Comments on: Merman of 1725

By: Roger Knights

Roger Knights — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 11:48:28 +0000

Famous poet Robinson Jeffers said he saw a merman:

The World’s Wonders

Being now three or four more years than sixty, I have seen strange things in my time. I have seen a merman standing waist-deep in the ocean off my rock shore.

Unmistakably human and unmistakably a sea-beast: he submerged and never came up again,

While we stood watching. I do not know what he was, and I have no theory: but this was the least of wonders.

———Robinson Jeffers, “The World’s Wonders” (1951), first verses, in “Selected Poems” (NYC: Vintage Books, 1965), p. 75

By: WVBotanist

WVBotanist — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 01:29:39 +0000

What about the manatee of 1855? This image from Harper’s in that year doesnt really look like a manatee.

Maybe someone else has seen a larger version of this drawing. But I think it illustrates something else about perception and imagination. To me, this looks like a giant, very giant, monk seal. Manatees do not frolic in the shallow surf, nor perch on their forelimbs, that I have seen. So, what is going on with all these strange descriptions and drawings?

And, what does tawny mean when speaking about a strange creature’s skin as compared to a brown skinned man?

By: CryptoInformant

CryptoInformant — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 18:45:57 +0000

Sea Lion, obvious from the ears.

By: fuzzy

fuzzy — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 03:04:33 +0000

Ole Bub ~ Sometimes believing is seeing.

By: Ole Bub

Ole Bub — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 02:45:35 +0000

Manatee…too obvious….