Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 January 1877 — A Wonder of the Deep-A Marine Frog Fifty Feet Long. [ARTICLE]

A Wonder of the Deep-A Marine Frog Fifty Feet Long.

In tne month of October last the British steamship Nestor arrived at Shanghai from the Straits qf Malacca. : Shortly alter the anchoring of the vessel at Shagh&i, Jdhn K. Webster, the master, and James Anderson, the ship's surgeon, appeared before Mr. Donald Spence, acting law secretary in her Britannic Majesty’s Snprepie Court, end made affidavit to the following marvelous statement of facts: We, John Keller Webster, of Liverpool, and James Anderson, surgeon, of Liverpool, do solemnly and sincerely declare as follows : And, first, I, the sold John Keller Webster, in command of the steamship Nestor, do deelar.e that on Monday, the 11th day of September, at 10:30 a. m., fifteen miles northwest of North Sand light-house, in the Malacca Straits, the weather being fine and the sen smooth, the air also perfectly clear, 1 saw a little forward of the beam, on the starboard side, about 200 yards distant from the ship, an object firet pointed out to me by my third officer, who remaraed- “Thore is a shoal.” Surprised at finding a shoal in such a well-known track, I watched the object and found it was in movement, keeping up the same speed with the ship and retaining about the same distance as first seen. The speed of the ship was nine and three-quarters knots, ana the object was moving parallel with us daring six minutes. Just after I observed it the Chinese deck-passengers discovered it, and raised a great outcry, and about the same moment it was descried by three saloon passengers and the surgeon The shapa'of the creature, for that ft was alive there is no dpubt, I would compare to that of a gigantic frog. Referring to the 'head and body, as far as they were apparent above the water, the head, of a pale, yellowish color, was about twelve feet in length, and six feet of the crown was above the water; occasionally the head subsided until only a foot or a foot and a half remained above the water. I tried in vein to make oat the eyes and month; the mouth, however, may have been below water. The head was immediately connected with the body, without any Indication of a nock. The body was about forty-five or fifty feet in length, and of an oval shape, perfectly smooth, but there may have been a slight ridge along the spine. The back rose some five feet above the surface. An immense tail, fully ISO feet in length, rose a few inches above the water. This tail I saw distinctly from its junction with the body to its extremity; it seemed cylindrical, with a very slight taper, and I estimated its diameter at four feet. The body and tail were marked with alternate bands of stripes, black and pale yellow in color. 'Th(s stripes were distinct to the very extremity pf the tail. ; I cannot say whether the tail terminated in a fin or not. I examined, it carefully at the above-men-tifmed distance, but could not satisfy myseif how the tail terminated. The creature possessed no fins or paddles as far as we could perceive, never having seen any I>art of its belly. I cannot say if it had egs. It is very possible that the creature was mtlch broader and more massive than the dimensions above given, for the greater pan of it was evidently under water, ana we never caught a glimpse of any but the extreme upper parts. It appeared to me to progress by means of an undulatory motion of the tail in a vertical plane. The tail seemed to have an independent motion; that is to say, a quicker and a different one from the body. - The head yvould gise slowly and the body become simultaneously lower, and vice vena. Thp undulations es the tail were brisker and very distinct, and 1 closely watched them through good nigsSea; I had for some moments pie Idea of running the creature down, but 1 shortly dismissed the intention on account of the danger of breaking the screw blades. The creature showed no Sign of tear. I cannot even say it it was conscious of our presence. It finally dropped under our stern and passed over to the port side, somewhat slackening its Speed. Some time afterward, however, it increased its pace, and when last seen was on our port beam, at about one and one-balf !to two miles distance. The creature formed a distinct wake, and Afeemed to exude an oHy matter as be moved. And, secondly, I, the said James Anderson, do solemnly and sincerely declare aS follows, namely: That the shape knd color of as much as was distinguishable of the creature bore an almost exact resemblance to the upper part of a salamander; the stripes, however, were rather moire definite, yellow (the peculiar yellow of a salamander) alternating with black. There were eight to ten sfripes on the back. I almost immediately said, “.It .is an enormous salamander,” and the more 1 examined it the more I was satisfied of the resemblance. The back was much higher, some eight or’tfn feet at times, than the head and standing ,on the deck, and from my position I could not form any Aflinion of its’'mode of progression. It was apparently of a gelatinous (i. flabby! substance. .Though keeping up with us, its movements seemed lethargic. I saw no eyes or fins, and am certain mat thecreature did not blow or spout in the manner of a whale. I should not for a Unoffient compare it to a snake. The only | creatures it could he,compared, with are fyitie nawt or frog tribe. . ■ ■HW •U ■ rinMfi : , less than *#,000,000 pet-sobs visited ‘AifcfWkl feting* lit America during the past summer, and the property used for these purposes was worth $6,000,000.