for my own part, I am strongly of opinion that there is sense existing
in those bodies which have the nature of neither animals nor vegetables,
but a third, which partakes of them both:--sea-nettles, and sponges, I
mean. The Sea Nettle wanders to and fro by night, and at night changes
its locality. These creatures are by nature a sort of fleshy branch, and
are nurtured upon flesh. They have the power of producing an itching,
smarting pain, just like that caused by the nettle found on land. For
the purpose of seeking its prey, it contracts, and stiffens itself to
the utmost possible extent, and then, as a small fish swims past, it
will suddenly spread out its branches, and so seize and devour it. At
another time it will assume the appearance of being quite withered away,
and let itself be tossed to and fro, by the waves, like a piece of
sea-weed, until it happens to touch a fish. The moment it does so, the
fish goes to rub itself against a rock, to get rid of the itching:
immediately upon which, the nettle pounces upon it. By night also it is
on the look-out for Scallops and Sea-urchins. When it perceives a hand
approaching it, it instantly changes its colour, and contracts itself;
when touched, it produces a burning sensation, and if ever so short a
time is afforded, makes its escape. Its mouth is situate, it is said, at
the root or lower part, and the excrements are discharged by a small
canal situated above.
“SPONGES.
“We find three kinds of sponges mentioned; the first are thick, very
hard, and rough, and are called _tragi_: the second are thick, and much
softer, and are called _mani_: of the third, being fine, and of a closer
texture, tents for sores are made; this last is known as _Achillium_.
All of these sponges grow on rocks, and feed upon shell and other fish,
and slime.
“It would appear that these creatures, too, have some intelligence; for,
as soon as ever they feel the hand about to tear them off, they contract
themselves, and are separated with much greater difficulty: they do the
same also, when the waves buffet them to and fro. The small shells that
are found in them, clearly show that they live upon food; about Torone
it is even said that they will survive after they have been detached,
and that they grow again from the roots which have been left adhering to
the rock. They leave a colour similar to that of blood upon the rock
from which they have been detached, and those, more especially, which
are produced in the Syrtes of Africa.”
Olaus Magnus gives us the accompanying illustration of Zoophytes and
Sponges. Of the latter, he says:--“Sponges are much multiplied near the
Coasts of _Norway_; the nature of it is, that it agrees with other
living creatures in the way of contracting, and dilating itself: yet
some are immovable from rocks, and if they be broken off at the Roots,
they grow again; some are movable from place to place; and these are
found in huge plenty on the foresaid shores. They are fed with mud,
small fish, and oysters. When they are alive, they are black, as they
are when they are wet.”
[Illustration]
THE KRAKEN.
This enormous monster, peculiar to the Northern Seas, is scarcely a
fable, because huge Calamaries are not infrequently seen. Poor
Pontoppidan has often been considered a Danish Ananias, but there are
authentic accounts of these enormous Cuttle-fish; for instance, in 1854,
one was stranded at the Skag, in Jutland, which was cut in pieces by the
fishermen in order to be used as bait, and filled many wheelbarrows.
Another, either in 1860 or 1861, was stranded between Hillswick and
Scalloway, on the west of Scotland, and its tentacles were sixteen feet
long, the pedal arms about half as long, and its body seven feet. The
French ship _Alecton_, on 30th November 1861, between Madeira and
Teneriffe, slipped a rope with a running knot over an enormous calamary,
but only brought a portion on board, the body breaking off. It was
estimated at being sixteen to eighteen feet in length, without counting
its arms. The legend of its sinking ships and taking sailors from them
is common to many countries, even the Chinese and Japanese thus
depicting them.
[Illustration]
Olaus Magnus gives us a graphic picture of a huge Polyp, thus seizing a
sailor, and dragging him from his ship in spite of all his efforts to
prevent him. On the next page is a huge calamary shown with a man in its
clutches. This is both in Gesner and Aldrovandus. But this terror to
mariners had its master in the Conger eel. Gesner, who has taken his
picture from some description of the World, introduces it as a
Sea-Serpent; but Aristotle says that “the Congers devour the Polypi,
which cannot adhere to them on account of the smoothness of their
surface.” Magnus also speaks of the antipathy between the two.
[Illustration]
According to Pliny, quoting Trebius Niger, the Polypus shows a fair
amount of cunning:--“Shell fish are destitute of sight, and, indeed, all
other sensations but those which warn them of hunger, and the approach
of danger. Hence it is that the Polypus lies in ambush till the fish
opens its shell, immediately upon which, it places within it a small
pebble, taking care, at the same time, to keep it from touching the body
of the animal, lest, by making some movement, it should chance to eject
it. Having made itself thus secure, it attacks its prey, and draws out
the flesh, while the other tries to contract itself, but all in vain, in
consequence of the separation of the shell, thus effected by the
insertion of the wedge.
[Illustration]
“In addition to the above, the same author states that there is not an
animal in existence, that is more dangerous for its powers of destroying
a human being when in the water. Embracing his body, it counteracts his
struggles, and draws him under with its feelers and its numerous
suckers, when, as often is the case, it happens to make an attack upon
a shipwrecked mariner or a child. If, however, the animal is turned
over, it loses all its power; for when it is thrown upon its back, the
arms open of themselves.
“The other particulars which the same author has given, appear still
more closely to border upon the marvellous. At Carteia, in the preserves
there, a Polypus was in the habit of coming from the sea to the pickling
tubs that were left open, and devouring the fish laid in salt there--for
it is quite astonishing how eagerly all sea animals follow even the very
smell of salted condiments, so much so, that it is for this reason that
the fishermen take care to rub the inside of the wicker fish-kipes with
them.--At last, by its repeated thefts and immoderate depredations, it
drew down upon itself the wrath of the keepers of the works. Palisades
were placed before them, but these the Polypus managed to get over by
the aid of a tree, and was only caught at last by calling in the
assistance of trained dogs, which surrounded it at night, as it was
returning with its prey; upon which, the keepers, awakened by the noise,
were struck with alarm at the novelty of the sight presented.
“First of all, the size of the Polypus was enormous beyond all
conception: and then it was covered all over with dried brine, and
exhaled a most dreadful stench. Who could have expected to find a
Polypus there, or could have recognised it as such, under these
circumstances? They really thought that they were joining battle with
some monster, for at one instant, it would drive off the dogs by its
horrible fumes, and lash at them with the extremities of its feelers;
while at another, it would strike them with its stronger arms, giving
blows with so many clubs, as it were; and it was only with the greatest
difficulty that it could be dispatched with the aid of a considerable
number of three-pronged fish-spears. The head of this animal was shewn
to Lucullus; it was in size as large as a cask of fifteen amphoræ
(_about 135 gallons_), and had a beard (_iti tentaculæ_), to use the
expression of Trebius himself, which could hardly be encircled with both
arms, full of knots, like those upon a club, and thirty feet in length;
the suckers, or calicules, as large as an urn, resembled a basin in
shape, while the teeth again were of a corresponding largeness: its
remains, which were carefully preserved as a curiosity, weighed seven
hundred pounds.”
Olaus Magnus says:--“On the Coasts of _Norway_ there is a Polypus, or
creature with many feet, which hath a pipe on his back, whereby he puts
to Sea, and he moves that sometimes to the right, and sometimes to the
left. Moreover, with his Legs as it were by hollow places, dispersed
here and there, and by his Toothed Nippers, he fastneth on every living
Creature that comes near to him, that wants blood. Whatever he eats he
heaps up in the holes where he resides: Then he casts out the Skins,
having eaten the flesh, and hunts after fishes that swim to them: Also
he casts out the shels, and hard outsides of Crabs that remain. He
changeth his colour by the colour of the stone he sticks unto,
especially when he is frighted at the sight of his Enemy, the Conger. He
hath 4 great middle feet, in all 8; a little body, which the great feet
make amends for. He hath also some small feet that are shadowed and can
scarce be perceived. By these he sustains, moves, and defends himself,
and takes hold of what is from him: and he lies on his back upon the
stones, that he can scarce be gotten off, onlesse you put some stinking
smell to him.”
CRAYFISH AND CRABS.
Pliny tells us that in the Indian Ocean are Crayfish four cubits in
length (six feet), and he claims for crabs a sovereign specific against
bites of scorpions and snakes:--“River-Crabs taken fresh and beaten up
and drunk in water, or the ashes of them, kept for the purpose, are
useful in all cases of poisoning, as a counter poison; taken with asses’
milk they are particularly serviceable as a neutralizer of the venom of
the scorpion; goat’s milk or any other kind of milk being substituted,
where asses’ milk cannot be procured. Wine, too, should also be used in
all such cases. River-Crabs beaten up with Ocimum, and applied to
Scorpions, are fatal to them. They are possessed of similar virtues,
also, for the bites of all other kinds of venomous animals, the Scytale
in particular, adders, the sea hare, and the bramble frog. The ashes of
them, preserved, are good for persons who give symptoms of hydrophobia
after being bitten by a mad dog, some adding gentian as well, and
administering the mixture in wine. In cases, too, where hydrophobia has
already appeared, it is recommended, that these ashes should be kneaded
up into boluses with wine and swallowed. If ten of these crabs be tied
together with a handful of Ocimum, all the scorpions in the
neighbourhood, the magicians say, will be attracted to the spot. They
recommend, also, that to wounds inflicted by the scorpion, these crabs,
or the ashes of them, should be applied with Ocimum. For all these
purposes, however, sea crabs, it should be remembered, are not so
useful. Thrasyllus informs us that there is nothing so antagonistic to
serpents as crabs: that swine, when stung by a serpent, cure themselves
by eating them; and that, when the sun is in the sign of Cancer,
serpents suffer the greatest tortures....
“It is said that while the sun is passing through the sign of Cancer,
the dead bodies of the crabs, which are lying on the shore, are
transformed into serpents.”
THE SEA-SERPENT.
Of the antiquity of the belief in the Sea-Serpent there can be no doubt,
for it is represented on the walls of the Assyrian palace at Khorsabad,
more than once, in the sculpture representing the voyage of Sargon to
Cyprus, thus giving it an authentic antiquity of over 2600 years: but as
its existence must then have been a matter of belief, it naturally comes
that it must be much older than that.
[Illustration]
Aristotle, who wrote nearly 400 years later, speaks of them, and their
savage disposition:--“In Libya, the serpents, as it has been already
remarked, are very large. For some persons say that as they sailed along
the coast, they saw the bones of many oxen, and that it was evident to
them that they had been devoured by the serpents. And, as the ships
passed on, the serpents attacked the triremes, and some of them threw
themselves upon one of the triremes, and overturned it.”
These, together with Sargon’s Sea-Serpent, were doubtless marine snakes,
which are still in existence, and are found in the Indian Ocean, but the
larger ones seem to have been seen in more northern waters. It has been
the fashion to pooh-pooh the existence of this sea monster, but there
are many that still do believe in it most thoroughly; only, to express
that belief would be to certainly expose oneself to ridicule. No one
doubts the _bonâ fides_ of those who narrate having seen them, but some
one is sure to come forward with his pet theory as to its being a school
of porpoises, or an enormous cuttle-fish, with its tentacles playing on
the surface of the water; so that no one likes to confess that he has
seen it.
[Illustration]
Both Olaus Magnus and Gesner give illustrations of the Sea-Serpent of
Norway, and I give that of the latter, as it is the best. The former
says:--“They who Work of Navigation, on the Coasts of _Norway_, employ
themselves in fishing, or merchandize, do all agree in this strange
Story, that there is a Serpent there which is of a Vast Magnitude,
namely 200 feet long, and, moreover, 20 foot thick; and is wont to live
in Rocks and Caves toward the Sea Coast about _Berge_; which will go
alone from his holes in a clear night in Summer, and devour Calves,
Lambs, and Hogs, or else he goes into the Sea to feed on Polypus,
Locusts, and all sorts of Sea Crabs. He hath commonly hair hanging from
his neck a cubit long, and sharp Scales, and is black, and he hath
flaming shining eys. This Snake disquiets the Shippers, and he puts up
his head on high like a pillar, and catcheth away men, and he devours
them; and this hapneth not, but it signifies some wonderful change of
the Kingdom near at hand; namely, that the Princes shall die, or be
banished; or some Tumultuous Wars shall presently follow. There is also
another Serpent of an incredible magnitude in a town called _Moos_, of
the Diocess of _Hammer_; which, as a Comet portends a change in all the
World, so, that portends a change in the Kingdom of _Norway_, as it was
seen, _Anno_ 1522, that lifts himself high above the Waters, and rouls
himself round like a sphere. This Serpent was thought to be fifty Cubits
long by conjecture, by sight afar off: there followed this the
banishment of King _Christiernus_, and a great persecution of the
Bishops; and it shew’d also the destruction of the Country.”
Topsell, in his _Historie of Serpents_, 1608, does not add much to
Sea-Serpent lore, but he adds the picture of another kind of Serpent, as
does also Aldrovandus, whose illustration I give. (See p. 272.) Erik
Pontoppidan, Bishop of Bergen, in his _Natürlichen Historie von
Norwegen_, gives a picture of the Sea-Serpent, somewhat similar to that
previously given by Hans Egede, “the Apostle of Greenland.” (See next
page.) Pontoppidan tried to sift the wheat from the chaff, in connection
with the Natural History of the North, but he was not always successful.
He gives several cases, one seemingly very well authenticated, of the
appearance of Sea-Serpents.
But possibly more credence may be given to more modern instances. Sir
Walter Scott, in the Notes to _The Pirate_, says (speaking of Shetland
and Orkney fishermen):--“The Sea-Snake was also known, which, arising
out of the depths of the ocean, stretches to the skies his enormous
neck, covered with a mane like that of a war-horse, and with his broad
glittering eyes, raised mast-head high, looks out, as it seems, for
plunder or for victims.” “The author knew a mariner, of some reputation
in his class, vouch for having seen the celebrated Sea-Serpent. It
appeared, as far as could be guessed, to be about a hundred feet long,
with the wild mane and fiery eyes which old writers ascribe to the
monster; but it is not unlikely the spectator might, in the doubtful
light, be deceived by a good Norway log on the water.”
[Illustration]
Mr. Maclean, the pastor of Eigg, an island in the Small Isles parish,
Inverness-shire, wrote, in 1809, to Dr. Neill, the Secretary of the
Wernerian Society, that he had seen a Sea-Serpent, while he was in a
boat about two miles from land. The serpent followed the boat, and the
minister escaped by getting on to a rock. He described it as having a
large head and slender tail, with no fins, its body tapering to its
tail. It moved in undulations, and he thought its length might be
seventy to eighty feet. It was seen, also, by the crews of thirteen
fishing-boats, who, being frightened thereat, fled to the nearest creek
for safety.
[Illustration]
A Sea-Serpent, judged to be of the length of about eighty feet, was seen
by a party of British officers, in Margaret’s Bay, whilst crossing from
Halifax to Mahone Bay, on 15th May 1833.
In 1847 a Sea-Serpent was seen frequently, in the neighbourhood of
Christiansand and Molde, by many persons, and by one Lars Johnöen,
fisherman at Smolen, especially. He said that one afternoon, in the
dog-days, when sitting in his boat, he saw it twice in the course of two
hours, and quite close to him. It came, indeed, to within six feet of
him, and, becoming alarmed, he commended his soul to God, and lay down
in the boat, only holding his head high enough to enable him to observe
the monster. It passed him, disappeared, and returned; but a breeze
springing up, it sank, and he saw it no more. He described it as being
about six fathoms (thirty-six _feet_) long, the body (which was as round
as a serpent’s) two feet across, the head as long as a ten-gallon cask,
the eyes round, red, sparkling, and about five inches in diameter; close
behind the head, a mane, like a fin, commenced along the neck, and
spread itself out on both sides, right and left, when swimming. The
mane, as well as the head, was of the colour of mahogany. The body was
quite smooth, its movements occasionally fast and slow. It was
serpent-like, and moved up and down. The few undulations which those
parts of the body and tail that were out of water made, were scarce a
fathom in length. His account was confirmed by several people of
position, a Surgeon, a Rector, and a Curate, being among those who had
seen a Sea-Serpent.
But an appearance of the Sea-Serpent, without doubt, is most
satisfactorily attested by the captain and officers of H.M.S. _Dædalus_.
The first notice of it was in the _Times_ of 10th October 1848, in which
was a paragraph, dated 7th October, from Plymouth:--
“When the _Dædalus_ frigate, Captain M‘Quhæ, which arrived here on the
4th inst., was on her passage home from the East Indies, between the
Cape of Good Hope and St. Helena, her captain, and most of her officers
and crew, at four o’clock one afternoon, saw a Sea-Serpent. The creature
was twenty minutes in sight of the frigate, and passed under her
quarter. Its head appeared about four feet out of the water, and there
was about sixty feet of its body in a straight line on the surface. It
is calculated that there must have been under water a length of thirty
or forty feet more, by which it propelled itself at the rate of fifteen
miles an hour. The diameter of the exposed part of the body was about
sixteen inches; and when it extended its jaws, which were full of large
jagged teeth, they seemed sufficiently capacious to admit of a tall man
standing upright between them. The ship was sailing north at the rate of
eight miles an hour. The _Dædalus_ left the Cape of Good Hope on the
30th of July, and reached St. Helena on the 16th of August.”
Captain M‘Quhæ sent the following letter to Admiral Sir W. H. Gage,
G.C.H., at Devonport:--
“HER MAJESTY’S SHIP _DÆDALUS_, HAMOAZE,
_Oct. 11, 1848_.
“SIR,--In reply to your letter of this day’s date, requiring
information as to the truth of a statement published in the Times
newspaper, of a Sea-Serpent of extraordinary dimensions having been
seen from Her Majesty’s Ship _Dædalus_, under my command, on her
passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you, for
the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at
five o’clock P.M., on the 6th of August last, in latitude 24° 44′ S.
and longitude 9° 22′ E., the weather dark and cloudy, wind fresh
from the N.W., with a long ocean swell from the S.W., the ship on
the port tack heading N.E. by N., something very unusual was seen by
Mr. Sartoris, midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before
the beam. The circumstance was immediately reported by him to the
officer of the watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drummond, with whom, and Mr.
William Barrett, the master, I was at the time walking the
quarter-deck. The ship’s company were at supper.
[Illustration]
“On 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 the length of what our
maintopsail-yard would show in the water, there was, at the very
least, sixty feet of the animal _à fleur d’eau_, no portion of which
was, to our perception, used in propelling it through the water,
either by vertical or horizontal undulation. It passed rapidly, but
so close under our lee quarter that, had it been a man of my
acquaintance, I should have easily recognised 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 S.W., 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 colour, 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
seaweed, washed about its back. It was seen by the quartermaster,
the boatswain’s mate, and the man at the wheel, in addition to
myself and officers above mentioned.
“I am having a drawing of the Serpent made from a sketch taken
immediately after it was seen, which I hope to have ready for
transmission to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty by
to-morrow’s post.--I have, &c.,
PETER M‘QUHÆ, CAPTAIN.”
Space will not allow me to chronicle all the other appearances of
Sea-Serpents from 1848 to the present time. Suffice it to say, they are
not very uncommon, and as for veracity, I will give another instance of
its being seen on board the Royal Yacht _Osborne_, on 2nd June 1877, off
Cape Vito, Sicily. Lieutenant Haynes made sketches, and wrote a
description, of it, which was confirmed by the Captain and several
officers. He wrote:--
“ROYAL YACHT _OSBORNE_, GIBRALTAR,
_June 6, 1877_.
“On the evening of that day (June 2), the sea being perfectly
smooth, my attention was first called by seeing a ridge of fins
above the surface of the water extending about thirty feet, and
varying from five to six feet in height. On inspecting it by means
of a telescope, at about one and a half cable’s distance, I
distinctly saw a head, two flappers, and about thirty feet of an
animal’s shoulder.
“The head, as nearly as I could judge, was about six feet thick, the
neck narrower, about four or five feet, the shoulder about fifteen
feet across, and the flappers each about fifteen feet in length. The
movements of the flappers were those of a turtle, and the animal
resembled a huge seal, the resemblance being strongest about the
back of the head. I could not see the length of the head, but from
its crown or top to just below the shoulder (where it became
immersed) I should reckon about fifty feet. The tail end I did not
see, being under water, unless the ridge of fins to which my
attention was first attracted, and which had disappeared by the time
I got a telescope, were really the continuation of the shoulder to
the end of the object’s body. The animal’s head was not always above
water, but was thrown upwards, remaining above for a few seconds at
a time, and then disappearing. There was an entire absence of
‘blowing’ or ‘spouting.’”