258 Notice of the Sanguivorous habits of the [No. 123. 



tion to this nocturnal surgeon. He does not always live on blood. 

 When the moon shone bright, and the fruit of the banana was ripe, I 

 could see him approach and eat it. He would also bring into the loft, 

 from the forest, a green round fruit, something like the wild guava, 

 and about the size of a nutmeg. There was something, also, in the 

 blossom of the suwarre nut tree, which was grateful to him ; for on 

 coming up a creek, on a moonlight night, I saw several Vampyres flut- 

 tering round the top of the suwarre trees, and every now and then the 

 blossoms, which they had broken off, fell into the water. They certain- 

 ly did not drop off naturally, for on examining several of them, they 

 appeared quite fresh and blooming. So I concluded the Vampyres 

 picked them from the tree, either to get at the incipient fruit, or to 

 catch the insects which often take up their abode in flowers. 



" There are," according to Mr. Waterton, " two species of Vampyre 

 in Guiana, a larger and a smaller. The larger sucks men and other 

 [mammiferous] animals ; while the smaller seems to confine itself chiefly 

 to birds. I learned from a gentleman, high up the river Demarara, 

 that he was completely unsuccessful with his fowls, on account of the 

 small Vampyre. He shewed me some that had been sucked the 

 night before, and they were scarcely able to walk." He then proceeds 

 to give a humorous account of his companion, a North Briton, who 

 had been bitten by one of these creatures, and lay muttering impre- 

 cations on the whole race of them. " As soon as there was light 

 enough," writes Mr. Waterton, " I went to his hammock, and saw 

 it much stained with blood. ' There,' said he, thrusting his foot out 

 of the hammock, ' see how these infernal imps have been drawing my 

 life's blood.' On examining his foot, I found that the Vampyre had 

 tapped his great toe : there was a wound somewhat less than that made 

 by a leech ; the blood was still oozing from it. I conjectured he 

 might have lost from 10 to 12 oz. of blood. 



" I had often wished," continues this observer, " to have been once 

 stung by the Vampyre, in order that I might have it in my power to 

 say it had really happened to me. There can be no pain in the opera- 

 tion, for the patient is always asleep when the Vampyre is sucking 

 him, and as for the loss of a few ounces of blood, that would be a 

 trifle in the long run. Many a night have I slept with my foot out 

 of the hammock, to tempt this winged surgeon, expecting that he 



