THE BAT. 277 



fore 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 must be hollow, like a syringe, which it is not found to 

 be. I should therefore suppose, that the animal is endowed 

 with a strong power of suction ; and that, without inflicting 

 any wound whatsoever, by continuing to draw, it enlarges 

 the pores of the skin in such a manner that the blood at 

 length passes, and that more freely the longer the operation 

 is continued ; so that, at last, when the bat goes off', the 

 blood continues to flow. In confirmation of this opinion, 

 we are told that where beasts have a thick skin, this ani- 

 mal cannot injure them ; whereas, in horses, mules, and 

 asses, they are very liable to be thus destroyed. As to the 

 rest, these animals are considered as one of the great pests 

 of South America ; and often prevent the peopling of many 

 parts of that continent ; having destroyed at Barja, and 

 several other places, such cattle as were brought there by 

 the missionaries, in order to form a settlement. 



The smell of these creatures is ranker than that of a fox, 

 yet the Indians consider them as delicious food, and the 

 French who reside in the Isle of Bourbon, even boil them 

 in their soup to give it a relish ! The hair of the vampyre 

 bat, interwoven with threads of cyperus squamosus, is used 

 by the natives of New Caledonia for making ropes and the 

 tassels of their clubs. 



Captain Stedman, while sleeping in the open air in Sur- 

 inam, was attacked by one of the spectre bats. On awak- 

 ing, about four o'clock in the morning, he was extremely 

 alarmed to find himself weltering in congealed blood, and 

 without feeling any pain. Having started up, he ran to 

 the surgeon with a firebrand in his hand, and all over be- 

 smeared with gore. The cause of his alarm was, how- 

 ever, soon explained. After he liad applied some tobacco 



