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Show that weighed one ounce to eat a banana that weighed two ounces, the time in which it was done being three hours. I have seen as many as 100 of these bats ia one tree. They hang head downward and have the appearance of black leaves. These fruit bata are confined chiefly to the tropical regions of the Old World. There is a live one now at the zoo, while both the Cuvier club and the Natural History society have well-preserved specimens in their museums. These large creatures probably prob-ably weigh ten pounds. "The American people are afraid of bats. In this they differ from other nations as for instance the Chinese who hold them in reverence, and th Samoanose who make pets of them." WINGED BLOODSUCKERS. THE VAMPIRE BAT AND HIS TROPICAL HOME. Horrible Story of the Death of a Toting Lady The Tale Discredited but Other Vouched fur by Trofessor HenshalU The fact that certain South American bats feed upon the blood of other animals has been known for some time, but Charles Darwin was the first naturalist to prove this characteristic. While in Chili he found that the bats worried his horses by biting them on the withers. This caused severe in-flamation in-flamation and increased discomfort was caused the animal by the pressure of the saddle on the wounded parts. "One evening Darwin noticed that a certain horse was very restless so he quietly stepped up to the animal and clapped his hand on his withers and was rewarded by catching a large bat or vampire in the very act of sucking blood from the horse. There are really only two species of theso ferocious bats. One kind lives in Brazil the other in Chill and the west of South America as far north as Mexico. Their usual depredation consists of fastening themselvos upon larger animals and then filling themselves with blood before be-fore lotting looso. They have been known, however, to kill and devour smaller specios of thoir own family, but the attacks said to havo boon made on man are simply myths. According to a letter written by one James Uhl, who is onguged in the coffee business in Calabozo, Venezuela, his daughter met with a singular death last September, The young lady, who had jutst entered her seventeenth year, had been a somnambulist since childhood child-hood and it was supposed that it was whilo in ono of her frequent trances that she left the house and wandered several miles out into the country. On being searched for her body was found, it is stated, near tho roadside with a largo vampire clinging to her throat. Tho bat attempted to fly off at tho approach of tho searchers, tho epistle says, but was so gorged with blood that It could not do so, honce it was easily captured. The countenance of the young lady showed that her death had been a painless one. It is thought by her father that she sank down in her sleep and that tho vampire at once fastened upon her. A small wound was found just over the jugular vein, whore the pearly-white teeth of the monster had puneturod the neck, all the while soothing its victim by a gentle, lulling movement of its outspread out-spread wings. The length of this vampire from tip of wing to tip was over three feet, and whilo its weight should have been ten or twelve pounds it was so gorged with blood that it weighed over twenty pounds. Dr. James A. Henshall, secretary of the Natural History society, when informed in-formed of the case, said: "That story is a humbug. If there is anything in it at all, it is probable that the bat fastened itself upon the young lady after death. If she had been asleep the attack would have awakened her and she would have had no difficulty in driving it off." The bat is a great curiosity even with natural history students, and there is probably no creature about which so little is known, or about which such an air of mystery hangs. Thev frequent dark, uncanny places, and being nocturnal in their habits, almost effectually Bhut out all investigation. investi-gation. In the first place they are true mammals and take good care of their one young. If by chance the female should give birth to two young, the male will often take one to himself and rear it with as much success as the mother. I have known instances where two bats have hung themselves up, side by side, with the young clinging to both. This method is adopted to keep the young warm. On another occasion, a boy in Philadelphia caught a young bat and started to carry it oil, when the mother flow upon his breast and suffered herself to be captured. Where a bat enters a room at night, says Prof. Henshell, it is not attracted by the light but by some insect that it is pursuing. The fine membranes called the wings are filled with nerves and tho animal guides itself by its delicate sense of touch. There is a popular superstition that a bat breeds bed bugs. So it does, but not boeause these insects are native to it, but because be-cause of its frequenting old houses where the insects abound. One reason why people believe in this bedbug story is the odor that attends all bats. This odor is produced by glands and is designed de-signed for protection, and in fact it accomplishes its purpose most effectually effectu-ally and serves to make the bat one of the most disgusting creatures on earth. I have known instanoes of scientific men getting so nauseated while pursuing pursu-ing their studies of these creatures, that they have been compelled to stop work for a time. The bat will play possum effectually all the time watch- ing you with half-closed eyes. As a rulo they are pugnacious if attacked and in fighting can show two beautiful rows of teeth that are covered with the whitest of enamol. The resemblance of a bat to a mouse is due to their ears hair and the tail which belongs to some species. Moat bats are insectivorous insec-tivorous but a8 there are more than 400 species known, there is a wide difference in their habits. Tha flying fox or fruit bat is a gigantio species that subsists on fruit. There are seventy species of the fruit bat, and some of thorn are ferocious eaters. Tho bat is your truo gormand, and seems to eat merely for pleasure. Cocoanuts. figs, almonds and bananas are their favorite food. The bats will fly to a tree and eat until they dnop to tho ground through mere exhaustion. There they lie dormant until they get over thoir drunk, when they will repeat tha same thing. I have known a bat |