WHITE ANTS. 135 



and the big fires made it worse. The white ants 

 too kept tumbling over me all night, and knocking 



GIGANTIC ANT-HILL. 



down leaves from the roof. 1 We were perhaps 

 sixteen miles from the waggon." Returning to the 

 camp next day, " I stopped in the afternoon," he 

 writes, "when the boys found a nest of small bees, 



1 These " white ants " (Termites) are the curse of all African 

 settlers and travellers, devouring everything except iron or tin, whilst 

 in time even houses succumb to their ravages. They form, however, 

 an article of food in many places amongst the natives, by whom they 

 are much esteemed on account of their slightly acid flavour. The 

 enormous structures they erect are frequently carried up the trunk of 

 a high tree, or may sometimes be seen standing alone at a height of 

 1 8 feet, as in the accompanying sketch, which was taken between Tati 

 and Shoshong (Bamangwato). The Dutch Boers and others make use 

 of these ant-hills for cooking purposes, hollowing out the lower portion 

 of the heap, and filling the hollow thus formed with wood, which is 

 lighted, and, when consumed, renders the receptacle an admirable oven, 

 retaining its heat for a great length of time. 



