minutely that he was able to determine
what they were. They were _leeches! Ossaroo was covered with leeches_!

Caspar uttered a cry that awoke both of his companions on the instant.

Ossaroo was not a little disgusted with the fix he found himself in, but
Karl and Caspar did not waste much time in condoling with him, for upon
examination they found that they themselves had fared no better, both of
them being literally covered with the same bloodthirsty reptiles.

A scene now ensued that would not be easy to describe. All three pulled
off their garments, and went to work to extract the leeches with their
fingers--for there was no other mode of getting rid of the troublesome
intruders--and after a full half-hour spent in picking one another
clean, they rapidly dressed again, and took the route, desirous of
getting away from that spot as quickly as possible.

Of all the pests of warm Oriental climates, there are none so
troublesome to the traveller, or so disgusting, as these land-leeches.
They infest the humid woods on the slopes of the Himalaya Mountains from
about two thousand to eleven thousand feet of elevation; but they are
not confined to the Himalayas alone, as they are common in the mountain
forests of Ceylon, Sumatra, and other parts of the Indies. There are
many species of them--and even upon the Himalayas more than one kind--
the small black species swarming above the elevation of three thousand
feet, while a large yellow kind, more solitary, is found farther down.
They are not only troublesome and annoying, but dangerous. They often
crawl into the fauces, noses, and stomachs of human beings, where they
produce dreadful sufferings and even death. Cattle are subject to their
attacks; and hundreds perish in this way--the cause of their death not
being always understood, and usually attributed to some species of
vermin.

It is almost impossible to keep them off the person while travelling
through a track of woods infested by them. If the traveller only sit
down for a moment, they crawl upon him without being perceived. They
are exceedingly active, and move with surprising rapidity. Indeed, some
fancy they have the power to spring from the ground. Certain it is that
they possess the powers of contraction and extension to a very great
degree. When fully extended they appear as thin as a thread, and the
next moment they can clue themselves up like a pea. This power enables
them to pass rapidly from po