THE SACRAMENTO DAILY RECORD-UNION — NOVEMBER 23, 1888
Henry Hudson also discovered the east coast of Greenland and a mermaid. This, at least, is what he recorded of the latter incident : “One of our company, looking overboard, saw a mermaid, and, calling up some of the company to see her, one more came up, and she was then close to the ship’s side, looking earnestly at the men. Soon afterward a sea came and overturned her. Her back and breasts were like a woman’s, her body as big as one of us; her skin very white, and long black hair hanging down behind. In her going down they saw her tail, like the tail of a porpoise and speckled like mackarel. Their names that saw her were Thomas Hills and Robert Rayner.“—All the Year Round.
The passage recounted was written in reference to Henry Hudson’s second voyage in search of a Northwest Passage to India. The date of the incident was June 15, 1608. The alleged sighting would have occurred in the Norwegian or Barents Seas somewhere in Arctic waters.
Sacramento Daily Record-Union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]), 23 Nov. 1888. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
