The female
of the species, if disturbed while accompanied by her young, will
invariably charge with such fury that only by an exceptional combination
of skill and courage can she be driven off. The shrill and vibrating cry
of the Russian mosquito as it swoops to the attack is, I am assured,
qualified to shake the fortitude of even experienced troops.
So surprising are some of the current stories of the size, strength and
agility of these dreaded carnivora that one would suspect their veracity
were they not vouched for by military and naval officers, and supported
by such concrete evidence as that of the local architecture. The houses
are almost universally constructed of substantial logs, undoubtedly for
the reason that brickwork would be more easily displaced by the furious
assault of the mosquito, which usually hunts in droves, packs or
swarms, and has been known to surround and make concerted attacks, upon
buildings occupied by particularly well-nourished personnel.
As evidence of the determination of their attacks, veterans of this
front have pointed out to me, in the walls of local buildings, massive
timbers which have been scarred and splintered by the teeth and claws of
these monsters, emboldened by hunger and incensed by resistance.
The peculiar ferocity of the mosquito of these high latitudes is,
of course, accounted for by the brevity of its actual life.
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