The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-11-08
THg WARRIOR ANTS.


Their rsth When On tlls March.
II. was In H1ndu rus, near the Caribbean
BOAST, while on "a government survey. that
first saw the warrior ants--thOse strange
insects which march through the tropical
fonssts IN armies, attacking every living
creature In their path. One intensely hot
day az I rat IN a hammock under tho
thntched roof Of my bamboo hut a native
came running In, and with excited gcs-
lures bada me follow him. / did no won
deringly, and going out into tho open
looked In tho direction he indicated.
There on the rolling savanna stretched a
wide black belt extending far back into the
deep shadows Of the adjacent forest. 1t
rose and fell with every formation of the
ground. and like a huge snake slowly
crept toward the village. ''The warrior
ants" explained the native in n strange
patois Of English n Spanish which l
shall not attempt to initiate. "1'hey will
soon be here" he continued. "You had
better unite your dogs or the ants will kill
them" Acting upon his advice l loosed
my dogs, and retiring to u safe distance
watched the approach of the warriors. In
countless multitudcs they swarmed over
the plain, marching in compact order, like
a well drilled army. Before them sour
49, - w nfAAsh M III III aJ3'
hoppers, frogs, beetles and other manner Of
insects and reptiles. in a wild to
reach u place OF safety.
Presently the advance guard reached 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 q gentle breeze came the sound of their
presence in the leaves Of my thatched root.
The sounds increased in loudness as the
rats, mice, lizards, cockronches, centipeds
and others of their ilk who had long made
the roof their home tried vainly to escape.
Some succeeded in getting away from the
house, but only to fall victims to the sur.
rounding hordes without. One large cock
roach, l noticed, made a plucky fight, but
overpowered by numbers he gradually re.
Taxed his efforts and was Don dismembered,
each ant carrying off q portion of his body
as a trophy.
The most exciting battle was with a
snake about 3 feet long that tried to slip
away unseen. The ants quickly surround
ed him, however, and fought with terrible
ferocity. With every switch of his tail the
snake killed a score of his tormentOrs, but
their places were soon filled by the black
swarm which swept increasingly on. Final.
~ Cho winnings OF Jne snake became
fainter and fainter and ut last ceased en-.
tirely, and then, and not until then, did
the ants %relinquish their attack. All day
long they marched through the house un-
til at shutdown the END Of the column had
passed and was lost to view in the thick
ness Of the forest.
l entered the house INT prepared to sur.
vey ruefully my larder, but my anticipa-
tions Of sorrow were premature, for there
were all nry provisions as l had left them
untouched. There was but one exception
Il poor turtle which I.had tied to a stake
that morning, intending to keep him alive
for q few days before making him into
soup. He waS stone dead, but the rumpled
earth about him showed that he had made
q hard fight for life. Not a dead ant was
to be seen; they had all been carried Off by
their comrades. l afterward learned that
the warrior ants refuse to touch any food
that they themselves have not caught and
slain, which accounted for my provisions
remaining unmolested-Omaha World.
Herald,