me, to shoot an arrow at it; he did so and it proved to be a cluster of bats; I should think there were nearly a bushel of them, all hanging upon one another. The house was immediately alive with them, and it was likewise instantly full of Indians and soldiers. The poor bats fared hard, it was sport for all hands; they killed, I know not how many, but there was a great slaughter among them.—I never saw so many bats before nor since, nor indeed in my whole life put all together.
The next day I was one of a guard to protect the horses belonging to the detachment; they were in a meadow of six or eight acres, entirely surrounded by tall trees; it was cloudy and a low fog hung all night upon the meadow, and for several hours, during the night, there was a jack-o-lantern cruising in the edying air; the poor thing seemed to wish to get out of the meadow, but could not, the air circulating within the enclosure of trees would not permit it. Several of the guard endeavoured to catch it but did not succeed.[1]
Just at the dawn of day the officers' waiters came, almost breathless, after the horses; upon inquiring for the cause of the unusual hurry, we were told that the British were advancing upon us in our rear; how they could get there was to us a mystery, but they were there. We helped the waiters to catch their horses, and immediately returned to the main body of the detachment. We found the troops all under arms and in motion, preparing for
- ↑ Professor Silliman has said, on the authority of a certain Dr. Somebody, that jack-o-lanterns never move. With due submission to such high authority, I would crave their pardon for telling them that they labour under a mistake. I have seen many of these exhalations, two of which I am satisfied beyond a doubt were moving when I saw them, the one mentioned in the text and the other when I was a youngster. I was one evening walking in a lane in a sequestered place, the road crossing a low boggy piece of land, when I saw one of these meteors, if they may be so called, coming down the low ground before the wind, which was quick, it crossed the road within ten feet of me and passed on till it was lost in the distance. Now I could not be deceived in this instance; I saw it, and I could see with my natural eyes as well as a philosopher could with his. But I have lately heard of a new idea concerning them,—that is, that they are a species of glowworm in their butterfly state. If that is the case, they must of necessity move, the opinion of those scientific gentlemen to the contrary, notwithstanding.
