The Dragon Stone

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Location:
Many areas of Canada and North-East USA. Notably Nova Scotia (Canada) and Nahant (Massachusetts, USA).

Images:

Description:
It is hard to know whether this is a sighting of one individual or many sightings. A serpent was seen in various places around Canada and the USA. These sightings are being discussed together due to the similarity of the descriptions.

The basic description of the creature was a long serpent with small humps or protrusions running down its back. It was said to travel by undulating up and down. It was dark in colour, usually described as black. The length was estimated at about 60-100 feet long. There were some details that observers disagreed about. A few eyewitnesses saw the humps as being a smooth serpent and the humps being where it bent. These are in the minority. Including the American sightings, some saw the humps as being more pointed. The covering of the serpent varied; some saw scales and some saw skin.

The first of these sightings seems to have been in 1844. A sea serpent, matching the above description, swam past the pier at Arisaig. One of the witnesses was Mr. Barry. He was certain that the creature has humps and was undulating up and down. It was queried about whether the movement was real or a trick of the water. He firmly maintained that the serpent was undulating, having had a good amount of time to study it.

Another early sighting was in 1845, at Merigomish (Gulf of St. Lawrence). One of the witnesses was sure the creature had humps and another thought it was it where it was bending. This is a good example of how people can view the same event differently. Another detail noted was a head like a seal. This is interesting as seals have been suggested as something mistaken for sea serpents. Many sightings occurred in the years after this. Some were at the coast edge and some were by ships out in the ocean.

One possibly explanation came in the form of a much smaller serpent (three feet) that was caught in New England. It was dark brown and had humps down its back, much like the descriptions. Initial thoughts were that it might be a baby sea serpent and it was named Scoliophys atlanticus. This turned out to be a mistake... it was a northern black racer snake (Coluber constrictor constrictor) with a disease of the spine which caused it to appear to have humps down its back. Was the origin of the Nova Scotia stories a diseased snake and its size greatly exaggerated?

It is a possibility, but there are issues with this idea. Firstly, the sizes reported by witnesses would have been exceptionally wrong, not just a bit exaggerated. The black racer found was fully grown. They are not a large species of snake. It would also have to be believed that a deformed individual, of a snake species that is not known for long ocean trips, regularly swam out into the ocean. It should be noted that the sea serpent was seen undulating up and down. A snake can only undulate left and right, due to the design of its spine. If it was a case a mistaken identity, some sort of mammal would be a more likely candidate. Creatures such as whales, dolphins and seals are nearer to the right size and can bend up and down. A group of these could be mistaken for a long serpent and their dorsal fins taken to be humps.

One of the things that is interesting with this case is that some of the witnesses got very close and had a good amount of time to study the creature. When it was close to the shore, witnesses had a good view without any fear that they might be harmed. It makes it seem less likely that it could be something like a pod of dolphins, as this would have been noticed during a close examination.

Other Dragon Stone Pages:

• Charles Lyell's Travels

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