i8i 
of the dugong. 
frequent allusion to this animal, as an example of maternal 
affection. When they succeed in taking a young one, they 
feel themselves certain of the mother, who follows it to the 
margin of the sea, and allows herself to be speared or taken 
with the greatest ease. The young have a short sharp cry, 
which they frequently repeat ; and it is said they shed tears. 
These tears are carefully preserved by the common people 
as a charm, the possession of which is supposed to secure the 
affections of those to whom they are attached, in the same 
manner as they attract the mother to her young. This idea 
is at least as poetic, and certainly more natural, than the fable 
of the Syren’s song. 
I remain, my dear Sir, 
yours truly, 
Thomas Stamford Raffles. 
Dimensions. 
Ft. In. 
Total length of the animal - - 8 6 
Greatest circumference - - 6 o 
Length of the head from the nostrils to the occiput 1 3 
■ . — ■ — from the nostrils to the end of 
the snout - - o 31- 
Width of the snout - - - o 
Depth of Do. - - - o ^ 
Length of the chin - - 0 5 
Breadth of Do. - - - * o 51- 
Distance from the nostrils to the eyes - - o 6-£ 
the eyes to the ears - 06^ 
— — the eyes to the fin - - 1 5 t 
mdcccxx. B b 
