(a one-masted vessel) with four
petereroes for stone shot, and some long guns, we that came overland
desired him to fit up his prize and make a man-of-war of her for us.
This he did, and we sailed towards Blewfields River, where we careened
our tartane.

While we lay here our Mosquito men went in their canoe and struck some
sea-cow. This creature is about the bigness of a horse, and ten or
twelve feet long. The mouth of it is much like the mouth of a cow,
having great thick lips. The eyes are no bigger than a small pea; the
ears are only two small holes on the side of the head; the neck is short
and thick, bigger than the head. The biggest part of this creature is at
the shoulders, where it has two large fins, one at each side of its
belly.

A calf that sucks is the most delicate meat; privateers commonly roast
them. The skin of the manatee is of great use to privateers, for they
cut them out into straps, which they make fast on the sides of their
canoes, through which they put their oars in rowing, instead of pegs.
The skin of the bull, or of the back of the cow, they cut into
horsewhips, twisted when green, and then hung to dry.

The Mosquitoes, two in a canoe, have a staff about eight feet long,
almost as big as a man's arm at the great end, where there is a hole to
place the harpoon in. At the other end is a piece of light wood, with a
hole in it, through which the small end of the staff comes; and on this
piece of bob-wood there is a line of ten or twelve fathoms wound neatly
about, the end of the line made fast to it. The other end of the line is
made fast to the harpoon, and the Mosquito man keeps about a fathom of
it loose in his hand.

When he strikes, the harpoon presently comes out of the staff, and as
the manatee swims away the line runs off from the bob; and although at
first both staff and bob may be carried under water, yet as the line
runs off it will rise again. When the creature's strength is spent they
haul it up to the canoe's side, knock it on the head, and tow it ashore.

When we had passed by Cartagena we descried a sail off at sea and chased
her. Captain Wright, who sailed best, came up with her and engaged her;
then Captain Yanky, and they took her before we came up. We lost two or
three men, and had seven or eight wounded. The prize was a ship of
twelve guns and forty men, who had all good small arms; she was laden
with sugar and tobacco, and had eight or ten tons of marmalade on board.