Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1909-12-23
BLOODSUCNNg BATS
These Pests Are el(htifuI In the
Forests ofbraziI.
THEY ARE TRUE VAMPIRES.

man Beinss-Their chissi-Iiks Teeth
and Peculiar interior Anatomy.
Half dozen Of us had been teilin.
what we thought we knew about
bloodsncking bats. but our ronvers:,.
tion had developed only m as'onish-
Ing amount VI misinformnti'I anu ir.
recobciIabie differences. 10 We called
IN the doctor who had lived some
years ia Braxii and asked lin te comb
out our tangled IDEAS.
I'm not surprised at your confu-
sion.' BE- began. for nj Oh. time or
another I have believed above every
thing your questions would suggest
When wss a scbooIboy the vampire
was lat ~ large as crow. had
horn oa his nose aud WIS described ss
sitting on his victims feet. flaming
him with his wings while be worked
his pumping apparatus There 10 such
a bat. t.ut when Il was proved that it
was . fruit eater many % rs doubted
the whole hat legend along with the
old mythology. There IL bloodsucking
vampir-. however, millions IL them.
The old spanish coBauistadou
found proof OF It's existence In sore
great toes. which looked rs " the skin
had been delicately shaved or Just
deep enough to gore blood. but they
never caught one and naturally laid
the biame TO the biggest ones they
found. which are nearly all veeetari-
aus The real thing IL small reddish
brown creature closely resembling bats
Of the same color caught bcre not IN
frequently.
THE naturalist iinds. however. some
surprising differences. They have no
teeth for any purpose save for thin
ming the skin - not enough for the
blood 20 flow freely. buf just sufficient
20 enable them 10 draw II by suction.
The wound rarely tlecis after they
leave Il. This preparation Ia done with
a pair Of chiSel.like teeth. sharp AZ
knife. Their Interior anatomy differs
from other animals as well a. their
teeth M The other animals. 80 far a.
{ know. have a stomach and necessary
organs fer converting food Into blood.
The true vampire has only an elon-
gated sackiike intestine foe the storage
u the li',oi taken. which reqnir-s 40
digestion iiIi II Is taken up int" the
circulaiory system. With uciiher teeth
nor s''.ua''h. Il has no alternative. n
must n.id i"urishment ready made.
This popularity MAJ or uay isos
account for one very strange thing
about ITS selection Of victims. Cattle
and horses are the chief ones Not
one human being Ia a hundred entire
Is satisfies their taste. Not half the
people who live among them all their
lives are ever bitten. Isut " one Of
family. for instance. Just suits them
they'll follow that person 10 any part
| OF the hous- and no matter how care
| fuily he ma b. covered or screrrs'd
they will Hnd their particular iipplr.
The stories Of their bleeding people
almost to death are true only partly.
! have known ~ one boy who was so
persistently followed that. while the
loss OF blood was small from single
attack. after months NJ the drain he
was greatly reduced In vitality. He
was always bitten in the same place
the end Of the great toe-and u be-
came No laceraied that there was COLI
siderable subsequent hemorrhage. This
lad was the Youngest Of four broth.
ers. They all slept 10 the same room
and sometimes changed beds. but none
of the others was ever bitten.
Cattle and horses are attacked al
ways at a spot on the spine just back
of the shoulders. where the hair sep
arates In a starlike spot This In the
case OF horse Is just where the front
end Of the saddle comes. and the at
tack therefore makes a vast deal OF
trouble where every one rides horse
back. 4 majority OF the Brazilian
horses and nearly all the cows are bit
ten by these plaques.
Fortunately the pests are mostly
confined 20 the forest country. They
give comparatively little trouble in cit
les and villages. though the construc-
ton " houses makes II impossible TO
keep them out. In cities tiles are ex-
clusiyely used for roofs aud In the
country palm leaf matching. and all
kinds Of bats come and 81 at pleasure.
One rarely goes to sleep without from
one TO a dozen flying about the room
They are nearly all harmless and are
welcome because i-Iey catch insects.
They all look 30 much alike that one
does not know which 10 attack.
How the genuine vampires eluded
scientific research 50 long In a mys-
terry. The species was not positively
Identified until the visit OF Darwin In
the Beagle. IL was In the seventies. !
think. and there Is not nj the present
day. 10 far rs ! can learn. single
well authenticated case recorded In
the natural histories 81 n true VAN
plre being captured while feeding on
a human being dewey Austin Cobb
In New York Tribune.
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