One of the more miraculous stories of the wondrous fauna in the New World was reported by the early Spanish chroniclers. According to their telling, a cacique in what is today Haiti, named Caramatextius, had a pet manatee. Named Matu, meaning generous or noble, it was caught while young and raised in a lake called Guarabo. After 25 years, however, a hurricane caused the Artibonite to flood, eventually driving Matu into the sea. While this story has unrealistic elements (a manatee who allegedly carried 10 men on its back and hated Christians because one of them attacked him), it was apparently renowned across the island. It is also interesting since manatee meat was one of the highly desirous sources of protein for the Taino. Further confirmation of the location of Caramatexius's manatee can be seen in the map of the island by Morales.
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