Rensselaer Democrat, Volume 1, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 June 1898 — SPIDERS IN THE SOUDAN. [ARTICLE]

SPIDERS IN THE SOUDAN.

They Make Life Miserable for TravSl* eri»U an *e«Lto Them. If you wait to lire happy |n Soudan one must get used to spiders. They crawl into your dressing bag or come upon the table while'you are washing, taking great interest in soap and toothpowder and all toilet requisites; if disturbed they retire into your sponge and remain there until drowned out One must also become accustomed to sand or dust storms, for they are frequent and terrible disturbers of your comfort. They coiiie upon you suddenly when you are quite unaware of their close proximity—-Just as express trains at a busy Junction surprise the passenger unltiated in the mysteries of signaling. There is a distinct sound like the coming of a train, then a rush by and the after draught. Palms sway and bow their hustling fronds to the earth, and eddies of dust buffet you on all sides, lifting you from your feet. Tents are turned inside out, scattering their contents to the winds or everything is incrustated with an Impalpable powder, which seals up one's eyes, plugs one’s nose and ears, or chokes one with the nauseating sweepings of a foul camping ground. As lam writing this letter a dust hurricane, which has been making life miserable for the last three days, is still blowing. The fierce blast of wind makes metal so hot that the heat from the nib carrying the ink to paper dries up the fluid before a line can well be penned. The sweat of the hand, too, mixed with the layer of dust on the paper, so soils the manuscript that one feels loath to send it. The flies, seeking your .tent for shelter from the cruel blast without, cling to your nose and eyelids with a tenacity which is almost maddening. At meals each dish is covered with grit before it can be consumed, and one has to nurse odd corners of tlie tent to shield one’s cup from the puffs of dust beating up from under the canvas before one can get a drink that is not absolutely muddy.—London Standard.