SPEC
CTION FOR HOR
SEA MONSTER
THE Admiral dropped the report back into
like this document had ever come into the
Admiralty before. A Royal Navy captain, the commanding officer of a warship, had reported seeing a sea serpent!
The report came from Cap- tain Peter M'Quhae of the fri- gate Daedalus. It was October 1848 and the ship had just.ber- thed at Plymouth after a voyage from the East Indies.
The captain's story was clear and positive. It had happened on the afternoon of Sunday, August 6 between the Cape of Good Hope and St Helena when the ship was some 300 miles off the African coast.
Sartoris
It was a cloudy day, there was a swell on the sea and most of the crew were below decks.
The captain was on the quar- terdeck with the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drum- mond and the navigating officer, William Barrett.
Then it happened. A young midshipman named Sartoris had
The 17-21
Club's
five rules
Membership in the 17-21
Was it real? asks – Henry Lewis
Was the monster
[
rushed up to announce: "There's an unidentified creature to star- board, sir."
a large seal?
snake, and it was never, during the 20 minutes that it continued in sight of our glasses, once be- low the surface of the water. unhurriedly to that side of the with yellowish white about the The three officers had walked Its colour was a dark brown ship and seen the serpent.... throat. It had no ins but some a great beast 60ft. long travel- thing like the mane of a horse." ling at 12 to 15 miles an hour.
The captain's
Capt M'Quhae added: "It was official report seen by the quartermaster, the described it as "an enormous boatswain's mate and the man serpent, the head and shoulders at the wheel in addition to about four feet constantly above myself and the officers above the surface of the sea and, as mentioned." : nearly as we could approxi- mate by comparing it with the length our main topsail yard would show in the water, there was at least 60ft. of the animal, no portion of which was to our perception used for propelling it through the water, either by vertical or horizontal undula- tion."...
Confirmation
were
They stared amazed at the monster.
credited the serpent with huge seals that can grow up to 30ft teeth.
long. He admitted that it was unusually far north for a seal Another rating was quoted as but suggested that it had drifted intended to attack the ship and melted before the excunter with saying, "I thought the monster north on an iceberg which hed was so frightened I fainted."
the Daedalus.
Then Lieutenant Drummond
This stung Capt M'Quiae to came to his captain's support. reply publicly. "Neither was it a Extracts from his diary were common seal nor a sea elephant, published in the magazine Zoo- its great length and its total logist. They confirmed every physiognomy (looks) preclud thing Capt M'Quhae had said ing the possibility of its bang and added. "Its head which, a phoco' of any species. with the back; fin, was the only portion of the animal visible,
was long, pointed and flattened Trick of light?
similar."
at the top, perhaps 10ft. in length. It had no scales. It the idea of a gave one quite That made seven responsible farge snake or eel. No one in men who had seen the serpent, the ship has ever seen anything
While the Admiralty wondering what to do about the report, nothing like which had ever reached them before, a newspaper reporter picked up the story. It appeared in The The report went on: "It passed Times and caused a sensation rapidly, but so close under our throughout the country. lee quarter that had it been a man of my acquaintance I should
Those who believed in sea easily have recognised his fea serpents saw this as confirma-
Rapidly
Not
"It was pronounced to be a sea serpent by all who saw it. I deny the existence of excite- ment or the possibility of optical illusions. I adhere to the state- ments as to the form, colour and ·
official report to the Admiralty."
And there the mystery' re- mains to this day.
enough time dimensions contained my
The Illustrated London News published sketches of the mons- ter drawn from Capt MQuhae's description.
+
Was it an unusual species of shark? Was it ≈ seal? One would
take.
tures with the naked eye, and it tion of their beliefs. Those who Now controversy raged. What hardly expect such experienced did not, either the ship or after it had passed thought it was either a strange it was asked, hadn't the captain
in approaching did mot believe in sea serpents had the Navy men seen? Why, mariners to make such a nic Club is open to all our wake deviate in the slightest hoax or that the captain had put about and chased the mons- Could it have been a trick of within that age group.
degree from its course to the gone mad.
ter or tried to kill it? Naval the light, a sea-mirage? Could south-west which it held on at
experts pointed out that the crew it have been a piece of witck- the pace
But next day Capt M'Quhae were not at action stations and. age? Could it have been: a of about 12 or 15
followed up his report to the at the speed the monster was strange formation of seaweed apparently on Admiralty with a drawing bear- travelling, the captain did not
or plant life? *ing out his description.
have time to do anything.
Or did the men of the Dae- Newspapermen flocked to Ply- Zoologists rushed to give their dalus see a real Mane like a horse mouth but Capt
sea-serpent, Quhae re- opinions. Sir Richard Oren, perhaps a throw-back to some fused to talk with them. How one of the most Emous of them, prehistoric monster? ever, the reporters were given went on -record as saying that
Contributions and all oc- miles an hour, tivities of the Club will be limited to members only.
some determined purpose.
• Contributions may consist
of anything that
publishable articles, "The diameter of the sea ser- stories by members of the crew the beast must have been a sea- Like the mystery of the Loch letters, stories, photo-pent was about 15 or 15 inches which, whether true or not, were elephant, known to scientists as Ness monster to which, perhaps
behind the head which was, even more dramatic than the Anson's graphs, drawings, verses, without any
or phoco- it was related, it may never be. doubt, that of a captain's version. One story proboscida.” These are great solved.
But only the best will
be printed.
All contributions MUST
be original.
Written contributions į should not consist of more than 350 words, photographs and draw- ings will only be accept- ed in black-and-whits.
sea
lion
Today's world-Sun doesn't burn up
THE SUN
MEMBERSHIP
Fill this in and send it to the China Mail, 1-3 Wyndham Street, Hongkong.
Name
Age Occupation Address
PHOTOS OF THE EDGE OF THE SUN, TAKEN DURING AN ECLIPSE, SHOW FIERCE FLAMES LEAPING FROM ITS SURFACE.
THE MYSTERY OF THE FLAMING SUN HAS BEEN WHY `IT HASN'T BURNED UP COMPLETELY IN ITS 500 MILLION YEARS” ́OF EXISTENCE. NOW WE THINK THE MYSTERY IS SOLVED...
IT IS LIKELY THAT THE SUN GENERATES ENERSY BYA PROCESS KNOWN AS THE HYDROGEN CHAIN (LIKE A SLOW, CONTROLLED HYDROSEN BOMB) AND NUCLEAR FUSION.
EVERY SECOND, THE SUN CONVERTS SIX MILLION TONS OF - MATTER INTO PURE ENERGY.
THE EARTH RECEIVES ITS SHARE OF THIS ENERGY AT THE RATE OF FIVE MILLION HORSEPOWER FER SQUARE MILE :
THIS IS THE SIZE OF EARTH COMPARED TO OUR SUN DRAWING. IF THE SUN WERE. SOLLOW, AMILLION EARTHS WOULD FIT INSIDE IT ! :
STEAD
ALLOUR LIGHT, HEAT, FOOD AND POWER COME FROM THE SUN'S ENERGY→ DIRECTLY OR FARDUGH FOSSH FUELS, WATER POWER AND GROWINŠTRINGS="
BILARTER