San Andreas independent., 1858-04-17

to the opposite bank with many tsetse
settled upon it.
"The poison does not seem to be in
jected by sting, or by ova placed be-
meath the sting; for, when one is allowed
to feed freely on the hand, it is seen to
insert the middle prong of three portions,
into which the proboscis divides, some
what deeply into the true skin; it then
draws it out little way, and it assumes
crimson color as the mandibles come
into brisk operation. The previously
shrunken belly swells out, and, if left un-
disturbed, the fly quietly departs when it
is full. A slight itching irritation fol-
lows, but not more than in the bite of
musquito In the OK this same bite pro-
duces no more immediate effects than In
man. 1t does not startle him as the gad-
fly does; but few days afterward the
following symptoms superyene: the eye
and nose begin to run, the coat stares as
if the animal were cold, swelling ap-
pears under the jaw, and sometimes at
the naval; and, though the animal con-
tlnues to Craze, emaciatlon commences,
accompanied with peculiar aaccidity of
the muscles, and this proceeds unchecked
until, perhaps months afterward, purging
comes on, and the animal, no longer able
to Craze, perishes in a state or extreme
exhaustion. Those which are in good
condition often perish soon latter the bite
is inflicted with staggering and blind
ness, as if the brain were affected by it.
Sudden changes of temperature produced
by falls of rain seem to hasten the pro-
gress of the complaint; but, in general,
the emaciation goes on uninterrnptedly
for months, and, do what we will, the poor
animals perish miserably
"When opened, the cellular tissue on
the surface of the body beneath the skin
is seen to be injected with air, as if
quantity of soap-bubbles were scattered
over it, or dishonest, awkward butcher
had been trying tomake it look fat. The
fat is of greenish yellow color, and of
an oily consistence. All the muscles are
fabby, and the heart often SO soft that
the fingers may be made to meet through
it. The lungs and liver partake of the
disease The stomach and bowels are
pale and empty, and the gall-bladder is
distended with bile.
These symptoms seem to indicate
what is probably the case, poison in the
blood, the germ of which enters when
the proboscis is inserted to draw blood
The poison-germ, contained in bulb at
the root of the proboscis, seems capable,
although very minute in quantity, of re.
producing itself, for the blood after death
by tsetse is very small in quantity, and
scarcely stains the hands in dissection.
"The mule. ass and goat enjoy the
same immunity from the tsetse as man
and the game. Many large tribes on the
Zambesi can keep no domestic animals
except the goat, in consequence of the
scourge existing in their country. Our
children were frequently bitten, yet suf-
fered no harm; and we saw around us
numbers of zebras, buffaloes, pigs, pal
lahs and other antelopes, feeding quietly
in the very habitat of the tsetse, yet as
undisturbed by its bite as oxen are when
they first receive the fatal poison. There
is not so much difference in the natures
of the horse and zebra, the buffalo and
OK, the sheep and antelope, as to afford
any satisfactory explanation of the phe-
nomenon. Is man not as much a do
mestic animal as dog? The curious
feature in the case, that dogs perish though
fed on milk, whereas the calves escape
so long as they continue sucking, made
us imagine that the mischief might be
produced by some plant in the locality,
and not by tsetse; but Major Vardon,
of the Madras Army, settled that point
by riding horse up to a small hill in
tested by the insect without allowing him
time to Craze, and, though he only re-
manned long enough to take view of the
country and catch some specimens of
tsetse on the animal, in ten days after
ward the horse was dead
"The well-known disgust which the
tsetse shows to animal excreta, as exhib-
tied when village is placed in it's habi-
tat, has been observed and turned to ac-
count by some of the doctors. They mix
droppings of animals, human milk, and
some medicines together, and smear the
animals that are about to pass through
tsetse district; but this, though it proves
preventive at the time, is not perma-
nent. There is no cure yet known for
the disease. A careless herdsman al
lowing large number of cattle to wan
der into tsetse district loses all except
the calves; and Sebituane once lost near
ly the entire cattle of his tribe, very many
thousands, by unwittingly coming under
it's influence. Inoculation does not in
sure immunity, as animals which have
been slightly bitten in one year may per-
ish by greater number of bites in the
next; but it is probable that with the in
crease of guns the game will perish, as
has happened in the south, and the tsetse
deprived of food, may become extinct
simultaneously with the larger animals"
NEW METHOD OF TRAINING HORSES.
"a II Mt