sea serpent sighting report 1887

A sighting from 1887:

THE LAMAR NEWS

E. J. MCNATT, Editor and Proprietor    VERNON, ALABAMA, APRIL 21, 1887       

VOL. IV. NO. 25

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 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 Cardenia 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 shark, 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 along, wide wake behind it, and stirring 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 passé dour 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]

source: The Alabama Department of Archives and History