168 NESTING -POSITION OF TSETSE. 



livid white, the eyes are purplish-bvown, and the wings, of 

 dusky glassy -brown colour, slip one over the other, just as 

 do the blades of a pair of scissors when closed — so that 

 the Tsetse at rest on man or animal may infallibly be 

 known by this one token. 



" No fly which rests with its wings half-expanded, like 

 the house-fly, or closed together like a pent-house roof, can 

 be the Tsetse ; but if one is seen in which the wings 

 exactly overlap — one lying flat upon the other — that is 

 ' the fly ' . . . its sight and smell seem to be keen ; its 

 flight straight and rapid. To speak of either its sting or 

 its bite would convey an erroneous idea. The Dutch 

 colonists say it * sticks,' and this is certainly more correct, 

 as it first pierces the skin with its lancet, and then injects 

 a fluid (poisonous to oxen, horses, and dogs) to thin the 

 blood before drinking it. Men, mules, donkeys, sheep, 

 goats, and wild game ai*e believed to be unafiected by the 

 virus. I, in common with other travellers, have been 

 stuck time after time with impunity. Mules, partaking 

 of the equine nature, are not always secure from dangers 

 to which the horse is liable, and Mr. St. Vincent W. 

 Erskine doubts the safety of the donkey on the south-east 

 coast. 



" My friend, Mr. Henry Hartley, the well-known 

 hunter and pioneer of the gold-fields, has kindly sum- 

 marised the symptoms exhibited by a fly-stuck ox as 

 under : — 



" 1st. The hanging of the ears, general languid appear- 

 ance, sometimes watering at the eyes. 2nd. Roughness 

 of the coat, the hair rising on end. 3rd. Feeding vora- 

 ciously, even to repletion, without improving the condition, 

 and standing panting in the heat of the day. 4th. 

 Occasional swelling at the gullet. 5th. Continual wasting 

 and pining away (but sometimes an ox may improve in 

 condition, and show no symptom of having been stuck for 

 two or three months, or till the first cold rain falls). 6th. 

 An ox slightly stuck goes on wasting till the skin sits fast 

 on the backbone. After this there is no hope ; but if 

 severely stuck he dies before it can take place. Mr. 

 Hartley did not notice running at the nose or other 

 unusual discharge. If the ox is worked he will show 

 weakness in the loins. 7th. When the beast is skinned 



