322 FROGS AND TOADS. Chap. XXIV. 



made aware of their presence by hearing them rush away 

 among the crashing branches. It was somewhat exciting to 

 feel, as with stealthy steps we trod the dry leaves, that we 

 might next moment be charged by one of the most dangerous 

 beasts of the forest. We threaded out their doublings for 

 hours, but never got a shot. In passing along the Leeba I 

 was struck by the sight of a light-green toad about an inch 

 long, which possessed the faculty of leaping on a blade of grass 

 with remarkable precision; even if the leaf were perpendi- 

 cular, 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 

 coloured jet-black, with vermilion spots. The same faculty 

 is possessed, though in a less marked degree, by the small 

 green frog (Mana fasciata, Boie), which is found in great 

 numbers on the Zambesi and the Chobe. 



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

 S., we came upon the tsetse in such numbers that my poor ox 

 was bitten in several places, in spite of a man with a branch 

 warding them off. Next morning the bites were marked by 

 patches of hair, about half an inch broad, being wetted by 

 exudation. Poor Sinbad had carried me from the Leeba to 

 Golungo Alto, and back again, without losing any of his 

 peculiarities, or ever becoming reconciled to his hard fate in 



* 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 waggon. 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 con- 

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

 cavity was 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 diameter, the length of the trunk was 18 feet. The age, which was 

 observed at the time, I regret to say does not appear to be noted. When the 

 Batrachia above mentioned 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 vigour. In a few hours from the time they were liberated they 

 were to erably active, and able to move from place to place apparently with great 



