History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, including Lynnfield ...

ANNALS OF LYNN 1 8/6. 69
invited company had passed over the road, a collation was had
at Odd Fellows' Hall, at the close of which speeches were made
and congratulations interchanged. The regular hourly passenger
trains commenced running July 29, on which day 1.075 passengers
were conveyed. A few interesting Indian relics were found
during the excavations.
The famous sea-serpent was alleged by several credible persons
to have been seen by them, during August, not far from Egg
Rock. He was described, so far as his form could be discerned,
to be of glossy black, with some white on the under parts ; the
head resembling that of a lizard, long, flat, and from twenty-four
to thirty inches across ; the mouth large and occasionally widely
opened ; the eyes large and staring. He sometimes raised up
his head six or eight feet and then suddenly submerged it. Some
accounts gave the appearance of a flipper or sort of foot, which
strongly indicated some such animal as the supposed extinct
ichthyosaurus or plesiosaurus. He was also alleged to have been
seen again in the waters of Lynn and Swampscott in November.
An account likewise appeared in the newspapers of a furious
combat between a serpentine monster and a whale, as witnessed
by the officers and crew of a vessel on the southern coast.
A General Convention of Universalists of the United States
commenced a session in Lynn, on Wednesday, Oct. 20, and
continued three days. The weather was favorable and the attendance
large. Delegates were present from all parts of the
country, one hundred and fort}^ ministers constituting the clerical
representation. Much christian courtesy was extended by people
of all denominations. Among the speakers on the closing day
of the session was a full-blooded Delaware Indian, an accredited
missionary residing in Canada, with settlers of his tribe.
A blackfish, ten feet in length, and weighing three hundred
and fifty pounds was found stranded on Long Beach, Nov. 2,
having probably ventured too far towards the shore during the
night.
1876.
This, the Centennial Year of the Republic, will be remembered
for the fervor with which it was observed by all classes, and the
magnificence of the displays, military, industrial, and indeed of
every kind that enlivened patriotism could devise. Yet it was a
year during which there was great business depression throughout
the country. Had times been prosperous and means abundant
it is quite possible Young America would have overleaped
his proprieties. The most important enterprise, perhaps, that
marked the year, was the World's Exposition, at Philadelphia,
which continued open six months — from May 10 to November
10. Great crowds attended. " Excursion parties " were formed