358 NATURALIST'S CABINE*. 



Description, habits, &c. 



nine inches from the muzzle to the tail: his head 

 was very thick, with a large mouth and lips, 

 which were furnished with coarse hairs ; his eyes 

 were small in proportion to his head j and he had 

 only two holes in the sides instead of ears : his 

 neck was very thick and short, and were it not 

 for the wrinkles occasioned by his motions it 

 would be impossible to tell his head from his 

 body. The female has two round breasts, each 

 about seven inches in diameter, and about four 

 in their elevation. The body was eight feet two 

 inches in circumference ; and the tail was like a 

 large battledore, about nineteen inches long, fif- 

 teen inches broad at the widest part, and about 

 three inches thick at the extremity. The skin 

 on the back was about double the thickness of 

 an ox's hide, but much thinner on the belly ; it 

 was of a very coarse grain, and of a slate colour; 

 as were also the hairs or bristles. This animal 

 weighed about eight hundred pounds, and the 

 young one taken with it was nearly three feet 

 long. 



Gumilla states that there are immense num- 

 bers of manati in the great lake of Oronoko. 

 " These animals," says he, " weigh from five 

 hundred to seven hundred pounds each: their 

 eves are small, and the holes for their ears still 

 smaller. They pasture on the sea shores when 

 the river is low. The milk of the female is very 

 thick, and she carries her young at her paps, 

 and grasps them so strongly with he* hands, or 



