A Seven-Foot Sea Serpent Washes Up Near Cape Flattery
Capt. Stratton of Neah Bay brings a finned, many-toothed monster to Port Townsend, and the local editor reaches for the Laocoön to describe it.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A most singular specimen of the genus Ophidian was shown us by Capt. Stratton, the eminent naturalist of Neah Bay, on his recent visit to this town. It was found on the beach near Cape Flattery, by the Captain, and by him preserved as a curiosity. It measured about seven feet in length. Its head, of a conical shape, measures 22 inches in circumference, and, with open mouth confronting the beholder, is a row of teeth in either jaw that might well appal the most fearless diver — reminding one of that remarkable group in sculpture which time has spared to us, the Laocoön, representing the Apollonian priest with his two sons in the folds of two enormous serpents which had issued from the sea, the story of which is told in Virgil's inimitable style. The body of the reptile gradually tapers from the head to the tail, with a prominent fin above and below, running nearly the entire length. It is different from anything set forth in [the books of natural history].
“with open mouth confronting the beholder is a row of teeth in either jaw that might well appal the most fearless diver”
Strange creatures still wash up on the wild Northwest coast, and reports of 'sea serpents' have never quite died out around Neah Bay and Cape Flattery. This specimen — seven feet long, conical-headed, finned above and below — reads like an oarfish or a large conger eel, the kind of deep-water oddity that turns a beachcombing walk into a legend.
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