94 MAMMALIA. 



nothing could be seen at the hole, I drove the blade of the axe 

 through the thin shell a little below and pried off a large piece. 

 The result was fairly startling, for in a twinkling the opening was 

 filled with swarms of Bats which, for the space of several minutes, 

 poured forth uninterruptedly in a solid, dusky stream. The majority 

 took flieht at once, making off over the Lake or in the direction 

 of the nearest wooded shore, but dozens, in their haste, fell into 

 the water or sought refuge in the boat where they scrambled about 

 under the seats or attempted to climb my legs. 



" After the rush was over I was astonished to find that the tree 

 had been by no means emptied. Indeed, the squeaking sounds 

 within continued almost unabated. Investigating . further I dis- 

 covered that although the trunk was hollow for nearly its entire 

 length, there was a central core which touched the walls in places, 

 thus dividing the interior into separate spaces or chambers con- 

 nected with one another by numerous passages. The side that I 

 had opened had been promptly vacated, but many of the occupants 

 had probably crawled around into the other chamber instead of 

 following their more impulsive companions. At least when this, 

 their last refuge, was laid bare by another application of the axe, 

 the torrent that rushed forth rendered the first exodus insignificant 

 by comparison. In fact, as my guide remarked at the time, it 

 seemed as if all the Bats of New England had congregated in that 

 one tree. Of their total numbers I should not care to attempt any 

 definite estimate, but there were certainly hundreds and probably 

 thousands. All were adults, and all apparently of the same species, 

 a small dark-colored one which, as you suggest, was probably 

 Vesperiigo noctivagans although as I preserved no specimens (a 

 piece of negligence that I now deeply regret) I cannot be positive 

 on this point. 



" None of the guides or lumbermen to v/hom I told this experi- 

 ence had ever met with a similar colony, although it is not unusual 

 for them to find single Bats, or small families, hibernating in the 



