Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-02-02

Victims. Which They Prefer to HUI
man Seings-Thsir chisei-like Teeth
and Peculiar Interior Anatomy.
Half q dozen OF Us had been telling
what we thought we knew about
b,oodslckin- bats. but our .onverSa-
tion had developed only an astonish
Ing amount ~ miSin formation and ir
rcconCiiable differences. SO we called
I'm thc doctor who had lived some
years in Brazil and asked him - comb
out our tangled ideas.
"iu u.t surprised NJ your confu
sion.' DE hC-au for NJ one time o.
another Z have believed above every
thing your questions would suggest
When 7 was a SchOOlboy the vampire
was q bat as large as n crow. had \
horn on his nose and was described as
sitting on his victims feet. tanning
him with his wings while ne worked
his pumping apparatus. There * such
a bat. hut when il was proved that t.
was a fruit eater many " us doubted
the whole bat legend along with the
old mythology There is a bloodSuckiuc
vampire. however, millions 81 them.
The old Spanish conQuiStadOrs
found proof OF its existence i'm sore
great toes. which looked as IL Se skin
had been delicately shaved Sn. inst
deep enough TO oozc blood. but tGcy
never caught one and naturally laid
the blame 10 the biggest ones they
found. which are nearly all vegrtari
ans. The real thing is 4 small redd ~
Of the same color caught her. not IN
frequently.
THE naturalist nndS. however. SOME
surprising differences They have fi
teeth for any purpose save Tor tria
ming the skin not enough frr fft.
blood 10 flow freely. hut just Suii.,.a.l
20 enable them 10 draw n 10y Suct.,i.
The wound rarely bleeds after t'-v
leave il. This preparation is done ,lth
n pair Of chisel-like teeth. sharp as .
knife Their interior anatomy .it..-.
from other animals as we'll - f....s
teeth Al the other animals. S." fa, t.
I know. have stomach and ue,-,>-s-.
organs for converting food intn li..t
The true vampire Inns only an r'.-
gated Sacklike Intestine for ths. sinrl
of the blood taken. which r-qUir.~ r.
digestion till II is taken up into tfe
circulatory system With neither t-ri IA
nor stomach. it has no aiteruati,r II
must find uOurishment ready made
This popularity may OF may not
account for one very strange hing
about its selection OF victims cattle
and horses are the chief ones NJ
one human being i'm "a hundred cni,~r
~ satisfies their taste N"t ha'f she
people who live among them all thcii
lives are ever bitten But If uue of
family. for Instance juSt suits thcm
they'll follow that person 20 any part
OF the house. and no matter how care
fully he may he covered or screened
they VIII find their particular ,iprlc
The stories of their bleeding people
almost 30 death are trlc only partly
/ have known Of ono boy who was 50
persistenly followed that. while the
loss OF blood was small from. single
attack. after months 81 the drain he
was greatly reduced I'm vitality. He
was always bitten I'm ,he same place
the end OF the great toc-a ana il be
came SO laccratod that there was con.
siderable Subsequent hemoyrhage This
lad was the youngcrt uf four broth
ers. They all slept in Tie same room
and sometimes changed beds. but none
OF the others was ever bitten.
Cattle and horses are attacked al
ways NJ spot on ,hc spine just back
OF the shoulders. where she hair sep
arates IN 4 starlize spot This in the
case Of horse is jnst where the front
end Of the saddle comes. and the at
tack therefore makes vast dear Of
trouble where every one rides horse
back. \ majority Of the BRAZILIAN
/ horses and nearly all the COWS are bit.
ten by these plaques
Fortunately the pests are mostly
confined 10 the forest country They
give comparatively little trouble in cit
! les and villages. though the construc-
ton OF houses makes il impossible Ia
keep them out In cities tiles are ex-
clusively used for roofs and in the
country palm leaf matching. and all
kinds OF bats come and 90 at pleasure
One rarely goes 10 sleep without from
one 10 q dozen dying about the room
They are nearly all harmless and are
welcome because ley catch Insects
They all look 50 much alike that one
/ does not know which 10 attack
How the genuine vampires eluded
scientific research SO long is a mys.
terry. The species was not positively
Identified until the visit Of Darwin in
the Beagle. 1t was in the seventies. |
think, and there is not at the present
! day. so far as ] can learn. single
well authenticated case recorded in
the natural histories 81 a true ram.
/ pire being captured while feeding on
human being"-Dewev Austin Cobb
/ IN New York Tribune