. . ook a hand in repair-ing the railroad, and wereengaged for some time incutting and hauling tiesfrom the Guadalupe in Texas wehad an opportunity to en-large our knowledge ofnatural history. We formedthe acquaintance of severalvarieties of insects, wormsand reptiles to plague, pes-ter and vex us, to whichwe had heretofore beenstrangers. We had alreadyhad a large experience withmosquitoes, but it was herethat we found them in theirhighest state of carnivorousdevelopment. Theyswarmed about the camp inmyriads. During Septe
. . ook a hand in repair-ing the railroad, and wereengaged for some time incutting and hauling tiesfrom the Guadalupe in Texas wehad an opportunity to en-large our knowledge ofnatural history. We formedthe acquaintance of severalvarieties of insects, wormsand reptiles to plague, pes-ter and vex us, to whichwe had heretofore beenstrangers. We had alreadyhad a large experience withmosquitoes, but it was herethat we found them in theirhighest state of carnivorousdevelopment. Theyswarmed about the camp inmyriads. During September and October, after sunset, the visit-ations were simply appalling, A few had foreseen the evil andprovided themselves with netting before leaving New Orleans,but to the great mass of the soldiers the remembrance of thosenights is like a hideous dream. The boys frequently sat up agood part of the night, their pup tents tightly buttoned—asmudge of weeds and grass within. Besides, every one had hispipe filled with navy plug or niggerhead, and the viler the. JOHN C. GIL!.,: ant SURGE* >\. SIXTY-FIFTH. i865.] thi: MUSICAL MOSQUITO. 751 tobacco the more effective was the smoke upon the this fearful smudge, the sputtering candle, in the socketof a bayonet, scarcely gave light enough to enable the boys tosee whether they held ,cthree of a kind, a bobtail flush, oronly a measly pair of deuces. If old sledge was the game ofthe evening, the dealer could flip jack from the bottom of thepack, without fear of detection. ( hie afternoon I rode a horse from the camp of the Thirdbrigade, over the open prai-rie, to Victoria^ a distance oftwelve miles. Before start-ing, I took the precaution tocover my hands with gaunt-lets, and to swathe myhead in handkerchiefs untilI looked like a the time I reached Vic-toria, myself and portionsof the horse were complete-ly covered with masses ofmosquitoes, clinging to eachother and hanging in greatfestoons. vSix quarts of
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