Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-07-07
THE ANrHRoPoPHAGoJs chIGGER.
| The Bnne Of the Picnic Season In Old
| Missouri and ThereabOuts.

Missouri and Thereabouts.
From the Kansas City Journal.
Simultareol sly with the advent of the
merry picnic season comes the chigSer,
beast of mystery and of retiring dlsposf-
ticn. His l.abits are predatory, and, ike
the wicked flea. he frequently goes where
no man pursueth. But while not possess
ing the. ssItatcry powers of Pulex irr.tans,
he is much harder to hold up. Those
who have had the good fortune to witness
lovely woman capture flea always have
high praise for the expert manner IN
which it is done, but the chlgger laughs
her to scorn and hides his diminished head
beneath her cuticle with great speed ana
consequent irritation to the surrounding
tissue. He gets there before she does
and even the new woman cannot clreum-
vent him.
The cbigger is no respecter of person,
and nobody is exempt from his raVaSeS.
The statesman of hisn degree ana TIE
tender maiden are alike meat for him, aud
equally toothscme. 1t is said that cat
may look upon a king with the calinest
composure. and So. indeed, might CHG
ger but a king cannot look on Ginger
by reason Of the smallness of the bug.
and that is where the chigger lays it
over royalty. Certain learned gentle
men who versed in insect lore tell us
probably no one with the temerity to dis
pute the assertion. He is indeed rnitey,
and will prevail in spite of our most de-
voted efforts.
But it is especially at those rural fes-
tivais called picn:cs that the chigger lis
ports himself with the grea test abandon.
There he has his innings and proves him.
self a Nemesis of the deepest dye. Eli
joy yourselves while ye may, ye merry
picnickerS for on the morrow ye itcn!
The delights Of the merry -so-round and
the cuStard pie are but evaneSCent things.
soon to fade away, but the chigger bur-
tia tha nf n6 fAS
like sixty or any other ma the NAUTICAL COM
putation sufficient to convey the idea
The habitat OF the chigger is among the
weeds and grasses. There he remains
in outrageous retirement, enjoying the
beauties of nature and biding his time.
The time soon cones. a fair summer girl
trips alorg with dainty footsteps or per-
haps reclines at ease upon the emerald
sward, when the chigger marks her as his
prey and takes possession at once 1t is
fair land of promise and the grazing
is good. The chigger rolls that damsel
under his tongue as = sweet morsel, and
yum, YUM.
The remedy for the chigger is various
Every woman has her own private for
nula for potent chiggercide, ranging
from face powders to spraying with fran
gipannf, bnt they all pale into insigniff-
canoe beside the ancient and time-honored
practice of amounting With bacon.
crisp piece Of breakfast bacon showing a
streak of lean and streak of fat in the
proper proportions is poison to the chigger:
sad commentary upon his epicurean
tastes, but as he is strictly anthropopfra-
gous this Is not matter Of great surprise
To pour Oil into the wounds made by the
ctigger is to grease with bacon. 1t is like
the precious ointment which ran down
upon Aaron's beard, and its influence is as
balm upon the dtstraught victim of the
chigger's voracity. But one thing must
be borne in mind. While
Bacon may render vain the chigger's
sharp bin.
The scent of the smokehouse will Hnger
there still.