Curious Creatures in Zoology

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.

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.”

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.

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.

“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.’”

I think the verdict may be given that its existence, although belonging to “Curious Zoology,” is not impossible, and can hardly be branded as a falsehood.

Serpents

Of Serpents Topsell has written a “Historie,” which, if not altogether veracious, is very amusing; and I shall quote largely from it, as it shows us “the latest thing out” in Serpents as believed in, and taught, in the time of James I. He begins, of course, with their creation, and the Biblical mention of them, and then passes to the power of man over them in charming and taming them. Of the former he tells the following tale: —

“Aloisius Cadamustus, in his description of the New World, telleth an excellent hystorie of a Lygurian young Man, beeing among the Negroes travailing in Affrick, whereby he endeavoureth to proove, how ordinary and familiar it is to them, to take and charme Serpents.

“The young man beeing in Affricke among the Negroes, and lodged in the house of a Nephew to the Prince of Budoniell, when he was taking himselfe to his rest, suddenly awakened by hearing the unwonted noise of the hissing of innumerable sorts of Serpents; wherat he wondred, and beeing in some terror, he heard his Host (the Prince’s Nephew) to make himselfe readie to go out of the doores, (for he had called up his servants to sadle up his Cammels:) the young man demaunded of him the cause, why he would go out of doores now so late in the darke night? to whom he answered, I am to goe a little way, but I will returne againe verie speedily; and so he went, and with a charme quieted the Serpents, and drove them all away, returning againe with greater speed than the Lygurian young man, his ghest, expected. And when he had returned, he asked his ghest if hee did not heare the inmoderate hyssing of the Serpents? and he answered, that he had heard them to his great terrour. Then the Prince’s Nephew (who was called Bisboror) replyed, saying, they were Serpents which had beset the house, and would have destroyed all their Cattell and Heards, except hee had gone foorth to drive them away by a Charme, which was very common and ordinary in those parts, wherin were abundance of very hurtfull Serpents.

“The Lygurian young man, hearing him say so, marvailed above measure, and said, that this thing was so rare and miraculous, that scarcely Christians could beleeve it. The Negro thought it as strange that the young man should bee ignorant heereof, and therefore told him, that their Prince could worke more strange things by a Charme which he had, and that this, and such like, were small, vulgar, and not be counted miraculous. For, when he is to use any strong poyson upon present necessitie, to put any man to death, he putteth some venom uppon a sword, or other peece of Armour, and then making a large round Circle, by his Charme compelleth many Serpents to come within that circle, hee himselfe standing amongst them, and observing the most venomous of them all so assembled, which he thinketh to contain the strongest poyson, killeth him, and causeth the residue to depart away presentlie; then, out of the dead Serpent hee taketh the poyson, and mixeth it with the seede of a certaine vulgar Tree, and therewithall annoynteth his dart, arrow, or sword’s point, whereby is caused present death, if it give the bodie of a man but a very small wound, even to the breaking of the skinne, or drawing of the blood. And the saide Negro did earnestly perswade the young man to see an experiment hereof, promising him to shew all as he had related, but the Lygurian beeing more willing to heare such things told, than bolde to attempt the triall, told him that he was not willing to see any such experiment.

“And by this it appeareth, that all the Negroes are addicted to Incantations, which never have anie approbation from God, except against Serpents, which I cannot very easilie be brought to beleeve.”

Of the affection of some serpents for the human-kind he gives some examples: – “We reade also in Plutarch of certain Serpents, lovers of young virgins, and by name there was one that was in love with one Ætolia, a Virgin, who did accustome to come unto her in the night time, slyding gentlie all over her bodie, never harming her, but as one glad of such acquaintance, tarried with her in that dalliance till the morning, and them would depart away of his owne accorde: the which thing beeing made manifest unto the Guardians and Tutours of the Virgin, they removed her unto another Towne. The Serpent missing his Love, sought her uppe and downe three or four dayes, and at last mette her by chance, and then hee saluted her not as he was wont, with fawning, and gentle slyding, but fiercely assaulted her with grimme and austere countenance, flying to her hands, and binding them with the spire of his bodie, fast to her sides, did softly with his tayle beat her upon her backer parts. Whereby was collected, some token of his chastisement unto her, who had wronged such a Lover, with her wilfull absence and disappointment.

“It is also reported by Ælianus that Egemon in his verses, writeth of one Alena, a Thessalian who, feeding his Oxen in Thessaly, neere the Fountaine Hæmonius, there fell in love with him a Serpent of exceeding bignesse and quantitie, and the same would come unto him, and softly licke his face and golden haire, without dooing him any manner of hurt at all.”

He tells a few more “Snake stories,” and quotes from “a little Latine booke printed at Vienna, in the yeare of the Lorde 1551,” the following: – “There was (sayth mine Author) found in a mowe or rycke of corne, almost as many Snakes, Adders, and other Serpentes, as there were sheafes, so as no one sheafe could be removed, but there presently appeared a heape of ougly and fierce Serpents. The countrey men determined to set fire upon the Barne, and so attempted to doe, but in vaine, for the straw would take no fire, although they laboured with all their wit and pollicye, to burne them up; At last, there appeared unto them at the top of the heap a huge great Serpent, which, lifting up his head, spake with man’s voyce to the countrey men, saying: Cease to prosecute your devise, for you shall not be able to accomplish our burning, for wee were not bredde by Nature, neither came we hither of our own accord, but were sent by God to take vengeance on the sinnes of men.”

And some serpents were “very fine and large,” for he says: – “Gellius writeth, that when the Romanes were in the Carthaginian Warre, and Attilius Regulus the Consull had pitched his Tents neere unto the river Bragrada, there was a Serpent of monstrous quantitie, which had beene lodged within the compasse of the Tents, and therefore did cause to the whole Armie exceeding great calamitie, untill by casting of stones with slings, and many other devises, they oppressed and slew that Serpent, and afterward fleyed off the skinne and sent it to Rome; which was in length one hundred and twentie feete.

“And, although this seemeth to be a beast of unmatchable stature, yet Postdenius a Christian writer, relateth a storie of another which was much greater, for hee writeth that he saw a Serpent dead, of the length of an acre of Land, and all the residue both of head and bodie, were answerable in proportion, for the bulke of his bodie was so great, and lay so high, that two Horsemen could not see one the other, beeing at his two sides, and the widenes of his mouth was so great, that he could receive at one time, within the compasse thereof, a horse and a man on his backe both together: The scales of his coate or skinne, being every one like a large buckler or target. So that now, there is no such cause to wonder at the Serpent which is said to be killed by St. George, which was, as is reported, so great, that eight Oxen were but strength enough to drawe him out of the Cittie Silena…

“Among the Scyritæ, the Serpents come by great swarmes uppon their flocks of sheepe and cattell, and some they eate up all, others they kill, and sucke out the blood, and some part they carry away. But if ever there were anything beyond credite, it is the relation of Volateran in his twelfth booke of the New-found Lands, wherein he writeth, that there are Serpents of a mile long, which at one certaine time of the yeere come abroad out of the holes and dennes of habitation, and destroy both the Heards and Heard-men if they find them. Much more favourable are the Serpents of a Spanish Island, who doe no harme to any living thing, although they have huge bodies, and great strength to accomplish their desires.”

After this it will be refreshing to have one of Topsell’s own particular true stories: and this is “Of a true history done in England, in the house of a worshipfull Gentleman, upon a servant of his, whom I could name if it were needfull. He had a servant that grew very lame and feeble in his legges, and thinking that he could never be warme in his bed, did multiply his clothes, and covered himselfe more and more, but all in vaine, till at length he was not able to goe about, neither could any skill of Phisitian or Surgeon find out the cause.

“It hapned on a day as his Maister leaned at his Parlour window, he saw a great Snake to slide along the house side, and to creepe into the chamber of this lame man, then lying in his bedde, (as I remember,) for hee lay in a lowe chamber, directly against the Parlour window aforesaid. The Gentleman desirous to see the issue, and what the Snake would doe in the chamber, followed, and looked into the chamber by the window; where hee espied the snake to slide uppe into the bed-straw, by some way open in the bottome of the bedde, which was of old bordes. Straightway, his hart rising thereat, he called two or three of his servaunts, and told them what he had seene, bidding them goe take their Rapiers, and kill the said snake. The serving-men came first, and removed the lame man (as I remember) and then the one of them turned up the bed, and the other two the straw, their Maister standing without, at the hole, whereinto the said snake had entered into the chamber. The bedde was no sooner turned up, and the Rapier thrust into the straw, but there issued forth five or six great snakes that were lodged therein: Then the serving-men bestirring themselves, soone dispatched them, and cast them out of doores dead. Afterward, the lame man’s legges recovered, and became as strong as ever they were; whereby did evidentlie appeare, the coldnes of these snakes or Serpents, which came close to his legges everie night, did so benumme them, as he could not goe.”

Yet one more: —

“I cannot conceale a most memorable historie as ever was any in the world, of a fight betwixt the Serpents of the Land and the Water. This history is taken out of a Booke of Schilt-bergerus, a Bavarian, who knew the same, (as he writeth) while hee was a captive in Turky; his words are these. In the kingdome called Genyke, there is a Citty called Sampson, about which, while I was prisoner with Baiazeta King of Turkes, there pitched or arrived, an innumerable company of Land and Water Serpents, compassing the said Cittie, a mile about. The Land Serpents came out of the woods of Trienick, which are great and many, and the Water Serpents came out of the bordering Sea. These were nine dayes together assembling in that place, and for feare of them there was not any man that durst goe out of the Citty, although it was not observed that they hurt any man, or living creature there-abouts.

“Wherefore the Prince also commanded, that no man should trouble them, or doe them any harme, wisely judging, that such an accident came not but by Divine Miracle, and that also to signifie some notable event. Uppon the tenth day, these two valiant troupes joyned battell, early in the morning, before the sunne-rising, so continuing in fight untill the sunne-set, at which time the Prince, with some horsemen, went out of the Cittie to see the battell, and it appeared to him and his associates, that the Water Serpents gave place to the Land Serpents. So the Prince, and his company, returned into the Citty againe, and the next day went forth againe, but found not a Serpent alive, for there were slaine above eyght thousand: all which, he caused presently to be covered with earth in ditches, and afterwards declared the whole matter to Baiazeta by letters, after he had gotten that Cittie, whereat the great Turke rejoyced, for hee thereby interpreted happinesse to himselfe.”