OF OTHER NOXIOUS INSECTS, AND THEIR REMEDIES.
You might swear that Egypt, and the whole plague of insects with which
divine vengeance afflicted that land, had removed into Paraguay; nay,
you will find many here more mischievous and troublesome than Egypt ever
beheld. I have always thought common house-flies, resembling ours in
external appearance, more to be dreaded and shunned than serpents,
scorpions, scolopendras, hairy spiders, &c. Do not imagine this to be an
hyperbole: I declare it as my serious opinion. Swarms of these insects
are always flying up and down. At home and abroad you will see yourself
surrounded by these hungry little animals, which, though a hundred times
repulsed, will return as often. They enter the ears of persons when they
are asleep, and creeping to the interior of the head, lay great numbers
of eggs, which breed quantities of worms; these insects hourly increase
in number, and gnaw all the flesh and moisture in the head, so that
delirium and final death are the inevitable consequence, unless a remedy
be applied. I knew a Spaniard whose whole face together with the
nostrils was consumed, the forepart of his head being made as hollow as
a gourd by worms. One fly, which had crept into his nose whilst he
slept, was the origin of the worms and of his misfortune. This is no
rare occurrence. That worms are expelled by the application of tiger's
fat you have already learnt from the twenty-second chapter of this
history: but hear further. In the town of the Rosary, one of the
Abipones swarmed with worms to a shocking degree; but these insects,
unable to endure the tiger's fat which I applied to them, gnawed open
two outlets, and all burst away, leaving the sick man in perfect health,
and ascribing his recovery to this potent medicine; by the aid of which
I cured a female captive of the Spaniards, whose head had been grazed by
a bullet. The bloody and lacerated skin as usual attracted these flies,
which, making a passage to the interior of the head, greatly endangered
the poor woman's life, but were soon dislodged by the application of
tiger's fat. We have benefited other persons, at various times, with the
same remedy. I took care always to have a good supply of a medicine so
important, and in such constant request. At the first news of a tiger
being slain I hastened to get its fat, which I kept melted in a little
vessel; for if raw, it would soon putrefy in so hot a climate. Though
the fat of these animals, even when fresh, like the rest of the flesh,
exhales a most abominable odour, yet when mixed in water, it is drank by
the Abipones with the utmost avidity. In some of the Guarany Reductions,
peach leaves are used to expel worms bred by flies.
The natives of northern regions will hardly conceive, and natural
historians scarce credit the breeding of such dangerous worms from
flies; but the Americans witness it daily, and deplore its fatal effects
not only on themselves, but on cattle. When we killed a cow or a sheep
at sun-rise, the flies have been seen swarming round the flesh; soon
after we have found it covered with a kind of whitish seed, and by
sun-set the meat became stinking, full of worms, and unfit to be eaten.
Those who wish to preserve meat uninjured, should either cut it into
very small pieces and dry it in the air, or hang it up in the shade in a
net, or wicker basket, so that it may be exposed to the air, without
being accessible to flies. Should a horse's back be injured by the
hardness of the saddle, or by long riding, the flies will swarm thither
as if bidden to a feast, and breed innumerable worms, which mangle the
horse, and in a few days destroy him. Blood bursting from an ulcer is a
sign that worms are within. In order to remedy this they tie the
animal's feet and throw him on the ground, then dig out the worms and
matter with a slender stick, and fill up the hole of the ulcer with
chewed tobacco-leaves, and cow-dung. This must be repeated for many
days. If the animal can lick himself the cure will be surer and quicker.
But as this method of healing is accompanied with much trouble and some
danger, the Indians, and half Spaniards, who are more lazy than the
Indians, had rather see the plain strewed with carcasses, than exert
themselves either with their hands or feet. The slothfulness of the
shepherds who take care of the estates yearly occasions the loss of many
thousand horses, oxen, calves, sheep and mules in Paraguay. New born
calves should be examined and rid of the worms, with which they are
generally infested; for the flies immediately attack the navel string,
and miserably kill them. On which account, if, out of ten thousand
calves born yearly on your estate, four thousand remain alive, you have
great reason to congratulate yourself, and return thanks to your
shepherds.
I should not omit to mention another worm medicine. Szentivan advises
you to give a drench of olive oil and water to oxen labouring under this
disease, as it causes them to void the worms along with their excrement.
I had formerly read of this, and remembering the prescription, adopted
it in America with success, before I was acquainted with the virtues of
tiger's fat. I had a great mastiff dog, remarkable for beauty, strength,
and courage, my faithful guard both at home and abroad, but somewhat
quarrelsome. He provoked daily battles, and was constantly victorious,
till one day when he was attacked by a number of hounds at once; the
wound which they made was infested by worms, so that, as he would not
suffer it to be touched, we had no hopes of his recovery. After applying
a very few drops of oil to the wound, I beheld the whole brood of worms
issuing forth, and caught hold of them as they protruded themselves from
the skin, with a pair of compasses. When the worms ceased to break out,
I poured on oil again and again, till none remained in the hollow of the
wound, and by this art the dog recovered in two days. The same oil, in a
lukewarm state, is poured into the ears, to get away any gnat, flea, or
fly, which may have crept into them. I will tell you of a false alarm I
once had on this account. As I was dressing in the morning, I heard a
continual humming so near me, that I thought a fly must have entered my
head; a suspicion which gave me much anxiety. Every thing was tried,
without success, to expel the fly, which still continued its deadly hum.
At last, oil heated in a shell was poured into my ear by a boy, but,
from being too hot, it caused me extreme pain. Yet still greater was my
consternation at finding that the humming was not discontinued. "Come,"
said I to the boy, "put your ear close to me, and listen attentively to
the buzzing of this wretched insect." The boy listened for some time,
and then said with a smile: "you need be under no apprehension, Father;
the fly is in your clothes, not in your ear." Immediately undoing the
buttons, I pulled away the coat from my neck, and the fly, which had
been confined in the fold, joyfully flew away. I cannot express the
delight I felt at finding myself free from this danger. It was a long
time, however, before I could forget it; the obstinate pain in my ear,
occasioned by the hot oil, every now and then reminding me of the
captive fly. I must here mention another remedy. If ever you feel any
insect enter your ear, you should make some other person syringe it well
with cold water; for the little insects, oppressed by the wet, will
either come out, or perish immediately.
In certain parts of Paraguay, especially in the Tarumensian territory,
you meet with another species of fly. In size and shape they differ
little from our common flies, but are of a white colour, and have a
formidable sting, which, when inserted into the flesh of man or beast,
elicits a quantity of blood. I scarce ever remember seeing them in
houses; they chiefly infest the roads, where they are excessively
troublesome to horse travellers. There is a great number and variety of
gad-flies, in plains adjacent to woods, but these insects attack beasts
only. I am not surprized at the fable of Io being driven mad by a
gad-fly, having so often seen horses and mules, tractable at other
times, tormented by gad-flies adhering to their skin like leeches, till
they grew quite furious, and lost all control over themselves, and
regard for their riders. Still greater danger is experienced in the
woods from certain large wasps, the sting of which perfectly infuriates
the horses. To free themselves from these cruel tormentors, they often
refuse to obey the bridle, and throw their rider, rushing onwards, and
rolling themselves on the ground; a circumstance which occasions many
broken legs, and bruised heads, and much bloodshed. I, myself, though
riding on a very gentle mule, should have been killed once owing to this
circumstance, had not an Indian come to my assistance. These insects
attack men also. Their sting occasions violent pain and great swelling.
A piece of fresh turf is generally applied to the wounded part, by way
of remedy, but it never did me any good, as my cheek may testify. In my
absence, a great number of wasps flew into the yard of our house, and
settled upon a stake, forming themselves into a large round ball. Lest
passers-by should disperse them, and they should fly into our apartment,
I fired a gun into the ball of wasps. Terrified at the sudden report,
they all flew away except one, which pitched upon my face, and inserting
its sting into the flesh, caused it to swell dreadfully. The tumour was
succeeded by a corresponding degree of pain. On my complaining the next
day, and mentioning the remedies I had used, an old Abipon said, "Why
did you not anoint the swelling with beef fat, Father? that is an old
and certain remedy amongst us." I complied with this advice, in
consequence of which the swelling and pain both ceased. Take notice that
I do not mean suet, but the fat of the animal, which is used in Paraguay
in the place of melted butter. How dangerous it is to provoke hornets,
we have often found in travelling. A nest of these insects concealed
under the leaves had perhaps been disturbed unintentionally by the
Indians, who preceded me as we were walking in the woods; but they did
not escape with impunity, not a few being stung by the hornets dispersed
in this manner. Most of them, however, rushed under my clothes, and
would have stung me all over, had I not given my garment to the Indians
to examine and shake.
No arithmetic is sufficient to reckon the number of gnats that torment
this country, as no patience is equal to enduring them. Wherever you go,
they afflict your ears with their noise, and your flesh with their
stings, making you wish for a hundred arms to drive them away. During
cold weather, they remain quietly in their lurking-holes, but when the
sun is hot and the air tranquil, they fly out in search of food, and are
never more ferocious than at dawn or twilight. Where the grass is high,
where bushes, pools, rivers, or marshes are near at hand, and where
there are thick woods which exclude the air, there you will be plagued
by vast numbers of serpents, and swarms of gnats. If you have to pass
the night in such a situation as I have described, never dream of
sleeping. After the fatigue of riding or walking the whole day, you will
fruitlessly weary both hands at night with driving away gnats. Unable to
sleep, how often have I reproached the sun with returning too slowly! I
pitied the horses which, after being debilitated with toil and fasting,
were surrounded by such a swarm of hungry gnats, that, as they could
neither take any rest, nor graze the herb, they stood round the fire to
inhale the smoke, which, if rather sharp, will keep off those trumpeting
insects. Gnats cannot endure the smoke of cow-dung; but besides that it
will have the same unpleasant effect upon your own nostrils, if your
sense of smelling be not very dull indeed; you will hardly meet with
cow-dung in the woods, where there is not so much as the shadow of a
cow, and travellers through these deserts are too much laden with
provisions, water, and fuel, to be able to carry bundles of it with
them. I was much pleased with the ingenuity of a Negro, who, when he
slept on a journey, always had at his side some resinous material from
rotten wood, which glistens at night, smokes gently without any
unpleasant smell, and, as I observed, always defended him from gnats.
Incredible is the annoyance caused by these insects in a long journey.
We have often returned home mangled, swollen, and bloody, in short, so
unlike ourselves, that we could hardly know one another. Even in the
house, if you do not wish to pass a sleepless night, you should not
suffer the door or window to remain open at sun-set, especially when you
light a candle; for they fly by swarms to any light, whenever they can
find access to it. There is a species of gnats which are smaller, but
more mischievous than the common kind; for though they have not the
disagreeable hum of the others, they creep into the mouth, ears, and
nose, and sting violently.
The most famous gnat in Paraguay, the _mbarigué_, is of the smallest
size. Its extreme diminutiveness renders it invisible to the acutest
eye, yet its sting is intolerably painful. These insects infest the
thicker woods and the banks of streams, and are most to be feared in the
evening, when the air is still. Their sting is like the point of a
weapon, with which they pierce the flesh, not only when it is naked, but
when defended with a slight covering. After passing some time in the
woods, we returned to the town so covered with red spots, that we looked
like persons in the small-pox. When in this state, the skin cannot be
safely scratched with the nails, or washed with cold water. From the
repeated stings of this gnat, large worms are often bred, whether
originating in the pestilent sting, the poisoned humour, or some seed
left by the insect, or in the gnat itself, converted into a worm within
the flesh, I cannot tell. That more than one worm is never bred in one
place, I know, the proof of which you shall now hear. I had observed my
dog howl every now and then, scratching himself and appearing very
uneasy. The Indians, when consulted on the matter, answered that he was
swarming with worms. Under my inspection, they tied the dog's mouth and
feet, laid him on the ground, and pressing the flesh where it appeared
swelled with both hands, squeezed out the worm concealed underneath.
Seventeen worms were thus taken from as many different places, all of a
white colour, thicker than the seed of an apple, and about the length of
a man's thumb nail. Astonished at the circumstance, I was told by the
Indians that it frequently happened to themselves. And, indeed, all
Paraguay knows that the minutest worms and flies have been the death of
many persons. Father Felix Villa-Garzia, during his long search for the
Ytatinguas in the Tarumensian woods, contracted a disorder in his eye,
and was tormented by a fistula and the worms engendered therein for the
rest of his life: that the heat of the sun, and various kinds of gnats
were the occasion of this disorder, is well known.