A TOUGH MOSQUITO STORY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1063, 3 February 1883, Page 3

A TOUGH MOSQUITO STORY.

The following mosquito yarn has been going the rounds ot the Auckland wharves during the last few days as having come under the experience of a

very well known master mariner, whose voracity no one would doubt, especially as it has been given as haring occurred to himself. The narrator says :— ‘ My vessel sailed into a perfect army of mosquitoes one day when oil' the coast, of Queensland. They were ravenous from their long flight, and consequently took complete possession of the vessel and all on board. In five minutes they hadfdrawn as much blood as ever an old doctor drew from a fever patient and within half-an-hour they had succeeded in boring through my oilskin overcoat. I was driven almost desperate, and climbed to the maintop, thinging to escape the ferocious animals. You may well understand how glad I was when I found they had not got up so far. The first mate hailed me to know how I was getting on. I called back that the mosquitoes had not got up so far as where I was, and therefore told him to come up, and tell the crew to come up as well. This they did, and we stayed aloft all night. When ten o’clock came the cook ventured down, and brought up some victuals, which we were only too glad to get held of, being so perfectly weak from loss of blood. About four a.m. a breeze sprang up, and then the mosquitoes left us, and we ventured on deck. ’