Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1886-09-14
Alaska MOSQUITOES.

81 ALASKA MOSQUITOES.
Did you ever hear Governor Swine.
fotd's wonderful stories about Alaska !
Sumo Of the stream, up there are 90 full
Of salmon that. IN the season, boats are
actually impeded in navigation owing to
the countless millions OF these fine fish.
Ba, In ell the Governors tales be touches
the mosquito very lightly. II remain.
fof DR.. Rose and . gentleman connected
With the s,.leries. jus, here from siika
to give the plain truth aboa, the AlA'ks
m o.quiioes
These pests are found troablesoms Ia
Alaska. says DR.. Rose. How strange
tina, the little drone Of these insects. re-
calling the solicitations Zoe pour bore
in q French cafe. should importune ones
ears 90 f.r mouth a. the Arctic regions.
be, Odd the domain OF the ordinary
globe ,ro,tsr" and unknown TO tourists.
The little pests are mote widely di',rib.
u,ed than the lnnui, race or the reindeer,
10 both Of which they cause great annoy
ance during the short Arctic summer.
Fnil az they are in body they have
reached a. far north as man can pcne.
uste, having been found by the Mares
expedition. and. unlike other insects,
they sem 10 have no relations to the ex'
ternal condition. by which they are sur
rounded. being in fact cosmopolitan. and
having no geological provinces.
No, only are they uneonhned TO any
limited OF definite area. their distribution
In time !. eon,empofansoas with II not
an,tcedent 10 man. a. their fossil remains
have been found In the tertiary beds OF
the lover White river. Colorado; and
an instance 1. even recorded Of their al
foriing material for Eskimo wit ., the
expense Of Lieutenant Sohwa,ka who
va. f.ee,ioa.ly termed by these people
",he Big Mosquito The mynsds Of
mo,quiioe. ATE great drawback TO
Governor S~insiOrd's wonderful ooun,ry.
bot they attract vast number. Of hungry
birds. Al time. life wi,hou, . veil l'
perfectly untndursble. Visitors are
Obliged 10 wear thick cotton gloves, and
the seal merchant states tina, on many
occasion. When out shooting. II he va.
too long Ia taking aim. he va. compel.
ed 10 shake the gun barrel 10 order to
g,, the mo,qui,oe. of, then take another
ain before they Alish,sd aslin. otherwise
be could no, have seen the game al all.
Arctic mosquitoes, encountered IN Alas
IA .urpa. any seen even Ia New Jersey.
Tor instance. where. 1, i said. they col
leei a, times about village church s,ee-
pie. in such form, as 10 be mi',aken fof
smoke ADD cause an alarm OF fire. The
mefchan, add, that they ate worse than
anything Of the kidd be ever experienced
a, such place. a. Tybee Island. Georsis.
the Nes Orleans quarsn,ine station OF
on the RIO Onnde river. Texas. The
Alaska insect. however. differs from the
southern mosquito IA sessril respects
They are mote Pilo. and more plamo.e
and have 40 such p,f.l,,encs AL aeus.
iiy. in consequences Of which tbey ate
unable TO ge, out Of the way qniekly
aud can easily be killed by the hsndfal /;
ba, they seem 10 be ju,i I. venonoa'
and b!oodihir,y q, the southern sifis,y.
They also prefer ,o makes meal oil the
white visitor. rather than the natives
and their capacity f1r dfa~ing blood IL
enormous
IL will be remembered lathe Cor~in
expedition mosquitoes were yefy rouble-
some at 81. Miehasl.. and. owing 10 their
excessive annoyance A. other place. IN
the Arctic rgions At times u sas foaad
to BE- slmo., impossible to use the seien'
tihc instruments In taking observations
when the position Of .Pos on shore wAs
20 be delsfminsd Ga Oae occasion al a
ds.ol.,s ,Po, on the top Of ChAml.s. i'-
land, 200 Zee; above the sea. an As,ro.
nomical station wi. found which had
teen established by parties from English
ship. in search Of Sir John Franklin. aud
near IL was . notice that bottle va.
buried % many feet away toward the
magnetic north. Curiosity Of conrc
promoted them 20 get the bottle by all
means. out the mosquitoes descended In
such myriad. that further search was &C.
,uslly abandoned. There were no other
,isns Of animal life on the island. Many
men Of Corwin's crew were seriously IN.
eommoded by mosquito bites aud ';inss
on exposed parts OF the body. one man .
neck and face being 90 swollen from
,hi. cause ,hs, he va, temporarily de-
privsd Of hi. sye.ish,.
"By the by" remarked the Alaskan,
ibid you know that the United States
capitol was full OF mosquitoes ?" Fact !
| ". up there the other day aud found
myriads Of the pests ia the Senate cham.
Der and House Of Representatives. an d
the attendant. told me tina, the commit
tee rooms swarmei with them. drawn
,hi,her. no doab, by the crowds OF peo.
pie who congrrgale In the vast blildIhg
up to the adjoarnmen, Of Congres. in
the early days OF August They are
small and neatly noi.le.s and bite aboa,
=. soon a. they alight on the psroa. bat
have little venom. The Congre.,mea
departed leayins thi, annoyance Mos.
quito netting /, in active demand thi,
se..on.--P0rldRd idveri,ser.