Chap. XXII. RED ANTS. 280 



like sparks of fire, and there was no escape from them. 7 

 jumped about for a second or two, then in desperation tore off 

 all my clothing, and picked them off one by one as quickly as 

 possible. Fortunately no one observed this proceeding, or 

 they might have pronounced me to be mad. I was once 

 assaulted in a similar way when sound asleep in my tent, and 

 it was only by holding my blanket over the fire that I could 

 get rid of them. It is really astonishing how such small 

 bodies can contain so large an amount of venom. They not 

 only bite, but twist themselves round after the mandibles are 

 inserted, thus producing a larger amount of laceration and 

 pain than would be effected by the simple wound. Frequently 

 while sitting on oxback they rush up the animal's legs to the 

 rider, and soon let him know that he has disturbed their 

 march. They possess no fear, attacking with equal ferocity 

 the largest as well as the smallest animals. Even if a person 

 leap over the band, numbers of them leave the ranks and rush 

 along the path, as if anxious for a fight. They are very 

 useful as scavengers ; when they visit a human habitation 

 they clear it entirely of the destructive white ants and other 

 vermin ; while out of doors rats, mice, lizards, and even the 

 Python natalensis, when in a state of surfeit from recent feeding, 

 fall victims to their fierce onslaught. These ants make their (s8> 

 nests a short distance beneath, and not above the soil, as the 

 white ants. Occasionally during their marauding expeditions 

 they construct galleries over their path to the cells of the 

 white ant, in order to secure themselves from the heat of 

 the sun. 



January 15th, 1855. — We descended in an hour from the 

 heights of Tala Mungongo to the valley of Cassange. The 

 rivulets which cut up the valley were now dry ; but the Lui 

 and Luare contained abundance of rather brackish water. The 

 banks are lined with palm, wild date-trees, and guavas, the 

 fruit of which was now becoming ripe. A tree much like the 

 mango abounds, but yields no fruit. These rivers contain a 

 kind of edible muscle, sustained probably by the brackish 

 quality of the water, the shells of which exist in all the 

 alluvial beds of the ancient rivers as far as the Kuruman. On 

 the open grassy lawns great numbers of a species of lark are 

 seen, black, but with yellow shoulders. Another black bird. 



