A Strange Adventure in the Solomons
Posted by: Loren Coleman on November 10th, 2008
Evening Post
[Wellington, New Zealand]
June 24, 1893
A STRANGE ADVENTURE IN THE SOLOMON ISLANDS.
The Argus’ special representative, who last year made personal investigation into the Kanaka labour traffic, writes as follows upon the mysterious appearance of a sea monster while the Helena was off the Solomon Islands on the 22nd and 24th of October:
– We were lying at an anchorage called Baranangu, on the west side of Florida, in the Solomon Islands. This harbour is a deep indentation of the coast, enclosed on three sides by steep hills, some tree-clad, others delectable slopes of luxuriant grass. The shores were fringed with cocoanut palms, under which nestled a number of native villages. Seaward a wooded island formed a natural mole, defending the port from the violence of the ocean waves, and leaving commodious entrances on either side, through which the tide ebbed and flowed. About a dozen canoes were moored to the sides of our vessel, and their occupants were busy trafficking in yams and nuts for tobacco. Suddenly an unusual commotion was noticed in the water between us and the main island. At first it was supposed to be a tide rip, but on looking abroad the forging action of the flowing tide was seen well defined much farther away, and it was observed that the agitation which had excited surprise was caused by something making headway slowly but steadily against the tidal current. At times the movement of the water was in one place, and resembled the wash of the sea on a sunken rock. Then the object causing it would get under way again, and drift like a water-logged raft submerged just below the surface. But it did not move or drift aimlessly. Nearer and nearer it came to the ship. Clearly it was a thing of life, and when in course of time it came close enough for a part of it to be seen through the clear water, exclamations of surprise and horror rose from the deck, and the Natives who were alongside in canoes fled in terror to the shore or sought safety on our deck, all screaming “Debbil, debbil!” in hysterical voices. What was seen in the first instance was a huge open circular mouth, like an enormous life-buoy, with broad white lips and a dark interior. The cavity seemed big enough to admit a ship’s boat. Beyond the mouth was a dark body, with innumerable fins and several pairs of winglike flappers. The monster had an irregular beam of thickness, being 15ft. to 25ft. broad at its widest parts, and tapering now and again to waists about the thickness of the body of a bullock. At times as it progressed through the water the fins rose above the surface with a seemingly rotatory motion, in pairs, groups, and clusters, and with a regularity that reminded us of a complicated agricultural machine, such as a reaper and binder, or the hooked lifts that raise and drop the stampers of a quartz-battery. When these peculiarities were noted, the fish, or part of it, was within ten to fiffteen yards of the vessel. Captain Doig rushed for his gun, and waited at “the ready” for the monster to lift his head above the water. Just then, however, the leviathan turned and sheered off without presenting a tempting enough target. But his curiosity about the ship was not satisfied, for he kept passing and repassing at a distance of, say, 30 yards, the best part of an hour. His movements were of a slow elephantine character, and when he turned he resembled a railway train rounding a curve. His whole outline was never once completely in view, and as only parts of him were seen at different times, or different parts at one time, by men standing fore and aft, opinions were not unanimous about his exact shape. We were all agreed, however, as to his mouth being prodigious and circular, and as to his body being broad in places and contracted in others. One of the sailors was positive he saw in the mouth two huge white teeth like elephants’ tusks. Others said they distinguished a long tapering tail. To the skipper and myself the monster seemed to be very much more than 40ft. in length. The exposed fins formed a line about the length of our main boom, namely, 40ft. The mate (Mr. Moody) at first pooh-poohed our estimate as being one of those proverbial exaggerations which sailors are said to palm off on marines. He, like everyone else on board, had seen the creature when it was close to the ship, and was certain it was only 20ft. long. He had scarcely uttered this assertion, however, when the fins rose once more in long array, above the water, and Mr. Moody was now satisfied, and emphatic in asserting that the line they formed measured nothing less than 50ft. How much of the monster remained unindicated below no one could estimate, but if allowance were made for a tail at all proportionate to the bulk of the body, the animal or fish, or whatever it was, must have been longer than the longest whale ever seen. In hope of hooking the mammoth fish, the captain dropped a baited 1# shark-hook attached to the lead-line into the water, not expecting that the tackle would be strong enough, but thinking that if the bait were taken the line would hold sufficiently long to give a chance of dynamiting the brute. The bait, however, did not attract, but the monster continued to cruise up and down, and the captain and the steward eventually proceeded to pepper its fins with bullets. They also fired at the head when it appeared to be quite close to the surface of the water. They frequently hit the fins, and every time one was struck, or a bullet was placed in the vicinity of the head, a few of the flappers and fins gave a quick, spasmodic turn, like the blades of a propeller, and the whole fish sank, but only to rise in a minute and resume his peregrinations in the vicinity of the vessel. Unlike a whale, he never raised his head to the surface for the purpose of breathing; there was no spouting from a blow-hole, so he was evidently a fish, and not a mammal of any kind, but no one on board could give the monster a name. And at the turn of the tide he left us in perplexity. Next day (Sunday, October 23rd), we drifted a few miles down the coast and dropped anchor off the islet of Mandoliana. Here again, on the following Monday, the mysterious leviathan, or another of his kind, paid persistent attentions to the Helena. He swept round the islet towards the vessel, and once came within 15 yards of our side. I counted ten patches on the body, white and round, each about the size of a washhand basin. The captain, the steward, and one of the A.B.’s fired 30 shots at the fins, and at least ten of them were hits, but the fish did little more than wince, and, after sinking for a brief time, rose again to resume his course. But there was another surprise in store for us. The line of fins and flappers suddenly stretched out to double its former length, and then everybody on board was prepared to swear that the finned part of the leviathan was by itself the full length of our ship, which measured 90ft. from stem to stern. Closer inspection, however, showed that there were two separate areas of commotion moving, now in echelon, and eventually in opposite directions. There were now, in fact, two monsters in evidence, and we could not help wondering what would happen should their number still further increase, or even if the two already present became aggressive. Happily, our ugly visitors kept at a respectful distance, and received no addition to their number, and eventually a bullet from the captain’s rifle, fired from the port-hole of his cabin, at which he had ensconced himself to watch for a near shot, struck the water just where the head of one of the fish appeared to be within an inch or two of the surface. This shot was effective, for the monster instantly sank low and bowled away by our bows, and his companion followed shortly afterwards. What our extraordinary visitors were remains to be explained. Such monsters had never been seen before by anyone on board. Mr. Ussher, the Government agent, happened to be on shore each time of their appearance. From what he was told about them he was inclined to believe they had been mammoth specimens of certain denizens of the deep called devilfish, some of which he had seen in former years about Sano.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Hello All!
Sounds like a basking shark, except that you would think sailors would know what one was. The tusks could be light through gill slits. Or maybe a new shark not yet scientifically described, given that the basking shark’s usual range is a little north of Florida (but not too much). Or otters.
I kept thinking humpback because he would describe how large the fins were and they would rise above the water. However with no blow hole or rise to the top to breathe, maybe it’s a whale shark. Either one has a prodigous mouth, but a “circular” mouth more closely fits that of a whale shark. Another great one from the 19th century.
Whale shark and a little too many grog rations. The first siteing describes the “monster” swimming back and forth into the in-coming tide. Sounds like it was filter-feeding on the plankton brought in with the tide. Remember sailors saw manatees and dugongs and saw beautiful women with naked breasts.
I lived in the Solomons for three years as a kid and think the most likely explanation is a school of manta rays. The long skinny tail and white “tusks” from the mouth certainly match, as does the size from fin-to-fin and the habit of the fins braking the surface similar to sharks.
I’ve seen them while on boats and they are quite intimidating, especially when you know they can launch themselves out of the water a couple of metres straight up. I know the islanders were wary of them because they had landed on canoes and small boats, and since they weigh about a tonne you can imagine the result.
Not sure, but I think they are also called Devil Rays in the islands, so that would also explain the islanders crying “debbil”.
Absolutely agree with dpalmer, really sounds like manta rays
It sounds like a whale shark, but yet the many, many ‘flippers’ sound like some kind of giant deep sea worm, or something out of the Burgess Shale.
dpalmer74 that’s a great idea about manta rays. Very possible explanation, I didn’t think of that one at all.
know what, i think that this is a unknown worm.
Circular mouth, Fins.
other than that.. a new breed of Basking Shark… maybe with a Shark, Whale, Green Land Shark.. who knows.
Manta rays does sound like a good possibility. All of the reasons given by dpalmer74 are very rational and insightful. The numerous fins and “wing like flappers” described seem to fit a school of mantas perfectly and a manta’s mouth could look like tusks. The way the fins are described as breaking the surface in clusters or pairs and moving with a rotary motion seems to fit with a group of mantas as well, and mantas have flexible “wings” that could roll and give the impression of this kind of movement (although I’m a little confused over just what “the hooked lifts that raise and drop the stampers of a quartz-battery” looks like).
One thing that bothers me about the manta explanation is the description of the mouth being large enough to swallow a boat. Also, would the crew of a ship describe seeing one large creature without considering it could be a group of smaller ones? I also wonder if experienced seamen would not recognize the creature as manta rays if they are common in the area.
Still, a group of mantas is an interesting idea and fits in some respects.
you know what. i don’t think it’s a Devil Ray. 🙂
yes it looks different from what i read. but maybe it’s a unknown devil ray that we never saw?
maybe a gigantic Devil ray that’s oddly different.
who knows. but i agree on a worm beast
maybe a serphant. 🙂
yes.. 😉
what would be great if someone seas a shark or something pin it with a tracker.. someone has to be ready to take it aboard and then when it leaves.. let see where it goes and what animal will show up on camera. 🙂
these is a great Idea. sure it’s expensive to do, but worth it, if you have one. 🙂
lots of cryptids..etc. have the time to do that. but don’t. 🙂
I’m not so sure all the talk of gyrating, revolving fins and tusks really sounds like the description of a worm, a creature notable for its distinct absence of fins or tusks. Worm is actually one of the last things I think about when I read this story.
Anyway, I sure do love the way these old accounts are written. The colorful language and the way things are described are just very eloquent and appealing to me.