Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-07-13

/ OIucI Tie ullIe " rant peTSeCuleS HILL
Kind with his vicious bite and tantaIiz-
| ill., singing.
IN -Aldsha, during the summer time,
his presence makes life almost intoler-
able, even tie tough old moose and
! ca1ibod aud shaggy coated bears are
driven from the valleys and compelled
to seek shelter on the hilltJpS, which
are swept clear of insects by tie CON
slant breeZes.
| When the Indian is resting in the
woods he sets fire to the leaves and
tWlgS around him, making a Smudge
which protects him against the cloud
of insects till he is ready to shoulder
his pack and take the trail again. Be
fore leaving he never thinks Of eX-
lngulshing the fire he has made, and
big forest fires often result from his
neglect-a breeze will fan the shoulder
ing emberS into u flame, which will
creep up into the dry spruce and hem
lock and rapidly spread Till miles and
miles Of timber lands are burned to
| blackened Stumps.
When travelling in Alaska the white
man smears his face and hands with
bacon fat and pine pitch as a defense
against mosquito bites, but even with
! this unsavoly precaution L have had
my head so swollen by the poisonous
singing that l could not wear my hat
Sleep is simply impossible without
the shelter of a good mosquito net,
and this must be carefully tucked in,
for all night long sWarms of mosquitoes
will be creeping all over it, persistently
seeking an entrance and il there is a
spot in your Notifications it will be dis
covered. When by some accident a
man finds himself at the mercy of the
pests, he will attempt an escape no
matter what the risk.
l remember that one time in Alaska
l was hunting mountain sheep on some
heights which could only be reached
by dangerous climbing. Late in the
evening I found the darkness closing
round me, and l was at an elevation of
5000 feet; at all points steep slopes
,, reached down the valley below. After
searching for possible means Of de-
scent, l finally discovered the head of
a small cascade and 1 decided to follow
this. At first the little stream tumbled
over huge boulders, among which [
carefully made my way without acct
dent, but then l reached point where
| the waters flowed over a smooth face
of rock which slanted down abruptly
for fifty feet. AS l was hesitating
about continuing my journey by this
dangerous route clouds of MOSQUITOES
were Swarming around me and [ de-
termined to escape from them at all
hazards. Throwing my feet out in
front of me, I let myself slide down
the steep rock. For some distance |
sped along merrly, but I was unable
to stop myself, and upon reaching an
uneven stretch of stone I was thrown
off my course and tumbled head over
heels, in which undignified position l
continued for a few yards until 1 was
flung broadSide onto a hemlock stump
which stopped my further progress in
nerve SCATTERING manner. This to-
bOSganlng experiment had been I'M
pleasant. | was bruised and scratched
and stabbed all over with the spikes
of the devils club plant, but as [ sat
in the smoke of the camp fire that
night 1 felt grateful for having escaped
the mosquitoes, even at such a cost.
The Alaskan Indians have a legend
regarding the origin of mosquitoes.
In the olden times there lived in the
Snow-buried mountains of Kleca an old
giant, hideOuS to behold and mighty
in strength. He lived with his wife
and three big sons-an were cannibals
and they subsisted entirely upon human
beings. The old father had snares and
spiked pitfalls on all the trails leading
to the interior with which he caught
the unwa1y traveller. SO successful
were the giants inhunaan efforts that
the powerful nations of Chilcat AID
Goonennar dwindled down till only a
few families were left. Eventually a
medicine man, ambitious for glory, de-
cided that he would put his natural
cunning and supernatural power
against the giants strength and skill.
Armed with keen-bladed knife and
an assortment of woodworking
charms, the doctor started off for the
contest. He approached the traps very
carefully, and then purposely and with
but slight injury, he caught himself in
one Of the snares and lay still as
though dead. Soon the old giant,
making his rounds in the morning
came along, and seeing the sleek car
cass Of the doctor chuckled to him
self at his unusual success, and putting
the body into a sack which he always
carried for the purpose, he started
home to receive the congratulatory re-
marks of his family upon his fat catch,
and upon his reaching his hut prepare
lions were at once made to convert the
doctor into a dainty meal. The sgnould-
ering emberS of the fire We're blown
into flames, and big cooking pots had
already been provided, when suddenly
the doctor Sprang to his feet and COM
menced to cut and stab with his knife;
so unexpected was the attack, and so
deXterously was the weapon handled
old giant and his family were lying
dead. These cannabals had been very
untidy and dirty, and everywhere the
dust was lying three inches thick. This
! flew up in clouds when the scrimmage
| took place with the medicine man,
and very particle turned a mosquito
when the giants died.-E J. Claye.
DRIFTWOOD.
Interesting Facts Cleaned from Many
|