Chat. XVII. SPIDERS. 22) 



about half an inch in length, and for two Lours I suffered 

 very acute pain. 1 have not met with an instance of a sting 

 followed by fatal results, but J have seen a black hairy spider 

 with a process at the end of its front claws similar to that at 

 the end of the scorpion's tail, from the point of which, when 

 the bulbous portion of it is pressed, the poison may be seen 

 oozing out. A large reddish spider (Mi/gale), named by the 

 natives " selali," runs about with great velocity, searching 

 for what it may devour, and, from its size and rapid motions, 

 excites the horror of every stranger. Although I never knew 

 it to do any harm, yet I believe few could look upon it for 

 the first time without feeling himself in danger. Its nest is 

 most ingeniously covered with a hinged cover or door, about 

 the size of a shilling, the inner face of which is of a pure 

 white silky substance, like paper, while the outer one is 

 coated over with earth precisely like that in which the hole 

 is made, so that, when it is closed, it is quite impossible to 

 detect the situation of the nest. Unfortunately, this cavity 

 for. breeding is never seen, except when the owner is out and 

 has left the door open behind her. We must again notice a 

 large beautiful yellow-spotted spider, the webs of which are 

 about a yard in diameter. The lines on which these webs 

 are spun are suspended from one tree to another, and are as 

 thick as coarse thread. The fibres radiate from a central 

 point, where the insect waits for its prey. The webs are 

 placed perpendicularly, and hence a person walking frequently 

 gets his face enveloped in them just as in a veil. Another 

 kind of spider is gregarious, and forms so great a collection of 

 webs as to obliterate all traces of the hedge or the trunk 

 about which they are spun. Another, which frequents the 

 inside of the huts among the Makololo in great abundance, is 

 round, spotted, of a brown colour, and half an inch in 

 diameter. It makes a smooth spot for itself on the wall, 

 covered with the above-mentioned white silky substance. 

 There it is seen standing the whole day, and I never could 

 ascertain how it fed. It has no web, but a carpet, and is a 

 harmless, though an ugly neighbour. 



20th. — We were glad to get away, though not on account of 

 any scarcity of food ; for my men, by giving small presents of 

 meat as an earnest of their sincerity, formed many friendships 



