46 



THE VAMPIKE BAT. 



claw the Bat is enabled to proceed along a level surface, and to attach 

 itself to any object that may be convenient. 



The lower portions of the body and limbs are singularly small in 

 proportion to the upper limbs. The legs are short and slender, and 

 so arranged that the feet are rather turned outward, for the purpose 

 of using the sharp claws freely. A kind of slender and spur-like bone 

 is seen to proceed from the heel of each foot. 



The Vampire Bat is a native of Southern America, and is spread 

 over a large extent of country. It is not a very large animal, the 

 length of its body and tail being only six inches, or perhaps seven in 

 large specimens, and the spread of the wing two feet, or rather more. 

 The color of the Vampire's fur is a mouse tint, with a shade of brown. 



The Vampire JjAT ( Vamj^ums spectrum). 



Many tales have been told of the Vampire Bat and its fearful attacks 

 upon sleeping men — tales which, although founded on fact, were so sadly 

 exaggerated as to cause a reaction in the opposite direction. It was re- 

 ported to come silently by night, and to search for the exposed toes of 

 a sound sleeper, its instinct telling it whether the intended victim were 

 thoroughly buried in sleep. Poising itself above the feet of its prey, 

 and fanning them with its extended wings, it produced a cool atmo- 

 sphere, which, in those hot climates, aided in soothing the slumberer into 

 a still deeper repose. The Bat then applied its needle-pointed teeth to 

 the upturned foot, and inserted them into the tip of a toe with such 

 adroit dexterity that no pain was caused by the tiny wound. The lips 

 were then brought into action, and the blood was sucked until the Bat 

 was satiated. It then disgorged the food which it had just taken and 

 began afresh, continuing its alternated feeding and disgorging until the 

 victim perished from sheer loss of blood. 



For a time this statement gained dominion, but after a while was less 



