Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-02
GIANTS OF BAT WORLD
WINGED MONSTERS FOUND I'M
PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
They Make Their Homes in Caves In
Large Colonies-Hunted With
Guns at Night.
From the New York Times.


Officers and men Of the American army
returning from service in the Philippines
are bringing with them some curious tro-
phies from those islands, and incidentally
relate some startling tales OF the strange
animal and bird life Of our new possessions
IN the far east. By far the most startling
OF these tales refer to the bats of the
ISLANDS. The variety current In the Philips
pines is not the BAT, bat, fly under my
nat familiar to the American small boy.
they are veritable giants of the bat world,
measuring often five feet from wing-tip to
wing-up. Their bodies large az
those of foxes and their heads are not I'M
IKE these animals heads in shape.
The Philippine bats make their homes
IN the caves (Which are very plentiful In
the forest districts Of the islands, in large
colonies. clinging to the sides and roofs
OF the caves during the day and coming
out In countless hordes about dusk to feed
and Indulge in their aerial stunts.
An Uncanny Thing.
Many stories are current as to the effect
OK the first experience with these giant bats
upon men fresh from the states. Raw re-
cruits assigned to picket duty on the out
skirts of camp at late dusk have rushed
Into quarters white with terror. Recover
Ing, they would relate, amid the suppressed
mlrtn or their more seasoned fellow-sol-
diers how some enormous thing (and IN
these recounttings the bats were often
given credit for considerable more bulk
than they actually possessed) had como
upon them silently while they were patrol
Ing their picket line. Without a sound this
ghoulish specter with nothing about it to
signify life but a pair of extremely bright
eyes that shone out from the somber blan-
ket like a pair of demon lights, had swooped
so close to them that they felt the rush Of
air against their faces. Some averring that
thew detected the smell n Snlphnr IN
all, the thing is just trife too uncannay
for them, and their superstitious horror had
gotten the better of their physical bravery,
and they had, unherolike, fed.
Winged Monsters.
To the wives of the American officers the
giant bats were a special dread and annoy
ance. At home they had always harbored
creepy dread of the smaller winged rodents
there, that have a tendency to intrude in
boudoirs, half believing In the bats fond
ness for attaching themselves to human
hair, but this could be counteracted on the
evening stroll by the affecting of ''fasci-
nator." Not so in the Philippines. 1t was
altogether too great a strain on the imagi.
nation to think that this remedy would suf-
flee to shield one from the unwelcome
curiosity of the winged monsters that circle
the air there.
It Ia related that on one occasion one Of
these giant bats, astray in It's bearings,
penetrated to the dining room Of the most
fashionable hotel in Manila at a time when
the room was crowded with American and
European guests, after the concerts.
Its appearance in the room, as It futtered
excitedly about, attempting to find an exit,
created as much Of a stampede as an earth
quake or volcanic eruption. Women fed
In shrieking terror from the ROOM fighting
and struggling at the doorways to escape
from the uncanny intruder, and men rolled
under the tables and sought refuge in cor
ners and behind every convenient shield.
And 1t was some time (the bat in the mean
time having been captured by the hotel at
tendants) before quiet was restored and
things had assumed their wonted gayety
Guano Deposits.
Parties of Americans and Europeans have
visited the caves resorted to by these giant
fruit bats in colony, with the smaller insec-
tivorous bats Of the islands They speak
Of the sight as indescrtbable. Every avail.
able inch Of the space walls and root
is utilized by the creatures.
These caves also present a field of COM
mercial interest that will in all probability
commend itself to American capitalists. The
guano deposits contained within these caves
have never been worked, and with the in
creasing interest in agriculture in the is-
lands these exceedingly rich deposits Of
fertilizing material will have great COM
mercial value.
The skins Of the giant bats that have
been brought home by American soldiers
are examples of the largest specimens to be
obtained In the Philippines. The skins are
very SOFT the fur being as smooth almost
as seal, and are of brownlsh color. Ono
skin brought to the United States by an
officer measures almost five feet between
the tips of the wings, and the skin shows
the body must have been fully as large as
that of a domestic cat.
Since the American occupation It has be-
come quite the thing among devotees of the
shotgun to spend a half hour before abso-
Lutte darkness begging away" at the enor-
nous bats with duck shot, and the easness
of the targets make the sport productive
of great joy and profit to the native island
ers, the bats meaning both meat and money
to them, they eating the flesh and curing
the islands.