The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-01-09
INSECT GEM HUNTERS.

Garnets and Other Precious Stones
Brought to the Surface by Ants.
''There is the original garnet mine, and
the miner as well, said my companion,
as we We're riding among the mountains
of New Mexico.
Following the direction of his glance I
saw tall. well formed Navajo Indian
standing motionless by what appeared to
be small sand heap. Wishing to inves
tigate we drew nearer and found that
the statesGue native was watching one s.
the many ant hills that dot the country
through New Mexico and Arizona as
well.
AS we approached he hardly looked
up. appearing Indifferent after the fash
ion Of lis race, and his object was still
an enigma. at least to me. The Navajo
tribe had never produced a naturalist,
and it was hardly possible that he had
been studying the habits Of the active in
sects. Perhaps he was trying to collect
enough for dinner-Indians have been
known to eat rats.
But the Indian was after all, close
observer, and was reaping his reward,
for when asked him VIII he was doing
he held out small bag, the contents of
which I turned upon my hand-garnets,
small but good in great numbers, bits of
quartz that cleaned like diamonds. here
a bit of turquoise, large quantities of oil
vine, and single gem. an emerald, of
but little value, but an emerald after all.
An ant hill was a curious place from
which to take such a strange assortment,
but, as my friend had suggested, this
--e~ tl,e ~-:o:-...l ---t..c, anu tIic i..sA
miners were the ants. In piling up their
dome like houses they brought out the
minute gems one by one and placed them
among the bits of sand, where they
cleaned and flashed as if inviting col
lection.
The Indians had discovered their value,
and in this way did their mining. allow
ing the ants to do all the work and TAX
ing the gems as fast as they were brought
up. The stones found in this way range
in size from the head of a pin to q large
pea. and, besides the ones mentioned,
rubies have been taken from the heaps.
These stolen gems are sold in lots and
used in various kinds of jewelry. Nearly
every ant hill is examined in this way
and the mound gone over, often the ants
being watched and the gems taken from
them as soon as brought up.
Whetner the little insects have Z liking
for glistening objects it is difficult to de-
termine, bat, from the fact that so many
gems are brought to the surface, there
would seem to be reason to suppose they
had. 1t would be extremely difficult to
name an industry followed by man that
did not have its prototype in the lower
animal kingdom. Our humble friends
have their trades. their seeming arts and
sciences, just as we have. Hence, we
need not be surprised if we find miners
whose work compares favorably with
that of human beings.
In an ant family that l have been
watching for some time, well up in the
Sierra Madre mountains, southern Cali
fornia. the work is carried on in a very
methodical manner, the workers appar-
emily being protected by soldier ants,
with huge heads and powerful jaws.
For some time I watched these miners
at work, noticing the regularity with
which each ant seemed to deposit its
load il. the same spot, and finally 1
allowed the sun to pass through my
hand glass and form bright spot at the
entrance of the mine. \ worker soon
passed under it, and, feeling the fierce
heat, evidently rushed below with the
news, for almost Immediately out came
/ horde of big iawed fighters, who darted
about, biting at the sun spot, and show
ing by their actions that they had deter
mined to attack the foe. whatever it was,
and when 1 placed my nagnifying glass
upon the ground they rushed at it in
great fury. fastening their jaws upon the
silver case and refusing to be torn away
even parting with their heads, that re-
NAMED fer long time clinging to the
glass.-Golden Days.