The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1890-09-03
THE INSECT RESIGNED.
a Mariners Yarn of How He Lost
Useful Friend.
a Mosquito Which Supplied tho Place of
an Alarm Clock Until the Captains
Hours Became Too Irregular
an Ocean Catastrophe.


It was near the capes of the Chesa-
peakc Bay, writes Cobb's Island (Va.)
correspondent of the New York Times.
We had caught few fish and had
turned homeward. The boat tossed laz-
lily and the calm showed no signs of an
awakening. Various stories had been
told-storics of sharks and shipwreck, of
queer fish and strange storms-stories SO
wonderful as to raise honest doubts and
provoke sarcastic comments. Tho cap
tain, gruiT contemplative and tociturn,
was silent. Presently he spoke-spole
with grave and serious deliberation that
disarmed suspicion and compelled atten-
ton
You said something about mosqui-
toes" he began. They're curious crit
ters. Sometimes people like em and
sometimes they don't. Sometimes mos
quitoes like people and sometimes they
don't. | like mosquitoes, but they don't
like me. They never bother me at all.
1t makes no difference how thick they
arc they let me alone-all except ono,
and ] want to tell you about him
Following the water, as do, of
course makes me get up early, Most
always | can wake up right on tho
minute if wish it done the night before
and kind o fix it on my Minds But to
make sure got an alarm clock. | set
it at five o'clock overy morning, and
regular as the sun | woke. The clock
lasted all right from March to tho lst
of July, but something went wrong and
the alarm part OF her busted. couldn't
get her fixed, Sc | had to so back to the
old plan of writing it down on paper.
'Wen, gentlemen, the next morning
exactly at live o'clock a mosquito lit on
the end of my nose and woke me up.
He did it again the next morning, and
the next and the next, and so on for two
weeks. He was always prompt Then
found that ! had to get up at four
o'clock one morning. put it down on
the paper and he woke me on the dot
During the week changed my hour for
getting up every morning. and each
time the mosquito was on hand. But
tho next Monday, when. | wrote three
o'clock on the paper something hap
pcned. oversight myself. 1t was $50
when awolie. jumped out of bed
and there on the table saw something
added to what had written. 1t was in
blood. and this is the way it read: i
would like very much to servo you, but
as your hours are becoming too irregu-
lar for any selr-respecting mosquito, l
am obliged to tender TO you my resigna-
ton That was all"
at was enough" said some one.
But tell us, did you ever see your friend
again"
"one cold winter night, when the
snow was coming down by wholesale"
continued the captain, more deliberately
than ever. Il heard a curiously-familiar
noise and went to the door There in
the corner of the yard | could see
through the binding flakes huge
diff, growing larger each minute" The
captain paused.
WAS your mosquito in tho drift"
asked a voice from the other end of the
boat.
That's something that I've never
been able to find out" replied the cap
tain. and with grim smile he resumed
his usual occupation OF scanning the
horizon.
There was i silence for moment as
depressing as the calm, but the first
mate finally broke it.
There used to be a great many mos
qutoes down along the Chesapeake, he
said: millions and billions more than
we have now. They went in swarms so
big as to seem like clouds and to shut
out the sunshine. Early one summer
morning y good many years ago fleet
OF schooners decked in flags and with
the blue uniforms OF the crews strung
out on the decks 10 dry sailed in the
capes Suddenly there came two dense
swarms OF mosquitoes. They made for
the vessels, completely hiding them
from view. In a few minutes they flew
away, leaving the fleet as bare as an
oak woods in December. Not a piece of
the sails, not strand of the uniforms,
not a shred of the flags was left-all
were gone.
Nobody knew what became of them"
he continued, until two days after
ward, when crowd of Eastern Shore
men were scared speechlcss by seeing
lot of dude mosquitoes dressed in blue
trousers and canvas coats.
What became of the 1ags?" asked
the curious voice from the bow.
'Oh, they divided them up and used
them for necktics," he said.
We asked the captain whathe thought
Of this He took his eye off the horizon
and responded. with his usual delibera-
ton: Gas man of truth, it strikes me
as being a trifle exaggerated.
THE DOCTORS DOG.
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