The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-07-21


lnr Hat q South Amef|ea
Ever since tho South AmesIaea
continent was discovered. especially
shat part Of Il lying betueon ihs
Amazon and Orinoco rivers. travellers
have come from there with wdnaer.
iul tales Of the vampires. Or. a. they
call them. blOod-sucking batA as
fact. little Is known ab0ut lis nests.
says the New York Trlbune That
there are woodworking bats which
feed not only on the blood 81 man
but also animals l. an undoubled faef.
and though tho wsSisf nimsolf has
never been bitten By one. ho has.
while travelling IN tae interior =
British Guiana. seen Indians aud
ponies that had undoubtedly been
bitten BY these bats In the case y
a man attacked The toe or nose T. the
point punctarcd. while animals are
liable 20 BE- bitten anywhere liou
the bat does Is work has noe been
made clear. for no one has JET
awakened while being operated On By
one Of these bats. despite thc incl
that considerable blood l. cximctad
and more or less loss Of blood takes
place after the operation. Il e prob
able that tho bas hovcrs during the
operation rather than rests on the
body. The rapid vibration Of The
soft wings probably also has a s0oth-
ing effect on the skin u the part
operated on
Tho bl00d-suckors belong to only
two or three species. and wherever
these are found there are also many
others whose food Is only fruit or In
sests. or both Tho most natural
mistake about tho bats which are IN
nocent Of proying on man N beast Is
the common superstition that vampy-
rus spectrum j. 4 blood-sucker The
stretch Of wings Of this bat frequent
" reaches three feet. and Il has 4
most iorOcious aspect. with enormous
" large and pointed canine teeth.
Il Is perfectly certain that IN most
parts Of British Guiana this has "a
only fruit-ea3er and l. a serious pest
TO iruii-growerN Bates and Edwards.
who travelled much In that country.
vouch for lts h-rmiessncss. and the
writer could never hear Of case
where one Of these giant haia wcre
even suspected OF being a blood
sucker. Wallace. however, gives a
different account
1.-The vampires are especially pien-
tiful In the Amazon valley Their
carnivorous propensiiics were once
discredited. but are too we'll uufhcn-
ticated Horses anl cattle are often
bitten. and We found ti.cm il the
morning covered with blood. and re-
peatcd attacks weaken and ultimate
~ destroy them. Some persons are
especially subject 20 the attacks Of
these bats, aud a. native huts ara
never sufficiently close 10 keep them
out those unfortunate persons arr
obliged 10 sleep completely mulIicd
up IN order 20 avoid being made sori-
ously IN or even losing their lives. =
Wallace. In saying that "the huss
are never sufficiently close to keep
them out" e. Identity uses the word
vampire a. q generic term and does
not mean the vampyrus spectrum. for
that bat would find no space large
enough 10 let him into even the loose.
~ built huts q the natives II IL
this slipshod way q using the torn
vampire that brings trouble % many
a useful bat The writer has been ID
a house where every precautlon was
taken 10 keep out bats which would
have been a perfect blessing Ia che
rooms. as they would have caught
hundreds Of mosquitoes.