File:Four-footed Americans and their kin (1898) (14781294002).jpg

Identifier: fourfootedamericwrig (find matches)
Title: Four-footed Americans and their kin
Year: 1898 (1890s)
Authors: Wright, Mabel Osgood, 1859-1934 Chapman, Frank M. (Frank Michler), 1864-1945, ed Seton, Ernest Thompson, 1860-1946, ill
Subjects: Mammals Animal behavior
Publisher: New York : Macmillan
Contributing Library: Information and Library Science Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Digitizing Sponsor: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
of the coast streams of Florida,where he lives. Though the Manatee spends its life in water, itcannot stay under water more than five or six minutesat a time, and when it comes up to breathe it givespeople a chance to shoot it. Sometimes, however, it iscaught in heavy nets spread across the rivers that areits favorite feeding grounds. While eating, the Manateefloats, using his flippers like fans to guide the long seagrasses and water plants, among which he often hides,to his mouth. People think that early mariners, inlooking down through clear southern waters, saw thismonster floating upright and waving its flippers, as itlooked up through the swaying grasses that surroundedit like long hair. Being surprised and veiy muchfrightened, they lost no time, on going back to shore, inspreading tales of the beautiful mermaids they had seencombing their hair and riding under water on the backsof Dolphins, while they sang sweet luring music. Wecan see for ourselves how much mistaken thev were,
Text Appearing After Image:
The Manatee. FISH OR FLESH 323 but nevertheless one of the Manatees family names isSirenia, or Siren, which does not seem as suitable as SeaCow. No less a personage than Christopher Columbusbelieved that these Manatees were mermaids, but con-fessed himself disappointed in their beauty. In an ac-count of his second voyage we read: The Admiral(Columbus) affirmed he had seen thereabouts threemermaids that raised themselves far above the water,and that they are not as handsome as they are painted,and that they wore something like a human face, whichI believe is the first mention of our Sea Cow in history. The Manatee is slate-gray on top, with a few scat-tered hairs; the belly is whitish. Though it has onlyfore limbs, in resting on the river bottom as is its custom,it curves its tail fins to support its back, after the fashionof legs, and balances by resting also on the tips of itsflippers. One or two calves are born each year, towhom the Cow is most affectionate, being said even toshed t

Note About Images