ke a woman; it had long
hair just like a woman; the upper part of its body was like a woman, and
to all appearances was a woman. It rose about half out of the water and
sank back. Three times it did this and disappeared. I learned that this
strange sea animal was a mermaid, and that they are seen during such
stormy weather as we were then experiencing.

Another very interesting sea animal is the porpoise. It is shaped
something like a fish, except the head, which looks like that of a hog.
They will follow a ship in droves, swimming near the surface of the
water and jumping out of the water and diving down like fish playing.

I have seen many living things in water, some of which were very
interesting looking that I never heard any name for. A very strange,
helpless-looking object is the star fish. They are often left by the
tide on the beach and are perfectly helpless until another tide carries
them back. A flying fish fell on deck of the transport and was picked
up, greatly exciting our curiosity. This strange little animal never
gets more than a few inches long. These fish go in schools; sometimes a
school is so large that it covers half an acre or more, skipping or
flying along on the surface of the water sometimes one hundred yards
before striking the water again. I had in my hands the one that fell on
our deck and examined it with a great deal of curiosity. It had a pair
of small wings and was very beautiful.

The jelly fish does not look very clean and nice. The largest one I ever
saw was eighteen inches thick and looked like a mass of jelly and was
hard in the center. These fish are of two colors, white and black. They
can sting when they touch the naked body and give as much pain as the
sting of a yellow jacket.

I have been in the water bathing and one of them would sting me, making
a great, red, burning spot. I have seen sea serpents, but was never
close to one where I could see it plainly. They seem to be very easily
frightened, and I only saw them on the surface of the water at some
distance. They are very large snakes with black spots.

The men on our transport were interested in a flock of sea gulls, which
to us appeared to be the same birds following our vessel to pick up the
scraps thrown overboard. I could see them any day and I therefore
believed they were the same sea gulls. They can fly farther than any
other bird.

We arrived in Manila Bay November twenty-second, and anchored about two
miles