ROUND-TAILED MANATI. 
and in the great rivers of Africa. But, 
wherever found, and wliatever may be their 
varieties, as to the form and size, their man- 
ners, and most other qiiahties, seem to be the 
same. They are ail said to be tame, inoffen- 
sive creatures ; to feed on acjuatic plants, and 
such herbage as grows close to the water, 
which they never quit ; to live in families of 
one Male and Female, with their offspring ; to 
have but a single young one at a time, and 
seldom more than two together in the family ; 
and to afFord excellent food, sometimes said to 
resemble pork, and sometimes veal. 
What has been related of Mermaids and Sy- 
rens, some have referred to the Manati ; and, 
as the animal is said to be often tamed by the 
native Americans, and to delight in music, 
others have judged it to be the Delphinus, or 
Dolphin, of the ancients. 
On it's taste for music, we are unable to de- 
cide; but it seems generally agreed, that the 
Manati has a very delicate, though not very ap- 
parent, ear. Some have even gone the length, 
to deny that it has any. 
Pennant, 
