THE SEA SERPENT.

Grey River Argus, Volume 57, Issue 10520, 21 January 1903, Page 4

THE SEA SERPENT.

The Log of an Officer.

The London Baily Mail has rec -ived | the following from Mr A II Raymer, second officer of the steamship Fort Salisbury (Bucknall Line), which arrived at Plymouth from the Cape : — Extract from the log of the second officer of the s.s. Fort Salisbury : — October 28th, 3 5 a.m.— Dark object, with long luminous trailing wake, thrown in relief by a phosphorescent sea, seen ahead a little on starboard bow. Look-out reported two masfcl.pad lights ahead. These two lights, almost as bright as a steamer's lights, appeared to shine from two points in line of the upper surface of the dark mas.. Concluded dark mass was a whale and lights phosphorescent. On drawing nearer dark mass and lights sank heio w the surface. Prepared to examine the wake in passing with binoculars. Passed about 40 to 50 yards on port side of wake, and discovered ifc was the scaled back of some huge monster slowly disappearing [ below the surface. Darkness of lho night prevented determining i_3 exact nature, but scales of apparently one foot, in diameter* and dotted in places with barnacle growth were plain Indiscernible. The breadth o. the body showing aoove water tapered from about 30 feet close ab- f t where the dark mass had appeared, to about five feet at the extreme end visible. Length roundly about 500 feefc to GOO feet Concluded that the dark mass first seen must have been the creature's head. The swirl caused by the monster's progress could be distinctly heard, and a strong odour like that of a low-tide beach on a summer day pervaded the air. Twice along its length the disturbance of the water and a broad ening of the surrounding belt of phosphorus indicated the presence of huge fins in motion below the surface. The wet, shiny back of the monster was dotted with twinkling phosphorescent lights, and was encirc'.ed with a band of white phosphorescent sea. Such are the bare facts of the passing of the sea serpent in latitude sdeg 31min S., longitude 4deg. 42_nin. W., as seen by myself, being officer of the watch, and by the helmsman and lookout man.— A II Raymer, second officer. MrS G Stephens (master of the Fort Salisburj*) writes ih reference to Mr .Raymer 's narrative : — "I can only say that he is very earnest on the subject, and certainly has, together with look-oub and helmsman, seen something in the water of a hugo nature as specified."

Tho Minister ol Railways, who returned from the South will probably remain in Wellington until the end of the month. The other members of the Government now in Wellington are the Ministers for Education, Justice, aud Lands. The Rev 1° AY Isitfc has just returned from a month's visit to the South Island. Tbe Secretary of the Alliance wenfc right down to Invercargill, visiting about a dozen centres. He found Temperance workers full of i enthusiam and hepe. | A private cable message h _s been received announcing the marriage in London of Captain Madocks of the Royal Artillery (formerly staff officer to Colonel Pent on when commandant of the New Zealand forces) to Miss Buller, only daughter of Sir Walter Buller. After returning to Wellington from South Africa, where he distinguished himself at New Zealand Hill I as an officer of fche First Contingent, | Major Madocks rejoined his batte.y jin England. He his just beeu proI moted to the rank of stall' captain at j York. [ |.|The Maori, at Whatarangi (East i Coast) are now making great hauls of i fish, the reason being that the crayi fish are now casting their shells, and j are besieged by all sorts aud sizes of j other fish. Porpoises and cow fish are i also reported to be in great abundance. I During his stay in England, the Premier arranged for the purchase of two blood horses for breeding purposes in the coWy, and it is understood that they are now on their way out. Mr Colvin, M.H.R., has received fche Premier's assurances that he will push on the works at the Seddon ville Colliery and the lleefton-Westport railway. Mr Seddon anticipates that fche State mine should be putting out coal within nine months.