The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-04-09
THE WARRIOR ANTS.
They Attack Every Living Creature In
Their Path When ON the March


Their Path When ON the March.
1t was in Ho1iuras, near the Caribbean
! coast, while on government survey, that
first saw the warrior ants-those strai ge
insects which march through the tropical
forests in armies, attacking every living
creature in their path One intensely hot
day as ] sat in a hammock under the
thatched roof Of my bamboo hut nat We
came running in, and with excited prs-
lures bade me follow him. did so won
ueringly, and going out into the open
looked in the direction he indicated
There on the rolling savanna stretched
wide black belt extending far back into the
deep shadows Of the adjacent forest. IL
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 a strange
patois of English and Spanish which /
| shall not attempt to initiate. They viii
soon be here he continued. You had
better unite your dogs or the ants will kill
them" Acting upon his advice loosed
my dogs, and retiring 10 safe distance
watched the approach Of the warriors. n
countless multitudes they swarmed over
/ the plain. marching in compact order, like
a well drilled army. Before them sour
hoppers, frogs, beetles and other manner Of
insects and reptiles. in a wild scamper to
reach 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 gentle breeze came the sound OF their
presence in the leaves Of my matched roof
The sounds increased In loudness as the
rats, mice lizards, cOckroaches. centipeds
and Others of their ilk who had long made
the roof their home tried vainly 10 escape
Some succeeded in getting away from the
house, but only TO fall victims TO the sur
! rounding hordes without. one large cock
| roach noticed, made a plucky fight. but
overpowered by numbers he gradually re-
| laXed his efforts and was soon dismembered,
each ant carrying of a 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 score Of his toTmentors, but
their places We're soon filed by the black
swarm which swept increasingly ON. Final
! ly the writings Of the snake became
fainter and fainter and at last ceased en-
tirely, and then, and not until then. did
the ants relinquish their attack. All day
long they marched through the house I'M
I'll at sundown the end OF the column had
passed and was lost 10 view In the thick
ness Of the forest.
entered the house and prepared to sur
vey ruefully my larder, but my anticipa-
tons of sorrow were premature, for there
were all my provisions as had left them
untouched. There was but one exception
"a poor turtle which | had tied to stake
that morning, intending to keep him alive
for a few days before making him into
soup. lie was stone dead, but the rumpled
earth about him showed that he had made
4 a hard fight for life. Not dead ant was
20 be seen; they had all been carried off by
their comrades. 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