Research source

SIR,--In reply to your letter of this day's date, requiring information as to the truth of a statement…

Date of account: Published 1886
Source: Mythical Monsters
Reference: Mythical Monsters · selected passage 158
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

SIR,--In reply to your letter of this day's date, requiring information as to the truth of a statement published in the Times newspaper, of a sea-serpent of extraordinary dimensions having been seen from Her Majesty's ship Dædalus, under my command, on her passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you…

Published source text

Read the available text below. Archive transcriptions may contain OCR errors; later context is labelled separately. A recorded claim is not a finding that it happened.

Source passage

Source text · mention only

SIR,--In reply to your letter of this day's date, requiring information as to the truth of a statement published in the _Times_ newspaper, of a sea-serpent of extraordinary dimensions having been seen from Her Majesty's ship _Dædalus_, under my command, on her passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at 5 o'clock P.M. on the 6th of August last, in latitude 24° 44' S. and longitude 9° 22' E., the weather dark and cloudy, wind fresh from the N.W., with a long ocean swell from the S.W., the ship on the port tack, heading N.E. by N., something very unusual was seen by Mr. Sartoris, midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before the beam. The circumstance was immediately reported by him to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drummond, with whom and Mr. William Barrett, the master, I was at the time walking the quarter-deck.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a historical compilation of unusual-animal reports and argument. Witness testimony, repetition between publications and the author's zoological assumptions all affect independence and reliability.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

Lattice compares morphology, behaviour and setting while keeping misidentification, folklore, exaggeration, error and known animals available as alternatives.

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