174 AFRICAN NATURE NOTES CHAP. 



"buzz" made by a tse-tse fly, I believe I heard 

 the first one that came to my horse, and immediately 

 dismounted. In the next few minutes we caught 

 sixteen flies on the two horses, most of them by 

 pinning their feet with a knife blade, as they are 

 very difficult to catch with the hand. I then made 

 the Kafirs cut branches, with which they kept the 

 flies off the horses until we had got them away from 

 the river, and beyond the " fly " belt. Most of these 

 flies were caught immediately they settled on the 

 horses, but two or three managed to fill themselves 

 with blood. My horses, however, which were in 

 very good condition, were never affected- in any 

 way. 



Tse-tse flies are most active and troublesome in 

 hot weather. During the winter months in South 

 Africa (May, June, and July) none will be seen 

 until the sun is high above the horizon, but later in 

 the season they begin to bite early in the morning. 

 After sunset in the evening they seem to become 

 lethargic, and will often crawl up between one's 

 legs or under one's coat as if for shelter, and from 

 such positions will often "stick" one long after 

 dark. On cold nights they probably become quite 

 benumbed, and do not move at all, but on warm 

 nights they are sometimes very active and hungry. 

 As before related, I lost twenty -one oxen by 

 driving them backwards and forwards in one night 

 through a "fly" belt ten miles in width. This was 

 in the month of November, and the night was very 

 warm. 



On the 25th of August 1874, when returning 

 from the pursuit of a wounded elephant, I struck 

 the Chobi river late at night, and had to walk- 

 several miles along the bank before getting to my 

 camp. It was a bright moonlight night, and fairly 

 warm. My only clothing consisted of a shirt, a 

 hat, and a pair of veld shoes, and as I walked along 



