Uncle Dick and Lisa's Old Time Animal Tales

‘We learn from Julius Linstedt, one of our patrons in Mishicott, that the farmers in that town have had killed within the last five or six weeks 265 sheep, and they have been unable thus far to find what animal is doing the mischief, as they are all killed in the same manner and left without any tearing of the carcass. There are no marks of violence except a small hole behind the ears, from which the blood is sucked, and the sheep left otherwise in perfect shape. The farmers are justly alarmed, fearing their entire stock will fall victims to this strange animal, which old hunters think must be a panther; and as the “Schuctzenvercin” are out to a man hunting, we have every reason to believe that some of those good marksmen will succeed in killing the brute, whatever it proves to be. The supervisors of the town held a meeting last Saturday, and offered a reward for the capture of the unknown animal. From the nature of the wound inflicted, we are inclined to believe it to be a species of bat, phyllostoma specirum, or the vampire bat of New Spain. It is very rare, and may have escaped from some traveling menagerie.