THE TAMPIBE-BAT. 171 



branching thorns. It is called hy the natives barba de twre. 

 It was perhaps a tree of the berberideous family.* The 

 Indians nad kindled fires at the edge of the water. We 

 again perceived, that their light attracted the crococ'Jles, 

 and even the porpoises (toninas), the noise of which inter- 

 rupted our sleep, till the fire was extinguished. A female 

 jaguar approached our station whilst taking her young one 

 to drink at the river. The Indians succeeded in chasing her 

 away, but we heard for a long time the cries of the little 

 jaguar, which mewed like a young cat. Soon after, our great 

 dog was bitten, or, as the Indians say, stung, at the point 

 of the nose, by some enormous bats that hovered around 

 our hammocks. These bats had long tails, like the Mo- 

 losses : I believe, however, that they were Phyllostomes, the 

 tongue of which, furnished with papillae, is an organ of 

 suction, and is capable of being considerably elongated. 

 The dog's wound was very small and round ; and though he 

 uttered a plaintive cry when he felt himself bitten, it was 

 not from pain, but because he was frightened at the sight of 

 the bats, which came out from beneath our hammocks. 

 These accidents are much more rare than is believed even 

 in the country itself. In the course of several years, not- 

 withstanding we slept so often in the open air, in climates 

 where vampire-bats, t and other analagous species are so 

 common, we were never wounded. Besides, the puncture 

 is no-way dangerous, and in general causes so little pain, 

 that it often does not awaken the person till after the bat 

 has withdrawn. 



The 4th of April was the last day we passed on the Bio 

 ^ipure. The vegetation of its banks became more and more 

 uniform. During several days, and particularly since we 

 had left the Mission of Arichuna,, we had suffered cruelly 

 from the stings of insects, which covered our faces and 

 hands. They were not mosquitos, which have the appear- 



* We found, on the banks of the Apure, Ammania apurensis, Cordia 

 cordifolia, C. grandiflora, Mollugo sperguloUes, Myosotis lithosper- 

 motdes, Spermacocce diffusa, Coronilla occidentalis, Bignonia apurensis, 

 Pisonia pubescens, Ruellia viscosa, some new species of Jussieua, at d a 

 new genus of the composite family, approximating to Rolandra, tie 

 Trichoipira menthoides of M. Kunth. 



f Verspertilio spectrum. 



