Saw a Sea Serpent

The officers and crew of the schooner Edward Waite, of Portland, Me., which arrived at this port recently, are positive that they fell in with a genuine sea serpent on the voyage from Cardenas [Cuba] to this city with a cargo of sugar. The vessel was yesterday docked at South street wharf, and the bronzed-faced mate, William Page, who has been a sailor for thirty years, told the story of the remarkable adventure in a straightforward manner:

“Our voyage,” said he, “from Cardenas to Cape Hatteras was uneventful. We passed that point and were more than half way to Cape Henry when we sighted a strange disturbance in the ocean. It was my watch and there were several men on deck at the time. We thought at first that it was a whale, but as it did not ‘blow’ we concluded it was a shark, although some of the men who were watching it said it was too large for a shark. The thing, whatever it was, came nearer and nearer, as if charging for the vessel, and we began to get a little excited. We noticed, also, as it came within a reasonable distance, that the thing’s head was out of water.

It came nearer and nearer, leaving a long, wide wake behind it, and stirring up the water into foam like the paddles of a river steamer. It passed the schooner within less than 250 yards and we had a full view. We were so much interested that I forgot to call the captain, who was below asleep, but all of the watch saw the thing as plainly as I can see the schooner there in the next dock. It was a sea serpent and no mistake. We could only measure its size by the line in the water, but I should say it was fully ninety feet long, with a head as large and something like a horse’s head. The most remarkable thing about it was the color and size of its eyes. They were of a bright saffron hue and half as large as a man’s hand. It held its head above water all the time we saw it, which was about half an hour, when it passed out of sight in a southerly direction. We were at the time in latitude 35, 40, and it was a clear day. We could not have been mistaken.” — Philadelphia Record.Plattsburgh [New York] Sentinel, May 30, 1884

Thanks to

Jerome Clark.