524 FROGS AND TOADS. 



on the dry leaves with stealthy steps, that, for any thing we knew, 

 we might next moment be charged by one of the most dangerous 

 beasts of the forest. We threaded out their doublings for hours, 

 drawn on by a keen craving for animal food, as we had been en- 

 tirely without salt for upward of two months, but never could get 

 a shot. 



In passing along the side of the water every where except in 

 Londa, green frogs spring out at your feet, and light in the water 

 as if taking a "header;" and on the Leeambye and Chobe we 

 have great numbers of small green frogs (Iia?ia fasciata, Boie), 

 which light on blades of grass with remarkable precision ; but on 

 coming along the Leeba I was struck by the sight of a light green 

 toad about an inch long. The leaf might be nearly perpendicu- 

 lar, but it stuck to it like a fly. It was of the same size as the 

 Brachymerus bi-fasciatus (Smith),* which I saw only once in the 

 Bakwain country. Though small, it was hideous, being colored 

 jet black, with vermilion spots. 



Before reaching the Makondo rivulet, latitude 13° 23' 12" S., 

 we came upon the tsetse in such numbers that many bites were 

 inflicted on my poor ox, in spite of a man with a branch ward- 

 ine; them off. The bite of this insect does not affect the don- 

 key as it does cattle. The next morning, the spots on which 



* The discovery of this last species is thus mentioned by that accomplished 

 naturalist, Dr. Smith : " On the banks of the Limpopo River, close to the tropic of 

 Capricorn, a massive tree was cut down to obtain wood to repair a wagon. The 

 workman, while sawing the trunk longitudinally nearly along its centre, remarked, 

 on reaching a certain point, ' It is hollow, and will not answer the purpose for which 

 it is wanted.' He persevered, however, and when a division into equal halves was 

 effected, it was discovered that the saw in its course had crossed a large hole, in 

 which were five specimens of the species just described, each about an inch in 

 length. Every exertion was made to discover a means of communication between 

 the external air and the cavity, but without success. Every part of the latter was 

 probed with the utmost care, and water was kept in each half for a considerable 

 time, without any passing into the wood. The inner surface of the cavity waa 

 black, as if charred, and so was likewise the adjoining wood for half an inch from 

 the cavity. The tree, at the part where the latter existed, was 19 inches in di- 

 ameter; the length of the trunk was 18 feet. When the Batrachia above men- 

 tioned were discovered, they appeared inanimate, but the influence of a warm sun 

 to which they were subjected soon imparted to them a moderate degree of vigor. 

 In a few hours from the time they were liberated they were tolerably active, and 

 able to move from place to place apparently with great ease." 



