The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1859-12-08


| men of the family. VIII sote for Pierce next
fall, every man Of 'em; and III bet, high, on
the Dimocratic party carrying both them States"
| When it was explained that the gopher family
referred to were class Of barrowing duadru-
peds he swore it was another Wing trick but
he was willing to compromise the matter by
treating the crowd, in consideration that they
would agree that the gopher family were Demo
cratic. 5Goi 20 sJ1oa9 - ahi9t = 100 9a} -
As far as my own personal researches have
extended in the mysteries of the gopher fam
hy, have failed to discover that they possess
any Democratic proclivities, excepting that
they are undermining in their manoeuvres, and
prefer darkness to light; at least, that the
secret machinery of their governmental policy
- kept hidden. sxoo1g t. bna nssaas',s.f
The great red ant, who builda those quaint
pyramidal-shaped towers out of such pretty
little crystals and many-colored little pebbles,
which often elicit the admiration of the travel
her over the Southwestern plains is an indus
trious little insect, about whom a few lines may
not prove uninterestiug. | have seen ant-hills,
or rather spires, built by this Species from two to
three feet high and have heard Of their neasur-
ing six feet in height The construction of
these conical spires constitutes q most wonder
| ful and tasty machinery, " hat an architecture
| all taste, artistic eye, and appreciation of the
| beautiful, these little fellows must havel They
are as clean and neat as the most tidy house
wife. All around the base of their spire is
kept as clean and smooth as the floor of New
| England kitchen; from the,neat circle, in every
| direction, diverge hundreds of tiny smooth and
cleanly-kept roads, along which countless num-
bers OF busy ants are continually passing and
repassing. id isol9D 81. .I..a
| 1t is my opinion that these examples of in
| N e,,1o H.,
| a monarchical form Of government, and, like
| the bee, have king or queen.
During the summer they "put up" their
| winters food, which consists of other insects
| and so forth, which they doubtless have some
| means of preserving. | have spent hours in
| watching the labors and doings of these ants,
and been greatly amused and interested in their
| sagacity. have seen two or three of them cap
ture grasshopper by stratagem, and worry him
| by their indefatigable courage and perseverance,
until they received sufficient reinforcement to
shay their prey and tear it to pieces, which they
at once proceed to carry to their qdarters, and
store away IN their commissary. Often have
1 carried them quantity Of sugar aud bread
crumbs just for the pleasure of seeing the little
fellows waddle off with loads FIVE times their
own bulk. H =.
After riding hard on hot day, the horse
blankets become perfectly saturated with sweat,
and it requires the greatest care to prevent
them from being fyblown. If, however, in
spite of every precaution, they do get fly blown,
carry them to the ants, and they will clean
them of every embryo insect.
There is another little fellow who, in my
| opinion, deserves passing notice. | refer to
the horned frog. You have heard Of him. Well,
permit me to inform you that he is not properly
frog, although popularity so called, for he
walks about with an aIistocratic step and a
dgnited air. and neither hops nor jumps. He
is very social in his disposition, easy to become
acquainted with, and quite familiar after he
has ingratated himself into your good graces
His size is between that OF a toad and bull
frog but you must not let this comparison lead
you to believe that he very much resembles
either of those reptiles in his personal appear
edresv br~ a ,rzar,i. TITS exterior Is covered
with numerous little prickles or thorns; while
on his head, just above his eyes, are two con-
siderable horns, with very sharp points. But
am Of opinion that those horns have been sup
piled more for ornament than use, as have
never seen him disposed to use them, either on
the offensive or defensive.
One hot and sutry day in August, i had cut
large bundle of fresh green grass for bedding,
over which had spread my blankets, and was
about disposing myself for pleasant afternoon
siestd, when o horned.frog came walking in,
painting with heat and fatigue, and, insisted
upon refreshing himself in the cool shade, and
occupying portion of my couch. Irepeatedy
drove him away, but he invariably returned
with such pleading look in his mild eyes, as
though, if he conld only speak, he would beg
permission to shelter himself from the yscoreh
ing rays of the sun, and rest bis little body foI
while. Ny heart warmed towards him
and disturbed him no more. / soon fell into
| q slsmber, and when awoke, ] l found that my
little companion had followed my example, and
was much diverted at his sleeping posture
| There he was stretched out fat on his belly, his
left fore leg extended forward, and on it reclin
ed his head while his right fofeIeg was drawn
up under his breast. j concluded that the lit
tie fellow might be hungry as well az weary
and procured some crumbs of bread which ]
offered him, but he only tasted of them. / next
tried him with sugar and soon iascertained that
he had a sweet tooth. Pouring some molasses
on piece of paper, which l set before him, he
was considerably puzzled to get Att. Walking
around several times, he finally got his foot in
it. Then he stopped short, held up his be.
smeared foot before him, and regarded ii in the
most comical manner for q moment, and then
commenced licking and sucking his paw. He
had learned something, and continued the
operation until the noiasses was gone, when he
looked up to my face ASH asking for more. 'pf
| have retained him and several other mem
bers of his queertribe as pets Iwould send you
one by mail, if it we're not for having 10 closely
| imprison him for some time in little box, and
submit him to the care of so many Administers
ton P Ms, who might imagine said box to con-
tain doubloons. Three different times within the
present year have / attempted to send small
| sums of money by mail to the States, and each
| time has the money failed to reach its destina-
ton. do not wish to acronatislly accuse Gov
eminent officials of dishonesty, The money
may have been taken by mail robbers. Has
anybody heard of depredstons having been
committed on the Western mails
| This camp at Red Rock Canon is one that
have described in one of my earlier (" Inkings.'
| We are again on the road we went out. AS ii
was nearly five hours till sunset, after the tents
were pitched, shouldered my rifle and walked
| out, bending my steps down the country. / was
surprised to find that the farther walked the
more the Canon expanded, until finally, after
having travelled several miles, / found myself
| in. wide valley in the midst Of a dense for
est of majestic trees, composed of almost every
variety to be found in this Southwestern coun-
try. Oh, what a grand and noble forest, and
how refreshing, after riding all day over vast
prairie, where scarcely green shrub broke the
| never.varying scene Filled with thousands of
birds of every hue, and vocal with their sweet
melody, one loves to loiter, and gaze, and lis
| ten, among the beauties Of which he would
never weary. .sia
Among this merry host Of feathered song
STEERS, noticed the familiar robin, the bob-o-
link, the cat.bird, the jay, the magpe, the mock
in their gayest mood. They seemed to be an
| inquisitive. set Of birds, and, would approach
| me very closely, especially the maggie, who
| Womb Az all around me and hover over nv