NATURAL HISTORY. 939 
annoyed me dreadfully, for it would creep on to the palm 
of the left hand, which held the palette, and sting or 
rather probe me so violently with its proboscis that, with 
my start of pain and surprise, I would often dash the 
palette away. Other flies that do not bite annoy you 
fully as much by continually buzzing about your ears and 
neck, and resisting all your efforts to drive them away. 
As a corollary to the abundance of flies are the 
numerous spiders. I always rather enjoyed seeing a. 
spider kill a fly in England—the spider is so thoroughly 
cool and practical, and the fly so very weak-minded—but 
my enjoyment was much enhanced on the Congo, and I 
looked upon the spiders as my personal friends. Curiously 
enough, the nickname the natives gave me was “ Bui,” or’ 
“The Spider,” not, I think, from any physical resem- 
blance, but “because I was always catching flies and 
other insects.” There seem to be several species belong- 
ing or related to the genus Mygale, and some of these are 
very large and often very beautiful. One big mygaloid 
spider was velvety blue-black in colour. I also observed 
many specimens of Lycosa, of Ciniflo (7), of Seytodes, and 
the terrible Solpuga or Galeodes. Scorpions are met with, 
but are not abundant. 
Centipedes (Scolopendra) are very common and very 
poisonous. They haunt dry wood, and in the crevices of 
the logs that the natives collect to make their fires many 
of these creatures lurk, and sting the native as he drags 
the wood along. The innocuous millipedes (Zephronia ?) 
are seen everywhere. , 
Of the molluscs I have little to say, except that some 
of the snails have most beautifully-decorated shells, and 
would well repay a collector, and that not a few of the 
slugs assume very brilliant tints of orange and scarlet, 
doubtless because they are nasty, and can afford to be 
bold and showy to warn off possible devourers. There is 
a kind of fresh-water shrimp in the Lower river much 
liked by the natives, by whom they are caught, cooked, 
pounded up in a mortar with sali—shells and all—and 
used as a seasoning with various forms of vegetable food. 
