The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-12-03

understand their true interests
better. They do not maltreat
their victims very much, since they
eventually become the humble vassals
of the latter. And then. thought /.
too, perhaps the naturalists who have
well observed these captures OF ore
race by another have not awaited the
/ end. Ants of large brown species
/ exist that capture eggs, and it must
| be, then, that either they are not
robbed of their entire progeniture, or
that the slaves some day or another
go back home, dividing in their turn
the victors OF the day before. Per-
haps one OF these days ! shall see
procession of smaller ants proceeding
quietly toward their original abode.
Since the epoch in which Descartes.
by an inspiration {this time inauspi-
ciOus) of his genius. tried 10 reduce
animals TO the state of machines, and
in which Malebranche, his fanatical
disciple, carried this idea to the point
of extravaganza. and since the epoch
in which Button, in contradiction TO
his pompous TRADES on the qualities
! OF the dog, horse. etc, epdeayOred TO
prove that all is instinct and mechan-
ism in the animal. considerable pro-
gress has been made in this line of
questions. No more than any
astronomer to-day disputes the
plurality of the worlds does any
naturalist longer dispute the mani
festations Gotten very elevated)
Of intelligence, reasoning ard other
psychical faculties. not in the animal
kingdom taken in a lump. as done by
many persons in order TO deny the fact
more easily, but in certain species ard
certain individuals of such species
Man being considered (by himself. be
it understood) as the highest type of
animate and living nature, it might be
thought that these inferior beings.
which. in certain respects. are COM
parable to him. would be the very ones
that, by their organization, resembied
him most. Although. in fact. that is
the case. generally speaking. we new
ertheless meet with exceptions that
seem ia us true enigmas. What more
different from our own than the or
ganism of an ant? And yet, in the
scene that | have described. we find
ourselves in the presence of acts in
which instinct as a prime mover is no
longer merely in the background, and
which suppose reasoning, prolonged
observation and means OF communica-
ton between individuals that no one
would have suspected priOri.
The two ant hills that | speak Of
those OF the pillager, and the pillaged
are very distant from each other.
and one of them is in an inclosure.
follow the same path daily, but
never observed ants traversing it be-
fore. Instinct may say to the large
brown ants that there exist other ants
capable of doing what they themselves
do not wish and know not how to do;
bat here the revelations of such in
stinct stop. In order TO satisfy it the
incapable ants must plainly have had
explorers to 60 TO distance to look
for a colony of workers, to boldly en-
ter the latter's quarters in order TO
see when the laying of eggs would
take place, and then return home and
report the time thereof to their CON- |
paniOns. Such Information must have |
been communicated quickly 10 the en-
tire colony. and the order TO move |
must have been perfectly understood, !
since the head OF the column was ad- |
vancing in good order and with a uick |
pace. Moreover, this legion must have |
had guides that were very sure of |
their business and OF the object |
i've point to be reached. The ants
that turned back and quickly traversed |
all the ranks, TO see if every thing was
proceeding according 10 rule. probably |
knew that among their kind. as among
our own. intelligence and the senti-
ment of duty are not the same with |
all. The council OF war held in the |
circle before the attack of the camp
to be pillaged is proof of a we'll
reasoned prudence. No unwise head
in command said: ''All is ready"
In what precedes | do not intend to
teach the reader any thing new. He
will find in the well written work of
Brehm some remarkable observations
on the habits and aptitudes of ants.
The reason that | have entered at
some length upon this subject is be-
cause had never seen succession of
acts more varied displayed among
these little creatures, and all combin-
ing TO lead the spectator TO the same
forced conclusion. To have seen
nothing but mechanism and blind in
stinct in the scene that [ witnessed,
should myself have had to be endowed
with scarcely any thing else than