Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1878-04-04
The Fruit Eating and Vampire
RafS

larger size than the insect-eaters of the
temperate zones, and subsisting on the
luscious fruits that grow so abundantly
in the tropics, cause great havoc among
the plantations, robbing the fig trees as
fast as the fruit can ripen, and COM
pelling the owners to protect their or
chards by lot of little cages OF bam-
boo splints put about each cluster Of
fruit. Some of these bats can see as
well during the brightness of monday
as amid the shades of twilight; but du-
ring the day the most of them with
draw to cliffs or cavernS to sleep, or re-
tire to gloomy forests and hang upon
its trees in great colonies-msny hun
dreds occupying the same tree, to
which they regularly resort. Their ia
vOrite is the banyan tree-that giant
of the woods which sends shoots down.
ward from its branches which took
root, until, in course of time, q single
tree becomes considerable grove. To
the branching rafters of this great
green roof they hang in rows like sOme
curious brown fruit, each mantled i'll
the cloak OF his leathery wings, and
sound asleep. When returning In th3
morning from their midnight foraging,
q scene of the greatest confusion occurs.
Those who get to the tree first resist all
the rest, striking at them with the
hooks of their wings, and shrieking at
the top of their voices. Each one must
fight every morning for his place to-
hook on, and having got it, feels bound
that all later cOmers snall have al
hard time as he had.
These large bats, some of which
al " foot from in 60 Of hn
wings, do not cOnfne themselves
wholly to fruits, but sometimes chase
small birds and quadrupeds, and fire.
quently vary their bill of fare with in
sects; on the other hand, some species
are eaten by men, and said to tasfs
like chicken. They were known to-
the most ancient writers, and the old
fables Of the Egyptians, Greeks, and
HindOOs are full of stories about their
marvellous qualities. II is supposed
that those fabulous animals, the Harp
ies, owe their origin to the ridiculous
notions believed of the terrible powers
of the kalongs. They are called flying
foxes because of the reddish color Of
their fur, and the foxy shape of theiS
heads and faces.
South America also has its large bats,
of one Of which every one has heard
tine vampire. Much nonsense has beeR
written about it, but there was soma
foundation for the stories of its suck
ing the blood of men and animals un-
til it killed them. In the interior of
South America nearly everybody
sleeps in hammock either out Of
doors or with the windows open, and
the weather is SO warm that little COW
ering Is used. The vampire comes in
on silent wings, and finding a toe ex-
posed, gently pricks it with bis sharp
tooth, and draws the blood until he
Can swallow no more. The sleeper is
rarely awakened, and does not know
his loss until morning. He may then
feel week from the flow of blood, but I
not aware that man was ever known
to die from this cause. Horses are
very greatly troubled by them also.
Mr.. Charles WattersOn, an enthuSias-
tic naturalist now dead, who spent
several years in New Guiana, has told
US much about this ugly bat, but could
never induce one to taste of his toe, al-
Though he would have been very glad
to be able to say that he had been ope-
rated upon. For eleven months he
slept alone in the loft of q deserted
wood cutters hut in the deep forest.
There the vampires came and went as
they wished. He saw them come in
the moonlight on stealthy wings, and
prick the ripe bananas; lay in his ham,
mock and watched them bring almost
to his bedside the green wild fruit OF
the guava; floating down the river on
other moonlight nights, was struck by
the falling blossoms of the la-warri-nut
tree which the vampires pulled from
the branches tJ get at the tender seed
vessel, or the insects that lark in the
the deep corolla. He lay night after
night with his bare foot exposed, but
could never get them to lance it, al
though his friends and companions
were all bled by this nocturnal sur
geOn; and except that he once caught
one fastened to the shoulder of one Of
bis animals, he came away no wiser
than when he went of how the Vsm-
pire does his horrid work.
The vampires measure about twenty
six inches across the wings; frequent
old houses and hollow trees, and repO5e
in clusters, head downwords, from the
branches of forest trees.-ERNEST IN
GERsOLL in April Wide Awake.
THE transit Of Mercury, which will
occur on the 5th of May, is looked iUr-
ward to with much interest by the
astronomical world. Two French
scientists are now on their way to the
West to observe it, having been sent
out officially for that purpose. Ons,
NJ. Charles Andre, Director of the
Observatory in the University Of
Lyons, left New York for Ogden,
which has been selected because situat-
ed on elevated ground, nearly on the
divide" of the continent, very favor
ably situated for dryness Of climate and
purity of atmosphere, and the center
Of the transit will take place nearly at
local noon. The other, III. Angot,
Professor of Physics at the Lyeee
Fontanes in Paris, will shortly follow.
The transit will be visible all over the
United States, and will occupy about
seven hours and a half in Its passage.
Transits of Mercury are much more
frequent than those of Venus, the
average interval being less than Il N
years. Thus the coming transit will
be followed by others in 1881 and 1891,
while after the transit of Venus in 1882
none will occur till 2004. No previous
transit of Mercury has ever aroHsed
the attention of observers like the one
whose advent is so soon anticipated,
tor it is hoped that its observation will
help in the solution of several impor-
iant problems, especially in detefmin-
ing the orbit of Mercury, in throwing
more light on the question of an intrs-
Mercurial planet, and in furnishing
data for the renewed estimates Of the
suns distance.
There are people who live behind
the hill,' is an old German proverb,
which means that there are other folks
In the world besides yourself, although
you may net see them. t