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brought to the garrison, for the Governor's inspection. After he had looked at it he had it placed in a yard, and allowed the soldiers to see it. It was about five feet in length from the crown of the head to the navel; and from ten to twelve feet in length from the navel to the tip of the tail. Its head was somewhat similar to that of a human being, but had no hair. In place of arms it had fins, and its skin as far as the navel, was smooth and of a brown complexion, but from that point resembled that of the dog-fish, having scales and fins. It seems to have been an amphibious animal, for it lived twelve days in the yard without water; and then the Governor ordered it to be thrown into the sea. It did not utter any sort of cry, and its motion was a jump. Its body, as far as the smooth skin extended, stood erect, but the scaly parts lay along the ground. This creature was no doubt one of those animals that have been called Mermaids, several of whom have unquestionably been found.
In the month of July, 1807, about two hundred of the Forty-eighth Regiment and First Veteran Battalion, were ordered to sail, under the command of Captain Cofield, to an uninhabited island, of the African coast, called Paraxil, in order to prevent the Spanish market boats from supplying
