THE BAT KIND. 



385 



expert at killing them ; but although these 

 people seem for ever hungry, yet they regard 

 the bat with horror, and will not eat it, though 

 ready to starve. 



Of foreign bats, the largest we have any 

 certain accounts of, is the Rousette, or the 

 Great Bat of Madagascar. This formidable 

 creature is near four feet broad, when the 

 wings are extended ; and a foot long, from the 

 tip of the nose to the insertion of the tail. It 

 resembles our bat in the form of its wings, in 

 its manner of flying, and in its internal con- 

 formation. It differs from it in its enormous 

 size ; in its colour, which is red, like that of a 

 fox ; in its head and nose also, which resemble 

 those of that animal, and which have induced 

 some to call it the flying fox : it differs also in 

 the number of its teeth ; and in having a claw 

 on the fore foot, which is wanting in ours. 

 This formidable creature is found only in the 

 ancient continent; particularly in Madagascar, 

 along the coasts of Africa and Malabar, where 

 it is usually seen about the size of a large hen. 

 When they repose, they stick themselves to the 

 tops of the tallest trees, and hang with their 

 heads downward. But when they are in 

 motion, nothing can be more formidable : 

 they are seen in clouds, darkening the air, as 

 well by day as by night, destroying the ripe 

 fruits of the country, and sometimes settling 

 upon animals, and man himself: they devour, 

 indiscriminately, fruits, flesh, and insects, and 

 drink the juice of the palm-tree : they are 

 heard at night in the forests at more than two 

 miles distance, with a horrible din, but at the 

 approach of day, they usually begin to retire ; 

 nothing is safe from their depredations ; they 

 destroy fowls and domestic animals, unless 

 preserved wiih the utmost care, and often fasten 

 upon the inhabitants themselves, attack them 

 in the face, and inflict very terrible wounds. 

 In short, as some have already observed, the 

 ancients seem to have taken their ideas of 

 harpies from these fierce and voracious crea- 

 tures, as they both concur in many parts of the 

 description, being equally deformed, greedy, 

 uncleanly, and cruel. 



An animal not so formidable, but still more 

 mischievous than these, is the American Vam- 

 pyre. This is still less than the former ; but 

 more deformed, and still more numerous. It 

 is furnished with a horn like the rhinoceros 

 bat ; and its ears are extremely long. The 



other kinds generally resort to the forest, and 

 the most deserted places ; but these come into 

 towns and cities, and, after sun-set, when 

 they begin to fly, cover the streets like a 

 canopy. 1 They are the common pest both of 

 men and animals ; they effectually destroy the 

 one, and often distress the other. " They 

 are," says Ulloa, "the most expert blood-let- 

 ters in the world. The inhabitants of those 

 warm latitudes being obliged, by the excessive 

 heats, to leave open the doors and windows of 

 the chambers where they sleep, the vampyres 

 enter, and if they find any part of the body 

 exposed, they never fail to fasten upon it. 

 There they continue to suck the blood ; and it 

 often happens that the person dies under the 

 operation. They insinuate their tooth into a 

 vein, with all the art of the most experienced 

 surgeon, continuing to exhaust the body until 

 they arc satiated. I have been assured," con- 

 tinues he, " by persons of the strictest veracity, 

 that such an accident has happened to them ; 

 and that, had they not providentially awaked, 

 their sleep would have been their passage into 

 eternity ; having lost so large a quantity of 

 blood as hardly to find strength to bind up the 

 orifice. The reason why the puncture is not 

 felt is, besides the great precaution with which 

 it is made, the gentle refreshing agitation of 

 the bat's wings, which contribute to increase 

 sleep, and soften the pain." 



The purport of this account has been con- 

 firmed by various other travellers ; who all 

 agree that this bat is possessed of a faculty ol 

 drawing the blood from persons sleeping ; and 

 thus often destroying them before they awake. 

 But still a very strong difficulty remains to be 

 accounted for ; the manner in which they in- 

 flict the wound. Ulloa, as has been seen, 

 supposes that it is done by a single tooth ; but 

 this we know to be impossible, since the ani- 

 mal cannot infix one tooth without all the rest 

 accompanying its motions ; the teeth of the 

 bat kind being pretty even, and the mouth but 

 small. Mr. Buffon therefore supposes the 

 wound to be inflicted by the tongue ; which, 

 however, appears to me too large to inflict 

 an unpainful wound ; and even less qualified 

 for that purpose than the teeth. Nor can the 

 tongue, as Mr. Buffon seems to suppose, serve 

 for the purposes of suction, since for this it 



a Ulloa, vol. i. p. 58. 



