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182
The Wig, Cane and Hat.
(see first page.)
Y the side of a murmuring stream
An elcler^y gentleman sat;
the top of his head was his wig,
o n the top of his wig was his hat.
fThe wind it blew high and blew strong,
As the elderly gentleman sat,
And it bore from his head in a trice,
And plunged in the river, his hat.
The gentleman then took his cane,
That lay by his side as ho sat,
And he dropped in the river his wig.
In attempting to get out his hat.
His bosom was filled with despair
And vexation and rage to see that;
So he flung in the river his cane,
To follow his wig and his hat.
Reflection at length came across
This elderly man, as he sat,
And he thought he would follow the stream,
To look for his wig, cane and hat.
But soon, in his hurry, he stumbled
At a place where the bank was not flat,
And in the old gentleman tumbled,
To swim with his wig, cane and hat.
Kolia and Lucy Book of Poetry.
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
MAROONER’S ISLAND ;
OR,
Dr. Gordon in Search of His Children.
BY REV. F. R. GOULDING,
Author of “ The Young Marooners.”
CHAPTER XY.
THE EMERALD ISLE AND ITS INHABITANTS
—ATTACK AND DEFENCE —MUSQUITOES
AND GALLINIPPERS —INGENIOUS DEVICES
—MUSQUITO KEY.
pl accs f° r en *
U\ ‘(M/ffRgL campraeut which they
had found since leaving
Tampa, the one selected
ffljL ** this evening seemed for
a time the most promising of com
fort. At a distance, its dense
Jr# growth of low, stunted pines, and
its glassy surrounding of shining
water, made it appear like a great emer
ald set in a surface of crystal. And
when they landed, the balsamic fragrance
of the trees was refreshing, and the mea
sureless profusion of straw-like leaves
overspreading the ground, and drifted
here and there by the wind into soft lux
urious beds, promised all that men, wea
ried as they were, could ask for a night’s
repose.
They landed early, and early made
ready for orders to “turn in,” but they
soon received decided intimation that no
sleep was to be enjoyed there that night,
except by the use of some uncommon
means. For with the deepening of twi
light deepened also the swarms of mus
quitoes, with which the island was in no
ordinary degree infested. Whether it
was that their numbers made them bold,
or that famine made them desperate, they
did not come with the usual modest song
of the musquito of other places, serenad-
BUEKE’S WEEKLY.
ing first their intended victims, then tim
idly alighting on some exposed part, and
seeming, by their hesitation, almost to
ask the privilege of sucking an evening’s
meal of blood; these gave no concerts
and asked no permission, but with the
“Whing!” of a rifle ball, and with the di
rectness of one, pitched at once upon the
spot selected, and then, quick as thought,
pushed their little poisonous bills into the
rich fountains underlying the skin.
It has been remarked by someone as
a great pity that these insects cannot
draw their coveted supplies of blood with
out first diluting it by the injection of
their painful poison ;* for most persons
would submit patiently to the mere loss
of blood sufficient to feed a regiment of
them, rather than keep up the constant
fight necessary for defence. But, no, the
first intimation of their stealthy phlebot
omy given after their complimentary
serenade, is a sharp, stinging pain in the
spot attacked, and a constant itching and
itching and burning for many minutes
afterwards. True, if let alone until the
meal is finished, each musquito will suck
out most of its own poison along with the
blood, so as to leave scarcely any trace of
its visit; but few persons have fortitude
enough to endure the torment.
The musquitoes of this island were as
remarkable for their energy and adroit
ness as for their boldness and numbers.
They not only attacked those parts of the
person where the skin was exposed, but
the larger variety, known as gallinippers ,
pushed their probosces through the thin
ner parts of the clothing, and some of the
men declared with all seriousness that
they had been actually bitten through the
pores of their boots.f
The annoyance was so great that every
available means was used for defence.
First of all, there were several bright
fires kindled and kept up at some dis
tance to the leeward of the bivouac, for
the purpose of decoying the insects thith
er to their destruction. The expedient,
however, was of doubtful utility, for
though many were thus led off, and some
of them destroyed, many more were at
tracted from a distance that probably
would never have come but for the light.
Another plan, much more effectual, was
that of a smoke to the windward. A
quantity of grey moss, and of green pine
leaves, was amassed, and a small pile of
it was heaped upon a thoroughly burning
brand, and renewed whenever necessary.
-thaVth?‘hloimh 10 Rtin f ing musf *uitoes are all females
that Die blood they suck is necessary to the production
b ° fc *" d
po ™ of tk ” gallinil '-
By this means was produced a dense
continuous smoko which was tolerable if
not pleasant, to the men, but intolerable
to the musquitoes. There were three
such smokes kept up within ten feet of
the sleeping places. Yet neither was this
device effectual, except in part. These
being the only plans of a public character
that could be thought of, the Sergeant
announced to the men that each must
now exercise his own ingenuity in devis
ing modes of individual defence. And it
was almost laughable to see some of the
plans adopted.
Simpson, who by this time was nearly
well again, took from his private stores a
lump of deer suet, with which he gave a
heavy coating of grease to every portion
of his skin exposed to attack, remarking;
“They can stand smoke, but they can’t
stand grease.”
Jones had been thoughtful enough just
before dark to gather several handfuls of
pennyroyal, a strongly aromatic plant,
with which he rubbed his face, neck and
hands, saying :
“ I know it will keep off fleas, and I
reckon the musquitoes will not fancy it
much.”
Before the company had gone to sleep
he was heard to laugh rather merrily,
and on being asked the reason, replied;
“ I am laughing at the musquitoes.
Not a fellow of them has yet had a bite
of me. I can feel them alight on my skin,
but the moment they smell the penny
royal, they rise so quick and strong that
lean feel the kick. It makes me laugh
to think how disappointed they must be.”
With all his boasting, however, Jones’
face and hands the next morning looked
as if he were suffering an attack of meas
les. The perfume of his pennyroyal was
a good defence so long as it lasted, but it
needed renewal every half hour.
Wheeler’s device was, to appearance, as
ineffective as it was novel. He took the
shrimp net. of which the meshes were at
least half an inch square, and selecting a
spot shaded from the light of the fires, he
spread it over a ridge pole so that it
should cover his face and hands without
touching them. lie said that musquitoes
would never pass through a net, men
when the meshes were much larger than
these, unless they could see light on tin
other side. lie slept without complaint
through the night, though neither was
he without marks the next morning.
Sergeant Tomkins, who was fortunate
enough to have a large tough newspaper
shaped it into a helmet for head and nec n
having cut a Y-like orifice for breathing,
and leaving the point of the V to cow 1
the end of his nose. His hands wcu