Chap. XXY. 
HOKNETS. 
499 
these burnings must be sought for. I have sometimes imagined 
that the lowering of the temperatoe in the winter, rendered the 
vapour in the upper current of air visible, and imparted this hazy 
appearance. 
The amount of organic life is surprising. At the time the 
river begins to rise, the Ibis religiosa comes down in flocks of 
fifties, with prodigious numbers of other water-fowl. Some of the 
sandbanks appear whitened dm^ing the day with flocks of peli¬ 
cans—I once counted three hundred; others are browm with 
ducks {Anas histrionica) —I got fomrteen of these by one shot 
( Qmrquedula Hottentot a, Smith), and other kinds. Great numbers 
of gulls {Procellaria turtur, Smith), and several others, float over 
the surface. The vast quantity of small birds, which feed on 
insects, show that the river teems also with specimens of minute 
organic hfe. In walking among bushes on the banks, we are 
occasionally stung by a hornet which makes its nest in form like 
that of our own wasp, and hangs it on the branches of trees. The 
breeding aro^yy) is so strong in this insect, that it pm:sues any one 
twenty or thirty yards who happens to brush too closely past its 
nest. The sting, which it tries to inflict near the eye, is more 
lilie a discharge of electricity from a powerful machine, or a 
violent blow, than aught else. It produces momentary insen¬ 
sibility, and is followed by the most pungent pain. Yet tliis 
insect is quite timid when away from its nest. It is named Mm’o- 
tuani by the Bechuanas. 
We have tsetse between Nameta and Sekhosi. An insect of 
prey, about an inch in length, long-legged and gaunt-looking, may 
be observed flying about and hghting upon the bare ground. It 
is a tiger in its way, for it springs upon tsetse and other flies, and, 
sucking out their blood, throws the bodies aside. 
Long before reaching Sesheke, we had been informed that a 
party of Matebele, the people of Mosilekatse, had brought some 
packages of goods for me to the south bank of the river, near 
the Victoria Falls, and though they declared that they had been 
sent by Mr. Moffat, the Makololo had refused to credit the state¬ 
ment of their sworn enemies. They imagined that the parcels 
were directed to me as a mere trick, whereby to place witch¬ 
craft-medicine into the hands of the Makololo. When the Mate¬ 
bele on the south bank called to the Makololo on the north to 
2 K 2 
