Magnus, an educated, skilled mariner writing in the mid-16th century of a THE PROGRAM OF THE INSTITUTE sea serpent seen on a number of times off the coast of Norway. The Seamen's Church Institute of New York, an agency of llE.Vil He wrote, "They who sail along the the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New York, is a unique shores of Norway relate with concur­ organization devoted to the well-being and special interests O~ THE"" ring evidence an account of a very large of active merchant seamen. serpent of a length upwards of 200 feet More than 753,000 such seamen of all nationalities, races STaRl'olllm -SO,,, and 10 feet in diameter living in rocks and creeds come into the Port of New York every year. To and holes near the shore of Bergen; it many of them the Institute is their shore center in port and by Dane John comes out of its caverns only on sum­ remains their polestar while they transit the distant oceans Recently a fisherman fishing off mer nights and in fine weather to de­ of the earth. Thursday Island, in the Torres Straits, vour the calves, lambs and hogs, or First established in 1834 as a floating chapel in New York between Northern Australia and New goes into the sea to eat cuttles, lobsters harbor, the Institute offers a wide range of recreational and Guinea, saw a strange "creature" ap­ and all kinds of sea crabs. educational services for the mariner, including counseling proaching his boat. "It has a row of hairs of two feet and the help of five chaplains in emergency situations. Seamen's Church Institute State and Pearl Streets Seizing a spear, he flung this at it, in length hanging from the neck, sharp Each year 2,300 ships with 96,600 men aboard put in at Manhattan but missed. The creature leapt high scales of a dark color and brilliant Port Newark, where time ashore is extremely limited. out of the water and for a few seconds flaming eyes. It attacks boats and Here in the very middle of huge, sprawl­ was in full view before it plunged back snatches away the men, by raising it­ ing Port Newark pulsing with activity of in the water and made off at great self high out of the water and then container-shipping, SCI has provided an speed. devours them." oasis known as the Mariners Internation­ The fisherman later described it as In the 17th century a Bishop Pontop­ al Center which offers seamen a recrea­ having a long, flat beak, fins shaped pidan described another mysterious in­ tional center especially constructed and like a flying fish, a barbed tail like a habitant, the kraken, supposedly living designed, operated in a special way for scorpion, and two legs, one on each side in the same area. This, he claimed, was the very special needs of the men. An out- of the body. This description fits no so big that when it raised its back out standing feature is a soccer field (lighted Mariners International Center (SCI) Export and Calcutta Streets marine mammal or fish known to sci­ of the sea it looked like an island and at night) for games between ship teams. Port Newark, N.J. ence, unless it was a new species of exuded a smell that attracted fish with­ Although 55% of the overall Institute budget is met by swordfish and the legs debar this, so in range of its jaws. income from seamen and the public, the cost of the special what was it? Another of those weird Similarly, the French naturalist, services comes from endowment and contributions. Contri­ and awesome sea serpents and similar Denys de Montfort, recorded how a butions are tax deductible. creatures supposed to lurk in the ocean kraken attacked his ship, the Helene, depths? on a voyage between St. Helena and Sea monsters, devils and serpents Cape Negro. While the ship lay be­ have been causing mystery and curi­ calmed, the captain, Jean Magnus LOOKOUT The Rev. John M. Mulligan, D.D. osity almost since the first men set out Dens, ordered three of the crew to Director in primitive boats upon the seas. paint and scrape the ship's sides to Vol. 62 No.4 May 1971 Harold G. Petersen keep the men occupied. While so doing Edito,. Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, Copy"ight 1.97 J in A.D. 79 described ships being at­ a kraken came to the surface and at­ Published monthly with exception of July-August and February-March when bi-monthly. Co ntributions to the tacked by "monsters" off the Libyan tacked the men. One of the crew man­ SEAMEN'S CHURCH Seamen's Church Institute of New York of $5.00 or more coast of North Africa. In one of his aged to cut himself free of the long, fNSTlTUTE OF NEW YORK include a year's subscription to Th e lookout. Single sub­ 15 State Street, New York, N.Y. 10004 scriptions are $2 .00 annually. Single copies SOC. Addi­ writings he refers to a serpent-like sucker-bearing tentacles of the crea­ Telephone: 269-2710 tional postage for Canada, latin America, Spain, $1.00; creature which emerged from the sea ture, but died that night in a crazed The Right Reverend other foreign , $3.00. Horace Vl. B. Donegan, D.D., D.C.L. and crawled ashore looking for prey delirium. The other two men were Honol"CLry President COVER: The seas were inhabited with on land. seized, dragged below the sea and ap­ John G. "Yinslow weird and strange monsters, judging parently consumed. Today the kraken PrcsidclIt from this ancient sketch. Down through the centuries many other reports of such sightings were is thought to exist but in the form of made, the majority of which were a giant octopus or squid and unlikely based on myth or superstition. The to grow to the immense proportions first account which might contain a previously claimed. grain of accuracy is that of Olaus But what of "serpents," "monsters" 3 A monster, it is said, and as sketched from memory by an eye-witness was seen under the stern of the Daedalus October 11 , 1848. This huge creature was sighted off Cape Ann near Gloucester, Massachusetts, during the summer of 1817. There were many witnesses in this instance. and other "sea devils"? In 1852 two whalers, the Rebecca Sims and Monon­ gahela were in the doldrums of the mid-Pacific when the crew of the latter sighted what was thought to be a sleep­ ing "whale" on the surface. Three boats were lowered over the side, Captain A depiction of the American Seabury himself commanding one of schooner Sally claimed to them. A harpoon was flung into the have been attacked by a sea "whale" and held firm. monster off Long Island But instead of the "whale" trying to in December, 1819. escape it turned and attacked the boats, capsizing two of them. Then the "whale" sounded, still held firm by the harpoon line. More lines were warped on to strengthen it as the "whale" con­ a muddy brown but there was a white tinued to sink deeper in the ocean. stripe along the length of the back. she was lost at sea. Years later one of washed up on the beach near the town When it was at 1000 fathoms it stop­ Captain Seabury, in order to keep a her nameboards was washed ashore on of Girvan, Ayrshire, Scotland. The ped. record of what he had found, detailed the Aleutian Islands. Seabury and his body measured over 30 feet in length, Captain Seabury's boat picked up one of the crew who was an artist to specimen of a mysterious creature's had a giraffe-like neck, a camel's head, the survivors from the other two boats, make a drawing of the "whale." The head were lost forever. Only his letters and a horse-like mane, while the four then rowed back to their ship and made crew cut up the creature for the melt­ handed to the captain of the Rebecca legs were short and thick and the tail the line fast. The following morning, ing pot, bu t the head was kept and Sims told of this strange mystery. measured 12 feet! It soon began to as there was still no sign of movement pickled to preserve it. Shortly after­ In 1935, a "sea beast" was washed decompose, so oil was poured over the from the line, the creature was hauled ward, the Monongahela and the R e­ ashore on Henry Island, but unfortu­ corpse and it was burned. on board by using the capstan. When becca Sims, which had been standing nately it rotted before discovery. How­ But while this was happening, fish­ it came to the surface the "whale" was off all this time, parted and sailed to ever, its skeleton was identified as that ermen reported a similar "animal," dead. What came in sight struck fear different destinations. of a supposedly fossil creature, rhytina probably the dead one's mate, swim­ and awe into the crew. But just as if he had a premonition stelleri, a prehistoric lizard that was ming about in the sea nearby. Plans The "whale" measured about 110 of disaster and before the ships parted, thought to be extinct. were made to capture it but no one feet in length, with a circular body Captain Seabury handed over some let­ In 1950, another "whale" was found could get near it.