ks, however, only domesticated animals, for wild beasts range over
the country infested by it with impunity; while human beings are
scarcely more annoyed by it than they are by flea-bites. It is confined
to certain localities, and is never known to shift its haunts. He told
me that it was found generally in the bush or among reeds. Though the
insect is small, yet the poison it contains is of so virulent a nature
that its bite is as deadly to horses and oxen as that of the most
venomous serpent. Donald said he had ample reason to be afraid of it,
for on one occasion, not believing in its power to injure him, he had
attempted to pass through a district infested by it, when he lost all
his oxen and horses, and very nearly his own life and that of his
companions. They were in a wild and uninhabited district, and were
barely able to secure provisions and water sufficient to support
themselves, till they could obtain assistance. He said that four or
five flies were sufficient to kill a full-grown ox. The animal,
however, does not die so rapidly as when bitten by a snake. Sometimes,
indeed, it exists for some weeks or months afterwards, gradually losing
its strength, and perishing ultimately of exhaustion. Frequently,
however, oxen die, especially should rain fall, soon after they are
bitten. In the case of one of his horses which had been bitten, the
head and body swelled, its eyes became so swollen that it could not see,
and it was painful to hear it neighing for its companions, who stood
close to it while feeding. A remarkable feature with regard to the
poison of the tsetse is that calves, and other young sucking animals,
are safe so long as they suck; but it has been remarked that dogs though
reared on milk die if bitten, while a dog which was reared on the meat
of game accompanied his master when hunting in the districts infested by
the fly without suffering.

We had now entered a far more desolate-looking country than any we had
yet passed through. Vast sandy plains extended round us, broken here
and there by clumps of low bushes or coarse long grass, with occasional
patches of more nutritious verdure, from which our oxen plucked their
scanty meals. Still, occasionally, herds of deer passed us in the
distance, but they were so wary that we could not approach them. The
open nature of the country made stalking in the ordinary way impossible.
Every night, however, Donald, accompanied by Timbo, spent two or thre