The New York Herald prints a story from London which gives the annual summer sea serpent yarn cards and spades for novelty. Here it is:
"LONDON, Aug. 16. -- The American liner Westernland, from Philadelphia, which arrived at Queenstown this evening, brought intelligence of a strange phenomenon experienced by the British steamship Mohican in the Atlantic on August 1 while on a voyage to Philadelphia.
"A cloud of phosphoric appearance enveloped the vessel, magnetizing everything on board.
"Captain Urquehart says the ship's crew had a fiery coating. When the sailors saw it[,] they rushed at the needle, which they found was roving like an electric fan. The captain ordered several of the crew to move some iron chairs lying on the deck, but they were unable to do so, although the chairs did not weigh more than seventy-five pounds each.
"Everything was magnetized and chains, bolts, spikes and bars adhered to the decks as if they had been riveted.
The
cloud was so dense that it was impossible for the vessel to proceed. The captain could not see beyond the
decks and everything appeared to be a mass of glowing fire.
"Suddenly the cloud lifted, the phosphorescence on the ship began to fade and in a few minutes the cloud passed away and could be seen moving over the sea."