Buffon's Natural History. Volume 09 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &cBuffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
History
Buffon's Natural History. Volume 09 (of 10): Containing a Theory of the Earth, a General History of Man, of the Brute Creation, and of Vegetables, Minerals, &c. &c
Buffon, Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de
Natural history
sea-bears than sea-wolves, as their hair, colour, and head, greatly
resemble those of that animal, the snout only being more pointed; that
they also move like the bear, except dragging their hind legs after
them; that these amphibious animals have a frightful appearance, and
do not shew any fear at the sight of man: their teeth are so very
strong as to bite through the shaft of a javelin; and although their
hind legs appear crippled, yet they move with such swiftness that it
is very difficult to come up with them." Le Guat speaks of having seen
a sea-cow, of a reddish colour, near the Cape of Good Hope; its body
was round and thick, its eyes full and large, long tusks, and its
muzzle was turned a little upwards. A sailor assured him that this
animal, of which he only saw the fore part of its body, the rest being
in the water, had feet. This sea-cow of le Guat's, the sea-bear of
Spilsberg, and the sea-lion of Biervillas, seem to be the same animal
as the _dugon_, the head of which was sent us from the isle of France,
and which, consequently, is to be met with in the southern seas, from
the Cape of Good Hope to the Philippine islands: as for the rest we
cannot affirm that this animal, which resembles the walrus by its head
and tusks, has, like that, four feet. We only presume from analogy,
and the testimony of travellers, that they have those members; but
as the analogy is not very great, nor the testimonies of travellers
sufficiently precise to decide this point, we shall suspend our
judgment thereon till we are able to obtain better information.
THE MANATI.
This animal is called in French lamantin, and supposed by some to have
derived that name from the lamentable cries it makes, but which is
merely fabulous, as it is only a corruption of the real word _manati_,
which in the Spanish indicates an animal with hands.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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