STKI,I,I;R. 





These creatures \vere first Men in IVli ring's Strain, ,-m.l described l.y St ( .|l,.r, tho naturalist, 

 They were taken by a hook at the end of a long rope, fastened (; a. li..tit, wliirh i ., the 



middle of a group. They are very voracious creatures. They swim gently, one after another, with 

 a portion of their backs out of the water, raising their heads every now and then to breathe, whou 

 they snort like horses. 



THE MANATEE, OR LAMANTIN. 



THIS animal inhabits the mouths of the Amazon, Orinoco, and other Bouth American rivers, Its name 

 has reference to the peculiar form of its swimming paws : these, as in the other genera, are composed of 

 soft parts, and a membrane which enfolds the bones of the hand and fingers ; but, in the Manatee, fi.ur 



MANATEES. 



flat nails are seen attached to the edge of the paw. The tail, also, is peculiar, being about one-fourth 

 the length of the body, and oval-shaped, not tmlike that of the otter. The head is round, attached to 

 the body without a neck ; the muzzle, in which the nostrils are placed, is large and fleshy ; the upp-r 

 lip cleft and bristled at the sides ; the lower lip much shorter, and the mouth small. The teeth, wliirh 

 are all molars, bear a resemblance to those of some cloven-footed quadrupeds. 



The mammte of the manatees and dugongs are pectoral, and this structure, joined to the ndroit use 

 of their finger-like flippers, have caused them, when seen at a distance with the anterior part ->f the body 

 out of the water, to be taken for some creatures approaching to human shape. The effect has l,,... u 

 deepened by the thick-set hairs of the muzzle, giving somewhat the appearance of human hair,^>r a 

 Ward. Thus the Spanish and the Portuguese give the nwnatrr a num.- whi.-h sanities NV.-iuan-F 

 and the Dutch call the Dugong Baardmannetze, or.Little Bearded Man. In this way, d<mlu 

 of our stories of mermaids have arisen; and "it is not at all improbable," E "that the 



is has afforded foundation for others. I have myself seen a sea-horse in sui-h a position, that it 



