468 



THE HUNT THE TSETSE. 



in the course of a few hours ; but it happens, also, that the 

 chase lasts for a whole day, or even longer. All depends on 

 the ground. If stony or rocky, the men have an immense 

 advantage over the animal, who, under such circumstances, 

 soon becomes foot-sore, lies down repeatedly, and, after a 

 while, is found unable to rise, when he is quickly dispatched. 

 The women and children carry water on these occasions for 

 the hunters, so that, should the animal prove very enduring, 

 his pursuers may not be necessitated to give up the chase for 

 want of that indispensable necessary. 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



Tsetse Fly. — Confined to particular Spots. — Its Size. — Its Destructive- 

 ness. — Fatal to Domestic Animals. — Symptoms in the Ox when 

 bitten by the Tsetse. 



During my hunting excursions along the Teoge, I en- 

 countered, for the jfirst time, that most extraordinary of in- 

 sects, the tsetse {glossina morsitans, Westw.).* Among the sev- 

 1, eral scourges to which 



the traveler is subject- 

 ed in the South Afri- 

 can wilderness, one of 

 the gi-eatest is this in- 

 sect ; not, it is true, as 

 to the wayfarer's own 

 person, for he himself 

 escapes very nearly un- 

 scathed, but as regards 

 the horses and cattle. 



TSETSE FLY. rj.^-^^ ^g^^gg -g f^^^j^ 



chiefly in the bush or among the reeds, but rarely in the 



* For a scientific description of this insect, see " Proceedings of the 

 Zoological Society," No. ccxvii. 



