Mosquitos and an insect known as the "bull-dog" had driven many a
trapper and hunter out of the swampy regions around Hudson Bay.
During the summer it is almost impossible to live in the swamps of
that country at all. By protecting their tents and faces, and
keeping great "smudges" going, the boys hoped to be able to live in
comparative comfort during their stay in that section.
"Look here, Will," Tommy said, as he laid down a great armful of
dry wood, "some one ought to invent some kind of a contraption to
kill these flying pests off by the billion. Here it is almost cold
enough to snow, and we're being eaten alive by mosquitos."
"I reckon it wouldn't do much good to invent a way of killing the
brutes," Will suggested, "as long as the swamps and pools of the
Northwest Territories are turning them out at the rate of a billion
a minute."
"I read a story about how to get rid of mosquitos the other day,"
Sandy said. "It might be a good idea to try it."
"You can always read how to do things, in the newspapers," Tommy
argued. "The only trouble is that the ideas don't work."
"This one will work," declared Sandy. "The way to kill mosquitos,"
he continued, "is to throw a great long rope up in the air. You
let it stay up in the air; that is, one end of it, and grease it
carefully with cold cream and tie a piece of raw beefsteak at the
upper end.
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