Like most of their congeners, the
animals die when exposed to the sun. The "Bashikouay" and
Nchounou (Nchu'u) of M. du Chaillu are the common "driver-ant" of
West Africa (Termes bellicosa). It is little feared in the
Gaboon; when its armies attack the mission-houses, they are
easily stopped by lighting spirits of turpentine, or by a strew
of quicklime, which combines with the formic acid. The different
species are described in "Palm Land" and "Western Africa" (pp.
369-373), from which even the account of the "tubular bridge" is
taken--Mr. Wilson less sensationally calls it what it is, a "live
raft." The most common are the Nkazeze, a large reddish and fetid
ant, which is harmless to man; the Njenge, a smaller red species,
and the Ibimbizi, whose bite is painful.
We passed the mortal remains of a gorilla lashed to a pole; the
most interesting parts had been sold to Mr. R. B. N. Walker, and
were on their way to England. I was shown for the first time the
Ndambo, or Ndambie (Bowdich, "Olamboo"), which gives the india
rubber of commerce; it is not a fat-leaved fig-tree (Ficus
elastica of Asia) nor aeuphorbia (Siphonia elastica), as in South
America, but a large climbing ficus, a cable thick as a man's leg
crossing the path, and "swarming up" to the top of the tallest
boles; the yellow fruit is tart and pleasant to the taste.
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