Mosquitoes for the North and mainly fleas and ticks for the South--this
seems to be Nature's decree, at least in this country. The mosquitoes of
the Far North pounce upon one suddenly and ferociously, while our Jersey
mosquitoes hesitate and parley and make exasperating feints and passes.
On the tundra of Alaska, if I stopped for a moment a swarm of these
insects rose out of the grass as if they had been waiting for me all the
years (as they had) and were so hungry that they could not stand upon
the order of their proceeding, but came headlong.
In Jamaica the dogs were persecuted almost to death by the fleas. They
were the most sorry, forlorn, and emaciated dogs I ever saw. Life was
evidently a burden to them. I remember that Lewis and Clark, in their
journey across the continent, were greatly pestered by fleas. I have
found that our woodchucks, when they "hole up" in the fall, are full of
fleas.