The Bessemer indicator., 1894-01-13
LoBENGULA's TINY FOE
THE FLY WHICH DROVE BACK
THE AFRICAN kiNo.
Though the Tsetas Fly IL Only Shade
Larger Than Our Common House Fly
Its Bite Is Certain Death to Cattle.
Horses, sheep and DoEA.

Probably never until tho Matabele
war was the fight OF an army, q ma
tion and king from a victorious en-
emy effectually stopped by fly. Nor
is tho ny. which barred the path Of
Lobengula and his people, very large
or very 70 midable looking. OF about
the size of the ordinary American
house fly. this African hy seems to
have peculiar functions, one OF which.
at that particular time. was to stop
the flight Of the defeated Matabele
from the pursuing British. How this
happened constitutes an interesting
story.
When Lobengula was defeated in
the great fight at the lager ho re-
treated with the remains OF his force
to his capital, Buluwsyo Being
sharply pursued by the British he
fled thence northward with nearly
the entire Matabele nation. II was
his intention to cross the ZaInbezi
river and take refuge In the swampy.
inihsmatio country thereabouts, says
the New York World.
Those who read the reports OF the
war closely noticed that Lobenguls's
fight was stopped suddenly by his
arrival at the ..tsetse fly country"
Probably he knew OF the tsetse fly.
but in his hurried flight forgot
about it.
The tsetse fly belt extends through
the Zambezi country. The tsetse is
found among bushes or weeds, aud
never in the open country. This
particular bolt OF territory 1t never
leaves Its bite or sting is certain
death to the cattle, horses. sheep.
and dogs. 1t has no harmful effect
upon men, mules. and goats. Loben-
eula and his people could have
passed safely through the tsetse fly
country, but he would have been
compelled to leave his cattle behind
Then most Of his people would have
starved to death, as hunting was out
Of the question as means OF furn-
the South and Central African negro
tribes have large herds Of cattle. the
milk and flesh of which constitute
their chief sustennnce. So when
Lobengula and his men came to the
tsetse fly country the promised haven
OF refuge was cut of. There was
nothing for them to do but to turn
back and attempt another stand
against the British or surrender.
Tho formidable tsetse is a shade
larger than our ordinary house fly.
Its head is dirty yellow color and
it has large eyes The thorax is
chestnut red. with longitudinal black
gars The abdomen is dirty yellow.
with black bristles above; the first
segment has round black spot on
each side, and the four following
have broad. dark-brown band, In
terrupted in the middle. The wings
are considerably longer than the
body.
Tho organ with which the tsetse
Stays its victims is q long, horny pro-
boscis 1t contains compound bris-
tie. or two needle-like piercers. These
piercers communicate with poison
bulb at the base.
The tsetse flourishes best in very
warm weather. In the cool OF the
mornings and evenings it is sluggish.
But when it throws of its sloth,
with the coming of the heat. 1t is
very active and cannot be caught.
It makes loud and peculiar buzzing
noise. Oddly enough. this buzzing
does not alarm the animals for which
its sting is fatal.
The tsetse lays no eggs. nor has it
any sting In its tail 1t thrusts its
proboscis Into the animals body and
then pumps the poison through its
veins from the bulb at the base. The
tsetso's sting produces no immediate
effect. but In a few days there ap-
pears Nm exudation for about half an
inch around the punctures.
Tho eyes and nose begin to run.
The skin quivers. as II with cold,
and swelling under the jaw occurs.
The animal grows thin and weak,
until 1t is but little more than q
skeleton. 1t may live in that condi-
ton for months, but death always oc-
ours eventually.
1t is n peculiar fact that the
stronger and healthier the bitten
animal is the sooner its death will
result from the tsetse's sting. The
very strong animals are also afflicted
usually with staggering and blind
ness. Sometimes swarms OF these
flies attack a horse. The horse
usually dies within week. and II
the body is opened his blood is found