26 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 
inches beneath the surface of the water. It was about twenty 
feet from the bank, and Old Charlie whispered to me that it 
was a manatee. Getting into my canoe I paddled gently after him, 
but as I did so an exclamation from Old. Charlie caused me 
to turn, and there, just below me, was another manatee larger 
than the first. I whispered to Pat to keep the boat as still as 
possible, and in another moment the huge creature passed di- 
rectly under us, not two feet beneath the surface, and so clear was 
the water that the coarse hairs on his brown skin were distinctly 
visible. He appeared to be at least ten feet long, and, although 
I wanted that particular manatee very much, as I had no harpoon 
in the boat, I could only sit and watch him slowly move up the 
river, where he undoubtedly joined his companion who had preceded 
him. 
The Indians are very fond of the flesh of this animal, which 
somewhat resembles coarse beef, and what they do not use them- 
selves they readily sell to the white settlers. 
The manatee is a very timid creature, and the least sound, such 
