BAT KIND. 241 



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 re- 

 freshing agitation of the bat's wings, which con- 

 tribute 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 of 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 inflict the wound. 

 Ulloa, as has been seen, supposes that it is done 

 by a single tooth ; but this we know to be impos- 

 sible, since the animal cannot infix one tooth 

 without all the rest accompanying its motions j 

 the teeth of the bat kind being pretty even, and 

 the mouth but small. M. Buffon therefore sup- 

 poses 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 M. Buffon seems to suppose, serve for the pur- 

 poses 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 en- 

 dowed with a strong power of suction ; and that, 

 without inflicting any wound whatsoever, by con- 

 tinuing to draw, it enlarges the pores of the skin 

 in such a manner that the blood at length passes, 



VOL. III. Q 



