Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-10-11
Apts pnd tboIr ExDIoI,s


We take the following description of the
" Bashikouay" reddish-brown, African
ant-from Du Chaillu's account of his Afri-
can travels:
It is their habit to march through the
forest in long and regular line about two
inches broad and often ten miles in length
All along this line are larger ants, who act as
officers, stand outside the ranks and keep
this singular army in order Ifthey come to
q place where there are no trees to shelter
them from the sun, whose heat they can not
bear, they Immediately build underground
tunnels through which the whole army
passes in columns to the forest beyond
These tunnels are four or five feet under
ground, and are used only during the heat
of the day or during q storm.
When they get ethungry the long file spreads
itself through the forest in front line, and
devours all it comes to with a fury which is
quite irresistible. The elephant and GO
rilla fly before his attack. The black men
run for their lives. Every animal that lives
in their line Of march is chased They seem
to understand and act upon the tactics of
Napoleon, and concentrate with great speed
their heaviest forces upon the point of at
tack. In an incredibly short space of time
the mouse, or dog, or leopard, or deer, is
overwhelmed, killed, eaten, and the bare
skeleton only remains
They seem to travel night and day. Many
time have been awakened out ofa sleep,
and obliged to run from the hut and into
the water to save my life and after all suf-
fered intolerable agony from the bites of the
advanced guard, who had got into my
clothes. When they enter house they
clear it of all living things. Reaches are
devoured in an instant. Rats and mice
spring round the room in vain. An over
whelming force of ants kill strong rat in
less than a minute, in spite of the most
frantic struggles, and in less than another
minute its bones are stripped. Every liv-
ing thing in the house is devoured. They
will not touch vegetable matter. Thus
they are in reality very useful (as well as
dangerous) to the negroes, who have their
huts cleaned of all the abounding vermin,
such as immense reaches and centipedes,
at least several times year.
When on their march, the insect world
flies before them, and have often had the
approach of bashikouay army heralded to
me by this means. Wherever they 60 they
make clean sweep, even ascending to the
tops of the highest trees in pursuit Of their
prey. Their manner of attack is in an i'm
petuous leap. Instantly the strong pincers
are fastened, and they only let go when
the piece gives away. At such times this
little animal seems agitated by kind of
fury, which causes it to disregard entirely
its own safety, and to seek only the conquest
of its prey. The bite is very painful
The negroes relate that criminals were in
former times exposed in the path of the
bashikouay ants as the most cruel manner
of putting them to death.
Two very remarkable practices of theirs
remain to be related. When, on their
march, they must cross stream, they throw
themselves across and form q tunnel-a
living tunnel-connecting two trees of high
bushes on opposite sides of the little stream.
This is done with great speed, and is effected
| by great number of ants, each of which
| clings with its fore claws to its next neigh
boris body or hind claws. Thus they form
high, safe tubular bridge, through which
the whole vast regiment marches in regular
order. If disturbed, or if the arch is broken
by the violence Of some animal, they in
stantly attack the offender with the great
| est animosity
The bashkouay have the sense of smell
| finely developed, as indeed have all the ants
l know of, and they are guided very much
| by it. They are larger than any ant we
have in America, being at least half an inch
long, and are armed with very powerful
fore legs and sharp jaws with which they
bite. They are red or dark-brown in color
Their numbers is so great that one does not
like to enter into calculations; but have
seen one continual line passing at good
speed particular place for twelve hours
The reader may imagine how many millions
on millions there may have been contained
| here.