Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1891-10-03
A NOVEL DUEL ON A BAR.
SIX Bottles of Wine and sixty Doiia
WaCcred on the Result.

WaCcred on the Result
number of flies had settled ON one
end of the bar at a well-known uptown
resort, the other afternoon, attracted
by a few drops of a sweet drink that
had been spilled A group of customers
of the place stood near, but the tipping
flies were objects of no interest to them
until one of the group discovered a red
dish.brown ant moving in a very busi-
ness-like manner toward the flies The
presence of an ant of that kind in such
a place was something so unheard OF
that every person in the house became
interested in it at once, The ant hur-
ried along until it was within three or
four inches of the flies andthen stopped
and seemed to be making a recon
noisance. Presently it advanced in a
cautious, siding name toward the
flies again.
The flies were apparently so much
engaged in absorbing the strange deli
cacy they had come upon that they did
not notice the approach of the ant and
| even if they had there was nothing in
the manner of the insect to strike them
with alarm. The ant sided along until
it was close to the unsuspecting flies,
when il made a sudden dash and seized
a fly by one of its wings. This created
a panic among the flies, and the I'M
lucky one was left struggling to escape
| from its captor. The fly was more than
twice the size of the ant, and If the lat
ter had seized the former by a leg or
by the body the fly would have had no
difficulty in bearing the ant away,
whatever its ultimate fate might have
been; but the willy ant undoubtedly had
calculated on that when it made its at
tack on the fly, and by grabbing it by
the wing made it impossible for it to
rise,
In the struggle that followed the ant
was tumbled and rolled and pounded
about by the big fly, as a bear might
tumble a woodchuck which presumed
to give it fight But the ant held on,
and presently accomplished what it had
set out to do, probably, from the first.
1t cut the wing from the fly, close to
the body, and hui put an end to the in
sects power of fight. The attack OF
the ant on the fly excited the most in
tense interest in the group of specta-
tors from the start, and when the art
disabled the fly, after the lively rough
and tumble round, a dozen bets were
quickly made on the result, the odds
being in favor of the ant.
The fly, unable to take wing, tried to
escape by running, but the ant was up
on it again in a second, and again they
wrestled about on the bar, BY this
time two or three of the tly's compan'
ions had recovered themselves sufficient
ly to comprehend the trouble it was in,
and came back to aid it. They pumped
down on the wrestler and managed tc
break its hold on the fly before any
further perceptible injury had been
done, but the ant dashed boldly TO the
fight again, and grabbed one Of the
newcomers by the leg. This fly rose
from the bar, taking the ant with it,
but the ant nipped the leg off, tumbled
back on the bar again, and without an
instant's delay started in pursuit Of
the crippled fly, which was being help
ed along by its remaining comrades.
They might have succeeded in getting
the crippled fly to some place of safety
but the spectators who had bet on the
ant interfered at this point and chased
the rescuing contingent away. The an
then pitched into the one, winged fly
and after another lively wrestle cut thu
remaining wing off, All this time thu
other flies were making efforts to &c
to their imperilled companions assist
ance, and had to be kept out of tn
fight by the spectators. After shipping
off the fy's second wing the ant bold
grasped the insect by the head, and
I throwing it over his shoulder as n lior
ess might a deer.it had captured, trotte
off with its prey, climbed down the en-
OF the bar, and disappeared in a hol
behind it. Sixty dollars in money an
six bottles of wine were lost and wo
on the exciting ant and fly duel, whic
lasted Ave minutes.-N. Y. Sun.