THE AFRICAN BULL-FROG. 153 



Having been once benighted in a district of the Kalahari, where there was no pros- 

 pect of getting water for our cattle for a day or two, I was surprised to hear in the fine 

 still evening the croaking of Frogs. Walking out until I was certain that the musicians 

 were between me and our fire, I found that they could be merry on nothing else but a 

 prospect of rain. 



From the bushmen I afterwards learned that the Matlame'tlo makes a hole at the root 

 of certain bushes, and there ensconces himself during the months of drought. As he 

 seldom emerges, a large variety of spider takes advantage of the hole, and makes its 

 web across the orifice. He is thus furnished with a window and screen gratis, and no 

 one but a bushman would think of searching beneath a spider's web for a Frog. They 

 completely eluded any search on the occasion referred to ; and as they rush forth into 

 the hollows filled by the thunder-showers when the rain is actually falling, and the 

 Bechuanas are cowering under their skin garments, the sudden chorus struck up simul- 

 taneously from all sides seems to indicate a descent from the clouds. 



AFRICAN BULL-FROG. Tomopterna adspersa. 



The presence of these Matlame'tlo in the desert in a time of drought was rather a 

 disappointment, for I had been accustomed to suppose that the note was always emitted 

 by them when they were chin-deep in water. Their music was always regarded in other 

 spots as the most pleasant sound that met the ear after crossing portions of the sandy 

 desert ; and I could fully appreciate the sympathy for these animals shown by ^Esop, 

 himself an African." 



It is a large and handsome species, but becomes duller in color as it increases in age. 

 The young, however, are very lightly tinted. The general color is greenish brown 

 above, with a decided rusty wash, variegated with mottlings of reddish-brown, and 

 streaked and spotted with yellow. The green takes a brighter and purer hue along the 

 sides of the head and legs. The abdomen is yellow, mottled with orange, and the chin is 

 striped and splashed with brown. The eyes are very curious and beautiful, being of a 

 rich chestnut hue, covered with a profusion of little golden white dots, which shine with 

 a metallic lustre. 



When young, the yellow lines on the body are edged with jetty black, and the legs are 

 covered with bold black bars. The head is stout and rather flat, and the skin of the body 



