"Later still we have the evidence of Captain Peter M'Quhae, commanding the frigate Dædalus, of the British Navy. He testifies that, on August 6th, 1849, in latitude 24° 44' S., longitude 9° 22' E., he and his officers and crew saw a sea-serpent. He thus describes it:
"'Our attention being called to the object, it was discovered to be an enormous serpent, with head and shoulders kept about four feet constantly above the surface of the sea; and as nearly as we could approximate by comparing it with what our main-top-sail yard would show in the water, there was at least sixty feet of the animal just under the surface, no part of which was used in propelling it through the water, either by horizontal or vertical undulation. It passed rapidly, but so close under our lee-quarter that, had it been a man of my acquaintance, I should have easily recognized his features with the naked eye; and it did not, either in approaching the ship or after it had passed our wake, deviate in the slightest degree from its course to the south-west, which it held on at the pace of from twelve to fifteen miles per hour, apparently on some determined purpose.
"'The diameter of the serpent was about fifteen or sixteen inches behind the head, which was, without any doubt, that of a snake; and it was never, during the twenty minutes that it continued in sight of our glasses, once below the surface of the water. Its color a dark brown, with yellowish-white about the throat. It had no fins, but something like the mane of a horse, or, rather, a bunch of sea-weed, washed about its back. It was seen by the quarter-master, the boatswain's mate, and the man at the wheel, in addition to myself and officers above mentioned.'
CAPTAIN M'QUHAE'S SEA-SERPENT.
"He gives a sketch of the serpent to show his general appearance, which certainly is very snaky.
"In 1860," the Doctor continued, "a sea-serpent was washed ashore on the Bermuda Islands, which answered exactly the description of Captain M'Quhae's snake, except in size. It was sixteen feet seven inches long, and its construction was such as to show very clearly that its home was in the water. A snake three feet long, lacking a single inch, was killed on the coast of Massachusetts and sent to some of the scientific men of Boston. They pronounced it a true sea-serpent, and found that its body could be bent vertically with the greatest ease, but it was difficult to bend it horizontally. The same was the case with the Bermuda serpent; and in all the descriptions of the sea-serpent off the coast of New England or of Norway, it has been observed that the folds came above the water, one beyond another. One observer said it was like a string of kegs or floats; and those who are sceptical as to the existence of the snake have attributed this appearance to a school of porpoises pursuing each other. But it should be remembered that most of the observers are men perfectly familiar with porpoises and other marine productions, and not very likely to be deceived."
"Haven't I read somewhere," said Fred, "that there was a skeleton of a large sea-serpent in a museum in Germany?"