The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1886-05-20

Dogs and Bears Killed by the Pests.
Lieut. Schwatkas AIakkaI


[Lieut. Schwatkas Alaska
A fair wind one day made me think it
possible to take hunt inland, but to my
| disgust it died down after / had pro.
ceeded two or three miles, and my fight
back to camp with the mosquitoes l
shall always remember as one of the
salient points of my life. 1t seemed as if
there was an upward rain OF insects from
| the grass that became deluge over
marshy tracts-and more than half the
ground was marshy. OF course not
sign of any game was seen, except few
old tracks; and the tracks of an animal
are about the only part of it that could
exist here in the mosquito season, which
lasts from the time the snow is half off
the ground until the first severe frost,
period of three or four months During
that time every living creature that can
leave the valleys ascends the mountains,
| closely following the snow line, and even
there peace is not completely attained,
( the exposure to the winds being of far
more benefit than the GOODNESS due to the
altitude, while the mosquitoes are left
undisputed masters of the valley, except
for few struggling animals on their way
from one range of mountains to the
| other.
Had there been any game, and had /
/ obtained a fair shot, | honestly doubt if
| could have secured it, owing to these
pests; not altogether on account Of their
ravenops attacks upon my face, and
especially the eyes, but for the reason
that they were so absolutely dense that
it was impossible to see clearly through
the mass in taking aim. When | got to
camp | was completely exhausted with
my incessant fight. and completely out
of breath, which had to regain as best |
could in sitting smoke from dry, resin
Gus pine knots. A traveller who had
spent a Summer on the lower Yukon,
where | did not find the pests so bad on
my journey as on the upper river, was of
the opinion that a nervous person with
out mask would soon be killed by ner-
vous prostration, unless he were to take
refuge in midstream. / know that the
native dogs are killed by the mosquitoes
| L. oo.to,, or apcaa and / heard
reports which / believe to be we'll found.
ed, both from Indians and Trustworthy
white persons, that the great brown bear
enormously but commonly called the
grizzly-of these regions is at times com.
peled to succumb to these insects. The
statement seems almost preposterous,
but the explanation is comparatively
simple. Bruin, having exhausted all the
roots and berries of one mountain. or,
finding them scarce, thinks he will cross
the valley to another range, or perhaps
it is the odor of salmon washed up along
the rivers banks that attracts him.
Covered with heavy fur on his body,
his eyes, nose and ears are the vulnera-
BILE points for mosquitoes, and here OF
course they congrsgate in the greatest
numbers. At last, when he reaches a
swampy stretch, they rise in myriads,
until bis forepaw is kept SO busy, as be
strives to keep his eyes clear OF them,
that he can not walk, whereupon he be-
comes enraged, and, bear.like, raises
upon his launches to fight. 1t is now a
mere question of time until the bears
eyes become so swollen from innumera'
bic bites as to render him perfectly blind,
when he wanders helplessly about until
he gets mired in the mud and starves to
death.