New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-09-08
MOSQUITO REVELATIONS.

The mosquitoes reputation. bad as it may be,
is better than it should be- Few people outside
New-Jcrsey have an adequate idea OF the
malevolent depravity Of this winged tOrturer
when seen and felt at Its veIy wickedest. For
example we find in the current number OF
Science a record of its vacation recreation in the
Gunnison Valley, Colorado. Mr.. c. II. Murray
in letter from Denver TO Professor Baird de-
scrbes what he saw under the shade of some
willows skirting shallow place in a creek. A
small SWAIN OF mosquitoes was Circlng over the
water. where some fIcsh-hatched mountain
trout were readily disccrnblc. Every few
minutes the baby trout would rise 10 the sur
face of the water and remain there an instant,
with the tip of the head exposed. A mosquito
would at once align. upon the shining spot aud
transiix the trout by inserting its proboscis or
bill, into the brain OF the fish, which apparently
was completely parayzed and unable to escape.
The prosecutor would not relax its grip, but
holding its victim as in vice would extract ali
the vital juices from the trOut's body. When
this was accomplished, the dead trout would
turn over on his back and float down the
stream. The observer witnessed the murder of
twenty trout under the willows in the course of
half an hour by these Western mosquitoes, each
victim being sucked dry in his lifeless shell.
This scientific anecdote is related primarily
for the sake of illustrating how fish may come
to their death in cleal water without the inter-
position OF the rod with the wriggling worm at
one end and the conventional fool no the other.
Ii serves, however, to explain various circum-
stances which have never been adequately un-
derstood. In the FIRST place it is plain why
mos IuitOes are exceptionally ferociJus in their
assaults upon fishermen, who in their estima
ton are poaching upon their preserves. Self
defence and prudent instinct for maintaining
their special food supply invigoratc them for
close conflict with their unwecomc rivals. The
iisherman's clumsy apparatus and complex
method of conducting operations tend to ex-
asperatc them beyond endurance and impart
unwonted venom to their stngs. Unlike the
tangled line aud the illusiye hook, the
mosquitoes prObOscis is there every time, and IL
always holds. These expert sportsmen might
not be dsinclinod either TO share the ground
with the intruders, or 60 surrender it alto
gether, if the latter were in reality cleaner or
more effective operators But II the mosquito
knows its own bill. they are not and conse-
quently when they come laundering upon the
bCcHc uc ~ lfclJ HEHl AOI HIS llphlIdh
rights.
Another circumstance hitherto inexplicable
may now be readily explained. Every one who
has had lifelong experience III either New
Jersey or Staten Island knows that bald-headed
men indigenous to the soil are never known to
expose their heads during sleep. Some of them
wear nightcaps; others mummy their heads in
sheets and Others again retire with their hats
OH and invariably sleep with their heads at the
foot of the bed securely tucked under the
blankets. A native Jerseyman with bald
head evidently knows what will happen if he
does mot secure himself against midnight as
sault The deadly mosquito will alght without
warning and transfx the sleeper by inserting
his proboscis into the shining pate and tapping
the BRAIN The victim will be tightly held by
the bill until all the life juices are extracted,
when thu mosquito will fly away and watch for
the next bald-headcd man. Occasionally men