Camping and woodcraft - Scoutmastercg.com

PESTS OF THE WOODS 257strips of cedar bark and bunch them together intoa fagot six or eight inches in diameter, about onestrip in three being dry and the others watersoaked; bind them with strips of the inner bark ofgreen cedar. Ignite one end at the camp-fire, andset up two or more such cigars on different sidesof the camp, according as the wind may shift.Punky wood piled on a bed of coals is also good.The ammoniacal vapors from a smudge of driedcow-dung is particularly effective. I have elsewherereferred to smudges made of dried toadstools;these are peculiarly repellent to punkies. Atoadstool as large as one's two fists will hold firefor six or eight hours. A piece of one can be carriedsuspended by a string around one's neck, theburning end out. If the fungus is too damp atfirst, it can soon be dried out by placing it beforethefire.Scorpions.— Scorpions are not uncommon as^ar north as Missouri. I often used to find themin the neighborhood of St. Louis — little red fellowsabout 4 inches long. In the southwest, wherethey abound, they grow to a length of 6 or 7inches. They hide by day under flat rocks, indead trees, and in moist, dark places generally, anddo their foraging at night. They are very belligerent,always fighting to the death. They carrytheir tails curled upV/ard and forward, and canonly strike upward and backward. They aresometimes unpleasantly familiar around camp,especially in rainy weather, having a penchant forcrawling into bedding, boots, coat sleeves, trouserslegs,etc.The sting of a small scorpion is about as severeas that of a hornet; that of a large one is moreserious, but never fatal, so far as I know, except tosmall children. After a person is stung a fewtimes he is inoculated, and proof against the poisontnereafter. If you get stung, take a hollow keyor small tube, press the hollow with force over thejuncture, causing- th**. poison and a little blood to