Gloucester, Massachusetts · 1817-08-28 · from the LINNAEAN archive
I, James Mansfield, of Gloucester, in the county of Essex, merchant, depose and say : That I saw a strange creature, of enormous length, resembling a serpent. I think this was on the fifteenth of August, A. D. 1817. I should say he was from forty to sixty feet in length, extended on the surface of the water, with his head above the water about a foot. He remained in. this position but a short time, and then started off very quick, with much greater velocity than I have seen him move with at any other time. I saw bunches on his back about a foot in f height, when he lay extended on the water. His colour appeared to me black, or very dark. It was a little before six o’ clock P. M. when I saw him. I should say, he moved a mile in five or six minutes. (J. How near the shore was the serpent ? A. About one hundred and eighty yards from the shore where I stood. Q. Were its sinuosities vertical, or horizontal ? A. Vertical. Q. What were the size and shape of its head } and had it ears, horns, or any other appendages ? 18 ■A. His head appeared to be about the size of the crown of a hat, at the distance from whence I saw him. The shape of his head I cannot describe, and I saw no ears, horns, or other appendages. I had no spy-glass, and cannot describe him so minutely as I otherwise could. I have seen him at other times, but my view of him was not so good, as on this day. JAMES MANSFIELD. Essex ss. August 27, 1817. Then James Mansfield made oath to the truth of the foregoing deposition by him subscribed. Before
I, Epes Ellery, of Gloucester, in the County of Essex, Ship master, depose and say; that on the 14th day of August, 1817, I saw a sea animal that I thought to be a serpent, in the harbour in…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
I, William H. Foster, of Gloucester, in the county of Essex, merchant, depose and say 1 That on the fourteenth day of August, A. D. 1817, I first saw an uncommon sea animal, that I believe t…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
I, William B. Pearson of Gloucester, in the County of Essex, merchant, depose and say: That I have, several times, seen a strange marine animal, that I believe to be a serpent, of great size…
the accounts read alike, found by meaning rather than by shared details
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This is a sworn deposition, given before a Justice of the Peace in August 1817 and published that year by the Linnaean Society of New England. The deponents were interrogated separately on the same twenty-five questions. The pamphlet is in the public domain and the text is verbatim from it, save for scanning artifacts.
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