SEARCH, or VISIT AND SEARCH  , a term used in international law and apparently derived in some confused way from the French word visite, which means search, combined with the English translation of the word visite . An attempt made by some writers to distinguish between visit and search only leads to misunderstanding . Search is the exact English equivalent of visite, and in the translation of the Declaration of London (Feb . 26, 1909) the translator has rightly rendered it as such (art . 63) . The right of search belongs to, belligerents alone . Its object is to verify the nationality of the vessel and if neutral to ascertain whether it carries contraband . The consequence of resistance to search is capture and trial in a Prize Court . " Forcible resistance to the legitimate exercise of the right of stoppage, search and capture," says art . 63 of the Declaration of London, 1909, " involves in all cases the condemnation of the vessel . The cargo is liable to the same treatment as the cargo of an enemy vessel . Goods belonging to the master or owner of the vessel are treated as enemy goods." At the Hague Conference of 1907 the question of the liability to search of mail-ships gave rise to much discussion based on incidents arising out of the South African and Russo-Japanese Wars .

It was ultimately decided that postal

correspondence of neutrals and even of belligerents, and whether official or private, found on board a neutral or even an enemy ship should be " inviolable," and that though the ship should be detained, this correspondence had to be forwarded to its destination by the captor " with the least possible delay!'" - The only exception to this exemption is correspondence destined for or proceeding from a blockaded port . As regards the mail-ships themselves, apart from this inviolability of the correspondence, no exemption or privilege is extended beyond the injunction that they should not be searched, except when absolutely necessary, and then only " with as much consideration and expedition as possible," which might just as well be said of all ships stopped or searched on the high seas . (T . BA.) SEA-SERPENT . The belief in enormous serpents, both terrestrial and marine, dates from very early times . Pliny (H.N. viii . 14), following Livy (Epit. xviii.), tells us of a land-serpent 120 ft. long, which Regulus and his army besieged with balistae, as though it had been a city, and this story is repeated by several other writers (Florus ii . 2; Val . Max. i . 8; Gellius vi . 3) . The most prolific in accounts of the sea-serpent, however, are the early Norse writers, to whom the " So-Orm " was a subject both for prose and verse .

Olaus

Magnus (Hist. gent . Sept. xxi . 24) describes it as 200 ft. long and 20 ft. round, and states that it not only ate calves, sheep and swine, but also " disturbs ships, rising up like a mast, and sometimes snaps some of the men from the deck," illustrating his account with a vivid representation of the animal in the very act . Pontoppidan, in his Natural History (Eng. trans., 1755, pp . 195 seq.), says that its existence was generally believed in by the sailors and fishermen of his time, and he recounts the means they adopted to escape it, as well as many details regarding its habits . The more circumstantial records of comparatively modern times may be conveniently grouped according to the causes which presumably gave rise to the phenomena described . (1) A number of porpoises swimming one behind another may, by their characteristic mode of half emerging from and then re-entering the water during respiration, produce the appearance of a single animal showing a succession of snake-like undulations . The figure given by Pontoppidan was very likely suggested by such an appearance, and a sketch of an animal seen off Llandudno by 1 Convention relative to certain restrictions on the exercise of the right of capture in maritime war (art . 1) . several observers' looks as though it might have had a similar origin, notwithstanding that this hypothesis was rejected by them . (2) A flight of sea-fowl on one occasion recorded by Professor Aldis2 produced the appearance of a snake swimming at the surface of the water . (3) A large mass of seaweed has on more than one occasion been cautiously approached and even harpooned under the impression that it was such a monster.' (4) A pair of basking sharks (Selache maxima) furnish an explana- tion of some of the recorded observations, as was first pointed out by Frank Buckland .

These

fish have a habit of swimming in pairs, one following the other with the dorsal fin and the upper lobe of the tail just appearing above the water, and, as each animal is fully 30 ft. long, the effect of a body of 6o or more ft. long moving through the water is readily produced . To this category belongs the famous serpent cast up on Stronsay, one of the Orkneys, of which an account was read to the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh;' some of its vertebrae were preserved in the Royal College of Surgeons of London, and identified as those of Selache maxima by both Home and Owen.' There is also evidence to show that specimens of Carcharodon must have existed more than too ft. longs (5) Ribbon-fish (Regalecus), from their snake-like form and great length (sometimes as much as 20 ft.), have been suggested as the origin of so-called " sea- serpents," amongst others by Dr Andrew Wilson7; but Dr Gunther,' from what is known regarding the habits of these fish, does not regard the theory as tenable . (6) A gigantic squid (Architeuthis) was most likely the foundation of the old Norse accounts, 9 and also of those which in the early part of the 19th century came so frequently from the United States as to gain for the animal the sobriquet of "American sea-serpent."10 These stories were so circumstantial, so consistent, and vouched for by persons of such eminence, that no doubt was possible (notwithstanding the cavilling of Mitchell)" as to the existence of a strange marine monster of very definite character in those regions . The description commonly given of it has been summed up by Gosse 12 somewhat thus :—(i.) general form that of a serpent; (ii.) length averaging 6o ft.; (iii.) head flattened, eye generally not mentioned, some distinctly stating that it was not seen; (iv.) neck 12 to 16 in. in diameter; (v.) appendages on the head, neck or back (accounts here variable); (vi.) colour dark, lighter below; (vii.) swims at the surface, head thrown forward and slightly elevated; (viii.) progression steady and uniform, body straight but capable of being bent; (ix.) water spouting from it; (x.) in shape like a " nun buoy." The annexed figure (fig . I) represents one which was seen from H.M.S." Daedalus."' To show the reason- FIG' . 1.—Sea-serpent, as seen from H.M.S. ableness of this hy-" Daedalus." pothesis, it may be added that gigantic Cephalopods are not unfrequeiit on the shores of Newfoundland.14 and are occasionally met with on the coasts Mott, Nature, xxvii. pp . 293, 315, 338; also Land and Water (September 1872) . 2 Nature, ibid.; also Drew, in vol. xviii. p . 489; Bird, torn. cit. p . 519; Ingleby, torn. cit p . 541 . ' F .

Smith, Times (February 1858) ; Herriman, quoted by Gosse, op. cit. postea, p . 338; Pringle, Nature, xviii. p . 519 (1878) . 4 Mem . Wern . Soc . Edin. vol. i. pp . 418-444, pls. ix.-xi . (1811) . Ann . Mag . Nat .

Hist.

ser . 2, vol. ii. p . 461 (1848); for a criticism of these views, see Traill, Proc . Roy . Soc . Edin. vol. iii. p . 208 (1857) . 4 Owen, Odontography, p . 30 . Leisure Time Studies, p . 115 (London, 1879), containing a readable essay on the subject; Scotsman (6th September 1878); Nature, loc. cit . 8 Study of Fishes, p .

521 (Edinburgh, 188o) . 8 See

note 2; also Deinbolt, quoted in Zoologist, p . 1604 (1847) . 1° Bigelow, Amer . Journ . Sci. vol. ii. pp . 147-165 (1820); Warburton, ibid. vol. xii. p . 375 (1823); Zoologist, p . 1714 (1847) . u Amer . Journ . Sci. vol. xv. p .

351 (1829) . 12

Romance of Natural History, p . 345 (London, 1859) . M'Quahae, Times (October 1848) ; Ill . Lond . News(October 1848) . 14 A . E . Verrill, Trans . Connect . Acad. vol. v. part i . (188o), con- taining an account of all authenticated specimens of gigantic squids .

56i of Scandinavia,"

Denmark and the British Isles," and their extreme size seems to be above 6o ft., and, furthermore, that their mode of progression is by means of a jet of water forcibly expelled from the siphon, which would impart that equable motion to which several observers allude as being evidently not produced by any serpentine bending of the body . A very interesting account of a monster almost certainly originating in one of these squids is that of Hans Egede,17 the well-known missionary to Greenland; the drawing by Bing, given in his work, is reproduced here (fig . 2), with a sketch of a squid in the act of rearing itself out from the water (fig . 3), an action which they have been observed in aquaria habitually to perform . Numerous other ac-counts seem to be explicable by this hypothesis,18 among them may be mentioned that of a huge " snake " seen by certain of the crew of the " Pauline " in the South Atlantic Ocean, which was said to be coiled twice round a large sperm whale, and then towered up many feet into the air and finally dragged the whale to the bottom . It is now well-known that the sperm whale kills and devours Architeuthis and other large oceanic Cephalopods, and no one who has read Bullen's vivid description, in The Cruise of the Cachalot, of the struggle between a cachalot and a giant squid, can doubt that it was a combat of this kind which was thus erroneously described . The immensely long arms of Architeuthis would not unnaturally be mistaken for a snake by sailors, and instead of being dragged to the bottom the whale doubtless sounded of its own accord as whales usually do (see CUTTLEFISH) . (7) A sea-lion, or "Anson's seal" (Morunga elephantina), was suggested by Owen" as a possible explanation of the serpent seen from H.M.S . " Daedalus"; but as this was afterwards rejected by Captain M`Quahae,2° who stated that it could not have been any animal of the seal kind, it seems better to refer the appearance to a squid . (8) A plesiosaurus, or some other of the huge marine reptiles usually believed to be extinct, might certainly have produced the 1s Steenstrup, Forhandl . Skand . Naturf., 7de Mode, pp .

182-185 (

Christiania, 1857) . 16 Saville Kent, Proc . Zool . Soc . Lond. p . 178 (1874) ; More, Zoologist, p . 4526 (1875); also Ann . Mag . Nat . Hist. ser . 4, vol. vi . Hans Egede .

water . p . I2 '7 Det gamle Gronlands

nye Perlustration (Copenhagen, 1741; Eng. trans., A Description of Greenland, London, 1745, pp . 86-89) ; also Paul Egede, Efterretninger om Gronland, Copenhagen, n.d., pp . 45, 46- '8 L. de Ferry, quoted by Pontoppidan, op. cit . ; Davidson and Sandford, quoted in Zoologist, p . 2459 (1849) ; Senior, Graphic (19th April 1879); Barnett, Nature, vol. xx. p . 289 (1879); Penny, Ill . Lend . News, vol. lxvii. p . 515 (loth November 1875) . 19 Ann .

Mag . Nat . Hist. ser . 2, vol. ii. p . 461 (1848) . 2° . Times (21st November 1848) . phenomena described, granting the possibility of one having survived to the

present time . Newman' and Gosse2 have both supported this theory, the former citing as evidence in its favour the report of a creature with the body of an alligator, a long neck and four paddles having been seen by Captain Hope of H.M.S . " Fly " in the Gulf of California.3 (9) No satisfactory explanation has yet been given of certain descriptions of the sea-serpent . Perhaps the most remarkable of these is Lieutenant Hayne's4 account of a creature seen from H.M. yacht "Osborne." Two different aspects were recorded—the first being a ridge, 30 ft. in length, of triangular fins, each rising 5 to 6 ft. above the water, while the second view showed a large round head 6 ft. in diameter, with huge flappers, which moved like those of a turtle . A more recent record of the appearance of a mysterious sea-monster is that of Messrs Meade-Waldo and Nicoll, both fellows of the Zoological Society, in the Proceedings of that Society for 1906, p .

719 . These two gentlemen on the 7th of

December 1905 were on board the yacht " Valhalla " off the coast of Brazil when at 10 . 15 A.M. they saw, too yds. from the ship, a large fin projecting above the water to a height of 18 in. or 2 ft., and 6 ft. in length . Under the water to the rear of the fin was the shade of a considerable body . When Mr Meade-Waldo directed his field-glasses upon the object he saw a great head and neck rise out of the water in front of the fin . The neck appeared about the thickness of a man's body, and 7 to 8 ft. in length . The head was of the same thickness and had a very turtle-like appearance, eye and mouth being distinctly seen . The object was going very slowly and shortly disappeared from view . In this case as in others the objects seen were not sufficient to identify the nature of the animal . It is difficult to attribute such a head and neck to any known fish, and turtles have no dorsal fin . It would thus appear that, while, with very few exceptions, all the so-called " sea-serpents " can be explained by reference to some well-known animal or other natural object, there is still a residuum sufficient to prevent modern zoologists from denying the possibility that some such creature may after all exist . Distinct in origin from the stories already touched on is the legend of the sea-serpent or tinnin among the Arabs (Mas'Cdi-i .

266 seq . ; Kazwini i . 132 seq . ;

Damiri i . 186 seq.), which is described in such a way as to leave no doubt that the waterspout is the phenomenon on which the fable rests . The tinnin is the Hebrew tannin (E.V . " whale," " dragon "), which in Ps. cxlviii . 7 might in the context be appropriately rendered " waterspout." In addition to the sources already cited, the reader may consult Blackwood's Magazine, vol. iii . (1818); Lee, Sea Monsters Unmasked (International Fisheries Exhibition Handbook, London, 1883) ; Cogswell, Zoologist, pp . 1841, 1911 (1847); and Hoyle, Proc . Roy . Phys .

Soc . Edin. vol. ix . (W . E . Ho.; J . T . C.) SEA-SICKNESS, the symptoms experienced by many persons when subjected to the pitching and

rolling motion of a vessel at sea, of which depression, giddiness, nausea and vomiting are the most prominent . They generally show themselves soon after the vessel has begun to roll by the onset of giddiness and discomfort in the head, together with a sense of nausea and sinking at the stomach, which soon develops into intense sickness and vomiting . At first the contents of the stomach only are ejected; but thereafter bilious matter, and occasionally even blood, are brought up by the violence of the retching . The vomiting is liable to exacerbations according to the amount of oscillation of the ship; but seasons of rest, sometimes admitting of sleep, occasionally intervene . With the sickness there is great physical prostration, as shown in the pallor of the skin, cold sweats and feeble pulse, accompanied with mental depression and wretchedness . In almost all instances the attack has a favourable termination, except in the case of persons weakened by other diseases .

The conditions concerned in the

production of the malady are apparently of complex character . In the first place, the rolling or heaving of the vessel disturbs that feeling of the relation of the body to surrounding objects upon which the sense of security rests . The nervous system being thus subjected to a succession of shocks fails ' Zoologist, p . 2395 . 2 Op. cit. p . 358 . 3 Op . Cit., p . 2356 (1849) . 4 Graphic (30th June 1877).to effect the necessary adjustments for equilibrium . Giddiness and with it nausea and vomiting follow, aided probably by the profound vaso-motor disturbance which produces such manifest depression of the circulation . The displacement of the abdominal viscera, especially the stomach, by the rolling of the vessel may possibly operate to some extent, but it can only be as an accessory cause .

The same may be said of the

influence of the changing impressions made upon the vision, since attacks of sea-sickness occur also in the dark, and in the case of blind persons . Other contributory causes may be mentioned, such as the feeling that sickness is certain to come, which may bring on the attack in some persons even before the vessel has begun to move; the sense. of the body being in a yielding medium, the varied odours met with on board ship, and circumstances of a like nature tend also to precipitate or aggravate an attack . No means has yet been discovered which can altogether prevent the occurrence of sea-sickness, nor is it likely any will be found, until the pitching movements of the vessel are done away with . Swinging couches or chambers have not proved of any practical utility . No doubt there is less risk of sickness in a large and well-ballasted vessel than in a small one; but, even though the rolling may be considerably modified, the ascending and descending movements which so readily produce nausea continue . None of the medicinal agents proposed possess infallible properties: a remedy which suits one person will often.wholly fail with another . Nerve sedatives are among the most potent drugs which can be employed; and doses of bromide of potassium, bromural or chloral, appear to act usefully in the case of many persons . On the other hand, some high authorities have recommended the employment of nerve stimulants, such as a small cupful of very strong coffee, to be taken about two hours before sailing, which will frequently prevent or mitigate the sickness . When the vessel is in motion, or even before starting, the recumbent position with the head low and the, eyes closed should be assumed by those at all Iikely to suffer, and, should the weather admit, on deck rather than below—the body, especially the extremities, being well covered . Many persons, however, find comfort and relief from lying down in their berths with a hot bottle to the feet, by which means sleep may be obtained, and with it a temporary abatement of the giddiness and nausea . Should sickness supervene small quantities of some light food, such as thin arrowroot, gruel or soup, ought to be swallowed if possible, to lessen the sense of exhaustion . The vomiting may be mitigated by saline effervescingg drinks, ice, chloroform, hydrocyanic acid or opium .

Alcohol, although occasionally useful in great prostration, generally tends rather to aggravate the sickness . Dr Chapman, in accordance with his view that the cause of the sickness is an undue afflux of blood to the spinal cord, introduced a spinal ice-bag; but, like every other plan of treatment, it has only occasional success . Such remedies as nitrite of amyl and cocaine do not seem to yield any better results .