FOREST AND STREAM 
947 
THE MANATEE AND JAGUAR. 
A. TERRIFIC ENCOUNTER IN MEXICO. 
T HE presence of a manatee at the New York Aqua¬ 
rium. just now will render the following startling 
account most interesting. Greater curiosity will also be 
excited to see the creature. The narrative is contributed 
by Charles Lanmau, Esq., of the Japanese Consulate at 
Washington, a traveller as well known as Bayard Taylor 
for the past forty years. It is reprinted from our issue 
of Oct. 9th, 1873. 
While in Mexico I was sauutering one day along the 
banks of the Panuco River, thirty miles above tbe city of 
Tampico, armed with one of Henry’s twelve-shooting re¬ 
peaters, takiug an occasional shot at the alligators bask¬ 
ing open-mouthed on the sand bars, when I observed a 
great commotion in the river several hundred yards lie- 
low me. I saw a dark mass slowly rise from the water 
and creep along tbe shore toward a small pond made by 
the overflow. It was a very large Manatee, or River 
Cow—a very large one, indeed. The height, of my ambi¬ 
tion was to kill one of these monsters, and although 1 had 
repeatedly shot at them, I always failed to secure my 
game. I immediately hastened toward the manatee, 
walking very cautiously, for their hearing is very acute, 
and succeeded in approaching within three hundred 
yards, when I was much startled at seeing some animal 
creeping cautiously toward the shore, where the manatee 
had landed. I thought at that time it must be a large 
dog, but its movements were too stealthy, too cat-like. 
I was at fault. A wolf it could not be, for none existed 
in that part of the country. It crept so low in the grass 
tliat I could not decide what it was. Remembering that 
I carried a small opera-glass in my pocket I stopped and 
adjusted it, but on account of the height ot' tbe grass I 
could only occasionally see the animal. Its intention 
was plainly to intercept the manatee's retreat. Every 
time the cow raised its bead the animal would crouch, 
and when it began feeding on the lily-pads it slowly ad¬ 
vanced. I resolved to approach nearer, and with great 
caution and fatigue reached a small clump of trees about 
eighty yards from tbe manatee and about one hundred 
and twenty from its assailant, for there was now no 
doubt of its purpose. A bare piece of sand intervened 
between the two animals. Fixing Jmy glass I awaited 
with great excitement the approach of the attacking 
party. Slowly would it creep—so slowly that minutes 
seemed hours. At last, at the edge of the sand-belt, I 
saw it crouch low and remain immovable at least five 
minutes, and then in two tremendous bouurls it crossed 
the open space and sank as if shot in the bushes beyond. 
I saw it well. It was the dreaded tiger of the coast, the 
jaguar, A thrill ran through me and I could not help 
looking behind to see if his mate was not attacking me, 
but the interest was too great as to what was passing in 
front. Slight as must have been the noise made by the 
jaguar, it had evidently alarmed the manatee. It made 
rapidly for the river; but ou passing near tbe jaguar, with 
a terrific roar which shook the very ground, it leaped on 
the head of the unhappy cow. Then began a struggle of 
■which I could see but little. The roaring and snarling of 
the jaguar were frightful to hear, and the bellowing of 
the manatee incessant for at least ten minutes. Clouds 
of dust enveloped them, the cow evidently making des¬ 
perate efforts to reach the water and the jaguar trying 
to prevent it. At last the bellowing and screeching 
ceased entirely, the dust settled, the poor cow was flap¬ 
ping its tail in its death agony ; and the jaguar seated on 
its haunches seemed to be contemplating its victim, al¬ 
most touching it. At tbismoment tbe jaguar made a mo¬ 
tion and gave a piercing shriek, dragging itself with its 
fore paws, the hind limbs hanging behind motionless. 
Another moment and another howl j its spine was brok¬ 
en 1 Iu the struggle, or during the death agony of the 
manatee, it bad fallen on the tiger and crushed him. 
Slowly be dragged himself along, groaning at every 
movement, to the edge of the pond, aud drank copiously 
and laid down in evident pain. 
I now determined to draw near, and with my rifle 
ready approached the helpless beast. He soon heard my 
steps, and rose again to a sitting posture, roaring loudly 
and showing his teeth, but no evidence of fear, onlyra^e, 
and thenlay with his head between bis paws, watching 
my movements. I advanced to within forty yards? 
when be rose suddenly and tried to spring toward me, 
falling some five feet forward. I stopped, wishing to 
come no nearer than necessary. He crouched again, and 
almost fascinated me with his intense gaze. 1 looked at 
him with every nerve strung, expecting another attack, 
but bis eyes alone moved like coals ol' fire. I advanced 
about fifteen steps more, when lie made another fruitless 
attempt to leap. I turned on one side, but no movement 
of his followed. Until I got behind him he seemed dog¬ 
gedly resigned to his fate. I shouted, and he deliberately 
turned his bead to look about. I raised my rifle, and 
aiming at the glowing eye. fired. No movement on bis 
part betrayed be was struck, and as I again aimed at him 
a spurt of blood gushed frem his mouth ; he turned over, 
tearing the earth and grass, and in no less thau a minute 
was dead. I now had leisure to examine the animals. 
Tbe head of the manatee was almost entirely bitten off, 
tbe brains scattered in every direction, and eyes clawed 
out by the jaguar, One of the fins or arms was bitten 
entirely oif, but on the body but few marks of its adver¬ 
sary's claws or teeth were visible. It measured eighteen, 
feet in length, and its girth was about twelve feet,? The 
mammae were well developed, showing that it bad a suck¬ 
ing calf. Tbe hide in color resembled tliat of the ele¬ 
phant, only a little greener, and the head was ridiculously 
small compared to the size of tbe body. I now turned to 
tbe jaguar. He was also very large and beautifully spot¬ 
ted ; his teeth were Large and his claws very sharp and 
curved. He measured eight feet from tip to tip, as slim 
and long as a greyhound ; but the diameter of his paws 
revealed the muscles of steel which lay -within, He was 
about three feet eight inches in height, four of tlio fangs 
were two inches long, his head and skin were rnuoh 
scarred, and one of his ears was bitten off. 
At this moment two raucheros rode up, but as soon as 
the horses Ivad a smell of the jaguar they shied and re¬ 
fused to advance, and nothing but the matchless skill of 
the riders saved thorn from being unhorsed. 1 sent one 
to the Iowa of Panuco to inform my friends, and in an 
hour more than tlireo hundred people had assembled. 
The jagnar was bodily carried into a canoe, and tbe man¬ 
atee with great difficulty rolled into the river and floated 
between two large canoes, sixty feet long, with ropes to 
prevent its sinking, the horsemen following along the 
banks yelling and firing off their muskets. They arrived 
at Panuco, about three miles distant, in perfect triumph, 
and for three days the jaguar, and above all, the man¬ 
atee, were tbe wonder of the surrounding country. 
Charles Lanhan. 
THE FLORIDA CROCODILE. 
(C. acutus.) 
A CAREFUL observer of Florida alligators, who signs 
himself ‘‘Wanderer,” in an article which ap¬ 
peared in the Forest and Stream of Dec. 4th, last year, 
says: “We have three species of alligators, differing 
from each other in the following manner. The black 
alligator is short, very large for his length, and inhabits 
principally lakes, ponds, sluggish streams, and lives or 
has bis home in holes that be makes in tbe banks near 
the water’s edge, and often the entrance is under the 
water. Next is the brown alligator, long, slim, and very 
swift and active, and much straighter from his eyes to 
tip of nose than the black. He lies at the bottom, in 
deep holes and under shelving rocks and sandbanks, and 
inhabits the running streams and along the beach. The 
next is similar to the brown, differing only in shape of 
bead, lower tusks, protruding through upper jaw when 
his mouth is closed. I only saw one of these. J. M. 
Gal pin killed him at tbe mouth of Arch Creek, on Key 
Biscane Bay, measuring only eight feet.” 
The last saurian described by “Wanderer” is not an 
alligator, but is a specimen of the true crocodile C. 
acutus. As but few of your readers are probably aware 
tliat Florida is the home of tbe crocodile as well as of the 
alligator (A. Mississippiensis) you will pardon me for 
quoting a few lines upon that interesting reptile from my 
recently, published book, “Four Months in a Sneak- 
Box : a boat voyage of 3,600 miles down the Ohio and 
Mississippi rivers, and along the Gulf of Mexico.” 
“ There is much interest connected with the discovery 
of the true crocodile, (C. acutus) in the Floridian penin¬ 
sular. While the alligators have broader heads, snorter 
snouts, and more numerous teeth than the crocodiles, the 
unscientifio hunter can at once identify the true croco¬ 
dile by two holes in tbe upper jaw, into which aud 
through which the two principal teeth or tusks of the 
lower jaw protrude, and can be seen by looking down 
upon the head of the animal. The largest teeth of the 
alligator do not thus protrude through the head or snout, 
but fit into sockets iu the upper jaw. I first studied the 
true crocodile in the island of Cuba, where there are two 
distinct species of the genus, one of which is our Florida 
species (C. acutus). At that time science was blind to the 
fact that the crocodile was a member of the fauna of the 
United States. At a meeting of 1 the Boston Society of 
Natural History,' held May 19th, 1869, the late compara¬ 
tive anatomist, Dr. Jeffries Wyman, exhibited the head 
of a crocodile ( C. acutus) which had been sent him by 
William H. Hunt, Esq,, of Miami River, which stream 
flows out of the everglades and empties into Key Bis- 
cayene Bay, at the southeastern end of the Floridian 
peninsular. 
A second cranium of the sharped-nosed crocodile was 
afterwards obtained from the same locality, hut the honor 
of killing and recognizing one of these huge monsters, 
belongs to the young and enterprising author of the 
“Birds or Florida.” 1 refer to Mr. C. J. Maynard, of 
NewtonviUe, Mass., who has furnished me with a graphic 
description of his meeting with, and the capture of. the 
crocodile, while engaged in his ornithological pursuits 
during the year 1867. 
As the same account was also furnished to the author or 
compiler of that valuable work, “ UampLifo in Florida,” 
which was published by the Forest and Stream Publish¬ 
ing Co., and is somewhat lengthv, I will omit it here ; 
and will only add tliat a naturalist from Rochester, N. 
Y., afterwards captured a crocodile in South Florida, and 
attempted to make a new species of it by giving it the 
specific name of Floridanus, in place of the older one of 
C. acutus. 
The notes furnished by “Wanderer” are exceedingly 
interesting and valuable. The black ami the brown speci¬ 
mens described by him are probably varieties, not 
species, of the A. Mississippiensis. However, as we 
were not aware, a few years since, that we had a croco¬ 
dile in our fauna, we may perhaps have two species of 
alligators in Florida. I have observed that there is a de¬ 
cided difference between the black and brown alligators 
described by “Wanderer," but never supposed these 
differences would separate them into two disti not species. 
Will not “ Wanderer” favor us with more of his observa- 
tio ns on the Florida fauna ? Nathaniel H. Bishop. 
Lake George , Warren Co., IV. Y, 
An Alligator Astray. — Indianapolis, Ind.—Editor 
Forest and Stream :—Of course, mine is a true story : but 
to make it perfectly clear to you, I desire to say that on 
three separate occasions I saw an alligator in Wliiteley's 
Hole, on the Leona, although I never heard of the oldest 
inhabitant seeing one in that locality before. The Leona 
empties into the ludiana, the latter into the San Antonia 
River, which empties into a small bay on the Gulf coast. 
The reptile must have been at least one hundred miles 
from his native spot, and how he got there has always 
been a great mystery to me. Grincio. 
Food of Frogs, — Sing Sing, N. F., Dee. 0th. —I saw in 
your issue of Dec. 4th a note giving the hill of fare of the 
frog. It reminded me of a more extensive one of fish, 
flesh and fowl, which I have found, wliile dissecting the 
frog, in the past few years. In an old veteran, which 
measured sixteen inches long, and was killed in a mill 
pond, I found a full-fledged oriole ( Icterus baltimore). I 
suppose the bird had hopped down to the water to drink, 
when it was seized by the hidden frog. In a frog that I 
killed in a wet meadow I found three meadow mice 
(Arvicolce), Of two more which were killed iu a large 
pond, one contained live minnows (each about two and a 
half inches long); the other three minnows and a large 
water-bug ( Belostoma ). Of two that were killed near 
Croton Lake, in one I found a water-thrush ( Seiurus mo- 
tacilla), and in the other a small striped snake, six inches 
long, A, K, Fisher, M. D. 
The Northern Waxwing in Iowa.— Ames, Iowa, Dec. 
22 d .—In your issue of December 18th, T. S. Roberts notes 
the appearance of the Bohemian waxwing ( Ampelis gar- 
rulus, in Minnesota. The bird has also been seen here in 
considerable numbers. I find in my notes that I shot two 
specimens on November 31st, and I have since seen sev¬ 
eral flocks. I have also received a specimen from Deni¬ 
son, in this State. They appear to be feeding upon the 
berries of the smilax or green-brier. F. E. L. Beal, 
THE ORIGIN OF THE TURKEY. 
BY ELLIOTT CODES, U. S. A, 
T HERE is no longer the slightest doubt that tiro do¬ 
mestic turkey is descended from the wild bird of 
Mexico lately named Meleagris Mexicana by Gould. It 
was upon this bird, and not upon the feral race which in¬ 
habits ihe United States at large, that the Linmean name 
of Meleagris gallopavo was bestowed. 
The most satisfactory acoount of the introduction of 
the bird into Europe, and of its early history there that I 
have seen, is given by Mr. Edward T. Bennett, in his beau¬ 
tiful work entitled “The Gardens and Menagerie of the 
Zoological Society Delineated” (p. 309 of vol. ii, 1831), 
Mr. Bennett justly remarks upon the curious.circumstance 
that the bird, now known for three centuries, should have 
been doubtful for more than two hundred years—its very 
patria unknown or erroneously attributed to it, and it¬ 
self wrongly supposed to have been a bird known to the 
ancients under the name of Meleagris. Most writers of 
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, among them 
Belon and Aldrovandi, thought that it came from Africa 
or from the Levant, and confounded it with the guinea 
fowl, as minutely described by Athansetis and other clas¬ 
sic authors. Mr. Bennett states that the French acade¬ 
micians first called attention to the circumstance, and 
that Daines Barrington, in 1781, was the last person to 
uphold the groundless notion. 
A more needless blunder, of greater tenacity and obdu¬ 
racy, is not to be found in the annals of our science. The 
MriUaypir of the Greeks, or Meleagris of the Latin, was 
the African guinea fowl, Numida Meleagris of Linnaeus. 
Aristotle, indeed, mentions it only in the briefest terms 
possible: but Pliny, though very unsatisfactory in his de¬ 
scription, saysexplicitly that the Meleagris was an African 
bird, Athanseus, however, gives a sufficient description 
from a work of Clytus Miiesius, a pupil of Aristotle, 
leaving no doubt which the Meleagris was. Gesner rec¬ 
ognized the bird in the guinea fowl, but his contemporary, 
Belon, supposed the turkey to lie meant; the former 
named the turkey Gallopavo, and L i nn aeus, two centuries 
later, adopted this name as the specific term of hiB Melea¬ 
gris gallopavo, thus transferring the ancient name of the 
guinea fowl to the turkey.* 
Linnaeus, however, knew perfectly well that the turkey 
was American. He says distinctly: “Habitat in Amer¬ 
ica septentrionali,” and quotes as his first reference (af¬ 
ter Fn. Svec. 198) the Gallo-pavo sylvestris nov<n anglice, 
or New England wild turkey of Ray. Brisson distin¬ 
guishes the two perfectly, giving an elaborate description, 
a copious synonymy and a figure of each; and from 
about this time it may be considered that the history of 
the two birds, so widely diverse, was finally disentan¬ 
gled, and the proper habitat ascribed to each. 
To return to Mr. Bennett's article, from which what 
here follows is almost entirely extracted :—It is known 
neither by whom nor at what precise period the turkey 
was first ’brought to Europe ; but it may be reasonably 
presumed that it was introduced by the Spaniards from 
Mexico. Tile earliest-description of the bird is said to he 
that given by Oveido, in his “ Natural History of the In¬ 
dies,” where it is mentioned as a kind of peacock found 
in New Spain, whence it had been transported in num¬ 
bers to the islands and the Spanish Main, and there do¬ 
mesticated. Mexico was discovered by Grijalva in 1518 ; 
Oveido’s work was published at Toledo in 1536; this 
author’s account proves, therefore, that the turkey was 
domesticated prior to the latter date. It is also described 
by Gomarra aud Hernandez as indigenous to that country, 
and the latter writer distinguishes the tamed birds from 
the wild. 
The turkey thus domesticated by the Spaniards seems 
to have directly found its way to England, through the 
close intercourse then subsisting between the two great 
maritime nations : though it is curious to observe that no 
trace of the fact remains either in the name of the bird 
or in popular tradition. “ Ou the other hand, it is barely 
possible that it may have been brought directly from 
America to England by Cabot, who made such exten¬ 
sive discoveries on the coast of the newly found conti¬ 
nent. According to a popular rhyme, quoted by Baker 
in his Chronicle, 
• Turkeys, carps, hoppes, piecarei and beer. 
Came into England nil m one year,' 
which remarkable year is said to have been about the 
fifteenth of King Hinny the Eighth, or 1524.” Barnaby 
Googe, a writer on husbandry iu 1614, says that “those 
outlaudish birds called giuny cocks and turkey cocks” 
were not seen in England before 1530 ; but derives the 
statement from Heresbach, a German author. 
According to Hakluyt, in certain papers dating 1583, 
turkeys had oeen brought to England about fifty yeans pre¬ 
viously. “ We may. therefore, fairly conclude'that they 
became known hi this country about the year 1530, Why 
they were denominated turkeys, an appellation which 
bears no resemblance to their name iu any other lan¬ 
guage, we have uo probable grounds even for conjecture. 
Willoughby supposes the name to be derived from a 
notion that they'were brought from Turkey. Such an 
erroneous opinion maj’ possibly have arisen from that 
confusion which appeal's to have at first existed between 
them aud the guinea fowls, the latter being probably 
commonly obtained from the Levant, and 'being also 
in the sixteenth century, exceedingly rare in England.” 
The turkey, ou the contrary speedily became a common 
bird of the poultry yard and a standing dish at festivals. 
There-an: statutes respecting its use for the table dating 
1541 and 1553, and it was so plentiful iu 1573 that it was 
then, as it lias ever since continued to be, the usual 
Christmas di liner. 
f cf. Sumlev., Tliierarten Arist, p. 139,1SC3. 
