﻿14 
  DR. 
  H. 
  LYNDHURST 
  DUKE. 
  

  

  throughout 
  the 
  belt, 
  when 
  the 
  grass 
  is 
  up, 
  large 
  numbers 
  of 
  pupae 
  are 
  deposited 
  

   indiscriminately 
  in 
  the 
  grass-tufts, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  crevices 
  and 
  tree-trunks 
  are 
  more 
  

   especially 
  a 
  resort 
  for 
  the 
  dry, 
  short-grass 
  season. 
  He 
  finds 
  that 
  the 
  fly 
  breeds 
  less 
  

   freely 
  during 
  the 
  dry 
  season 
  ; 
  an 
  observation 
  also 
  made 
  by 
  Lloyd 
  in 
  Northern 
  Rhodesia. 
  

   During 
  my 
  stay 
  in 
  the 
  belt 
  in 
  1914, 
  in 
  May 
  and 
  June, 
  fly 
  were 
  fairly 
  numerous 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  area, 
  especially 
  along 
  the 
  various 
  roads 
  traversing 
  the 
  belt. 
  It 
  was 
  

   practically 
  impossible 
  to 
  bring 
  a 
  dog 
  along 
  the 
  Nakasongola-Masindi 
  road 
  where 
  

   this 
  traverses 
  the 
  fly 
  scrub 
  without 
  it 
  becoming 
  infected 
  with 
  trypanosomes. 
  Cycling 
  

   and 
  even 
  marching 
  along 
  this 
  and 
  the 
  other 
  roads 
  was 
  unpleasant 
  to 
  a 
  degree 
  on 
  

   account 
  of 
  morsitans 
  ; 
  whilst 
  trekking 
  through 
  the 
  bush 
  in 
  search 
  of 
  game 
  the 
  fly 
  

   were 
  in 
  evidence, 
  and 
  often 
  a 
  nuisance. 
  

  

  Observations 
  in 
  the 
  Masindi 
  Belt 
  during 
  April 
  and 
  May, 
  1918. 
  

  

  On 
  my 
  arrival 
  in 
  the 
  fly 
  area 
  in 
  April 
  1918, 
  I 
  was 
  at 
  once 
  struck 
  by 
  the 
  marked 
  

   decrease 
  in 
  the 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  fly 
  met 
  with. 
  I 
  visited 
  all 
  the 
  localities 
  seen 
  in 
  1914, 
  

   including 
  some 
  of 
  Fiske's 
  foci, 
  and 
  am 
  confident, 
  from 
  a 
  comparison 
  with 
  the 
  number 
  

   of 
  flies 
  caught 
  in 
  May 
  1914, 
  that 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  very 
  marked 
  reduction. 
  I 
  had 
  

   with 
  me 
  fly 
  boys 
  who 
  had 
  previously 
  worked 
  with 
  me 
  in 
  this 
  belt, 
  and 
  they 
  were 
  

   unanimous 
  that 
  fly 
  were 
  much 
  diminished 
  everywhere 
  and 
  often 
  unobtainable 
  where 
  

   they 
  were 
  formerly 
  fairly 
  abundant. 
  On 
  only 
  one 
  occasion 
  did 
  I 
  find 
  fly 
  at 
  all 
  

   numerous, 
  and 
  this 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  immediate 
  wake 
  of 
  a 
  large 
  herd 
  of 
  elephant 
  at 
  a 
  

   waterhole. 
  The 
  fly 
  had 
  disappeared 
  from 
  this 
  spot 
  the 
  next 
  morning. 
  Cycling 
  

   along 
  the 
  main 
  motor 
  road 
  was 
  no 
  longer 
  a 
  penance, 
  and 
  on 
  trekking 
  about 
  from 
  

   point 
  to 
  point 
  in 
  what 
  used 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  most 
  thickly 
  infested 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  belt 
  the 
  fly 
  

   were 
  few 
  and 
  far 
  between. 
  I 
  found 
  no 
  evidence 
  of 
  a 
  corresponding 
  local 
  increase 
  

   in 
  any 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  belt 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  Kafu 
  River. 
  The 
  grass 
  was 
  growing 
  rapidly, 
  

   though, 
  perhaps, 
  not 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  in 
  places 
  during 
  my 
  visit 
  in 
  Ma}^ 
  1914. 
  There 
  

   is 
  reliable 
  evidence 
  that 
  fly 
  were 
  still 
  worrying 
  cyclists 
  along 
  the 
  motor 
  road 
  throughout 
  

   the 
  earlier 
  part 
  of 
  1917. 
  In 
  May 
  of 
  that 
  year 
  two 
  independent 
  and 
  reliable 
  observers 
  

   report 
  that 
  the 
  fly 
  were 
  numerous. 
  In 
  November 
  1917 
  Mr. 
  Bain, 
  the 
  District 
  

   Engineer 
  working 
  in 
  the 
  Masindi 
  district, 
  tells 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  visited 
  the 
  fly 
  belt 
  along 
  

   the 
  main 
  road 
  and 
  was 
  struck 
  by 
  the 
  apparent 
  absence 
  of 
  tsetse. 
  

  

  A 
  considerable 
  number 
  of 
  buffalo 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  in 
  this 
  fly 
  area. 
  

   Bushbuck, 
  warthog 
  and 
  duiker 
  also 
  suffered 
  severely, 
  waterbuck 
  and 
  hartebeest 
  

   being 
  little 
  affected. 
  The 
  kob 
  and 
  reedbuck 
  on 
  the 
  Kafu 
  plains 
  also 
  died 
  in 
  

   considerable 
  numbers. 
  A 
  certain 
  number 
  of 
  buffalo 
  survived 
  the 
  epidemic. 
  

  

  I 
  next 
  visited 
  the 
  Bugungu 
  fly 
  country, 
  through 
  which 
  the 
  disease 
  had 
  spread 
  

   from 
  Chopi. 
  These 
  parts 
  I 
  had 
  visited 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  September 
  1914. 
  Owing 
  to 
  

   the 
  famine 
  of 
  1918 
  it 
  was 
  impossible 
  to 
  " 
  safari 
  " 
  through 
  this 
  big 
  area. 
  I 
  therefore 
  

   went 
  by 
  sailing 
  boat 
  along 
  the 
  north-east 
  shore 
  of 
  Albert 
  and 
  up 
  the 
  Victoria 
  Nile 
  

   to 
  Fajao, 
  camping 
  at 
  intervals 
  along 
  the 
  bank 
  and 
  striking 
  inland 
  to 
  visit 
  the 
  scenes 
  

   of 
  my 
  former 
  tour. 
  As 
  a 
  direct 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  epidemic, 
  the 
  buffalo 
  moved 
  south 
  

   along 
  the 
  Bugungu 
  plain 
  to 
  the 
  point 
  where 
  the 
  escarpment 
  joins 
  the 
  lake 
  near 
  the 
  

   outfall 
  of 
  the 
  Waki 
  River. 
  They 
  left 
  a 
  train 
  of 
  dead 
  along 
  their 
  course, 
  a 
  striking 
  

   feature 
  of 
  these 
  bodies 
  being 
  that 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  skins 
  remained 
  intact 
  and 
  the 
  bones 
  

   were 
  not 
  generally 
  pulled 
  about 
  by 
  carnivores. 
  Bodies 
  of 
  kob 
  and 
  warthog 
  were 
  

   also 
  found. 
  

  

  