Off we go on cases #65-74, I think. Although initially looking like all the other clips we've been going through, these were sadly bereft of details for the most part. So, this is not exactly our best SITUational haul here. But that's life in this business, and we'll log the shallow things, too.
Case#65: Georges Bank, Newfoundland, 1826. This case actually could be a great one "if". The "if" is because there was the claim that there were many witnesses on board this passenger ship, many testimonials were taken, AND a drawing was made. None of that came with the story, unfortunately. All that was said was that a "sea serpent" was seen and that 60' of its length could be observed out of the water [ therefore intimating that the thing was longer].
#66: Machrihanish, Scotland, 1944. Another carcass, and none too impressive. >20' long with enormous eyes. Feet unlike a seal's or anything like a whale. Speculated to have been killed by War maneuvers.
#67: Brockton, MA, 1964. A "sea monster" was seen having a raised head and humps on its back.
#68: Alexandra Bay, Newfoundland, 1860s. A man was sailing to his home, saw a "sea serpent" and got so scared that he turned back.
#69: Eastern coast between NYC and Portland, ME, 1912 or 1913. An animal with a huge eel-like body, raised its head 20' out of water, and turned slowly as if surveying the surroundings. The neck had a diameter similar to a barrel.
#70: Seal Rock, OR, probably early 1940s. Carcass. Eighteen feet long. Eight foot long neck. Small head. Four flippers. Short light-brown hair.
#71: Sunset Beach, north of Vancouver, BC, 1937. Fishermen had very "close encounter" [25' away]. Had a large head shaped like a long-nosed pig, but wider built. Huge body and two large flippers seen. Later in day, others claimed to see [at greater distance] a "sea serpent" with a body 50-60' long and a head like a camel's. Diameter of body said to be "barrel-sized". At other times others claimed to have seen a "sea serpent" about 100' long.
#72: South Pacific [position undisclosed], 1852. A whaling vessel encountered something that captain and crew did not recognize as being any sort of whale. It was black, serpentine and moved with a snake-like motion. After some debate, they decided to chase the thing as they would a whale, harpooning it and killing it. It was 103' long. with a 6' diameter neck, widening to 8' at "shoulders". The body was about 16' at its broadest. The tail diminished to a point. The head was flat-topped and elongated. Its tongue was tipped with a "heart-shape". It had 94 teeth. Two spout holes, and four webbed paws. The back was black, the sides brown, and the belly yellow. They dismembered the thing as they would a Whale, but decided not to try to bring any of the bulk of it home. [I believe that some accident also occurred which flushed the evidence]. Oh well, such is Cryptozoology.
#73: New Bedford, MA, 1964. An animal 50' long was seen just 50-100' off starboard. Water was "Flat and calm as a mill pond". The head was shaped alligator-ish, with lumps all along its midline, like camel humps. Head was also huge, about 20' long. The thing had a blow-hole, but was without a discernible neck. Body was dark but with white spotting. Its tail was like a lobster's and it flapped it upon the water. It paralleled the boat for some time and seemed "friendly". [Hey boys, come on in; the water's fine...].
#74: New Bedford, MA, 1957. A creature with a very large body [of which 40' could be seen out of the water], was estimated at weighing 35-40 tons. It had a seal-like shaped body but a long neck which held its head 26' out of the water. The head was "alligator-ish". It sported a mane of bristly hair.
That's it for this bunch. There are several more notebook pages but the repetition is getting thick. We may make 100 yet. Till next time....
#66: In October 1944 a white "furry beast" more than 20 feet long with enourmous eyes and feet resembling neither whale nor seal washed up in Machrihanish. Tentatively it was believed to be an outsized polar bear or the Great Sea Serpent. But then Dr. A. C. Stephens of the natural history department of the Royal Scottish Museum questioned a government official on the spof and decided that it was only a basking shark carcass. This happend more than once in Scotland for example in Stronsay, Deepdale Holm, Hunda and Girvan and according to Dr. Stephens also in Machrihanish. Unfortunately no picture is known (maybe due to wartime reasons and military restrictions).
ReplyDeleteMy late mother saw the monster washed up on the beach at Machrihanish, as a child. She recalled the scene vividly and utterly rubbished the claims made that it was a decomposed Basking Shark. She remembered that the creature had a skin akin to that of a cow and a head shaped like that of an incredibly large horse. In later years she showed me the spot where the animal was found and the extent of the remains by the area they covered- no way could an animal this large have been a shark of any description!
Deletethat is really amazing so basically it was the loch ness really cool
DeleteThank you. Tell us what you're citing when you can on these things. I assume that it's a better newsclipping on this one.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous (1944) Scots see sea monster.
ReplyDeleteIn: The New York Times, 03. October 1944
Anonymous (1944) Sea monster was a basking shark.
In: The Argus, 10. October 1944
This is one of three furred sea monsters btw ("Trunko", the "Son of Trunko" and #66) for which no further details were given in "In the wake of Sea-Serpents" (pages 570, 571). All three of them proofed now to be nothing more than whale and basking shark carcasses.
great information; thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi professor,
ReplyDeleteReport #72 is actually a version of the Monongahela Sea Serpent story. Several versions of the story have been published, but none match the original. While Heuvelmans counts the story as a hoax in 'In the Wake of the Sea-Serpents', there's actually good reason to think it was true. There is a very good website which has the full, real story sorted out. Here's the address: http://www.tomlytle.com/index.htm
Incidentally, the description of the captured animal matches well with a large mosasaur, making it both identical to Bernard Heuvelmans' Marine Saurian and to Dale Drinnon's Sea Serpent nicknamed "Shuker's Leviathan" after Karl Shuker.
Best regards,
Tyler Stone
cryptoanimals.blogspot.com
Your information is most welcome. Thank you. Wouldn't it be fine if there was a truly open, collegial, pleasant clearinghouse for all information on anomalous incidents, and we all knew about it, participated gently, and learned what there was to be learned.
ReplyDelete