rds Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at
five o'clock, PM, on the 6th of August last, in latitude 24 degrees 44
minutes south, and longitude 9 degrees 22 minutes east, the weather
dark and cloudy, wind fresh from the North West, with a long ocean
swell from the South West, the ship on the port tack heading North
East by North, something very unusual was seen by Mr Sartons,
midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before the beam. The
circumstance was immediately reported by him to the officer of the
watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drummond, with whom and Mr William Barrett,
the master, I was at the time walking the quarter-deck. The ship's
company were at supper.

"On our attention being called to the object it was discovered to be
an enormous serpent, with head and shoulders kept about four feet
constantly above the surface of the sea, and as nearly as we could
approximate, by comparing it with the length of what our main-topsail-
yard would show in the water, there was at the very least sixty feet
of the animal _a fleur d'eau_, no portion of which was, to our
perception, used in propelling it through the water, either by
vertical or horizontal undulation. It passed rapidly, but so close
under our lee quarter that had it been a man of my acquaintance I
should have easily recognised his features with the naked eye; and it
did not, either in approaching the ship or after it had passed our
wake, deviate in the slightest degree from its course to the South
West, which it held on at the pace of from twelve to fifteen miles per
hour, apparently on some determined purpose.

"The diameter of the serpent was about fifteen or sixteen inches
behind the head, which was, without any doubt, that of a snake, and
never, during the twenty minutes that it continued in sight of our
glasses once below the surface of the water; its colour a dark brown,
with yellowish white about the throat. It had no fins, but something
like the mane of a horse, or rather a bunch of sea-weed, washed about
its back. It was seen by the quartermaster, the boatswain's mate, and
the man at the wheel, in addition to myself and officers above-
mentioned.

"I am having a drawing of the serpent made from a sketch taken
immediately after it was seen, which I hope to have ready for
transmission to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty by to-morrow's
posts.

"I have, etcetera,