Lost in the Jungle; Narrated for Young PeopleDu Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
General
Lost in the Jungle; Narrated for Young People
Du Chaillu, Paul B. (Paul Belloni)
Africa, West -- Description and travel; Africa, West -- Description and travel -- Juvenile literature
The manga is unlike the whale in this, that it has two paddles, which
are used as hands; and, when the flesh or skin is removed, the skeleton
of the paddles looks very much like the bony frame of a hand. I have
named this curious species after my most esteemed friend, Professor
Owen, of London, _Manatus Oweni_.
The skin of the manga, when dried, is of a most beautiful amber color;
the nearer the middle of the back, the more beautiful and intense the
yellow. The skin is there more than one inch in thickness. When fresh it
has a milky color, but when it dries, and the water goes off, it turns
yellow. That part of the back is carefully cut in strips by the natives,
who make whips with it, just in the same way as they do with the
hippopotamus hide, and these whips are used extensively on the backs of
their wives.
The large, broad tail, which is shown in the engraving, is used by them
as a rudder, while their hands are used as paddles. These hands, unlike
those of seals, have no claws or nails. This manga was eleven feet long,
and the body looked quite huge.
Mangas feed entirely on grass and the leaves of trees, the branches of
which fall into the water; they feed, also, on the grass found at the
bottom of the rivers.
In looking at such curious shaped things, I could not help thinking what
queer animals were found on our globe.
The doctor was greatly rejoiced at our success. Then came the ceremony
of cutting up the beast; but, before commencing, Ratenou, the manga
doctor, went through some ceremony round the carcase which he did not
want any one to see. After a little he began to cut up the meat.
It was very fat; on the stomach the fat must have been about two inches
thick. The lean meat was white, with a reddish tinge, and looked very
nice. It is delicious, something like pork, but finer grained and of
sweeter flavor. It must be smoked for a few days in order to have it in
perfection.
We cut the body into pieces of about half a pound each, and put them on
the oralas and smoked Master Manga. The fragrance filled our camp.
The manga belongs to the small but singular group of animals classed as
SIRENIA.
I have often watched these manga feeding on the leaves of trees, the
branches of which hung close to the water. The manga's head only shows
above the water. When thus seen, the manga bears a curious resemblance
to a human being. They never go ashore, and do not crawl even partly out
of the water. They must sometimes weigh as much as two to three thousand
pounds.
CHAPTER IV.
WE GO INTO THE FOREST.--HUNT FOR EBONY-TREES.--THE
FISH-EAGLES.--CAPTURE OF A YOUNG EAGLE.--IMPENDING FIGHT WITH
THEM.--FEARFUL ROARS OF GORILLAS.--GORILLAS BREAKING DOWN
TREES.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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