Sir Arthur de Capell Brooke, 2nd Baronet (22 June 1791 in
Northamptonshire – 6 December 1858) was a British
baronet and travel writer, Fellow of the Royal Society (1823) and co-establisher of the
Raleigh Club (1827).
Remarks on Norway
He travelled in Northern Norway in 1820 and remarked the following regarding
sea monsters
«Off
Otersoen.... It was of considerable length, and longer than it appeared, as it lay in large coils above the water to the height of many feet. Its head was shaped like that of a serpent; but he could not tell whether it had teeth or not. He said it emitted a very strong odour and that the boatmen were afraid to approach near it.»
«At
Alstahoeg I found the
Bishop of the Nordlands (another clergyman!) who was an eye-witness to the appearance of two in the Bay of Sorsund, on the
Drontheim Fjord.... They were swimming in large folds, part of which were seen above the water, and the length of the largest he judged to be about one hundred feet. They were of a darkish grey colour, the heads hardly discernible, from their being almost under water.»
His informants were the county administrator of
Finnmark, the clergymen Marcus Fredrik Steen of
Karlsøy and Peter Vogelius Deinboll of
Vadsø (1816–1824); as well as the bishop of Nordland
Mathias Bonsak Krogh. Later, in 1823 he was a traveller between the villages of
Alta and
Torneå, describing how the locals had discovered
coffee.
Books
He wrote and sketched in several publications from his expeditions:
Winter Sketches in Lapland (1826) -- «Illustrations of a Journey from Alten on the Shores of the Polar Sea in 60o 55" North Lat. through Norwegian, Russian, and Swedish Lapland to Torneå at the Extremity of the
Gulf of Bothnia. Intended to Exhibit a Complete View of the Mode of Travelling with Rein-Deer, the most Striking Incidents that Occurred during the Journey, and the General Character of the Winter Scenery of Lapland.»
A Winter in the
North Cape,
John Murray (publisher), London (1827) -- «with various Observations relating to Finmark and its Inhabitants ; made during a Residence at
Hammerfest, near the North Cape»