CHAPTER XVII. 



THE WONDERS OF THE WATERS. 



THE MANATEE, OR COW-FISH. 



|O maintain the claim of its ocean character, the 

 Amazon possesses that huge, whale-like creature 

 the manatee, or cow-fish, called by the Brazilians 

 peixe boi, or vacca marina. It is generally about seven 

 or eight feet long, though it attains a length of ten feet or 

 more, and nine feet and upwards in girth. On the upper part 

 the body is perfectly smooth, and of a lead colour. It tapers 

 off towards the tail, which is flat, horizontal, and semicircular, 

 without any appearance of hind-limbs. The head is in reality 

 small, and the neck undistinguishable ; though it has an 

 enormous mouth, with fleshy lips like those of a huge cow, 

 with an ugly countenance. On the lips are stiff bristles, 

 while a few hairs only are scattered over the body. Just 

 behind the head are two powerful oval fins, beneath which, 

 in the female, are the breasts. The ears are very minute 

 holes, and the eyes are extremely small. The skin of the 

 back is fully an inch thick ; and beneath it is a layer of fat, 



