The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1893-11-04
WARRIOR ANTS.
Cerrors OF Their Advancing Col
umn When on the March.
Dvery Living Thing Is Compelled to
Flee Before Them or ise Speedily
Overwhelmed and De-
YOufeCl.

II was in Honduras. near the Carib-
bean coast, while on government
survey, says correspondent of the
Omaha World-Herald. that first saw
the warrior ants-those strange insects
which march through the tropical for
ests in armies, attacking every living
sreature in their path. One intensely
hot day, as sat in hammock under
the matched roof of my bamboo hut,
native came running in. and, with ex
cited gestures, babe me follow him.
did so wonderingly, and, going out
into the open, looked in the direction
he indicated. There on the rolling
savannah stretched a wide black belt
extending far back into the deep shad-
ows of the adjacent forest. 1t rose and
fell with every formation of the
ground, and, like huge snake, slowly
erept toward the village. THE war
,ior ants" explained The native in
strange patois of English and Spanish
which shall not attempt to initiate.
''They will soon be here" he con-
Ainued. "You had better unite your
dogs or the ants will kill them Act
ing upon his advice | loosened my
dogs, and, retiring to a safe distance.
watched the approach of the warriors
In countless multitudes they swarmed
ever the plain, marching in, compact
srder like well-drilled army. Before
them scurried heterogeneous mass of
lizards, grasshoppers, frogs, beetles
and other manner of insects and rep
tiles, in wild scamper to reach
place of safety.
my hut and disappeared within; then
the main column appeared, and soon
the roof, floor, walls and rafters were
black with them. =. Like the soft rustic
Of dried grass stirred by a gentle
breeze came the sound of their pres
ence in the leaves of my thatched roof
The sound increased in loudness as
the rats, mice, lizards, cockroaches,
oentipedes and others their ilk, who
had long made the roof of their home,
tried vainly to escape. Some succeed
ed in getting away from the house,
but only to fall victims to the sur
rounding hordes without. One large
oockroach, noticed, made {; plucky
fight, but, overpowered by numbers,
he gradually relaxed his efforts and
was soon Gsmembered, each ant car
rying off a portion Of his body as
trophy, ....,
The most exciting battle was with
snake about three feet long, that tried
to slip away unseen. The ants quickly
surrounded him, however, and fought
with terrible ferocity. With every
switch of his tail the snake killed
score Of his tormentors, but their
places were soon filed by the black
swarm which swept increasingly on.
Finally the writings of the snake be-
came fainter and fainter, and at last
ceased entirely, and then, and not I'M
i'll then, did the ants relinquish their
attack All day long they marched
through the house until at shutdown
the end of the column had passed and
YVES lost to view in the thickness of
the forest entered the house and
prepared to survey rueful]y my larder,
hut my anticipations of sorrow were
premature, for there were all my pro-
visions as had left them, untouched.
There was but one exceptions poor
turkey which had tied to stake that
morning, Intending to keep him alive
for a few days before making him into
soup. He was stone dead, but the
rumpled earth about him showed that
he had made a hard fight for life. Not
4 dead ant was to be seen, they had all
been carried off by their comrades I
sfterward learned that the warrior
ants refuse to touch any food that they
themselves have not caught and slain,
which accounted for my provisions re-
naming unmolested. was overjoyed
1t the change in my house-not a
eockroach, lizard or any other insect
q reptile was left; they had been COM
pletely exterminated.
erAsenl ceE c11oEDcrlrlNNS