548 THE MANATEE, 
The common Manatee is generally about nine or ten feet in length, and is remarkable for 
the thick fleshy dise which terminates the muzzle, and in which the nostrils are placed. 
It is found in some plenty at the mouths of sundry large rivers, such as the Orinoko or 
the Amazon, and feeds upon the algee and other herbage which grows so plentifully in 
those regions. By some writers the animal is said to leave the water entirely, and to 
search for its food upon the land, but this assertion is now ascertained to be incorrect. It 
is, however, in the habit of crawling partly out of the water, and has a strange custom of 
elevating its head and shoulders above the surface in such a manner that it bears some 
resemblance to a human being. 
The flesh of this animal is said to be well flavoured, and as the Manatee is ecclesias- 
tically reckoned as a fish, together with the whales, seals, and other water-loving 
creatures, it is permitted as a lawful article of diet on fasting days. When properly 
salted and preserved by drying in the sun, the flesh of this animal will remain sweet for 
a whole year. The skin of the Manatee is in great request for the formation of sundry 
MANATEE.—Manatus Austrélis. 
leathern articles in which great strength is required, and the oil which is extracted from 
its fat is of excellent quality, and is free from the unpleasant rancid odour which 
characterises so many animal oils. 
_ So valuable an animal is subject to great persecution on the part of the natives, who 
display great activity, skill, and courage in the pursuit of their amphibious quarry. The 
skin of the Manatee is so thick and strong that the wretched steel of which their 
Weapons are composed,—the “machetes,” or sword-knives, with which they are almost 
universally armed, being sold in England for three shillings and sixpence per dozen,—is 
quite unable to penetrate the tough hide. Nothing is so effectual a weapon for this 
Service as a common English three-cornered file, which is fastened to a spear-shaft, and 
pierces through the tough hide with the greatest ease. The skin of the Manatee is so 
thick that it can be cut into strips like the too-celebrated “ cow-hide” of America, which 
is manufactured from the skin of the hippopotamus. Before being dressed, the hide of 
the Manatee is thinly covered with rather stiff bristles. 
