16 THE LAMANTIN. 



shallow water, where it lies with the snout elevated 

 above the water. 



When the lamantin is discovered in this situa- 

 tion, the following mode of securing it, is resorted 

 to; three, or at most, four persons get into a canoe, 

 which is managed by the man in the bow, who 

 moves his paddle from right to left, without lifting 

 it from the water, so as to impel the canoe swiftly 

 and without noise. The harpooner sits on a board 

 placed across the canoe in the forward part, and the 

 third person is placed in the middle of the boat to 

 manage the line attached to the end of the harpoon. 



The canoe is then swiftly paddled towards the 

 sleeping animal, the men observing the most pro- 

 found silence. When within three or four paces of 

 the lamantin, the harpoon is suddenly struck into 

 its body. The most violent efforts are then made 

 by the wounded animal, which leaps up and springs 

 forward with great force, making the sea foam, by 

 the celerity of its movements. Tired, at length, 

 with fruitless efforts to escape, and weakened by 

 loss of blood, the lamantin stops short, is again 

 wounded by other harpoons, and after a few more 

 unavailing struggles, yields its liberty and life to- 

 gether. 



The female lamantin brings forth her two young, 

 which follow her closely, and are very certainly 

 captured, if the mother be killed. The flesh of the 

 lamantin is considered an excellent article of diet, 

 and lias, at former periods, furnished a large part of 



