4i8 On the Furia iiifernalts. 



this moment, he was himself attacked in the same extraordinary 

 manner, and, perhaps, as he says, by the same creature. A 

 sharp pain, preceded by slight irritation, took place in his left 

 wrist. It was confined, at first, to a small dark point, hardly 

 visible, and which, he supposed, to proceed from the sting of 

 a gnat. Presently it became so severe, that the whole of the left 

 arm was affected, quite to the shoulder, which, as well as the 

 joints of the elbow and fingers, became benumbed. The con- 

 sequences might have been more serious, if he had not resorted 

 to a mode pointed out by the inhabitants, namely, a poultice of 

 curd, to which he added the well known Goulard lotion, pre- 

 pared from the acetate of lead. 



That Dr Clarke suffered acute pain from the sting of some 

 insect, and that his arm was considerably affected by it, may 

 readily be imagined, especially by those who have experienced 

 the venom of the winged inhabitants of the northern forests 

 during the summer, without attributing it to the Furia irvfer- 

 nalis. Yet that such an animal exists, is doubtless credited by 

 many of the lower classes ; and the following reports, which, 

 since my return, I have received from Finmark, show that the 

 idea is still prevalent in Lapland ; and though they may be 

 considered in the same light as those related by the learned au- 

 thors mentioned above, they may serve as amusement for those 

 interested in the question of its existence. 



It appears, that the Furia does not confine its attacks to the 

 human race, but that cattle, and the rein-deer in particular, are 

 exposed to it. In 1823, the Laplanders are stated to have sufl 

 fered so greatly in their herds, that 5000 head died from the 

 sting of this creature ; and that even the wolves and other ani- 

 mals, that preyed upon the dead carcases, caught the infection, 

 and died v/ith the same symptoms. A Laplander, who posses- 

 sed 500 deer, on perceiving the destruction among them, thought 

 it best to kill the whole herd ; but so quickly did its ravages 

 spread, that, before he could accomplish his purpose, they all 

 died. Great numbers of cattle and sheep were likewise destroy- 

 ed by its attacks, and it fell, in some degree, upon the human 

 species, a few having become victims to it. A young girl, who 

 was shearing some sheep, that had died from the attack of the 

 Furia, felt, while thus employed, a sudden pain in one of her 



