3 «
WaterSnakes.
N A T U R A L H I S T Q. R Y I R W A P.
pointed .tail,, with dour| /|eg$yeöv§refcl. with fcale%?ie®' tbaraitne
fcales of, a herring. This, creature is,' jas^wgll Lean carry flÉ* in
my ey^two German ells-lpiig. This I have feen.s'and perhaps
many thoufands befides tne may have fëeri itip and it;is ftütto'bè
feen at Mr.-Stamp eel’s, aiij eminent (merchant in Hamburgh*
to whofe,. forefathers it was pawn’d fcM:;a/ cohfidgrablswfu&' of
money, by the Konigfmark’s family,'' who1 »got |l| among other
booty, aft the plundering' of Prague. | Apauiting 'of it is iKf-be
feen at Copenhagen, in the Icing’s cabinet roföcóribiitiespiand
which I can truly atteft is perfectly dphe fromi the original. '’The
emblematic Dragon with feven heads, - which thé Sctoptufe-'Cakes
noticë of,' has ; not alone an imagination, bqt a-inatural truth for
its foundation; and I take this^oppögturyjyi tpiobférv.e I
have no ground to confirm what the often, quoted Ob- Magnus;
tap. apHfays about fome bireh^t-rei&Tjh1' th®-ebu'ntry, whiölftare
feen green Winter and’ Summer; froiff a number !of that
have made their, nefts under the roqts,- and fqnkejsp,. them wdetn.
Thé fame author fays alfo, cap. <50. that;, the-Nórvegfans - aré|fo
fuperftitious, as to hold Serpents facted^ and -fet- milk\o thikn
for food ; but that fuperftition is .thrown pfi|»lpngr.agQ.
S e | l T*,. III.
WatëF^n^es7V^mTÏ4ng eï'> which are cornmonlydark-ccMout’d,
and are, hot reckoned- fd pdifonous as tjïofe on land-,! afe “found
here every where in frefh water ; but that;'they; , a.^cording ^o
an old faying, are taany fathom long, particularly imStore Mios
on Hedemarken, and ftrong'enough to overfet; a boat’l l have
not found confirmed by experience; tho’ il will not .dpny ’the
poffibility of i t ; in confideration of what LiVy, Pliny, Strabb,
and others report, concerning the bloody: fight öf AtiKïfs. Regains
againft a Serpent, 140 feet' long,'* which óppofgd the Romifh
army in crofting the fea Bagrada in Africa, and killed greatpium-
bers of the foldiers before he could be defttoyed which- was
done at laft with pickaxes, for he did not regard their arrows.
Odoard. Dapper, in his African Travels, p. 394, takes‘ notice,
that in the land of Quoia there is a fort of Serpents called Minia,
thebignefs of which may be concluded from their fwallowing up
a whole Hag.
The great Sea-fiiakes I once held only for a* chimera, but , am
now fully convinced that they are found in the North fea, as fu re
as any other fifh: it is. faid, by the people who inhabit thecaaft,
* This is probably fome artful impolition; for there is not known to, be any fuch
creature1 in'nature.' ", l\ ? - ■ J*4”. p f ' mfm. ;;r JpHjPj
■ ■ ' M B — ...... ........... B H : I that
NA WRA.L HI S.T-Q R Y1 iof cM Q R W ^ A T .
t-hdrbi j»i» I jfa febut o*t<J&nd;. I p U p
thcy^ai*© grown fo^ghthat, they camiotmove about on the ?ocksp
they then-go into,».the feay antf afierwa^dj» attain lbeirffull;grow.tb^
This,. laft account J dannot, pgrifiadg myfejf to believe^ for the.falt
water .is/not, agsqgajile; to the, uatl?^i0|'ri1^€xfero#|ums ;;rbnd the
fittithejfeasi -agcotdiogjto'
the naturefof^fifees,; and .other creatures pfi,the Ocean.
If that be^jwhich,-litany of - thoffarmersr hereabout, deefarep
that they^hayg feen fbakesjof. feveraljf^thpms length £ or if-there >
te|truth;,ih th©h
the Lindprmeji, S-q^'-gre^t Snake, it is moft probable; that»
crd&gure would- fapnet go}$o{ freftiparaters, in, cafe. its body could'-
n,o% moyej abo^lllong^E' on dry land.
In UHands, parifh fehej:e ;isfja.lakejpf |j middling- which; is'
faid. tor have in it thefg Snakps; and; the lake Store jijMios,
Hedemarken, is long and deep enough for the largeftdhip.
Ol. ^M^aghns,'' Lib: xxi. Cap. Petr.‘ Undalingsj in.-his'De^j
feription Norway,» cap. vii. p .-jb . ’and -Jan. Rpmiis, ,P. HI.
p. $3’2,, affirnij that therefore quantities,’of largelSnakes in thefe
Waffer-sj^itjrie^fljswKfch wa^Jft'eni>fo reach) from Ofens^Llod fto
Kongs) Lands];;;. tMsi I’ll leave, on their*authority,. and only obr-
fervej that if it is true,'the relation/-*is mixed,with .fabfes and
witchcraft,, apd omens, which fhould bp^exploded,; ,
r‘ The Searfnake’s- appearance,- %j.x pipges>ft8#|teai fqto«h'
important incident to the country; tjhis jidle. Of the/^me^bie.
Splous; -;£ind, ,-is, iyuthout doubt; the;, aforefaid, .firft i authors!
E%Won,3 L. x ^ ; , ^ j | ^£;,fe.
ao© fget^ long,;and ao thick,.;;which,iin the migh,%j# hisohdlei
i%the ro^k, to go out and devour the farmers calypsfand fheep’^
he might as wellnave faid cows and horfes.' O f fuch monftersoh;
land V|p do not pj-etendi to knony any thing here ; but with refpeQ:
to the great SegTpake, which is a veritable ,monfter. of the. fearf
kin d,: 1 ftiall' i fpeak particularly, when. I come to the fdbject of .
tbe Norway/feajanipials and fifh.; In the ; mean time,_in the;
words of’E^weith. Happalius, and upon his,credit; I will introduce,
the following relation out ojf the Mund. Mirab. T. III.- L. r.
c.j,|,S. f --'- Lpnden ;in: N^rw^y,;sfiuis>
•f gives, i 6 Jan. Anno. 1656, o f fuch a Serpent the folIowing!German*
<c. account, from* the report, of. Gulbrandi Hougfrud and Olaus.
ct Anderfen, that:,they had feen, in the laft Antumnal inundation,
*c a large Water-ferpent, or Worm, in the Spariler fea; and it is
“ believed that it had been feen before in Mios, and had been
a hitherto hid in the river Bang. As foon as it reached the,
“ Chore