The Ants Of Africa

When they grow hungry, tho long file spreads itself through the f orest in a front line, and attacks and devours all i oyertakes with a fury that is quite irresistible. The elephant and the gorilla fly before this attack. Tho black men run for their lives. Every animal that lives in their Une of march is chased. They seem to nnderstand and act upon the tactics of Napoleon, and concéntrate with great speed their heaviest forces upon the point of attack. In an incredibly short space of time the mouse, or dog, or leopard, or deer, is overwhehned, killed, eaten, and the bare skeleton only remains. They seem to travel night and day. Mauy a timo have I been awakened out of sleep and obliged to rush out of the hut into the water to save my life, and, after all, snffered intolerable agony from the bites of the advance guard, who had got into my clothes. When they enter a house they clear it of all living things. Cockroaches are devoured in an instant. Rats and mice spring around the room in vain. An overwhelmiagforce of ante will kill a rat in less than a minute, in spite of the most frantic struggles, and in less than another minute ite boues are stripped. Every living thing in the house is devoured. They will not tgnch any vegetable matter. Thus they are, in reality, very useful (as well as being dangerous) to the negroes who have their huts cleared of all abounding vermin - such as immense coekroaches and centipedes - at least several times a year. When on their march the whole insect world ilies bef ore them, and I have of ten had the approach of a bashikonay army üeralded to me by this moans. Wherever they go they make a clean sweep - even ascending to the tops of the highest trees in pursuit of their arey. Their manner of attaok is an imnense leap. Instantly their strong pincers are fastened, and they only let go when the piece gives way. At such a ime this iittle animal seeins animated )y a kind of fury which causes it to disregard entirely its own safety and to seok only the eonquest of its prey. The ite is very painful. Tho negroos relate hat crimináis were, in fermer times, exjosed to tho path of the ants as the most cruel manner of putting them to leath.