56 



THE TSETSE. 



Chap. IV. 



We had come through another tsetse district by night, and 

 at once passed our cattle over to the northern bank, which, 

 though only fifty yards distant, was entirely free from the pest. 

 This was the more singular that we often saw natives carrying 

 over raw meat with many tsetse upon it. This insect, Glossina 

 morsitans of the naturalist, is not much larger than the common 

 house-fly, and is nearly of the same brown colour as the honey- 

 bee. The after part of the body has three or four yellow bars 

 across it. It is remarkably alert, and evades dexterously all 

 attempts to capture it with the hand at common temperatures. 



1. The Tsetse ; size of life. — 2. The same magnified.— 3. The proboscis. 



In the cool of the mornings and evenings it is less agile. Its 

 peculiar buzz w r hen once heard can never be forgotten by the 

 traveller whose means of locomotion are d©mestic animals ; 

 for its bite is death to the ox, horse, and dog. In this journey, 

 though we watched the animals carefully, and believe that not 

 a score of flies were ever upon them, they destroyed forty-three 

 fine oxen. A most remarkable feature is the perfect harm- 

 lessness of the bite in man and wild animals, and even calves 

 so long as they continue to suck the cows, though it is no 

 protection to the dog to feed him on milk. 



