while on a voyage in the Indian seas, was yesterday declared to on oath before Mr. Raffles, the stipendiary magistrate at the police court. The affidavit was made in consequence of the doubtfulness with which anything about the sea serpent has hitherto been received; and to show the genuine character of the story, it has been placed judicially on record. The following is a copy of the declaration, which will be regarded as unprecedented in its way:—
‘“Borough of Liverpool, in the County Palatine of Lancaster, to wit.
‘“We, the undersigned, captain, officers, and crew of the barque Pauline (of London), of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, do solemnly and sincerely declare that, on July 8, 1875, in lat. 5° 13´ S., long. 35° W., we observed three large sperm whales, and one of them was gripped round the body with two turns of what appeared to be a huge serpent. The head and tail appeared to have a length beyond the coils of about thirty feet, and its girth eight or nine feet. The serpent whirled its victim round and round for about fifteen minutes, and then suddenly dragged the whale to the bottom, head first.
‘“GEORGE DREVAR, Master.
‘“HORATIO THOMPSON.
‘“JOHN HENDERSON LANDELLS.
‘“OWEN BAKER.
‘“WILLIAM LEWARN.
‘“Again, on July 13, a similar serpent was seen about two hundred yards off, shooting itself along the surface, head and neck being out of the water several feet. This was seen only by the captain and one ordinary seaman, whose signatures are affixed.
‘“GEORGE DREVAR, Master.
‘“A few moments after, it was seen elevated some sixty feet perpendicularly in the air, by the chief officer and the following able seamen, whose signatures are also affixed:—