BLACK FLIES. 55 



ders seen, what rare experiences enjoyed ! How 

 many evenings will pass on " golden wings " at 

 home, as friends draw close their circle around the 

 glowing grate, and listen as you rehearse the story 

 of your adventures, — shoot over again your " first 

 buck," and land for the hundredth time your " big- 

 sest " trout I 



BLACK FLIES. 



I will speak of these and other nuisances before 

 I close, in order to state the exact truth in refer- 

 ence to a subject concerning which newspaper and 

 magazine ^\Titers have given the public an erro- 

 neous impression. The spirit of exaggeration, and 

 the necessity of " getting up a good article," have 

 contributed to the dissemination of " anecdotes " 

 and " experiences " which are the merest balderdash 

 imaginable. I am prompted, therefore, to make, 

 as we were accustomed to say in college, a " plain 

 statement of facts," that my readers may know 

 precisely how much inconvenience a tourist or 

 sportsman is subject to, from this source, among 

 the Adirondacks. The black fly, concerning which 

 so much of the horrible has been written, is a 

 small, dark-colored fly, about the size of a red ant. 

 Its bite is not severe, nor is it ordinarily poisonous. 

 There may be an occasional exception to this rule ; 



