WANDERINGS IN SOUTH AMERICA. 227 



the nose, and gives it a very singular appearance. It lias 

 been remarked before, that there are two species of vampire 

 in Guiana, a larger and a smaller. The larger sucks men 

 and other animals ; the smaller seems to confine himself 

 chiefly to birds. I learnt from a gentleman, high up in the 

 river Demerara, that he was completely unsuccessful with 

 his fowls, on account of the small vampire. He showed me 

 some that had been sucked the night before, and they were 

 scarcely able to walk. 



Some years ago I went to the river Paumaron with a 

 Scotch gentleman, by name Tarbet. "We hung our ham- 

 mocks in the thatched loft of a planter's house. IText 

 morning I heard this gentleman muttering in his hammock, 

 and now and then letting fall an imprecation or two, j ust 

 about the time he ought to have been saying his morning 

 prayers. " What is the matter, Sir," said I, softly ; " is 

 any thing amiss ? " " What's the matter ? " answered he, 

 surlily ; " why, the vampires have been sucking me to 

 death." As soon as there was light enough, I went to his 

 hammock, and saw it much stained with blood. " There," 

 said he, thrusting his foot out of the hammock, " see how 

 these infernal imps have been drawing my life's blood." 

 On examining his foot, I found the vampire had tapped 

 his great toe : there was a wound somewhat less than that 

 made by a leech ; the blood was still oozing from it ; I 

 conjectured he might have lost from ten to twelve ounces 

 of blood. Whilst examining it, I think I put him into a 

 worse humour by remarking, that an European surgeon 

 would not have been so generous as to have blooded him 

 without making a charge. He looked up in my face, but 

 did not say a word : I saw he was of opinion that I had 

 better have spared this piece of ill-timed levity. 



It was not the last punishment of this good gentleman 

 in the river Paumaron. The next night he was doomed to 



Q 2 



