and made it hard to breathe
the oppressive atmosphere. We lay about the deck exhausted, like a
company of sick men.

One night the watch came aft to where Hartog and I were trying to
obtain some rest, with the report that a monstrous shape had been
noticed passing under the vessel, and on looking to leeward we could
see that the water was agitated by some large body. Hartog inclined to
the belief that the disturbance was caused by a number of whales, the
one following the other, but the men declared the shape they had seen
was a monster of amazing proportions. Both Hartog and the men were
equally resolved upon their respective theories; but while they were
arguing the matter, and the dawn being now come, all doubts were set
at rest by the appearance of a prodigy so incredible that I scarce
dare set down, in this plain tale, a description of it. Within fifty
yards from the vessel a serpent's head, not unlike those we had seen,
but infinitely larger, rose above the surface of the water, and
presently a great water-snake began to swim slowly round our ship in
decreasing circles. Its length could not have been less than 200 feet,
while its girth, in the middle, was almost that of a fair-sized whale,
tapering towards the head and tail. Lashing the sea around it into
foam, the serpent drew closer until it looked as though it would crush
the ship in its folds. Hartog, the only man amongst us who preserved
his presence of mind, ordered our guns to be loaded and fired at the
monster. This was done, but our broadside had no more effect upon the
leviathan than to cause it to swerve from its circling movement, when
it made off with incredible speed towards the horizon, whence it
returned apparently bent upon destroying us.

We now gave ourselves up for lost, when suddenly out of the sea rose
another huge bulk, resembling the sea-spider which had carried off poor
Moira, but ten times larger, when a combat ensued between the
leviathans which created waves around our vessel, and caused her to
rock and plunge as in a storm. The battle raged for the best part of an
hour, and sometimes when the monsters came near it seemed likely that
the ship would be swamped by the volume of water which they lashed into
the air. Suddenly the combat terminated by both monsters disappearing
into the depths without our being able to ascertain which had proved
the victor.

So that some record of this remarkable combat might be preserved, I set
down upo