THIRD JOURNEY. 



159 



animal. It attacks different parts of the body, but 

 chiefly the feet, betwixt the toe-nails and the flesh. 

 There it buries itself, and at first causes an itching not 

 unpleasant. In a day or so, after examining the part, 

 you perceive a place about the size of a pea, somewhat 

 discoloured, rather of a blue appearance. Sometimes it 

 happens that the itching is so trivial, you are not aware 

 that the miner is at work. Time, they say, makes 

 great discoveries. The discoloured part turns out to be 

 the nest of the chegoe, containing hundreds of eggs, 

 which, if allowed to hatch there, the young ones will 

 soon begin to form other nests, and in time cause a 

 spreading ulcer. As soon as you perceive that you 

 have got the chegoe in your flesh, you must take a 

 needle, or a sharp-pointed knife, and take it out. If 

 the nest be formed, great care must be taken not to 

 break it, otherwise some of the eggs remain in the flesh, 

 and then you will soon be annoyed with more chegoes. 

 After removing the nest, it is well to drop spirit of 

 turpentine into the hole; that will most effectually 

 destroy any chegoe that may be lurking there. Some- 

 times I have taken four nests out of my feet in the 

 course of the day. 



Every evening, before sun-down, it was part of my 

 toilette to examine my feet, and see that they were 

 clear of chegoes. Now and then a nest would escape 

 the scrutiny, and then I had to smart for it a day or 

 two after. A chegoe once lit upon the back of my 

 hand ; wishful to see how he worked, I allowed him to 

 take possession. He immediately set to work, head 

 foremost, and in about half an hour he had completely 

 buried himself in the skin. I then let him feel the 

 point of my knife, and exterminated him. 



