Binger states that the manati was the totem of the Mande group, to which perhaps belonged originally the Susu and the Dyula.
The flesh of the manati is much esteemed, and tastes somewhat between beef and pork, altogether different from “fish.”
It is known as the Manati, and the Portuguese call it “peixe boi,” which is only “fish-cow” done into Portuguese.
These were the “calves” in the act of suckling, for such is the mode in which the manati nourishes her young.
This manati was for long a joy to the whole island, and many natives and Christians daily visited this animal.
