THE SEA SERPENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16282, 15 July 1916, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE SEA SERPENT.

CAPTURE OFF MARSEILLES. It is rather early for the sea serpent, writes a Paris correspondent. Besides, the war takes one's mind off these sorts -of things. Marseilles is a long way from the front, although that does not prevent it from making a fortune out of the war! Summer reached Marseilles earlier than further west, and so—war or no war—Marseilles has already had a sea serpent. And as Marseilles never does anvthing like any other place, Marseilles did not content itself with seeing the sea serpent, but went out and caught it. The monster did not prove very formidable upon close acquaintance. Maybe the specimen captured was a lost child that had strayed from its mother's side. Anyway, it did not measure more than 12ft long, and, at the utmost, it was j only six inches thick.

It had a golly wog sort of head, adorned with innumerable feelers of a brilliant red. some 12in to 15in lonswhile running all along the top of the back was a flaming red dorsal fin that tapered off to the tip of the tail. Shooting out from the gills were a couple of streamers some 2ft to 3ft lon2 and puffed out rather at each end; they apparently served as a kind of fin also. The body of the fish was of a beautiful silver grey dotted with darker-hued spots and zebra-like stripes. The fisherman who captured it employed a lassoo, and got the noose well over 'the head ; but he was some hours he sav a in getting the serpent aboard.