4S0 The Difcovery, Settlement, and Commerce Book I. 
when the Divers had done their Bufinefs, and began 
to alcend, the Sea-dogs returned to their Charge, and 
followed them with greater Fury than ever, while the 
Man was lefs able to defend himfelf, as being obliged 
to 'employ one Hand in holding the Rope which drew 
him up, fo that he had only the other, in which he held 
the Pole, which was to keep off his Enemy. But the 
greateil Difficulty of all was, to pull him up into the 
Ship ; for thefe furious Animals were ready, at the Inftant 
he rofe from the Water, to leap after him, and devour 
him in Sight of his Companions. To avoid fo cruel a 
Death, the Man was forced to draw up his Legs and Feet 
as clofe as he could to his Body, while thofe on Board drew 
him up with a quick Jerk, and fome of them with Hand™ 
fpikes, Trout-fpears, and what ever elfe came to hand, flood 
ready to defend him from theSea-dogs, in cafe they leaped 
after him out of the Water. Thefe Creatures were no 
lefsfubtile than cruel ; and therefore geting under the Keel 
of the Veffel, they kept themfelves very fecure, and were 
ready again to renew their Attack upon the next Diver 
that was let down c . 
Now, though many Circumftances of this Account are 
very improbable, yet, it muft be allowed, that the Pearl- 
divers run very great Hazards from thofe Voracious Ani- 
mals, with which thefe Seas abound, as we have already 
fhewn by various Inflances of Men torn to Pieces even in 
the Harbours, and in the Sight of the Crews of a whole 
Squadron, not by the Hound-fiffi, or Sea-dog, but by 
Sharks, Crocodiles, or Sea-ferpents d . It is highly pro- 
bable that they were in all Ages liable to the like Misfor- 
tunes, and that the Reports of thefe, which, in them- 
felves, were true, gave Birth to this and other Stories of 
the fame kind, which however* fabulous in their Cireum- 
ftances, were not at the Bottom abfolutely void of Foun- 
dation. 
2. It was in the fame Manner that they magnified by 
mifapprehending what they were told concerning amphi- 
bious Creatures •, and hence it is that they report thefe 
come out of the Sea and Rivers, and make ftrange Ha- 
vqck in the Meadows and Corn-fields, which ffiews what 
an Impreffion the Accounts they had received of the Sea- 
Iiorfe, or Sea-cow, for it is called by both Names, had 
made upon them ; for though they were in fome meafure 
acquainted with it in Egypt , and fome of them had been 
brought to Rome , yet thofe of the Indies were much 
larger ; and, indeed, there were few Animals more capable 
of ftriking with Aftonifhment by their Defcription, fuch 
as were unacquainted with them before. 
The Sea-cow in the Eafi-Indies refembles in Size and in 
Shape the Rhinoceros; and as that Animal has Legs 
ffiorter than the Elephant, fo the Legs of this amphibious 
Creature are Rill ffiorter than his. When it fifes out of the 
Sea or. River to come on Shore, k fpouts a vaft Quantity 
of Water through its Noftrils. The Head, in its Make, 
refembles that of a Horfe, except that it is much bigger, 
and therefore from thence, and from the Clumfinefs of its 
Limbs, it derives its Name of the Sea or River Cow. The 
Coat is hairy, but very clofe, the Skin an Inch thick at 
leaft. It has on each Side two ftrong Teeth about a Foot 
and half in Length, weighing each of them about ten 
Pounds. Thefe are efteemed the very belt Ivory, or rather 
better than any Ivory, if we underftand that Word ftri&ly 
of the Elephants Teeth, becaufe they have one Property 
which thofe Teeth have not, and that is, that they never 
lofe their Colour, which is exceedingly white, whereas the 
fineft Ivory grows yellow by Degrees. 
The Sea Cow hath Udders, and fuckles her young ones 
in the fame manner that the Land Cows do their Calves, 
and they are often found with them in the Meadows ; the 
Feet of thefe Creatures are divided into four, and they move 
pretty fail, notwithftanding their Bulk, when they are pur- 
ified. Their Fleffi is efteemed more delicate than any 
other, and the Fat is as hard and as fweet as Butter. It is 
laid, that feeding upon this Animal will change all the 
Juices in the Human Body, and therefore it is held the beft 
Reiterative, and the moil effectual Cure for Scurveys 3 
Gouts, arid other ill Habits of Body h It is allowed that 
thefe Creatures feed moftly upon Grafs, and may poffibly 
eat Corn too if it comes in their Way ; but that they come 
up in Droves, and breaking into Corn-fields, trample down 
and deftroy the whole Fruits of a Harveft, is a thing not 
to be believed. We will now proceed to the Fiffi, pn> 
perly fo called, that are taken notice of by thofe Writers 
or at leaft of fuch as are moft remarkable. 
3 - The Dolphin feems to have exercifed in a very par- 
ticular manner the Attention of the Ancients, who have 
de-fcribed it with greater Care, and preferved more Parti- 
culars, relating to it than any other Fiffi, though at the fame 
time it muft be confeffed, that the Accounts they have 
given us ferve rather to raife our Admiration than to in- 
creafe our Knowledge, becaufe it fo falls out, that with the 
Help of all they have told us, we are not able to affirm, 
with any Certainty, what Fiffi it was they diftinguiffied by 
this Name. They report that it was exceffively fwift in 
fwimming, that it carried its Head a little above Water, 
and that it had an extraordinary Kindnefs for Mankind! 
They likewife fay, that the Dolphin was very common in 
the Mediterranean , the Atlantic k Ocean, and the Indian 
Sea f . * 
It is very certain, that at preferit we meet in none of 
thofe Seas with any Fiffi that refembles the Figure of the 
Dolphin, as reprefented by the Ancients, neither is it known 
that any Fiffi has thofe Properties which they afcribe to the 
Dolphin. Pliny tells us a remarkable Story of a Dolphin 
that took a Fancy to a Boy in the Kingdom of Naples , and 
carried him on his Back acrofs an Arm of the Sea to and 
from School every Day, the Boy calling him Simo % 
which FaCt, he fays, he would not have related, but that 
he found it mentioned before in feveral authentick Writers 
as a thing To well known, that it could not admit either of 
Doubt or Difpute s . 
I have but juft mentioned this Paftage, becaufe it hath 
been already tranfcribed by many Writers ; but there is an- 
other Story in Milan to the full as remarkable, which is 
worthy the Reader’s Notice. It happened under the Reign 
of Ptolemy Philadelphus , that fome young Men were bath- 
ing themfelves in the Sea at the Mouth of the Port of 
Alexandria , when a Dolphin fwam in amongft them, and 
taking a particular Liking to one of them, encouraged him 
to get upon his Back, which the young Man did, and it 
carried him a good way out to Sea. This being feveral 
times repeated, the Spedacle at laft became common, and, 
was beheld by Multitudes of Spectators. The End, how- 
ever, was as tragical as the Beginning had been pleafant ; 
for the Dolphin having one Day forgot to ffiut clofe the 
ffiarp Finn upon his Back, one of the Spikes ran into the 
young Man’s Thigh, and he fainted with the Lofs of Blood. 
The Fiffi perceiving his Diftrefs by his not conducting him 
as ufual, brought him back to the Shore, and then behold- 
ing the Condition he was in, remained likewife on the Sand, 
and perifhed with him h . 
It would be an eafy Matter to colleCt many more Rela- 
tions of this fort from the Writings of the ancient Natu- 
ralifts, if what has been faid was not more than fufficient 
to ffiew, that upon certain Occafions they fet no Bounds to 
their Credulity, and their Fondnefs for wonderful Stories. 
They likewife report of this Animal, that it was of fuch a 
focial Nature, as to fwim in Company with others of its 
own kind, for the fake of refilling mutually with greater 
Strength any Attempts that might be made upon them. 
They likewife allure us, that the Dolphins were drawn to- 
wards the Shore, and kept there by the Sound of Mufick, 
which is as incredible as any of the reft, and feems calcu-? 
lated purely for Amufement. Some other Circumflances 
they report which are more probable, fuch as that the Dol- 
phin was naturally an Enemy to the Crocodile, and defended 
itfelf from the Attacks of that furious Creature, by railing 
the ffiarp Fin Upon its Back \ 
Certain it is, that from a Notion of its Friendlhip to 
Men the Ancients forbore eating its Fleffi, and the Gyre - 
c PUn. lih. ix. cap. xlvi. d Phevenot. Tom. iii. /. ii. c. it. e Almoftall the Writers of Voyages to the Eaft and Weft-Indies agree 
in this. f Ariftot. lib . ix. cap. 48. Strabo , lib. xv. p. 790. Alian. lib. xii. cap. 12. Plin. lib. ix. cap. 8. Athen. Deipn. lib. xiii. Phi- 
loft, Iccn. Ub. i. 8 Hi ft. Nat . lib. ix. cap. viii. h De Animal . lib. vi. cap. 1 e. 1 Allan, cap. 6. Plin. lib , xi. cap. 37. Cafaub. 
in Athen. lib . vii. cap. 7. v 
2 mans 
