_a._ South of Australia (122).
_b._ Near Cape Satano, the southmost point of the Isle of Kiu Siu
(Japan) (151).
_c._ Near Behring Isle (36). The Aleutians declare that they have often
seen this animal (36).
_d._ In the Gulf of California (119).
That so many appearances took place in the Atlantic and so few in the
Indian Ocean and in the Pacific only results from the Atlantic being
the great highway of nations.
Along the coasts of Norway they appear only “at certain times” (2)
i. e. evidently “in the dog days” (92, p. 138), viz. from the 23th.
of July to the 23th. of August, and when we consult those reports
which mention the dates of the appearances we observe that they really
appear along the Norwegian coasts in July (61, 92, 115) and August
(9, 64, 68, 117, 157), but that after the dog days they swim further
south: from the 24th. of August to the 9th. of September one or more
individuals appeared in Christiania fjord (85, 86, 87, 88, 89), and in
the month of October (?) an individual was observed near Ibbestad, in
the neighbourhood of Christiansand (111 A). The occurrences between
the Faroe Isles and the Hebrides took place in the last days of May
(153, 154) and in July (56), those on the east coast of Scotland in
the middle of November (141, 142, 143), those on the western coasts
of Scotland, Wales and England: in June in the neighbourhood of Coll
and Eigg (31, 32), in the last days of August in the neighbourhood of
Loch-Hourn (137, 138, 139, 140), in the beginning of September near
Orme’s Heads, Wales, (155), and in the middle of October in Bristol
Channel (156). The occurrence a hundred miles west of Brest, France,
took place on the 5th. of August (152), that west of Portugal on the
31st. of December (120), that in the Mediterranean on the 2d. of June
(148), that north-east of the Azores on the 1st. of August (25), that
south of the Azores and west of the Canaries on the 30th. of March
(128), that between the Canaries and Cape Verde on the 16th. of May
(135), and those between Cape Verde and Cape of Good Hope and southwest
of the latter: on January 26 (132), February 16 (130), July 8 (129),
in the end of July (93), in the summer (114), on August 6 (118), on
November 12 (152 A), and on December 12 (131).
EGEDE saw an individual in Davis’ Straits in July (5); the sea-serpents
frequent the coast of North America from Newfoundland to Florida in
February (121), March or April (101), May (19, 97, 161), June (34,
35, 53, 54, 60, 83, 84, 106 B?, 162), July (29, 55, 75?, 81?, 98, 99,
100?), August (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 59,
62, 63, 69, 73, 105?, 133, 134, 158, 159, 160), September (70, 71, 77,
106?), and October (50, 51). It occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in April
(106 A), was east of Cape San Roque in July (144, 145), and visited the
South Atlantic east of Uruguay in January (80).
January was the month in which it appeared in the Gulf of Aden (149),
September in about lat. 15° S. and 60° E. (123), May in about lat. 2°
N. and long. 91° E. (147), September in the Malacca Straits (146), and
March in Geographe Bay (150).
In May it was observed south of Australia (122), and in April south of
Kiu Siu, Japan (151).
A few lines above I have already expressed my firm conviction that they
are migratory and don’t like cold water. If this be true, they will
be _generally_ observed (and I purposely draw the reader’s attention
to the expression “generally”, for animals are not bound by _laws_ of
nature), in the northern hemisphere when summer is there, and they
will _generally_ appear in the southern hemisphere when summer visits
those parts of our globe. To follow this _rule_ they must be able to
migrate from north to south, and vice versa. Consequently the Atlantic
and the Pacific are the only two oceans in which we shall observe that
_generally_ this rule is followed, for in the Indian Ocean the animals
are checked in their course towards the north by the continent of Asia.
We are therefore obliged to take no account of the appearances which
occurred in the Indian Ocean. And as we have _only two_ appearances
observed in the Pacific, of which the dates are mentioned, we are also
obliged to pass over those in the Pacific too.
Let us now see where the animals were met with in the different months.
January.
South of St. Helena. 19° S. (132).
East of Uruguay. 34¹⁄₂° S. (80).
February.
East coast of North America. 31° N. (121).
Table Bay. 34° S. (130).
March.
East coast of North America. 42° N. (101).
South of the Azores. 29° N. (128).
April.
East coast of North America. 42° N. (101).
Gulf of Mexico. 24° N. (106 A).
May.
Near Butt of Lewis. 58¹⁄₂° N. (153, 154).
East coast of North America. 44° N. (19).
East coast of North America. 43° N. (97).
East coast of North America. 40° N. (161).
Between Canaries and Cape Verde. 22° N. (135).
June.
Coast of Norway. 64° N. (103).
West coast of Scotland. 57° N. (31, 32).
East coast of North America. 45° N. (83).
East coast of North America. 42° N. (34, 35, 60, 84,
106 B).
East coast of North America. 41° N. (53, 54, 162).
Mediterranean. 38° N. (148).
East coast of North America. 37° N. (52).
July.
Coast of Norway. 65° N. (61).
Coast of Norway. 64° N. (103).
Davis’ Straits. 64° N. (5).
Coast of Norway. 63° N. (92, 115).
Between the Far-Öer and the Hebrides. 60° N. (56).
East coast of North America. 44° N. (29, 55).
East coast of North America. 42° N. (98, 99).
East of Cape San Roque. 5° S. (144, 145).
West of Cape of Good Hope. 35° S. (129).
South West of Cape of Good Hope. 38° S. (93).
August.
Coast of Norway. 70° N. (68).
Coast of Norway. 66¹⁄₂° N. (157).
Coast of Norway. 66° N. (64).
Coast of Norway. 63° N. (9).
Coast of Norway. 60° N. (117).
Coast of Norway. 59° N. (85, 86).
West coast of Scotland. 57° N. (137, 138, 139,
140).
100 miles west of Brest. 48° N. (152).
North east of the Azores. 42° N. (25).
East coast of North America. 42° N. (37, 38, 39, 40, 41,
42, 43, 44, 45, 46,
47, 48, 49, 59, 62,
63, 69, 73, 133,
134).
East coast of North America. 41° N. (158, 159, 160).
Between St. Helena and Cape of G. H. 24° S. (118).
September.
Coast of Norway. 59° N. (87, 88, 89).
North of Wales. 53¹⁄₂° N. (155).
East coast of North America. 42° N. (71).
East coast of North America. 41° N. (77).
South west of Cape of Good Hope. 38° S. (126).
October.
Near Ibbestad, Christiansand. 58° N. (111 A).
Bristol Channel. 51° N. (156).
East coast of North America. 41° N. (50, 51).
November.
East of Scotland. 58° N. (141, 142, 143).
Near Monillepoint. 34° S. (152 A).
December.
West of Portugal. 41° N. (120).
North-east of St. Helena. 15° S. (131).
What conclusions may now be drawn from these facts?
1^o. That these animals seldom appear in the North Sea, between Great
Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark (141, 142, 143);
that they don’t frequent the Baltic Ocean since two centuries; that
they seldom appear in the so-called Skagerrak (85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 111
A); rarely show themselves in the Gulf of Mexico (106 A) or in the
Mediterranean (148); but that they moreover inhabit the whole of the
Atlantic Ocean.
2^o. That, when they remove their quarters, they seem to swim _as
much as possible_ in the so-called warm ocean-currents. The number of
appearances, it is true, is very small, but surveying the foregoing
list of appearances in the different months I am inclined to think
that these animals in their migration from north to south really swim
_against_ the current, while, on the contrary, in their migration from
south to north they move with the current. Only a very few times they
were met with in the so-called cold ocean-currents.
3^o. We observe that in the month of August some individuals reached
the highest northern latitude, i. e. 70 degrees, and that a series of
appearances took place from 70° N. to 41° N. latitude,--that in the
month of September they seem not to appear beyond 59° N. latitude; and
so on;--so that we may conclude that in the beginning or in the middle
of August they have reached their most northern point and begin to
migrate towards the south, as in December we read of no appearances
beyond 41° N. latitude, and in January of no one beyond 19° S.
latitude. And further we conclude that they seem to leave the southern
hemisphere to migrate again towards the north already in January, for
in February they generally have already reached the northern latitudes,
in March still higher, and so on.
4^o. We observe that in one month not all the appearances took place
in the same latitude, consequently in one and the same month they are
scattered over a vast portion of the ocean.
5^o. When the migration from north to south begins, which of course
must be influenced by the early or late setting in of autumn, it
seems that not only the individuals which have proceeded to the most
northern coasts of Norway, but also some other individuals begin their
migration towards the south. I think that we must find in this fact
the explanation that even in July appearances took place at from 5° to
38° southern latitude, and that on August 6 an individual was seen at
lat. 24° S. swimming _towards the S. W._ Though I have no appearances
in the South Atlantic in the month of October, I am convinced that the
greater part of the individuals are there during this month, as well
as in November, December and January.--The reason that there are so
few reports from these regions is of course that in comparison with
the North Atlantic, a far smaller number of vessels visits the South
Atlantic.
The two appearances which happened in the Pacific, and of which the
dates are mentioned, are:
April.