Research source

The Australian Sketcher for November 24, 1877, states: "Captain W

Date of account: Published 1886
Source: Mythical Monsters
Reference: Mythical Monsters · selected passage 165
Rights: public_domain
Language: English
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

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

The _Australian Sketcher_ for November 24, 1877, states: "Captain W. H. Nelson, of the American ship _Sacramento_, which arrived in this port from New York on October 20, reported that he saw the sea-serpent on his voyage. The _Argus_ paragraph on the subject stated: 'The date on which the creature was seen was on July 30, the ship then being in lat. 31° 59' N. and long. 37° W. The man at the wheel was the first to observe the monster, and he at once called Captain Nelson, telling him what he saw; but the latter, having the same feeling of incredulity with regard to the sea-serpent as most other people, did not hurry from below. On coming on deck, however, he was rewarded with a distant glimpse of the supposed sea-serpent, which the helmsman, for his part, declared he saw quite plainly. Some forty feet of the monster was alleged to be observable. It appeared to be about the size of a flour-barrel in girth, and its colour was yellowish; the head is described as being flat. The eyes were plainly visible. Captain Nelson is convinced that what he saw was some extraordinary marine monster.' We have obtained from John Hart, the man at the wheel, a pencil sketch of the creature, of which we give an engraving.

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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