the body. Behind the oval fins are two
_mamma_, or breasts, from which, when pressed, flows a stream of
beautiful white milk. Both eyes and ears are very small in proportion
to the size of the animal, but, nevertheless, it has full use of these
organs, and is not easily approached by its enemy.

The colour of the skin is a dusky lead, with some flesh-coloured marks
on the belly, and the skin itself is an inch thick at its thickest part,
on the back. Beneath the skin is a layer of fat, of great thickness,
which makes excellent oil when boiled. As we have said, the manati has
no appearance of hind-limbs. Its fore-limbs, however, are highly
developed for a water animal. The bones in them correspond to those in
the human arm, having five fingers with the joints distinct, yet so
enclosed in an inflexible sheath that not a joint can be moved.

The cow-fish feeds on grass, coming in to the borders of the lakes and
rivers to procure it. It can swim very rapidly by means of its flat
tail and strong fins, and is not so easily captured as might be
supposed. All the art of the hunter is required to effect its
destruction. The harpoon is the weapon usually employed, though
sometimes they are caught in strong nets stretched across the mouths of
rivers or the narrow arms of lakes. The flesh of the manati is much
esteemed, and tastes somewhat between beef and pork, altogether
different from "fish." Fried in its own oil, and poured into pots or
jars, it can be preserved for many months.

As already stated, on the day after Guapo shot the turtle--in fact, the
next morning--just as they were going to shove off, some of the party,
in gazing from the edge of the balza, noticed a queer-looking animal in
the clear water below. It was no other than a "fish-cow;" and, as they
continued to examine it more attentively, they were astonished to
observe that, with its short paddle-like limbs, it hugged two miniature
models of itself close to its two breasts. These were the "calves" in
the act of suckling, for such is the mode in which the manati nourishes
her young.

All the others would have watched this spectacle for a while, interested
in the maternal and filial traits thus exhibited by a subaqueous
creature, but while they stood looking into the water, something glanced
before their eyes, and glided with a plunge to the bottom. It was the
harpoon of Guapo.

Blood rose to the surface immediately, and there was a considerable