228 DESCRIPTION OF BERING ISLAND 



rushed upon it and by their commotion tired it out further; when 

 it seemed enfeebled they jabbed large knives and bayonets into 

 its body until it had lost almost all its blood, which spouted 

 from the wounds as from a fountain, and could thus be hauled 

 on the beach at high tide and made fast. As soon as the water 

 went out again and the animal lay on the dry beach the meat 

 and fat were cut off everywhere in pieces i" and carried with 

 rejoicing to our dwellings, where the meat was kept in barrels 

 and the fat hung up on high frames. We now soon found our- 

 selves so abundantly supplied with food that we could continue 

 the building of our new vessel without hindrance."^ 



This sea animal, which became so valuable to us, was first 

 seen by the Spaniards in America and described with many 

 intermingled untruths by the physician Hernandez. ^'^^ The 

 Spaniards called it manati, the English and Dutch have named 

 it sea cow.^'*^ It is found both on the eastern and on the western 



"1 The MS has "in large pieces." 



142 In the MS this sentence reads: "At last we found ourselves relieved 

 at one stroke from all trouble and enabled to continue the building of 

 the new vessel with twice the number of workmen." 



1" In the MS this sentence is completed by the following: "and after 

 him by Carolus Clusius and others." 



Francisco Hernandez was physician to Philip II of Spain, by whom 

 he was sent to New Spain (i 571-157 7) to examine its natural resources. 

 His main published work incorporating the results of this investigation 

 is "Quatro libros de la naturaleza y virtudes de las plantas y animales 

 que estan recevidos en el uso de medicina en la Nueva Espafia," Mexico. 

 1615, of which an abridgment was published in Rome, 1651, under the 

 title of "Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus, seu plantarum, 

 animalium, mineralium mexicanorum historia, etc." The discussion of 

 the manati constitutes Book 4, Part I, Ch. 8, on leaves 183-184, of the 

 Mexico, 161 5, edition. There are two modern reprints of this edition, 

 one by Antonio Penafiel, Mexico, 1888, the other by Nicolas Leon, 

 Morelia, 1888. 



Carolus Clusius is the Latin form of the name of the French botanist 

 Charles de Lecluse (1526-1609). The reference to the manati is pre- 

 sumably in his "Exoticorum libri decem, quibus animalium, plantarum, 

 aromatum. aliorumque peregrinorum fructuum historiae describuntur," 

 Antwerp, 1605. 



1" In the MS this sentence reads: "The English either call it, The 



