VAMPYRE BAT. 
81 
pendant situation,, with its breast neatly covered 
with one of its wings, it would "eat whatever was 
offered to it, lapping from the hand like a cat. 
Linnaeus has given to this bat the specific deno- 
mination of vampyrus, from his conjecturing it to 
be the species that draws blood from people 
daring their sleep : but there is reason to imagine, 
that this thirst for blood is not confined to a single 
species, but is common to most of the bat tribe. 
We are informed that the bats of Java seldom 
fail to attack those persons who lie with their ex- 
tremities uncovered, whenever they can get access 
to them. Persons thus attacked, have sometimes 
been near passing from a sound sleep into eternity. 
The bat is so dexterous a bleeder as to insinuate its 
aculeated tongue into a vein without being per- 
ceived, and then suck the blood till it is satiated ; 
all the while fanning with its wings, and agitating 
the air, in that hot climate in so pleasing a man- 
ner, as to throw the sufferer into a still sounder 
sleep. These animals do not, however, confine 
themselves to human blood ; for M. Condamine, 
in his voyage to South America, says, that in 
his time they had, in certain parts:, destroyed all 
the great cattle introduced there by the Mis- 
sionaries. 
Captain Stedmao, whilst in Surinam, was at- 
tacked during his sleep by a vampyre bat ; and as 
his account of this incident is somewhat singular, 
and tends to elucidate the fact, we shall extract it 
in the language of his own narrative. I cannot 
here” says he, ef forbear relating a singular cir- 
cumstance respecting myself, viz. that on waking 
about four o'clock one morning in my hammock, I 
was extremely alarmed at finding myself welter- 
ing in congealed blood, and without feeling any 
pain whatever. Having started up and rung for 
the surgeon, with a fire-brand in on£ hand, and 
'VP&. h n 
