Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-11-30
LAST OF THE VAMPIRES.
BY PHIL ROBINSON.

Do you remember the discovery of
the ''man-lizard" bones in cave on
the Amazon some time in the forties?
Perhaps not. But it created great
stir at the time in the scientific world
and in lazy sort of way interested
men and women of fashion. For day
or two it was quite the correct thing
for Belgravia to talk of connecting
links" Of "the evolution Of man from
the reptile" and "the reasonableness
of the ancient myths" that spoke Of
centaurs and mermaids as actual exist
ences
The fact was that German Jew, an
India rubber merchant, working his
way with the usual mob of natives
through cnhucho forest along
the Maranon, came upon some bones
on the river bank where he had pitched
his camp. Idle curiosity made him try
to put them together, when he found,
to his surprise, that he had before him
the skeleton of creature with human
legs and feet, dog-like head and inn
mense bat-like wings. Being shrewd
man, he saw the possibility of money
being made out of such curio sity; SO
he put all the bones he could find in to
sack and, on the back of a llama, they
were In due course conveyed to Cha
chapoyas, and thence to Germany.
Unfortunately, his name happened
to be the same as that of another Ger.
man Jew, who had just then been try.
ing to hoax the scientific world with
some papyrus rolls of date anterior
to the flood, and who had been found
out and put to shame. So when his
namesake appeared with the bones OF
a winged man, he was treated with
scant ceremony.
However, he sold the india rubber
very satisfactorily, and as for the
bones, he left them with young med
ical student of the ancient University
of Bierundwurst, and went back to Nj.
cahucho trees and his natives, and the
banks of the Amazon. And there wal
an end Of him
The young student one day put hi
fragments together, and, do what HI
would, could only make one thing o
them-a winged man, with dog
head.
There were few ribs too many, ant
some odds and ends of backbone which
were superhuous, but what else coult
be expected of the anatomy of so ex
traordinary creature? From on,
student to another the facts got about
and at last the professors came to hea
of it. And, to cut long story short
the students skeleton was taken t,
pieces by the learned heads of the col
lege, and put together again by thei
own learned hands.
But, do what they would, they coult
only made one thing of it--a winge,
man with dogs head.
The matter now became serious
the professors were at first puzzled
and then got quarrelsome; and the re
suit of their squabbling was that pam
phlets and counterblasts were pub
lished, and so all the world got to hea
of the. bitter controversy about tn
imam lizard of the Amazon"
One side, declared, of course, tina
such creature was an impossibility
and that the bones were remarkabl
clever hoax. The other side retorte
by challenging the skeptics to mani
facture a duplicate, and publishin
the promise of such large rewards t
anyone who would succeed in dom
so that the museum was beset 70
mouths by competitors. But no on
could manufacture another man-lizart
The man part was simple enough
provided they could get huma
skeleton. But at the angles of tn
wings were set huge claws, blacl
polished and carved, and nothing tina
ingenuity could suggest would imitat
them. And the "genuinists," as thos
who believed in the monster Gale
themselves, set the 'imposturists
another poseri for they publicly cha
lenged them to say what animal eth,
the head or the wings had belonged t,
il not to the man-lizard2 Aud I'll
answer was never given.
So victory remained with them, b.
not, alssl the bones of contention
For the impoSturists by bribery an
burglary got access 20 the preciol
skeleton, and lol one morning Il
glory Of the museum had disappeare,
The man half of 1t was left, but II
head and wings were gone, and fro
that day to this 10 one has ever see
them again.
And which of the two factions WI