SEASIDE LEGEND

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22509, 17 September 1938, Page 21

SEASIDE LEGEND

[By ALAN DUNCAN]

VISITORS to the island of Jersey, in the Channel Islands, may - still hear the legend of the celebrated "Bull of St. Clements —St. Clement's being a bay on the eastern shore of the island, a favourite spot for sand-eeling. Years ago the inhabitants of Jersey were puzzled and troubled by a mysterious noise on the coast which persisted so long that it earned for itself the name of the "Bull of St. Clement's," and had many strange stories attached to it which were widely accepted by the inhabitants. According to them the "Bull" was a sea .monster, whose noise was greater than all the animals of- the zoo roaring together! Fishermen who heard it were said to have bad luck afterwards. The voice of the "Bull" was. described as a fearful bellowing, and it was generally heard at low tide. So great was the influence of these stories that when the noise (which was real enough) was heard the people went about in great trepidation. Half-hearted. efforts, were made to disprove the belief and discover the real cause of the noise, but none succeeded. , At last, however, a distinguished local naturalist of Jersey determined to solve the mystery. For a long time he had had his suspicions about the true cause of the roaring of the "Bull of St. Clement's."

One day with some friends he was collecting specimens on the seashore, and while thus engaged the "Bull" started to r6ar. First -a low, deep note, quickly rising to a fierce, shrieking bellow, and ending in a throaty, heart-breaking sob—truly an awe-inspiring sound. Yet the sea was calm and there was not the slightest sign of any fabulous monster! But the naturalist's observant eyes were looking in the direction of a large pool of water enclosed by rocks. Suddenly the enclosed water heaved, and again, at exactly the same moment, came the bellow of the "Bull." The pool was about 100 feet long, by 50 feet wide, and as they hurried; to it the pond heaved once more. ... A hole appeared in the water, which looked as if it were being sucked down-—as indeed it was—and the bellowing began all over again. The explanation of the mystery was suddenly simple. The level of the pond was about six feet above the level of the r sea and was enclosed by the well of rock. Low down in the wall was a cave, the entrance to which was like a gigantic funnel. The funnel was twisted, and there was a deep hollow section kalfrwaydown. During a swell the sea receded suddenly and uncovered the mouth of the cave. The water in the pond was then sucked down at a great speed, and the pressure of perhaps 100 tons of water, forced through the curiously shaped funnel, accounted for the bellowing volume of sound. '-,'•-' The -Jersey naturalist and- his friends decided to lay for all time

How the Bull of St. Clement's Was Found Out

the legend of the "Bull of St. Clement's." They pushed a large boulder into the mouth of the funnel, and the roaring was never heard again. Rock formations combined with the actions of the elements are capable of producing some strange effects of sound, as anyone who has ever explored sea caves can vouch for. The slap -of a wave, for instance, is magnified into a positive thunderclap, which, in many cases, may be thrown back in gradually, increasing echoes by the peculiar acoustic construction of some subterranean cavern, giving birth to, the rumbling and tremors which have been remarked so frequently.