212 DONKEYS AND TSETSE-FLY DISEASE. 



now close to the edge of the ' fly ' country, which at this 

 time [1883] extended from here [on the Upper Sabi, 

 where the river crosses 32'' E. long.] southwards along 

 both banks of the Sabi " (p. 99). 



Besisting power of the donkey to Tsetse poison. — " In 

 countries where the Tse-tse-fly is in excessive numbers, the 

 donkey, strong as he is, will not live long ; but he resists 

 the poison far better than any other domestic animal, and 

 will pass through belts of ' fly ' country without taking 

 much harm, his constitution being so strong that he will 

 recover from the effects of the poison if not kept too long 

 in the infected district, whereas an ox or a horse, if once 

 impregnated, will almost to a certainty pine away and 

 die. I say almost to a certainty, becatise I have heard of 

 cases of oxen and horses recovering after having been 

 bitten ; but such cases are very exceptional. The younger 

 the animal, whether horse, ox, or donkey, the better will 

 he resist the ' fly ' poison " (pp. 202-203). 



Tsetse-fly numerous between the Zongice Itiver and 

 Zambesi, in the Batonga country to the north of the latter 

 river. — " Tse-tse-fly were also pretty numerous, and must 

 be very much so later on during the hot months" (p. 208). 



Tsetsefly on the Loanja Itiver, " or rather swamp," 

 which joins the Zambesi north of the confluence of the 

 Chobe. — " The road from here follows the western bank of 

 the Loanja for about forty miles, the whole of which dis- 

 tance is infested with ' fly,' and has therefore to be traversed 

 at night by both oxen and horses. It can be done in two 

 nights by ox-waggons, but is usually done in three, and 

 there are two islands in the swamp free from ' fly,' to which 

 the oxen can be driven to feed and rest during the day- 

 time. These islands are, too, conveniently situated so as to 

 divide the journey into three easy nights' work " (p. 250). 



Cattle at Tete, on the Zambesi, "originally brought 

 from Mashonaland ; though how they passed the ' fly ' 

 infested district between Tete and that country is a 

 mystery to me " (p. 274). 



Tsetse-fly in 1891 on the west hank of the Bevui River, 

 a tributary of the Buzi, which flows into the sea just 

 below the Pungwi, a little south of Beira ; the flies settled 

 on two horses in a little clearing on a hippopotamus foot- 

 path "leading through the dense bush on the river's 



