THE CIIEGOE 249 



"In the plantations of Guiane there is generally an old 

 lu'gress known by the name of Granny, who loiters about the 

 negro yard, and is supposed to take charge of the little negroes 

 who are too young to work. Towards the close of day you will 

 sometimes hear the most dismal cries of woe coming from that 

 ([uarter. Old Granny is then at work grubbing the chegoe 

 nests out of the feet of the sable urchins, and filling the holes 

 with lime-juice and Cayenne pepper. This scorching compound 

 lias two duties to perform : first, it causes death to any remaining 

 chegoe in the hole, and secondly, it acts as a kind of birch-rod 

 to the unruly brats, by which they are warned to their cost not 

 io conceal their chegoes in future ; for, afraid of encountering old 

 (rranny's tomahawk, many of them prefer to let the chegoes 

 riot in their flesh rather than come under her dissecting hand." 

 [f the prompt extraction of the chegoe's nests is neglected, the 

 worm-like larvae creep out, continue the mining operations of 

 their parent, and produce a violent inflammation, which may end 

 in the mortification of a limb. It not unfrequently happens that 

 negroes from sheer idleness or negligence in the first instance 

 liave been lamed for life and become loathsome to the sight. In 

 such a state, these miserable objects are incurable, and death 

 only puts an end to their sufferings. 



Fortunately, the chegoe is incapable of jumping like the 

 common flea, or else it would have rendered tropical America 

 uninhabitable. It generally frequents sandy places, and at- 

 taches itself also to pigs and dogs. ^ 



A still more dangerous plague, peculiar to the coast of 

 Guinea and the interior of tropical Africa, to Arabia, and 

 the adjacent countries, is the Filarkc medinensis of Lin- 

 nseus. This dreadful worm comes to the herbage in the 

 morning dew, from whence it pierces the skin, and enters 

 the feet of such as walk without shoes, causing the most 

 painful irritations, succeeded by violent inflammation and 

 fever. The natives extract it with the greatest caution by 

 twisting a piece of silk round one extremity of the body and 

 withdrawing it very gently. WTien we consider that this insi- 

 dious worm is frequently twelve feet long, although not thicker 

 than a horse-hair, w^e can readily imagine the difficulty of the 

 operation. If unfortunately the animal should break, the part 



