“‘On our attention being called to the object, it was discovered to be an enormous serpent, with head and neck 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 main-topsail yard would show in the water, there was, at the very least, 60 feet of the animal, _à fleur d’eau_ (flush with the surface of the water), 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 easily have 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 SW, which it held on at the pace of from 12 to 15 miles per hour, apparently on some determined purpose. “‘The diameter of the serpent was about 15 or 16 inches behind the head, which was, without any doubt, that of a snake, and it was never, during the twenty minutes that it remained 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 more like the mane of a horse, or rather, a bunch of seaweed, washing 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.’ [Illustration: SEA-SERPENT SWALLOWING SAILORS. From the records of the Swedish bishop-explorer, Olaus Magnus.] [Illustration: _Courtesy of Illustrated London News._ THE MOST AUTHENTIC SEA-SERPENT. This drawing was made on the British man-o’-war _Daedalus_, and the captain and officers, men of high naval rank and standing, signed an official statement that the creature closely resembled this drawing, made at the time. The monster was observed for more than twenty minutes and came close to the vessel. Science has never been able to explain this sea-serpent, and it is still one of the mysteries of the ocean. ] “‘PETER M’QUHAE, Capt.’” “What on earth can that have been?” queried Perry, in surprise. “It sounds almost real, somehow!”