*Mosquitos Continue to be Awful — Wyman, Marlena

Smudging (using slow burning materials to create smoke) was a method used by early settlers to keep insects away, especially the maddening mosquitoes. This technique was likely learned from the First Nations Peoples of the area. The idea of creating smoke inside a welling could not have been good for the health, but these small insects caused sizable desperation.

Inspired by Alda Dale (Black) Randall’s diaries. Dale came from North Dakota, USA to southern Alberta in 1917 and then to the High Prairie area of Alberta in 1919. (Provincial Archives of Alberta #PR1994.0202)

28 June 1920. Diary 1. Page 82. “Mosquitoes continue to be awful – must keep a smudge almost continually in house – smudge before we sleep & again about 3 or 4 a.m. Little Jim in & Dolly cry at night because of ‘keetie bites’