Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1909-09-03

II the Union armies had had no
larger task set before them than TO
overcome the armies of the Southern
Confederacy. ! do not think the war
would have lasted as many years as It
did.
Their labor was very much larger
than that They fought not only arm
ed enemies, but also nature herself,
who interposed vast mountain ranges
and deep. swift rivers between them
and the Confederacy They fought
especially those who went TO the far
South-a facilitating climate and
length OF torrid weather to which
they were not accustomed And they
contended against myriads OF winged
and swarming things. to which their
adversaries were used but which to
the Northern boys were dreadful tor
ment
The man who, IN measuring the
work achieved, does not take these ex.
traordinary agencies into account, has
only summed up half the truth,
Where shall we begin?
l have read somewhere that a Span
lard named Muscoro discovered the
Delta OF the Mississippi, some centu-
ries ago; and that, finding clouds of
winged insects with sharp stings in
those low-lying lands, he gave them a
name derived from his own and call
ed them mosquitoes
We think they are pest In our
comparatively cool northern ATTITUDES.
Let the reader follow the track of our
armies contiguous to the Gulf of Mex
leo, and, after suffering enough to un.
derstand the situation, lei him try to
estimate how much good Union blood
was drawn down there during the war,
in other ways than by the sword.
The lower part OF Louisiana. ira
versed with streams. covered with
lakes and swamps, with frequent re
gions of pestiferous deposit, bred the
things by millions In these unhealthy
lands thousands of soldiers not only
contended with the enemy but battled
with fever and malaria, and were tor
mented with the bites OF winged and
creeping things. II cost much blood
to open the Mississippi; but for every
soldier killed there were three sent to
the hospital, poisoned by the malaria
or the insects
And fiies. / could realize something
about the plaques OF Egypt after see
Ing them. They were about as blood
thirsty as the mosquitoes. In the
trenches before Port Hudson we used
to destroy them by the thousand, with
powder scattered around and ignited
They attacked everything eatable: the
fresh meat which was sent I'D to us
Was fy.blown and spoiled before It
reached us
Did the reader ever hear OF a wood
tick? Did he ever happen 10 have one
introduced into his leg? They are
plenty in Dixie. The soldiers couldn't
always sleep at the St. Charles Hotel;
and in sleeping on the ground they
were apt to make too close an ac-
quaintance with this little villain.
He is a red bug who, like some dis
tinguished actors. always performs in
two parts. After he has bored his
way into you, you attempt to pull him
out. His after part comes: but the
forward part has entered the stay. He
makes himself very painful. and fire.
quently you will have to go 10 the doc
tor to get him dug out
AS matter OF course, snakes
abounded. ] suppose there were poi
sonous ones among them; whether so
or not, II was apt 10 give a soldier
creepy sensation to get up In the
morning and shake two or three out of
his blankets
+ There we're some mysterious casual
ties which were enough to put every
body In state OF apprehension We
were led TO expect danger from every
quarter in land 20 swarming with
vegetable and reptile growths as this,
our life being continually out Of doors
and exposed to every attack. On
one OF our marches in Western Iouisi-
ana John Cleveland, Of my COMPANY
had his face either bitten by an insect
or poisoned by vine The doctors
were at loss 10 tell just what was
the trouble, though they thought there
was some kind OF poisoning. The
mans face swelled to twice it's natural
size. and be died in few hours.
AS for the alligators. II must be ad-
mitted that, h!deous as they looked.
they seemed 10 be comparatively harm.
less. The negroes assured us that they
always Dathed IN the streams infested
by them tand no stream in Louisiana
was too small 10 nave alligatorsl with
oui feaE4o and that the gators never
touched, fnem, With some reluctance
the soidisrs' followed the advice Of the
negroes. ana whs1 a soldier of q Mas.
saehasetts regiment, bathing In Der.
wick Bay had the calf Of one Of his
legs neatly removed by the bite Of
something, panic arose on the sub
ject OF bathing The negroes explain
ed this mlshap by saying that Il was