From: "James Wynn" 
Subject: RE: (urth) The leatherskin
Date: Fri, 10 Jan 2003 14:28:06 -0600

One thing I've reconsidered:
The morphology of the "legs" seems to differ from the dugong's flippers in
that the foremost claws (at least) are attached to jointed "arms" that
permit them to be extended in front of the animal to some degree. This is
clear because Horn's first view of the creature was its claws "scrabbling"
for the gunwale with the head not in site.
"Looking behind me, I saw great, coarse claws, each as thick as the handle
of our ax, scrabbling for a hold on the port gunwale and rowling its wood
like so many gouges. A moment later the head appeared and shot toward me."
On Blues Waters, chapter 2
But it did not use its claws to impel itself at Horn because (I would guess)
if its claws had such strength, it would not have had so much trouble
getting on the boat. "The head shot toward" Horn because the leatherskin was
impelled itself with its tail.

I don't think this undermines Pausanias as the original inspiration.

--Crush

-----Original Message-----
From: James Wynn [mailto:crushtv@HotPOP.com]
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 11:30 AM
To: urth@urth.net
Subject: RE: (urth) The leatherskin

BTW It occurred to me last night that manticores have **horns** with
**stingers**. Wolfe's leatherskin "had" a Horn with a deadly sting as well
... a harpoon.

-----Original Message-----
From: Dan'l Danehy-Oakes [mailto:ddanehy@siebel.com]
Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 10:42 AM
To: urth@urth.net
Subject: RE: (urth) The leatherskin

> >Way back on October 18, 1999 I argued that the leatherskin
> >has twelve legs and no one has bothered arguing with my
> >conclusions yet. What I said then:
> >----------------
> >The leatherskin, one of the largest I have ever seen, stood
> >with six massive legs and half its weight on the starboard
> >gunwale, over which silver water cascaded. [OBW (hc), p. 62]
> >----------------

Well, I didn't exactly argue with your conclusion, but I'm
pretty sure I came back with the suggestion that the
leatherskin is some kind of crustacean -- my first thought
was a lobster, but on more mature thought I suspect it of
being something like a softshell crab. Except, of course,
much bigger. And with twice as many limbs.

--Blattid


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