Photograph by George Shiras, Sd 

 Flash light of small cluster of bats before alarmed. Clusters are ordinarily formed of a great 

 number of individuals, probably several hundred in some instances. The variety shown is one of 

 the largest of South American bats, one specimen secured having a wing expanse of twenty-six 

 inches. The bats are strong and muscular and always ready to bite. The masses of bats bear a 

 close resemblance in form to the stalactites with which the walls and domed ceilings are covered 



deed warned by a premonitory cracking, 

 I was forced to move with considerable 

 speed to escape a flying limb. 



Mosquitoes, the former bane of early 

 Canal days, were found 

 but sparingly. Even 

 outside the district of 

 government patrol we 

 were bothered but little 

 by them, although we 

 were told that later, 

 during the rainy season, 

 the}' were much worse. 

 A few spots were en- 

 countered where mos- 

 quitoes were bother- 

 some, thus arguing a 

 local distribution. The 

 ticks and red bugs how- 

 ever made up in dili- 

 gence for any slights 

 we might feel we had 

 suffered from not being 

 met by mosquitoes. 

 The jungle everywhere 

 seemed to harbor these 

 pests and they did all 

 they could to make life 

 miserable for us. Ants 

 also were found in 

 abundance and it was 

 fortunate indeed that 

 our camp was a float- 

 ing one and thus cut 



off from inroads of these nuisances. 

 One species of ant in particular will be 

 long remembered by two members of 

 the party, for it stung with a venomous 



In a bat cave. Sb owing method of photographing bats by flash 

 light. As the flash-light powder used is exceedingly explosive the 

 expression of apprehension on the face of the operator is not to be 

 wondered at 



245 



