The Saint Paul globe., 1897-08-21
BATTLE WITH BATS.
After Hard Fight He Counted
Fifty-Three Dead Birds

Jacob Bricker, of Rauchtown. had
quite unique as we'll as thrilling eX-
perience the other day, which he Is
at loss to account for, but has no de-
sire to again repeat, says the Belle
fonte, Pa, correspondent of the Phila-
delphia Times Mr.. Bricker is a labor
er, and on the day in question, feel
ing somewhat indisposed, did not go
to work He was lounging in his house.
when he heard a peculiar noise in his
third story, or attic. Supposing at
first that the noise was created by mice
and rats frolicking about, he paid little
attention to it, but the continued and
increasing discordant screeching, COM
bined with the swish of wings and an
everlasting pit-pat, as made by birds
flying against something, aroused
Bricker sufficiently to institute an in
vestigation. Alone he went to the attic
and was at once nOnpluSed and as
founded to see the small room literally
black with bats, flying helter-skeIter
and attacking every inanimate object
in sight
When Bricker first saw the bats he
had no thought of f-protection from
danger, but imagined that they would
frighten at his approach and leave
But in this he was mistaken. Hardly
had he got fairly into the room Until
the bats, in perfect swarms, flew at
him. Their sharp claws and stiff wings
as they flew in his face and alighted
on his hands made many painful abra-
sions, and it was with difficulty the
man was enabled to secure a short
stick, luckily lying near, with which
to defend himself
Striking right and LETT, Bricker went
for the mouselike birds, and with every
stroke a dull thud on the floor told of
one less bat. But the birds were in
for fight, and the more he killed the
more it appeared came at the man.
Just how long the struggle continued
Bricker has no idea of reckoning. 1t
could not have been more than five
minutes, but to him it seemed like an
hour or more. Finally, when the
swarm of bats began to grow mani
festly smaller under the sure stroke
of Bricker's club. they began to scatter,
and with one parting screech took a
hasty leave.
Covered with blood on face and hands
and suffering no little pain, Bricker
toek a survey of the room, and for the
first time realized the execution he had
been-able to do.
The floor was covered with dead and
disabled bats, the latter still screech-
ing, Topping about and endeavoring
to get away. These were dispatched
as soon as possible and without any
mercy, and then the man made a count
of the dead birds. He found fifty-three
in all, and he is positive that fully
twice that many escaped. The bats
entered the attic through an open win
dow, but where they all came from is
a mystery. There are a number of
caves in the immediate vicinity, but
they have mostly been explored and
very few bats ever noticed.
And then the fact of their visit being
made in daytime is also strange, as
bats habitually fly at night, or after
twilight begins to fall. However, that
may be, and come from where they
did, Bricker had fifty-three bats TO
show for his fight and prove the
strange occurrence, and to any one who
may think it a small thing to be at
tackled by these small birds he is ready
to bring assurance that it is not, and
can prove it by his badly scratched
face and hands.