The sea serpent vs. Captain Rich, 1818
Commercial interest in the sea serpent took some interesting turns in 1818, with one canny entrepeneur taking in a few landlubbers.
“Scale of the Sea Serpent.” The Idiot [Boston, Massachusetts] 25 July 1818 [Saturday]; p. 3.
A person was detected a short time since in exhibiting to the credulous inhabitants of the interior parts of Vermont, the shell of a Horse Shoe, (a species of shell-fish so termed) for a scale of the famous Sea Serpent!
But by late summer 1818, when Captain Richard Rich and his crew had pursued the sea serpent for weeks, despair was overcoming observers.
The Sea-Serpent still plagues us. From the New York Gazette; Salem Gazette 21 August 1818 [Friday]; p. 3.
The Sea-Serpent still plagues us—Every Eastern paper presents the mouth of the monster—wide open—our nerves are really affected—Really!
But Captain Rich pressed on:
“The Sea Serpent Harpooned.” Columbian Centinel [Boston, Massachusetts] 22 August 1818 [Saturday]; p. 2.
The following advices from the expedition fitted out to take the “Sea Serpent,” were received yesterday from an authentic source:—
“Gloucester, Aug. 20. As I thought it would be interesting to you to hear from Rich, I will give some particulars of his cruise. On Monday he sailed from hence with a large boat, and two whale boats well manned; my brother was Captain of one of them, and Captain Rich of the other. Yesterday they met the Serpent off Squam, and chased him about seven hours, when they closed with him, and he passed directly under the bow of Capt. Rich’s boat.—He immediately threw a harpoon into him about two fee;—he run the boat a considerable distance, but went with such velocity that he broke the part of the boat through which the rope passed, and drew the harpoon out immediately. He has no scales on him, nor no bunches on his back; but his skin is smoothe, [sic] and looks similar to an eel. In the attack Capt. Riche had one of his hands wounded severely by the rope. These particulars I have just received in a letter from my brother.”
The following is Capt. Rich’s report of his proceedings:—
“Squam River, Thursday, 12 o’clock.
“After several unsuccessful attempts, we have at length fastened to this strange thing called the Serpent. We struck him fairly, but the harpoon soon drawed, and he has not been seen since; and I fear the wound he has received will make him more cautious how he approaches these shores. Since my letter of yesterday we have been constantly in pursuit of him; but a few hours since I thought we weere sure of him; for I hove the harpoon into him as fairly as ever a whale was struck; he took from us about twenty fathom of warp before we could wind the boat, with as much swiftness as a whale could do. We had but a short ride, when we were all loose from him, to our sore mortification. Now I suppose you will like to know my opinion of him. Be assured it is what is called the Serpent. In that opinion all my Cape-Ann men agree. It is the same that was in Cape-Ann harbour.—Be assured all has been done, and we shall still continue to do, all in our power; but he is a difficult thing to strike with a harpoon, as he can lay down as long as he pleases, and seldom shows himself, except in a calm.”
—
Extraordinary.—It will be recollected, that on Thursday Capt. Cook, of the Cordelia, just returned from a whaling voyage, advertised to undertake an expedition against the Sea-Snake.—Not deeming the offers made him sufficient, he yesterday set sail for Cape-Cod, and off Spectacle island, (not four miles from town) he saw an object, which he took to be the Serpent; attacked it, and found it to be a large whale, which he captured and brought to town. An animal of this size has never before been known in our harbour.
It wasn’t long, however, before Captain Rich had his success, capturing the elusive beast on September 3.
“The Sea Serpent—Taken!” Boston Daily Advertiser [Boston, Massachusetts] 4 September 1818 [Friday]; p. 2.
We last evening conversed with Mr. Dresser, who came express from Wigwam Point, Squam Parish, Gloucester, with the gratifying intelligence from Capt. Richard Rich, and his enterprising company, of the capture of the Sea Serpent. He was taken about 11 o’clock yesterday, in Ipswich Bay, after running a boat from which he was harpooned some distance, and was hauled up on Coffin’s Beach. He was soon after put afloat, and made fast to a sloop, to be conveyed to Boston, and is now probably on his way to this harbour.
Our informant having heard at Gloucester harbour, the Serpent was taken, proceeded immediately to Squam, to ascertain the truth of the report. When he arrived, the Serpent was secured to a sloop, where he saw him lying in the water, a little distance from the shore, and saw on shore Messrs. Wm. B. Pearson, Israel Trask, jr. of Gloucester, and Mr. Hopkins of Boston, all young men attached to the expedition, and Mr. Day who tends the Light on Wigwam Point. They all requested Mr. Dresser to use no delay in proceeding to Boston to inform Capt. B. Rich, and told him that if he proceeded on board, which he had some thoughts of doing, it would cause too much delay. He complied with their request, and arrived in town about 7 o’clock, last evening.
He says he was represented to be about 120 to 130 feet long—that he could not form any opinion as to his bunches as he lay in the water—and that the young gentlemen above mentioned all declared that he was the “real Sea Serpent.”
We understand he will not be brought up to town at present—two boats were last evening sent off to meet him, and order them to keep him below for the present.
One of the young men, whom our informant saw, had his hands considerably blistered by the rope, which passed through them. We did not hear that any further injury was sustained by any of the crew.
Capt. B. Rich’s crew, we understand, shipped for one month, at sixteen dollars per month, and $500 bounty each if the Serpent was taken. They have been two or three weeks on the cruise.
Two small whale boats were employed, besides a large pilot boat, on board of which the company lived. The whale boats were paddled, on account of the noise caused by rowing.
Several sharks have been encountered during the cruise, but none taken.
The distance from Boston to Squam, is about 33 miles by land, but by water round Cape Ann, is 40 or 50.
Reprinting the above, the Portsmouth Oracle added a poem by “Jonathan.” The “Southerners” referred to are likely to be anybody south of New England, as the Essex Register [Salem, Massachusetts] noted in the introduction to a later piece.
In spite of Southern jeers and jokes, by “Jonathan” The Portsmouth Oracle [Portsmouth, New Hampshire] 5 September 1818 [Saturday]; p. 2.
In spite of Southern jeers and jokes,
We’ve caught the old Sea-Sarpent;
And now those wise prophetic folks
Another tune must harp on’t.
It’s not unlikely, they will now
(Intending to be civil)
Swear that these Yankees will somehow
Contrive to catch the … Devil.
And well for them should it be so,
Though bravely they may jeer him;
Our pious Yankees fully know
Who have most cause to fear him.
JONATHAN.
And, the Oracle then pointed out, triumph was theirs!
We learn by Mr. Mendum. The Portsmouth Oracle [Portsmouth, New Hampshire] 5 September 1818 [Saturday]; p. 2.
We learn by Mr. Mendum that the great LEVIATHAN was yesterday triumphantly carried into Boston by his gallant captors.
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