Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-09
QUEER ANIMALS OF MEXICO.
The CacOmixtle That Lives in House
Roofs, and the Vampire Hat.

The CacOmixtle That Lives in House
Roofs, and the Vampire Hat.
There are plenty of queer animals in
Mexico" said MT. p. l.. Jouy Of the Smith
sonian Institution to a writer for The Star.
II picked up some of them ON a trip
through that country, from which i have
just returned. For example, there is the
'cacomixtie.' a very odd creature indeed.
which lives commonly In the roofs OF
houses. 1t is big as cat long and
slender, and in color yellowish brown. a
species of civet cat 1t is, but not true cat,
you understand. II Is beast intermediate
III structure between the cat and the
weasel. In respect to its habits also 1t re-
sembies both weasel ana cat.
The roofs Of the houses IN that part OF
the country are usually covered with tiles.
tween the tiles and the raj ters OF dwell
Ing, depending Tor It's supplies 10 food on
its skill in foraSlng. Not u lew, but great
numbers. OF these creatures live in this
fashion. They are strictly nocturnal.
though occasionally one is seen in the day
time. Not infrequentiy one sees half a
dozen OF them playing together on roof
At night. They are very shillfui at catch
ing chickens. an, their predatory ways
cause them to be r. yaraed by househoiders
as enemies rather than as pets.
why do not the people kin them? They
do occasionally. But the animals have such
good hiding places in the roofs that they
are difficult to get at. They only come out
at night and are very wary. But the chief
reason why they are tolerated is that the
natives are too lazy to take the trouble to
catch them, preferring to put up with the
loss Of their chickens, etc. / captured one
by using a fowl for bait and surrounding
1t on all sides with steel traps. In the
morning several of the traps were sprung,
but save in a single instance only scraps of
fur remained to tell the tale. the beasts
haI made When fakRn
young they are quickly tanned. but their
bodies emit a powerful and disagreeable
effluvum when they are excited, so that
one has desire to be elsewhere. On that
account they are not desira BILE pets.
II had an odd adventure near Guada-
lajara That city is situated high
plateau. and owing to its elevation has a
delightfully."- cool climate. Though actually
in the tropics, 1t Is to all fntents and pur-
poses in the temperate zone. But within
a short distance of the town one may de-
scend into a region 1,5OO feet below, where
the vegetation is wholly tropical in char
acter, and where coffee, pineapples and
mangoes are raised. Naturally the fauna
Of this lower level is as different from that
Of the heights as is the fora, and there
found an attractive hunting ground for
birds and small mammals. One morning,
having spent the night at the bottom Of a
barranca, or canyon, l was somewhat
alarmed to find my horse bleeding pro-
fusely from what i at first took to be a
stab wound lnflcteQ DIV knlIe. On eX-
animation and inquiry 1t appeared that the
animal had been bitten by a vampire bat.
Such bats. the natives informed me, are
quite plenti in that neighborhood. Some
times they infiict serious injuries.
This species of bat is well known. 1t Is
not very large, having a wing spread of
only ten or twelve inches. But 1t is rem
dered formidable by a rather extraordinary
four incisors it has only two: but they are
very long and as sharp as razors. They
are shaped exactly like sabers. They are
set in the upper jaw and fit into sockets in
the lower jaw. Better instruments for cut
ting could hardly be imagined. The ANNA,
is nocturnal in its habits, like other bats.
It's head bears a curious likeness to that
of a bulldog, and 1 dare say that it has a
disposition to match The natives say that
II will attack human beings who venture
to sleep in the open air at night. They
have a theory that branches of pine hung
over the open doors and windows Of dwell
ings and barns will keep the vampires
from entering. but I seriously doubt II
there Is any ground for such a belief.
IT brought back with me a teton 1t Is
now as big as a good sized terrier. but It was
quite young when got it-only few inches
long in fact-so that II has been perfectly
tanned Until recently 1t was permitted to
run about the house. but now 1t has to be
kept chained up because 1t IL so inquisitive
and mischievous. 1t shares those traits with
the raccoon, to which 1t is nearly related
fifteen or twenty individuals. They &c
about Investigating rotten trees and stumps
for insects. They rob birds nests OF their
eggs, steal fruit, and destroy corn when II
is in the milk. Consequently the natives
regard them as pests. They are found In
the terra caliente. or hot region, along the
coast
II found some very peculiar crabs at Lake
Chapala. That is the biggest lake of Mex
leo; a beautiful sheet Of water ninety miles
in length. The crabs are quite small, but
they exist there in such vast numbers as to
contribute an important item to the fare OF
the natives. Their color Is that of the gar.
net as nearly as I can describe 1t. caugh,
eighty OF them In an afternoon. picking
them up from beneath stones along the
waters edge. OF course. they are fresh.
water crabs. Probably you are aware tina,
there are no fresh-water crabs in the United
States. Curiously enough I discovered tina,
the species was new to science, though Lake
Chapala has been visited by ever so many
travellers
IT procured several specimens of the
'clarin,' which all through Mexico is the
most highly priced Of cage birds. The orig.
inal stock Is said to have come from the
state Of Vera Cruz. It's song Is the very
essence Of the deep shady woods and falling
water. Poured forth suddenly II has =
surprising tinkling metallic quality Ir
fact. its music Is more remarkable than tina,
of any other bird know Of"
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