The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 14, 1898, Page 20

THE FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, AUGU 14, 1898 THE VOLUNTEER AND THE FLEA EFORE enlisting for the war I sat me down and thought Ot all the dreadful things with which the service might be fraught, And weighed with most exacting Carc the dangers I would face, - And thought that I could meet them all with uncomplaining grace. I thought that when I'd reach the front - - and checked the lengthy list, Not one soul-trying - hardship schedule would be missed. But here in these Pacific sands, anear the . _sobbing sea, I find one I had overlooked—the Califor- nla flea. from the We never kneel to say our “Now-I-lay me-down" at night ‘Without the nuisance joining with an ag- gravating bite, And while our thoughts we try upon the throne of grace They're sure to drift in sinful way to- ward the other place. ‘We scratch and pray and pray scratch In alternating way, And ask forgiveness for the things we're tempted sore to say, 3 And often feel like asking the good Lord above why he Cr.gtad such a creature as the California ea. to fix and * When out on drill or dress parade, hemmed in on every side By luughlng-eyed, bewitching girls, fair California’s pride, We fain would please the Western buds of beauty so divine By marching with our heads erect in straight unbroken line. But oh! our ranks are broken oft, and thrown _all out of whack By comrades reaching for a spot located in_the back, Ser he's a prince of strategy, a wise old bug is he, 4And knows where It is safe to feed—that California flea. ‘We do not fear the climate in the dis- . tant Philippines, ‘We do not fear the dangers of the sea that intervenes, ‘We do not fear the Spaniards we expect to battle there, ‘Nor any othér danger on the darned bill of fare; whole But every Colorado boy who wears the honored blue Not onlv we high privates, but the shoulder-strappers, too, Are really afraid to face the fierce ra- pacity Of this blood-sucking, ravenous old Cali- fornia flea. -—COKLORADO VOLUNTEER, Camp Mer- ritt. S the mosquito is to New Jersey 80 i the flea to California, only a problem in simple equations, but don’'t waste your time in figuring out the answer. There 18 no money In it, but there is a fortune for the fellow who can rid either burg of its mative pest. Any number have tried their hand at it and made g quito than with the flea. And there are any number of othe: its quota of discomfort to man. Most people think they know about fleas. to know. ars to the study of a s d %ut sor ing. 2lly the flea's to belongs the order wingl ct d in a¢ least twenty species and several hundred The commonest kind that exist on this coast are the dog fleas, cattle fieas, pig fleas, cat fleas and the, kind that are troublesome to human bein Any one of the diffe t kinds is capable of b human being, but thos g Very annoy that - end of them; The pig flea often grows to almost the size of a grain of wheat. Cat fleas are £0 small their Jegs can scar v be seen with the hunfan appear simply as a very tiny black speck. In some parts of ica scientists have found fleas so that they could not be seen at all They were but little jarger z table bacte: respect they mall take rank as th of animal organism capable of freedem of loco- motion. The most terrible flea of all is found in Africa. It is not very large in‘size, but it has a habit of depositing its eggs beneath the skin of human beings, where they hatch, and in a few days become a troublesome ulcer that can only be cured by an application of pow- dered calomel. The reason that the flea of California | HERE was no man in civil life to whom the term ‘“‘bummer” was applied previous to 1861 The war brought out the man | and tl.e name. Sherman'’s “pummers” gcined a reputation over those of any other army, but every command held its free-lances, and they were more or less of a factor in the field. | The “bummer” of the war was neith- | er a guerriila nor a robber in point of fact, though the element had its dregs. He was a man restive of discipline. He didn’t shirk fighting, but he wanted to | fight when and how he pleased. His | appetite craved something better than | army rations, and he also had a curi- | osity to know what was going on be- | tween the lines. No matter how strin- | gent the orders or how watchful the provest guard, tha “bummer” found a | way to get out of camp anc. go wander- ing about. The advance guard of a marching army, whether cavalry or in- fantry, always found the free lances ahead of them. Now and then they | acted as scouts and brought in valu- | able information but as a rule they had |11ttie concern except for themselves. nv | Just before Hooker set his in march for Chanc. llorsville a provost guard of 100 men was ordered out to round up a lot of “bummers” who were raiding the country to the east. Four or five men had been ov ~hauled and made prisoners, when the guard rode into a Confederate ambush In the woods and a sharp fight began. Un- known ‘to efther side, a crowd of “bout | 60 “get-aways” were encamped in the scientists and other folks seem to have ater headway with the’ mos- then house- hold pests, each of which contributes . At any rate, all they w But really the flea is one of ing of 1| cts, and tists have devoted abits. The great Moret, devoted ng id he had or name is Pulex elong to animals are not much trouble, because they can be shaken off, and that is the they die very quickly after being deprived of the animal heat. Pic fleas are the largest and cat fleas the smallest in this part of the world. THe L6, all ish nly of g2\ LOOK OUT! JUST NOW Simple story of how a humble flea of ordinary p:digree is bred and is forc:d by cru. ot the Mediterranean the chances are the period is nearly the same. Differ- ent scientists have placed this at dif- ferent lengths of time. The longest is twenty days and the shortest sixteen days. Most likely both are right, the difference being due entirely to the dif- ference in temperature. To strike an average it might be well to place it at eighteen days. The first period of the flea’s life is in an egg. The day ofter the egg is laid «he form of the larva is already visible on the inside. The second day it emerges and starts out in life as an active grub, eyveless and covered with long hair. In this condition the creature lives about eight days, changing a little in appearance. It then spins itself into a cocoon, where it remains for at least nine days. It is during this stage that the greatest and most rapid change Lo N ) = LT RRRY SIX L \ \\\ \ \W \ " \ NP4 IS THE MOVING TIME * OF ALL OUTCAST HOMELESS FLEAS Every housekeeper has a terror of ants, cockroaches, carpet beetles, moths and any number of other terrors, to say nothing of the everyday, everywhere common housefly. Flypaper is part of the stock in trade of every grocery- store in the entire country, but reme- dies for the other pests are not so liber- ally provided. Professor Henry Skinner, an entomologist, has made a careful study of all sorts of bugs and things that crawl or fly. He has made our household pests his particular study. Recently he lectured at the Academy of Naturai Sclences in Philadelphia, and during his lecture gave a lot of in- formation of value to housekeepers who would be rid of household pests. A great many will agree with Professor Skinner that dogs and cats are the greatest breeders of fleas. Not content with breeding them, all members of the canine and feline tribes are in the “common carrier” business when it comes to a matter of flea distribution. Ever notice how your pet dog delights in rubbing up against your legs? He brushes past on one side, then turns and gives you a broadside the other way. From fear that every flea is not fully awake to the situation he retreats a few steps, gives himself a shake and then comes back at vou again. Cats are adepts at the same trick. The chances are that you will not resent this familiarity on the part of the pet until it has fuifilled all its duties as a “common carrier.”” Then it is ready to retire to its favorite rug and take on another load of pests. VW DEVELOPMENT OF THE FLEA FROM THE EGG TO THE FULL-FLEDGED PEST, is 8o troublesome and hard to get rid of is that it breeds on the ground, in carpets, old rags and in sand. The only condition necessary is a moderate de- gree of warmth. The process through which the Cali- fornia flea passes is the same as all the other species. Briefly, this is very much like the silk worm, but more like the dragon fly, with the difference that the latter’s evolution takes place in water. The exact time of the California flea's embryonic period has never been ac- curately determined, but as the climate here is much like the northern shores same piece of woods about ha! a mile away. As soon as the firing began they seized their muskets, fell into line, and, under command of one of their number, they marched through the woods and fell upon the enemy's flank and routed him. But for their timely arrival and the way they fought not a man of the provost guard would have escaped. They had been raiding farm houses, and some of them were .vearing wo- men's bonnets and skirts as-they went into the fight. \Three or four of the fei- lows were killed, but the body ef them escorted the guards back to within a mile of our lines, and then sent a dozen fat chickens to General Hooker as a token of their esteem. Perhaps the first Confederate bank ralded by Union soldiers was one at Charleston, Va., as Milroy was mak- ing his way up the Kanawha Valley. “Bumming” was in its Infancy then, but a dozen of the fellows found them- selves ahead of the army and resolved to strike for a hig stake. They made a sudden attack on the town at daylight, and then dashed in and made for the bank. They broke in the door with an ax, obliged the banker to unlock his safe, and somethi. ~ like half a million dollars was carried away as ther re- treated. A day later the: bundled up $100,000, strapped it on the back of an old lame mule and hired a farmer to deliver the “wealth” to General Milroy in person. Accompanying the money was a note, which advised the general to bribe the Confederates to keep ahead of him and do no fighting. As his military maneu- vers had been checkmated riett along and his reputation was under a cloud it was a hard shot at him. The story got to Washingto:, and was comment- ed on by President Lincoln, and it has takes place. In four days the larva begins to look like a flea. The long hair gradually disappears and legs come out on both sides. In nine days it is a full fledged flea and emerges from the cocoon ready and willing to bite anything on which it can hop. Some scientists assert that only the female is capable of biting, and that the male i8 simply annoying by the “tickling” effect of its legs. Most peo- ple will refuse to credit this and will argue stoutly that, male or female, the lively insect couldn’t be any worse. been asserted that the President's lev- ity caused the general to tender his resignation. - When Stonewall Jackson flarked in on Pope, the “bummers” were scattered over a large extent of territory. There was not a company in any regiment which had not contributed at least cne man. They went roaming in squads of three or four, over highways where no commander dared send less than half a regiment, and many were shot or taken prisoner. Enough were left, how- ever, to terrify the people of every farm house in every direction. By some circumstance about 40 of them reached a certain farm hcuse at the same time, and finding only a woman and two or three children about, they killed the only pig left, devoured the last few chickens, and plundered the house of whatever took their fancy. - As it was a rainy night they took up their quarters in the barn. - No sooner were they settled down than the woman took her children and set out for help, and aftér walking seven miles she encountered a Confed- erate picket post and told of the game in the trap. Before midnight the barn was surrounded and every ‘‘bummer” captured, and some of them had not got back to their regiments when the war closed. A month before General Burnside was relieved of his command the “bum- mer” element was called to his atten- tion so forcibly that he issued more stringent orders than had ever before gone out. It was announced that any soldier who should be found absent from his command without 8 pass would be imprisoned during the re- mainder of the war, with a forfeit of all pay and allowances. The provost guard According to Professor Skinner, how- ever, it is a very simple matter to rid the dogs and cats of fleas. A few ounces of pyrethrum powder will do the work. Sprinkle it freely into the fur and then wrap the animal with a thick towel to exclude the air, and in half an hour every flea on that dog or cat is dead. But this only refers to the present crop, and the operation will soon have to be repeated, for you may depend upon it that every one of the living fleas on that dog or cat had made the proper arrangements for a worthy successor and possibly several of them. According to Professor Skinner the was increased ard ordered to do con- stant scouting, but the “bumming” went on just the same. Then came a second order, to the effect that any sol- dier absent for two days without leave should be considered a deserter and treated accordingly. This brought hack some of the mep to drfy. but one of the professionals, at least. came into head- quarters solely in scarch of informa- tion. He did not get to see the general in person, but he had an interview with one of the staff, and, holding up a printed copy of the last order in his hand, he said: “Kurnel, the boys kind o° want to know what this means, and have sent me in to find out.” n't you read?”’ demanded the col- onel. “More or less, but we can't jest git on to the hang of things. Is the war com- ing to an end?” “It doesn’t look like it.” “That's the way we all argue, and being as Gineral Burnside can’t down Lee in a square fight, why don’t he let us go ahead and eat him out of house and home till he has to surrender?” The “anxious inquirer” was sent to the guardhouse, pending a return to his company, but he mahaged to get away in a day or two, and the next thing heard of him was a scrawl, in which he sald that four of them had run a Confederate calf into’ the woods and would divide the veal with head- quarters if a regiment was sent to_as- sist them to make the capture. Had Burnside hung on he might have issued a third order, but even had it announc- ed Instant death as the penalty of “hbumming” he could not have abol- ished it. A portion of Custer's command was difficulty to be overcome in ridding a house of fleas or other pests is that in- sects possess marvelous fecundity and while there are only hundreds living there are thousands in various stages of development. Therefore, unless the remedies are followed up promptly, it is only a quesMon of days and in some cases hours when we will have a new crop that can bite quite as ferociously as did the previous ones. As fleas and other insects delight to revel and breed in dirt, it follows that the great preven- tive is absolute cleanliness. He recom- mends that carpets should be taken up at least twice a year, while every room should be swept and thoroughly dusted several times a week. Care must be' taken that dust does not collect in corners, and every crack in the floor must be carefully closed. He recom- mends that in sweeping the house- keeper should place some kerosene in the little tin tray of the carpet-sweeper and then as she wheels over the carpet the fleas are carried in and killed by kerosene. Professor Skinner claims that the flea undergoes its transformation in various kinds of dust, and that an apparently harmless collection of dust in a corner may prove tc be a perfect flea incuba- tor, Mats, rugs or straw on which the favorite poodle or pet cat may pass its sleeping hours are also fertile fields when it comes to flea raising, and as these places are always loaded’ with fleas in various stages of transforma- tion it is well that they should be fre- quently attended to. Tt will do little g00d to ria the pets of their fleas If they are allowed to go right back to their bed and take on another load. It does not require the instructions of the professor to know that fleas delight in flesh and have an inborn faculty of picking out the most tender morsels. Many housekeepers have thought to trap the wily flea by placing a piece of raw meat on a piece of fly paper and laying it on the floor. the idea being that the flea will be attracted to the meat, and in his frantic efforts to reach it light on the fly paper and stick there. Professor Skinner says that this is a delusion, not for the fly but to the housekeeper, for dead flesh offers no inducement to the epicurean flea, and the only ones that are so caught are those that light there by accident. According to Professor Skinner, the proper way to use fly paper in catching fleas, that is, if you feel that you must use it, is to tie it about your legs the sticky side outward, it s pre- sumed, although the learned pro- fessor is sllent on this point, and when thus armed walk up and down the floor. It is a known fact that fleas can sight an approaching person at some distance, when they immediately square themselves for an attack and al- ways manage to light plumb on the an- kle of the intruder. The professor would have you take advantage of this peculiarity of the flea and by the use of the fly paper turn it to his own de- struction. There is one point, however, that the professor overlooks, and that is to give warning as to the manner of walking. To do the sticky-fly-paper-flea-act properly. one should have first become a snow- shoe expert in order to learn the proper walk and control of the feet, for if you are careless in your movements and are at all inclined to “interfere” the chaneces are that you will not have gone man steps before an entanglement may follow that will result in the con- fusion and abashment of the intruder. Professor Skinner quotes an instance in which the janitor of a flea-ridden college quickly banished the pests by the use of fly paper. The janitor donned long-legged rubber boots, which he had previously covered with fly pa- per. Thus armed he made his rounds through the college halls and rooms and acting the part of the man with the seven league boots, with the excep- tion of in this instance the fleas in their endeavor to get away with the big boots brought about their own de- struction. Another pest which man has to con- tend with, but fortunately not to any extent in California, except in certain localities, is the mosquito. In this State the mosquito is not a universal pest, yet there are many locations that can claim ‘“the Jersey canaries” as among their products. It is said that they flourish best in warm moist climates, but it is hard to figure out the degree of heat they delight in or the degree of cold that they can with- stand, for mosquitoes are to be found in every tropical clime, and on the other hand the gold-seekers from Alaska tell wonderful stories of the size and ferocity of the mosquitoes that live in that region of snow and ice. All. mosquitoes live and thrive in stagnant water and usually undergo their transformation in rain barrels, sewage water, cesspools and drains. According to Professor Skinner, who has studied their habits, the female mosquito’s egg mass contains over five hundred eggs. These she deposits on the surface of the water and the young hatch out in about sixteen hours. The larvae breathe through little tubes which they stick up out of the water, and the only way to rid a locality of mosquitoes is by an attack on the breeding places. This is a very simple method as one only has to pour a little kerosene on the surface of the water where one supects mosquitoes might be breeding. The film that spreads over the water from the kerosene not only kills the eggs which the female may have deposited, but kills all larvae in process of transformation. One ounce 0000000000000 O00000000000CO000N00N0000000000000000000 0000C00C0C000000000 00000000000000V000CC0OD LIVELY ADVENTURES OF THE WAR “BUMMERS” IN ’65 scouting toward Berryville one d: - fore the battle of Winchester w;znbeit came upon a queer state of affairs at a farm house. Two hours previously a gang of seven “bummers” had come along and started in to loot the house. The farmer was a Confederate soldler, who was home on furlough to be nursed for a wound in the thigh. He was not able to leave his bed, but his wife hand- ed him his musket, and he shot one of the men dead and drove the rest out. They did not go away, however, being determined to kill him and burn the house in revenge. He had his bed drawn to the door, and being propped up, he kept them away from the rear of the house, while his wife, who was armed with an old revolver, fired often enough to prevent any approach to the front. There was a spring house of solid build a few rods from the back door, and the “bummers” entered it to regale themselves before closing in on the house. The door opened inward, and while they were playing havoc with the milk pans the woman ap- proached and pulled the door to and thrust a stick through the handle. The structure was too solid he beaten down, and as there was but one win- dow, the men tried to make their es- cape that way. Propped up in his bed, with his wound paining him at every movement, the Confederate fired at every head thrust out, and his bullets flew so close that all attempts were soon abandoned. We found him with his mucket in his grasp and a cead man on the floor, and we also found the soldlers huddled together In the spring house. - The Con- federate could have been carried off a prisoner of war, but he w: turl q not dis-. ol circumstances upon a life of pain and anguish. of kerosene is sufficient for a pool fif- teen feet square. Dragon flies destroy a great many mosquitoes, both in the larval and perfect state, but cxe can- not go into the business of raising dragon flies for the sake of ridding the community of mosquitoes. Kerosene is aper. Chlgr(‘))!essor Skinner recommends that in order to rid a room of mosquitoes a blacking-box lid containing kerosene and fastened upon the end of a broom- stick be thrust under the mosquitoes upon the wall or ceiling. The fumes from the kerosene the moment they strike them causes them to drop into the box and die. After the room is once rid of the pesis it is only a question of cleanliness and use of screens to keep them out. Professor Skinner says that any good collection of United States mosquitoes would include at least twenty distinet species, but only entomologists care about this, for the average man wages war on the mosquito regardless of its species or kind. WAR PHOTOGRAPHY on A BIG SGALE. HOTOGRAPHY s playing a res markably large part in the war. Uncle Sam is conducting the biggest photographic establish- ment on earth and when the war is over there will be thousands upon thousands of negatives carefully filed away in the National Library at Wash- ington providing a pictorial record of the war for future generations. Thou- sands of photographs are already piled up at Washington and the stream will pour in until the end. This is one of the interesting func- tions of the Signal Corps and Chief Signal Officer Greely has organized the photographic service on a greater scale and with more completeness than was ever done by any nation in time of war before. The arrangements to photograph every conceivable feature of the Philip- pine campaign are typical of what is being done even more extensively in Cuba and wherever land or naval oper- ations are going on. Uncle Sam’s chief photographer himself is sailing west- ward on the Newport with three other photographers, all members of the sig- nal company of fifty-five which has gone forward. This is Sergeant H. W. Chadwick, who has been with the Sig- nal Corps for several years. He is an expert and for a long time has been in charge of the photographic work of the Signal Corps. Before the beginning of the war he was stationed «c the Na- tional Library at Washington in imme- diate charge of that great and price- less collection of photographs of the civil war taken by Brady and sold to the Government for a fortune. In the same collection are photographs illus- trating the recent Graeco-Turkish war for which l1'ncle Sam paid the modest sum’ of $27,000. There are thousands of other pictures and negatives lued with every possible precaution for their pre- servation. Anybody who wanted copies of any of these pictures could get them after having a little trouble with Ser- geant Chadwick. On the breaking out of hostilities Chadwick was rushed to the front at Tampa, and then he had influence enough to get into the Philippine ser- vice. Chadwick came here with a big outfit and then started in buying. He spent over $1000 in a few days in sup- plementing his outfit of the corps. Old photographic supply dealers say that so fine and complete a photographic fleld outfit was never seen before. Chadwick also took along everything needed for working by the old and al- most forgotten wet plate processes. If climate or accident spoils his films and plates ne can start in and make his own plates, as they did a generation ago. His fleld dark room is an in- geniously contrived tent. Sergeant Chadwick began taking and collecting photographs as soon as he arrived here. He photographed Camp Merritt in its every feature and se- cured copies of many views by pro- fessionals and amateurs. Before leav- ing he forwarded a big consignment of views to Washington and some ama- teurs about town would be surprised to know that their pictures are already part of the official record of the war. The appearance of the troops, arriving, camping, drilling, eating and leaving was portrayed for the Government, and the troopships were likewise photo- graphed inside and out and steaming away. The other photographers in the party are Sergeant Charles H. Davis, T. B. Horn and Andy and Lieutenant Law- rence. In case of military operations it will be the duty of these photographers of the signal corps to occupy advanced and commanding positions regardless of risk and take a constant series of snap shots of the troops and the enemy showing every position and movement of the action possible. Copies of a great number of photographs of this character illustrating both land and naval movements will ' go to West Point, to Annapolis and to Newpeort, where they will hereafter be used by instructors. to {llustrate and criticise military operations. It is quite possi- ble that future caaets at West Point may thus see what the First Regiment of California Volunteers did at the storming of Manila and debate the wis- dom of its positions and movements. Other photographs will go to ordnance experts, naval constructors, etc., who study minutely the effects of shot and shell, etc., on this and that. In addition the signal corps will photograph the positions and defenses of the enemy for the use of the co manders. Military photography is thus of great practical value as well as an invaluable historical record, and In this war Uncle Sam {s attending to it well himself instead of paying for- tunes afterward to other people. In Cuba the signal corps is prepared for experiments in balloon and kite photo- graphy. 53 Their work is largely supplemented by the amateur work of officers and privates in all branches of the service. There is a remarkable supply of cam- eras in the army and the war natural- ly started a sudden and inordinate de- mand for small cameras, especially for the folding pocket type. Every ama- teur photographer in the army is ready to make any sacrifice to take a camera along. Over a hundred cameras went with the Minnesota regiment alone. ‘Every officer and private is keenly anx- fous to keep and to send home pictures of the strange scenes, 6f which he is a part and of his novel experiences. Hun- dreds of thousands of photographs have gone to the old folks, showing the young college graduate or the farmer’s boy marching gayly on Van Ness avenue or getting shaved in camp. Most of the thousands of Philippine soldiers have also gone to a gallery and had farewell pictures taken before leaving.