388 TRAVELS TO DISCOVER; 



fpices, hunting in the feafon to provide hirnfelf with ivory; . 

 and food throughout > the. winter. His mountains, and the 

 cities he built afterwards, were iituated upon a loomy, black 

 earth, fo that as foon as the tropical rains began to fall, a 

 wonderful phenomenon deprived him of his cattle. Large 

 fwarms of flies appeared wherever that 5 loomy earth was, 

 which made him abfoiutely dependent in this refpecl upon i 

 the mepherd, but this affected the mepherdalfo* 



This infect is called Zimb ; it has not been defcribed by 

 any naturalift. It is in fize very little larger than a bee, of - 

 a thicker proportion, and his. wings, which are broader than 

 thofe of a bee, placed feparate like thofe of a fly ; they are 

 of pure gauze, without colour, or. fpot upon them ; the 

 head is large, the upper jaw or lip is fharp, and has at the 

 end of it a ftrong-pointed hah' of about a. quarter of an- 

 inch long ; the lower jaw: has, two of thefe pointed hairs, . 

 and this pencil of hairs* when joined together, makes a re- 

 iiftence to the finger nearly equal to that of a Itrong hog's 

 brittle. Its legs are ferrated in the inude, and the whole, 

 covered with brown hair or down. As foon, as this plague 

 appears, and their buzzing is heard, all the cattle for- 

 iake their food, and run .wildly about the plain, till they 

 die, worn out with fatigue, fright, and hunger. No remedy, 

 remains, but to leave the black earth, and iiaiten. down to 

 the fands of Atbara, and there, they remain while the rains , 

 laft, this cruel enemy never daring to pjirfue. them farther. . 



What enables the Ihepherd to perform the long and! 

 toilfome journies acrofs Africa is the camel, emphatically 

 called by the Arabs, the frAp of Jbe defcrt. He feems to have 

 been created for this very trade,.- endued with, parts and. 



qualities 



