The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-02
r PASTURES IN THE SEA.
,ANATEE OR SEA COW, OF
op1nA's RIVERS AND INLETS.

OTb a.
Breakers.
from the Nep York Sun.
,,-orrsr1NE. June 25.-The manatee
row is an amphibious creature Of the
Oanbvdermal family that once was very
r.,r,erous along the shores OF Florida, tne
ut Indies, tropical Brazil and the Gulf OF
o.,;n.a hut which in our day is almost eK~
.sot It has the body OF a whale, the hide
,hinoeeros, and its whole carcass, from
',7la 70 tail, is sparsely covered with
hort. stiff bristles like those on the back Oh
hog The animal, in some ways. is a Gu
80 MIXTURE of sew eral other amph1bia, re-
'.T,bIing many, and yet distinctly none;
~, on the other hand, it Is in a few respects
,otally dissimilar to any other known
feature of land or water, although 1t grazes
ike COW, lives ike nlPpopoUannus' ono
aain7s like a fish.
s" I, tskes. however, more of the nature
.ni peculiarities of the hippopotamus
sbsn of any other living creature. espe-
1 ally in the disk-like muZZle and thick hide,
ss well as in the manner of its eating and
S:vle of living; but again, unlike the hip
s5notamus. it is not a fighting beast, and
r. fading is done entirely at night. 1t be-
ing tirnid and almost defenseless creature
Dnerfectly harmless In every way-and
assessing hide that is val
liable and flesh thas Is well
favored. the natives OF both oonti-
nents have hunted this animal until to-day,
ijke the departed bison, the species is almost
aytinot. The coast of Florida is now about
he only place in the world where the man
stee can yet be found in considerable num-
bsrs They have never been heard of out
,ide of the limits of the Atlantic, their
nlaces in other oceans and other chimes be-
;ng taken by their first cousin, the dugong,
who is native of Ceylon and the East
India islands.
In Florida the manatee, there popularity
known as the sea cow, subsists almost en-
tirey on peculiar kind of marsh heritage
called manatee grass, which grows in great
/ abundance along the swampy shores of
Florida's inlets and rivers. Northumberland
ing its thick hide and stiff bristles, the
creature is said to form fsvorite morsel Of
food for the hordes of savage blue sharks,
which are numerous along the coast of Flor
ida The North American manatee attalns
length of from 10 to 20 feet and weighs
anywhere from 500 to 1850 pounds. The
infants are about feet long at birth and
weigh from rs to 100 pounds The full
grown South American specimen rarely
exceeds length Of 10 feet or a weight of
1000 pounds.
The youngsters rapidly accumulate bulk,
Blu Will AhCtcuoAD6 okO ah0 CApOAtOAOS az
Quire the marvellous speed which enables
them generally to elude the swlftest swim
ming sharks and other enemies. Notwith-
standing its great size and seeming unwieldi-
ness the manatee is by far the swiftest Of
all the large sea animals, and this appears
oil the more remarkable from its apparent
lack Of propelling power. The Insignificant
fat tail is small, though thick, seemingly
insufficient for the amount of weight which
it must force through the water; and it
seems scarcely possible for the bulky Great
ure to work his caudal appendage rapidly
enough to give his body the wonderful inn
petus which it certainly attains. Unlike
other natives of the deep, the manatee's
swimming apparatus Is neither sharp nor
clean cut, as is the case with the shark,
bluefish or tarpon, nor is it placed on edge
that is, up and down-but lies flat and
horizontal, totally dissimilar in every re-
spect from the conventional lines OF good
propeller.
A general description of the incongruous
brute would be about as follows: Body
round, bulky and sparsely covered with
short, stiff bristles; eyes small and bead
like; the muzzle similar to that of a domes-
tic cow; nostrils like a hippopotamus; a
mouth scarcely large enough to drink with /;
small and inoffensive teeth; no neck; no
tusks, f1us like those of seal; flat tail,
and hide fully an inch thick It's keen
belSe OIL nearing COLuDlu6u WIFI bp6eu rem
ders this defenseless creature comparatively
secure from harm unless skillfully trapped
or caught afoul. The principal grazing
ground OF the North American ''sea cow
is the st. Lscia river, near Jupiter inlet, in
Southeastern Florida.
Capt. John Zellers of Titusville makes a
speciality Of trapping manatees, his outfit
being merely good strong seine OF the
finest and strongest quality, and knoWI-
edge acquired from long study and expert
ence Of the habits, ways and favorite graz
Ing grounds of the animal. Occasionally
the hunter or fisherman runs across the
beast when least expecting it, as happened
not long since to two gentlemen named
Hepburn and Miller, who live on Indian
river near the mouth OF Jupiter inlet. They
were quietly padding along shore on a
dark but quiet night when they heard q
rustling just ahead Of theu In the rushes
and tall grass that lined the low muddy
bank. Stealthily and softly they ap-
preached, inch by inch, when what was
their surprise to discover a baby manatee
peacefully feeding among the heritage and
totally unconscious Of the danger lurking SO
near.
Mr.. Hepburn is a tall, powerful and
athletic man, and for an instant was unde-
cided what course to pursue In order TO
secure the prize alive. Then untying a
large handkerchief from his neck, he made
half hitch OF one end and passed the other
end firmly and tightly around his right
wrist. Motioning his partner, who stood
at the helm to softly advance the boat a
few feet, at the right moment Hepburn
reached down and passed the moose quickly
over the infants rudder-llke tail, at the
same time grasping that member with both
hands
Whishl The young manatee swung
round as quick as a stroke Of lightning and
TOOK up mile-e-minute gait straight for
open water and freedom. Although an in
liant only few weeks old, scarcely weigh
Ing $50 pounds, that boat and its occupants
attached TO his tail were no more hindrance
tan baby carriage would be behind a
runaway horse.
de tore through the rushes, the boat
swinging and pitching from side TO side, but
Il ar, Hepburn held his grip securely until at
lassthe little fellow spun them out into deep
81 water and then made a fine dash for the
me OF breakers that were rolling in at the
mouth OF the inlet five miles away. For
nx long miles he dragged those astonished
sportsmen along at a pace they never
ri dreamed possible, and at last struck the
urst breaker with vim that nearly cap
Azed the frail craft he was towing.
steer for the shore )" shouted the nearly
exhausted Hepburn. keep her head il
81 mat directionn
miller ported the helm with all the force
Gould nd hoIG IL