INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. xi 



years, and for which I had forsaken home and friends, and 

 staked my life." 



Though he had so far succeeded, yet after all, he had only 

 reached the starting-point of his explorations, Livingstone and 

 Oswell having four years previously proceeded thus far. His 

 ardent desire was to follow up discoveries which with them 

 ended here, and as a naturalist and geographer to explore the 

 lake. He therefore commenced the ascent of the Teoughe, 

 a river that falls into Lake Ngami, where he found a vegetable 

 and animal kingdom far exceeding in richness any thing he had 

 previously met with in Africa. It was here that Andersson had 

 first an opportunity of hunting the buffalo ; and it was here he 

 also met with the remarkable Tsetse-fly (Glossina morsitans), 

 whose bite is fatal to domesticated horned cattle, horses, and 

 sheep, but perfectly innocuous to animals in a wild state. In 

 many districts, indeed, the fly prevents the keeping of other 

 tame animals than the ass and the goat ; and it at the same 

 time presents an almost insurmountable obstacle to journeys of 

 discovery, the traveller losing both his saddle- and draft-oxen 

 shortly after entering countries infested by this pernicious insect. 



Andersson was not permitted to penetrate very far to the 

 north of Ngami. For his supplies he was altogether dependent 

 on the chief of the district he was traversing ; and when he had 

 proceeded eleven short days' journey up the Teoughe, all further 

 support was withdrawn from him. He could neither obtain a 

 boat, people, nor a guide, and was therefore compelled to return 

 the way he came to the lake a sad result of his labours, more 

 especially as a rich and new field of discovery lay before him. 

 More than once subsequently his projects were frustrated owing 

 to similar obstacles being thrown in his way by the natives. 



Andersson, during his sojourn at Ngami, devoted much of 

 his time to studying the habits of the people and to researches 

 in his favourite pursuit, natural history, and was thus enabled to 

 make a large collection of zoological specimens. 



