THE MONSTER OF THE SEA Monster of the sea - Mysterious giants of the abysses 10 October of the 1848 Londoner "Times" brought back the following news: "it has been known that when the Daedalus frigate del captain M' Quhae, reached in port the 4 current, has come to find nel passage of sea delle Indian Orients them between the Head of Good Speranza and Sant' Elena, round alle four del afternoon, the captain, some officials, and leave dell' crew, have sighted a snake of sea". The short article had triggered a true one and own letter rain of sedicenti men of sea that, indigna you, asserted that a serious daily paper would not have never had to bring back similar "baggianate' '. Opposite and totally various it had been instead the answer of people, of the common readers, that they were remained fascinates to you from the fact, frattanto immediately bounced also on other heads. In a rush the Admiralty had indetto a press conference to the aim to see to us clear and had endured arranged an inquiry. Before what had been obviously that one to feel the main witness, the captain Peter M' Quhae, in order to see to clear the history. Between the obvious embarrassment of admiral Sir W.Gage, to which it had been entrusted the responsibility of the assessments, the captain had replied that, in spite of some insignificant inaccuracy, the story appeared on the newspaper not discostava from that it had been the truth: they had indeed seen a monster marine. The fact had been recorded in the per diem one of edge and sin from endured it had been settled down to render the sight to means of spread of the news famous. Here, in synthesis, as the things had gone. Towards the five of 6 August 1848, while the Daedalus found between the Cape of Good Hope and the island of Sant' Elena, an ensign had marked to prow one disowned marine creature to accompany the ship for a sure feature. The greater part of the crew was having supper in blanket. On the bridge there were only seven persons, between which the captain, the official of quarter and that one of route. All had had way to observe what captain M' Quhae had defined a "enormous snake" - not less 30 m than length - that he swam in parallel with the frigate, in unaware of appearance of its vicinity. According to the captain, the being travelled to a speed comprised between 12 and 15 miles hour and was remained in their beam of observation in order not less than twenty minuteren. Even if the afternoon was piovigginoso and a po' uggioso, the atmosphere was sufficiently tersa for being able to see with clarity, to the point that in the course of the testimony had emphasized: "it had been be a matter of someone of my acquaintance, I would not have had hesitation to recognize it by rough estimate knot calmly". The monster had a head wide and large coil, supported from a neck of a group of forty of centimeters, with a body that snodava in approximately 18 m of hunchback coils that increspavano the surface of the water. The color, uniform, were dark brown, made exception for the part under the throat that was of a yellowish white man. Being to M' Quhae the animal it was left over without some effort, the aid of fins and not even of the push derived from the ondulatorio motion of the body, typical of the snakes and the eels. The thing could perhaps explain with the long presence the body of the animal of alghe marine, able hiding propulsive fins. The snake had never been seen to open the mouth and to show a "jaw irta of sharp teeth", like instead had been brought back in the article of the "Times". All the witnesses were agree nel to recognize that sure the strange one to be was not scared, although seemed to proceed with one such speditezza to give to mean to follow something. The captain had hurried to make of a sketch that he had introduced to the inquiry, converting it then in one great detailed raffigurazione to equipment of its oral description. In order to earn credit, the Admiralty had not only closed the inquiry quickly, but it had held to circulate the conclusive relationship immediately, for placare the controversy been born between people. 13 October the relation appeared already on newspapers and fifteen days after l’Illustrated London News it published the report of the sight equipped with some designs, obtained from the indications of M' Quhae, in which the frigate and the marine monster were looked at to proceed with in means to the waves. In short the case it had become issue to the order of the day and had inflamed not little ignited argument moments a po' ovunque. Remaining the six witnesses cited from the captain did not make that to confirm its story, even if existed senz' other some discrepancies. A review published one synthesis of the day of the extracted sight from the log of the quarter official, the luogotenente Edgar Drummond. These, as an example, the length of the head of the monster had estimated in approximately 3 m, without too much great doubt for not more being able to be supported from one neck than 40 cm than diameter. For he the body was not longer than 6 m and also remembering that the captain had said to have some it observes at least as many to you of tail, was not arrived however to i 20 m of the description of M' Quhae. Drummond, moreover, did not think that the back of the animal was incrostato of alghe, but was more inclined to believe that it was covered from one only, long fluctuating fin. Ce n' was affinchè the skeptics enough blew on the fire of the incoherence of the testimonies and therefore of their insufficient reliability; others, with more delicacy, without to perhaps put in the good faith of the witnesses, were interrogated rather on the goodness of their sight. A reader had written to the "Times" praying to turn to the captain its question: how he had not never given order to its men of chase to the fabulous monster? While an other anchor wondered, but in faceto that more serious tone, because beautiful broadside had not torpedoed it against one. A more constructive contribution senz’altro to the debate, came from a letter published on the "Literary Gazette", in which it was remembered that perhaps the monster sighted from the men of the Daedalus could correspond to the snake of sea described from Danish bishop Pontopiddan in its important treaty of zoologia. It was read, between the other: "It can are given that prode the captain has read the book of the Danish zoologo, if is reminded and has fantasticato some on the vision of an analogous monster, from the moment that the description is almost identical: from the dark tawny color to the candor of the part of the body under the throat, to along neck and the back covered from one risen of down similar to the criniera of a horse ". In spite of the accusations, captain M' Quhae always preferred to maintain a dignitoso Hush. In order to move it from its lack of appetite the participation of one of the great experts had been necessary European men of science. It was be a matter of Sir Richard Owen, anatomist, naturalist and paleontologist, which, all at once, it had been put to the head of the crusade of the contestatori against the sight of the Daedalus. For much Owen the greatest living zoologo was reputato. Conservative until the marrow, would have become from lì little one of the most violent oppositori of the new proposed evoluzionistica theory from Darwin. The first one I sink Owen put it to sign sending to the "Times" the copy of a long letter from written he to a friend, to which it had asked if, admitted the truth it of the sight, the monster could not for case is an exemplary survivor of were of the large ones sauri, the remembered sovente hypothesis in the several ones diatribe in merit. For Owen captain M' Quhae had only imagined that the animal was a marine snake, because in truth it did not possess some scientific acquaintance, the much less biological one, and would have had to leave the deductions the students. Then, luminare reached to conclude that it had to be be a matter of a mammal and, from the moment that was convinced that it was being spoken about an animal already very famous to the zoologi, had cited the Phoca Proboscidea, said also marine elephant. (the level of preparation and acquaintance possessed from Owen with respect to the snakes of sea can be very estimated from its second affirmation which capitava often that ships in open sea were continuations from the alligators: information of all the improper one, from the moment that these rectums them are not good swimmers, much to even scorn the turbulences of fluvial waters). In effects, but, the elephant of sea, than other it is not that a gigantic seal, can catch up also i 6 m of length and lives in the long seas the antarctic coasts. According to Owen, a copy of this creature was remained isolated on a large one lastrone of ice, on which it was successful to survive for some time, then, once that the iceberg it had been melted, it had been found forced to swim in sea opened until that the forces had assisted it. Perhaps, when it had been intercrossed with the frigate of captain M' Quhae, the animal was dying and this would have justified its insufficient attention in the comparisons of the ship. What the captain had exchanged for a long submergeeed part of the animal, other was not that the ripples provoked in the water from the horizontal movement of the powerful tail of the beast, than dipartivano online straight behind the body. Finally, that one that was exchanged for rising of pinnata crest, would not have been other that the typical equipment of these giant seals, one species of folta criniera from which the exactly name of lions of sea. Owen, therefore, denied with absolute certainty the existence of snakes sea, founding its observation on the fact that, after all, science of it had not never had sentore neither tests and closed the letter saying: "If we estimate the testimonies, well, then it is easier that the snakes of sea exist the ghosts that not". Addressing to the "Times", M' Quhae had answered in stizzoso but decided tone that the creature from he seen that day was not a lion of sea, animal that very knew, and not even whichever other type of seal. In quality of expert sailor, then, simple turbulence was in a position to estimating the difference between one and the concrete passage in water of a solid body. Finally, it not only specified not to have never read the book of Pontopiddan bishop, but to have some felt to only speak to continuation of the letter appeared on the "Literary Gazette" and that therefore that narration had not been able in some way to influence its description of the monster. Finally, M' Quhae closed its letter declaring that it was not at all true that between the witnesses was burst a great excitation, neither could in some way it are be a matter of a sight fruit optical illusion. Its testimony had to be understanding for what it was truly, is worth to say "the singular, fortunate counted opportunity of to have entered in with the" large one ignoto ", sure however not to identify with a ghost". This letter constituted the last word of the captain on the matter and the tone was that one of a tired man to die for dragging itself of an absurd controversy that had literally sfiancato it. To ten years of distance from these facts, captain Frederic Smith had written to the "Times" telling the presumed sight of a snake of sea made from its ship, the Pekin. The monster had "powerful head and neck, covered from one down folta, similar to the criniera of a horse". In truth, the burnished marine animal then had revealed itself to be a long strip of alghe, waving in the water. The letter finished risking that nearly sure also the case of the Daedalus could have had this explanation. Ready the puntualizzazione of one of the witnesses had arrived who that day found themselves on the bridge of the Daedalus. With firmness it was specified, once again, than "the snake, beyond every possible doubt, it was a living being, that it proceeded quickly in the water". The observation had not been only drawn near, but also extended. Of new, the details remember to you were too many and punctual in order to give dared to doubts. To the end of the history, it had been the Admiralty to giving to a small sign of opening, inserting the relationship of captain M' Quhae and the reports of the sight in the official archives of Navy, first case to having much honor. In truth, still before the 1848 already dozens of meaningful testimonies were available on the sights of snakes of sea. In a its book, the investigator Bernard Huevelmans lists to 150 cases, comprised between 1639 and 1848. The going back case to 1639 is second hand, but we have many others extremely details to you, just like that one of captain M' Quhae. As an example, the story of the captain George Little, the Boston frigate. In the May of 1740, while I was being annoying near Itmad Bay, to the wide one of the Maine "I saw a great snake that it was coming from the bay, just on the surface of the water". A full nozzle of armed men had been endured descent in water in order to observe more gives it near, but "after a some thirty of meters... the snake had not inabissato itself. It could measure from the 10 to i 15 m; while the greater section of the body was of approximately 40 cm; the large head like that one of a man, than the animal it held of a pair of meters outside from the water. To look at itself it seemed, in all and for all, a gigantic black snake ". The cases cited from Huevelmans between 1639 and the 1966 arrive to the beautiful number of 587. One of the more interesting going back to 1966 had like witnesses two English, John Riclgeway and Chay Blyth: “Ricordo that I came completely waked up from a noise that came from prow. Released in feet, I had shown oneself from the bridge in order to see of that it was dealt and therefore I had been able to notice fremente to wave of one large creature. I could notice much well thanks to the phenomenon of the marine fluorescence, like if attacked to the body was carried behind of the lamps to the neon that of it traced the trajectory. He was enormous, sure more than ten meters and one headed towards of we fastly... headed just straight for of me, but hardly before approaching itself too much it was scomparso... Its apparition me had completely raggelato of terrore.” Huevelmans closes the understood one it and the review of the cases, remembering the report of two English tourists that near Skegness, in England orients them, was imbattuti in a being "similar to the monster of Loch Ness", observed not more than 100 m from the beach: "It had the head similar to that one of a snake and the body snodava in six or seven widths gibbosità". Then it continues citing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, for which if a man supports to have low-spirited a okapi in Africa, it does not come believed; but if the same thing says fifty men to it, "it decidedly becomes more convincing". Therefore 587 sights - even if some they have been sconfessati like makes and hoaxes - not are doubt that constitute rather considerable a convincing base for a phenomenon that is worth senz' other the pain to inquire. Huevelmans, therefore, analyzes its cases, grouping them in seven various categories: the "super otters", from the flat and long head and the body similar to that one of one otter; the snakes from the much gibbosità; the snakes from the many fins, with lateral swells; the horses of sea, creatures with the criniera; the snakes from along neck, equip to you of a long and thin neck, and, finally, the "super eels", similar to giganteschi snakes. The seventh category is a species of its invention, the "mother of all the turtles" from the moment that the monster comes described like a gigantic testuggine but draft of a classification that to the Huevelmans end it abandons, because little credible and dubbia. The first five classes parrebbero to be mammalian, sixth, that one of the super eels, fish, consider the skeletal rests you. Pontoppidan bishop, than already we have met, was not the first one to describe the snake of sea. In 1539 Swedish bishop Olaf Mansson (the whose latinizzato name sound Olaus Magnus) published to Venice a map of the regions of the north in which they were represents two monster to you navy. And in a book from the title it History of the Goti, the Swedes and the published Vandali in the 1555 always Olaf more describes a long snake "beyond 60 m and with the wide body than 6 m" that lived very hidden in gorges to the wide one of Bergen. This history, united to the dramatic descriptions of giganteschi monster navy that attack and destroy to boats and ships, came inherited from all the enciclopedisti of the handed on time and of text in text. On purpose of the snake of sea, filler the directed testimony, firsthand, of sure captain Lorenz Von Ferry, which, sighted the creature, it had given order to chase it in order to observe gives it near. By it a lot was been born a detailed description, where the monster is introduced with the head fortified cavallina of folta a criniera white woman, eyes scurissi me and many plates rigonfie or gibbosità, separated one from the other and a lot emphasized (at least a pair of meters of height). With respect to the book of Pontoppidan it must be recognized that, species in the English world, is not considered one reliable source. The translation of 1765 has provoked to many doubts and the captain (then admiral) Charles Douglas, that it had to heart the deepening of the enigma, had way to discover that many of the cited witnesses were not of all the reliable ones. Enough curious, but, it discovered that while the people of the north, species the Norwegians, do not hesitate to believe blind in the existence of the large ones “Vermi of the mare”, as the snakes call navy, are inclined instead relegating the kraken, are worth to say the piovra giant, in the world of myths. And all the scientific world had always thought it such, until when in the 1970 there was a change of route and also the piovra giant it is re-entry in the catalogue of the existing marine creatures. The legend of the kraken - the polipo giant that to times attacks swimmers, ships and even coastal villages - is ancient and it can be made to go back until to the time of the Plinio Latin, that it describes polipo with long tentacles nearly ten meters, emerged from the sea in order to feed itself of the fish who some fishermen were salando, along the coast of the Spanish village of Carteia. The monster had been only killed after one terrible and courageous fight. Beyond to the roman culture, all the others in some way tied to the sea, posseggono the myth of the kraken, emphasizing of the presumed existence in the truth. To comparison, the kraken remembered from Pontoppidan it seems innocuous. It writes that some local fishermen had uncovered a place to the wide one of the Norwegian coast in which the in sure periods of the year level of waters, normally attested around the one hundred meters of depth, came down in showy way, end nearly to halve itself becoming torbid and muddy and to the contempo pullulante of fish. To they judgment the phenomenon had had to the presence of the kraken, a piovra immense, from the circumference of beyond a mile and means, than aroused from its oceanic sleep, attracted the fish with the callback of its tempting excrements. The monster was usual not to procurare troubles to the man, if the shrewdness of starsene were only had in observation on the boat to the just distance of emergency. The animal, in fact, gave to sign of one the great inertia and maximum skill: observed from far away, its enormous body seemed a small archipelago isolette interconnected between they from a substance similar to layers of erbacce, punctuated here and here from "horns", obvious swells therefore from being able itself to compare "to trees masters of ships of medium dimensions". Once finished lauto the banquet, procurato from the myriad of fish I noticed to its callback, the kraken rituffava in the abysses and the zone of sea returned like before. With the end of XVII the century, this kind of creatures came definitively relegated in the world of the dreams, best, of the incubi of sailors and men of sea. But, little to the time, the always increasing number of sights signals to you in the successive century, species to wide of the coasts the Americans, made to once again change the route of the scientific judgment, intaccando with vigor the skepticism of not the believers. Obvious signs of gigantic ventose observe to you from the biologi on the body of the great whales and the discovery in their fragment stomach of long tentacles has cleared, once for all, than piovre and giant squids exist indeed in order. In the November of the 1861 crew of the French destroyer Atecton, it had way to notice a giant squid to the wide one of Lieutenant and was successful to harpoon it. The creature was dying and therefore she had not only let to approach without to react, but when the sailors had tried to hoist it on the bridge of the ship she was broken in two tronconi. The body was along more than eight meters and the wide oral orifice approximately average meter. The recovered part was however than more sufficient to demonstrate the existence of the polipi giant, much from being able to draw a meticulous scientific relationship read 30 December 1861 to the French Academy of sciences. Also in front of this testimony the zoologo Arthur Mangin but had expressed of the doubts, asking itself as never the creature had not inabissata itself. Insomma, its confutazioni had been therefore insistent and violent to convince in practical all the present ones that were debating a bogus case and that the relationship was not credible. On ending of years Seventy of XIX the century it made news the spiaggiatura on the coasts of the Newfoundiand and the Labrador of a discreet number of giant squids. It was obvious that, in front of those living tests nobody more could have objected or have moved doubts. In a 1896 gigantic body, for how much cripple, one ran aground on the beach of St. Augustine, in Florida, photographed and examined with attention from dottor the DeWitt Webb. In order to tow in mainland beyond six or seven tons of the carcass of the mysterious monster four horses had been necessary, six men and a sturdy tackle. The judgment of the experts spoke about one whale died in decomposition. But settantacinque years after, the scientific analysis and of laboratory of a conserved fragment of the monster, revealed that in truth one colossal creature be a matter itself of piovra giant (a not true and own squid) that could catch up incredible length nearly 60 m, who would have occupied one beautiful part of Piccadilly Circus or Times Square. Fortunately to imbattersi in a similar giant is rare what. One of the alive reports laughed them to the time of the second world war. 25 March of 1941 in a remote zone of the southern Atlantic, the ally boat vessel British had been object of German an aerial attack of hunting clappers Japanese flag. The onslaught had been decisive and the ship was by now lost. The Germans, then, had granted some minute to the crew in order to leave the ship, to which it would have been given the blow of thanks in order to sink it definitively. Since the British ones were not equipped from a sufficient number of rescue nozzles, many sailors had been forced to come down in sea on improvised rafts, finding itself in the far heart of the ocean from the usually struck routes. One of these sloops R-di.fortuna was full of men tires and hurt. Between these, the luogotenenti Rolandson and Davidson of English Navy were available and luogotenente R.E. Grimani Cox of the Indian Army, three of the survivors to which we must the testimony that follows: “non they had neither food neither drinkable water and the sun hammered them without mercy. In order to avoid that the raft upset continuously was forced to distribute the weight, moving along the edges with the maximum precaution and being attention garlics you onslaught delle fisalie, dangerous with their terrible numerous pricks and "as an army of bees". According to day the some men had begun to rave, the third party were begun danced it of the squali around the property left at death one. After others three days of courageous resistance, the men had begun to yield and, falling in the sea, to find their terrible aim. A day, all at once, for the joy of the survivors, the squali were talk nonsense to you. Then, one of they had been put to watch towards the bottom and with horror it had noticed the immense body of a tentacolata creature who was emerging just in their direction. A moment after some tentacles they were already clinging to the raft. Then, with the speed of the lightning, a tentacle had imprisoned an Indian sailor and it had dragged it in sea. The grugnito one of satisfaction that had been levato from the monster had made to mean its momentary satisfaction. Shortly afterwards it had been Cox to being you attack it, but for its fortune the tentacle had not done good taken on its arm and with the aid of the companions it was successful ricacciar it in sea. To the fine ones all it had been placato. Some day after the three only survivors of the twelve embarks to you on the property left at death one had been recovers from one Spanish ship and puttinges to you in but. When in 1943 the luogotenente Cox had been visited from the illustrious English marine biologist, dottor John L. Cioudsley-Thompson, these had had comfort to observe on its arm one series of burns to disc shape, from the diameter of approximately the 4-5 cm, than piagavano skin sinking in the meat, painful and indelebile sign of the escaped danger. Cloudsley-Thompson could not make less than to admit that those signs, therefore clear and distinguished, were of all the assimilable ones to those leave you from the urticanti ventose of squids and polipi. From the dimensions of the signs, then, it could calmly be deduced that the animal in issue had to measure more than 7 m than length. While Richard Owen and its follows to us would have screaied to the monster from the incredible proportions, the only thing that seemed to torment dottor the Cloudsley-Thompson was the doubt that an animal of that tonnage was in a position to clutching and carrying themselves via a man. To the time of war laughed them also an other interesting relationship written up from a sure J.D. Starkey. A night, like sovente the capitava to make, while it was found to edge of a motor fishing vessel of the Admiralty in the heart of the Indian ocean, was arranging some to lampare on the flank of the boat, fine the attempt to attract fish. Watching towards the sea it had been found to the unexpected one in the presence of a "gigantic opened wide green eye" that the scrutava. Sventagliando the bundle of a powerful torch, Starkey had illuminated a wide tentacle more than half meter. To that point, scared and made curious, it had observed the monster moving itself for all the bridge. It had gigantic dimensions, in what the snout seemed dulled a spout adunco as that one of a parrot and the tentacles caught up i 50 m of length. This had calmly let to scrutare at least in order fifteen or so minuteren, while "every a lot opened wide the valve completely... showing some difficulty in moving to the buio of the night". Perhaps the harder obstacle to win from part of science is nell’impossibilità to study the monster navy in the context of their natural habitat, is worth to say the oceanic depths. In adding, just like equally the mythical monster of Loch Ness, they seem extremely eluded to you. One of the most upset studious than "monster lacustrine", Ted Holiday, has succeeded in to imagine that in some cases it must be spoken about paranormali phenomena and not a lot of concrete beings in meat and boneses, conclusion to which it says of being landed considering that some lagos are too much small for being able to hide cumbersome hosts much. Based on its experience of encounter with the monster of Loch Ness, Holiday is also inclined to think that the being is endowed of a species of sixth sense, than renders it able is made to see or to catch a glimpse from human witnesses without to run but the danger of being able to be photographed. An other celebre "monster hunter" - Tony "Doc" Shiels - supports of to have arrived to one analogous conclusion. Between 1975 and the 1976 have been several sights of a marine monster to the wide one of Faimouth, in Cornovaglia, a lot that to the mysterious creature has been quite assigned a nickname: Morgawr, that it means "giant of Cornovaglia". After not little surveillances, Shiels was successful to obtain a remarkable image of Morgawr, from which evince that also in this case we find ourselves in the presence of a creature from the shape of a plesiosauro preistorico, similar to it more connotes you of celebre the monster than Loch Ness: along sinuoso neck and a body punctuated with gibbosità and swells on the back. Obtained this large one happening, Shiels was hasty to Loch Ness where, nel.giro.di short time, it beautiful photographies of Nessie were successful to release some equally. A species of fortunate coincidence, a true miracle, in front of which but the same Shiels reveals skepticism. In a its book it is said convinced that the encounter from he had with various the monster would re-enter more in the world of the paranormali phenomena that not in that one of the concrete truth. To accept this theory does not only imply to believe that creatures as Nessie and Morgawr are ectoplasmi, ghosts if prefers, but attribute they also the ability to use telepathic powers us, those same ones that concurs it to avoid the hunters of monster with extreme ability. What that involves an other particularitity, that is that who puts itself on their traces can have fortune single possessing he same analogous powers. Joints to the end of our considerations do not remain that to recognize as the mystery of the monster of waters is still very lungi the resolved being.