Kraxen, or Krabben, a name given by the Norwegians to a sea-monster of a most enormous size, the existence of which seems to be after all rather dubious. Erich Pontopiddan, bishop of Bergen, in his Natural History of Norway, gives the most distinct account of this creature; which, according to him, is of the polypus kind. He is of opinion, that it is mentioned by Pliny and some other ancient authors, and will have it to be the remora so much spoken of by the ancient writers. This last, however, is now pretty certainly known to be a mistake; for the remora has been observed in the Mediterranean, and found to be a creature vastly inferior in size to the Kraken. See Remora. The bishop's evidences for the existence of the Kraken, and his conjectures about it, we shall give in his own words.

"Our fishermen," says he, "unanimously affirm, and without the least variation in their accounts, that when they row out several miles to sea, particularly in the hot summer-days, and by their situation (which they know by taking a view of certain points of land) expect to find 80 or 100 fathoms water, it often happens that they do not find above 20 or 30, and sometimes less. At these places they generally find the greatest plenty of fish, especially cod and ling. Their lines, they say, are no sooner out, than they may draw them up with the hooks all full of fish; by this they judge that the kraken is at the bottom. They say this creature causes those unnatural shallows mentioned above, and prevents their founding. These the fishermen are always glad to find, looking upon them as a means of their taking abundance of fish. There are sometimes twenty boats or more got together, and throwing out their lines at a moderate distance from each other; and the only thing they then have to observe is, whether the depth continues the same, which they know by their lines, or whether it grows shallower, by their seeming to have less water. If this last be the case, they find that the kraken is raising himself nearer the surface, and then it is not time for them to stay any longer; they immediately leave off fishing, take to their oars, and get away as fast as they can. When they have reached the usual depth of the place, and find themselves out of danger, they lie upon their oars, and in a few minutes after they see this enormous monster come up to the surface of the water; he there shows himself sufficiently, though his whole body does not appear, which, in all likelihood, no human eye ever beheld, (excepting the young of this species, which shall afterwards be spoken of); its back, or upper part, which seems to be in appearance about an English mile and an half in circumference, (some say more, but I choose the least for greater certainty), looks at first like a number of small islands, surrounded with something that floats and fluctuates like sea-weeds. Here and there a larger rising is observed like sand-banks, on which various kinds of small fishes are seen continually leaping about till they roll off into the water from the sides of it; at last several bright points or horns appear, which grow thicker and thicker the higher they rise above the surface of the water, and sometimes they stand up as high and as large as the masts of middle-sized vessels.

"It seems these are the creature's arms; and, it is said, if they were to lay hold of the largest man of war, they would pull it down to the bottom. After this monster has been on the surface of the water a short time, it begins slowly to sink again; and then..." the danger is as great as before; because the motion of his sinking causes such a swell in the sea, and such an eddy or whirlpool, that it draws everything down with it.

"As this enormous sea-animal, in all probability, may be reckoned of the polype or the star-fish kind, it seems, that the parts which are seen rising at its pleasure, and are called arms, are properly the tentacles, or feeling instruments, called horns as well as arms. With these they move themselves, and likewise gather in their food.

"Besides these, for this last purpose the great Creator has also given this creature a strong and peculiar scent, which it can emit at certain times, and by means of which it beguiles and draws other fish to come in heaps about it. This animal has another strange property, known by the experience of a great many old fishermen. They observe, that for some months the kraken, or krabben, is continually eating, and in other months he always voids his excrements. During this evacuation, the surface of the water is coloured with the excrement, and appears quite thick and turbid. This muddiness is said to be so very agreeable to the smell or taste of other fishes, or to both, that they gather together from all parts to it, and keep for that purpose directly over the kraken: he then opens his arms or horns, seizes and swallows his welcome guests, and converts them, after the due time, by digestion, into a bait for other fish of the same kind. I relate what is affirmed by many; but I cannot give so certain assurances of this particular, as I can of the existence of this surprising creature; though I do not find anything in it absolutely contrary to nature. As we can hardly expect an opportunity to examine this enormous sea-animal alive, I am the more concerned that nobody embraced that opportunity which, according to the following account, once did, and perhaps never more may offer, of seeing it entire when dead. The reverend Mr Friis, confessorial affessor, minister of Bodøen in Nordland, and vicar of the college for promoting Christian knowledge, gave me, at the latter end of last year, when he was at Bergen, this relation; which I deliver again on his credit.

"In the year 1680, a krake, (perhaps a young and careless one), came into the water that runs between the rocks and cliffs in the parish of Alftahouge; tho' the general custom of that creature is to keep always several leagues from land, and therefore of course they must die there. It happened that its extended long arms, or antennae, which this creature seems to use like the snail, in turning about, caught hold of some trees standing near the water, which might easily have been torn up by the roots; but besides this, as it was found afterwards, he entangled himself in some openings or clefts in the rock, and therein stuck so fast, and hung so unfortunately, that he could not work himself out, but perished and putrefied on the spot. The carcass, which was a long while decaying, and filled great part of that narrow channel, made it almost impassable by its intolerable stench.

"The kraken has never been known to do any great harm, except they have taken away the lives of those who consequently could not bring the tidings. I have never heard but one instance mentioned, which happened a few years ago near Fridrichstad, in the diocese of Aggerhus. They say that two fishermen accidentally, and to their great surprise, fell into such a spot on the water as has been before described, full of a thick slime, almost like a morass. They immediately strove to get out of this place: but they had not time to turn quick enough to save themselves from one of the kraken's horns; which crushed the head of the boat so, that it was with great difficulty they saved their lives on the wreck, though the weather was as calm as possible; for these monsters never appear at other times.

"Mr Luke Debes, in his description of Faroe, speaks of certain islands which suddenly appear, and as suddenly vanish. This was a thing nobody could comprehend; so that one ought not to wonder at the common people, and even those that were a degree above them, for looking upon those moving islands to be inhabited by evil spirits, which appeared sometimes in such places where the seamen, by daily experience, knew very well that there was no such thing as a rock, much less an island; but, however, they often found something at sea which had the appearance of land, and consequently were confounded, made false reckonings, and were taken out of their course, and brought into the greatest inconveniences. Many sea-faring people give accounts of such appearances of land, and their suddenly vanishing away, and particularly here in the north sea. These islands, in the boisterous ocean, cannot be imagined to be of the nature of those real floating islands that are seen on fresh and stagnated waters, and which I have observed are found here in Norway and in other places. These could not possibly hold or stand against the violence of the waves in the ocean, which break the largest vessels; and therefore our sailors have concluded this delusion could come from no other than that great deceiver the devil. But, according to the laws of truth, we ought not to charge this apostate spirit without a cause. I rather think that this devil, who suddenly makes and unmakes these floating islands, is nothing else but the kraken, which some sea-faring people call See-draulen, that is, See-trolden, "sea-mischief."