The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1884-01-17
siX.LEGGED POLICEMEN.
THE ARREST OF A DRUNKEN ANT-SoME'
THING ABOUT ANIMAL PRISONS AND
PRISONERS.

:'Just cast your eye over this"
said a naturalist. There is eVi.
dence that among the animals there
is q police department or an ambu-
lance corps, one or the other.
The reporter closed one eye,
holding it shut with one hand, and
with the other gazed through a
powerful magniier. He saw th.ee
ants, and one was apparently in a
very maudlin condition. 1t raised
it's legs in the air, waved its head
to and fro like an elephant, and ev-
inced decided desire to walk back
ward. In the mean time the other
two ants were vainly endeavoring
to coax it along, at first caresslng
st with their antenne, and fnally,
as If ont of patience, seizing it and
marching it off ont Of the range OF
vision.
THAT said the naturalist, rs
case of drunk and disorderly; $40
or ten days I fed the ant on
sweetened rum, so that it was act
ually drunk; then I admitted two
sober ants to see if they would take
care of it, and you see they have
done so.
"The idea Of intoxicating ants is
original with Sir John Lubbock.
He found that ants nearly always
arrested other ants that he had
made drunk. In fact, if you asked
me what was the most intelligent
animal next to man I should say
the ant. No, not because he will
get drunk, but for a thousand rea'
sons"
'Do you suppose ants imprison
their kind for ofences?' asked the
reporter.
There is no doubt of it," was
the reply, "as they imprison vast
numbers of insects for various
reasons. In fact, the lower ami
mails have their prisons and pris
oners as well as we do. Of course
they are little different, but we
must allow for difference in tastes
Everybody knows how ants make
prisoners of various species of ap
hides, and slaves of their own
kind. One of the most remarkable
cases of Imprisonment is that OF
! the bird horn bill, SO called from
the wonderful development of it's
bill, which is only used in crush,
ing fruit. The breading season il
probably not looked forward tc
with any great degree of pleasure
by the birds, as it is a period o.
close Imprisonment for the mother
and of great labor for the father
bird. As the time approaches the
female searches for a hollow tree
and, having formed a rude nest
takes her place within. The male
now flies away and returns with
his bill full of mud, which it plas
tiers abou. the opening of the nest
Load after load is thus brought
and laid on until the crevice is com
pletely plastered up, with the ex
ception of a single orifce large
enough to admit the bill of the
prisoner. The mud soon hardens
and the bird is firmly enclosed, anc
so remains until the young are
hatched ana well grown. The
male bird is not a hard jailer, how
ever, but works to obtain food fol
it's mate, so that she comes out O
prison in much better condition
than her unfortunate iailer.
"Trees are not the only prisons,
continued the speaker. I'm marine
life there is no end of prisons and
prisoners. For example, here is
the beautiful sponge called Venus's
flower basket which grows in east
ern seas. They are unsightly OBJ
iects when first taken up, the ricE
sheeny silvery framework that W;
see being merely the skeleton O.
the sponge, so to speak. So mucl
like basket work is this skeleton
that when they were first brough
to Europe they were supposed t.
be the work ofmen, and so brough
fabulous prices. In this one tha
I have you see there are two pris
oner crabs, but how did they ge
in? Each is as large as TIE end o
your little finger, and the larges
hole in the skeleton is not large
than pinhead."
"The reporter gave it up.
"The truth is," said the natura
list, "that the crabs are prisoner
for life, and have served out lif
sentence. In their younger day
these crabs are called by differen
names, and in one stage-th
zoea-they are extremely small
and live a roaming sort OF life
During this time our crabs mus
have crawled through the minut
window of the living sponge, an
we're unable to get cut. Tn
sponge grew, and SO did the crabs
Finally the sponge SSsfed up
and the animal p eEs washe
away, leaving .,7ss bright, silver
prison with Eat no great prisoner
as ssAtb.D the ehnyshsA A Pttle." Ne
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