The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-08-31
REAL KING OF THE
JUNGLE IS THE ANT.

fence in watching the army at work
So long as one did not step into the
group there would be no trouble, and
we watched the midgets from the side
lines, one ant leading the uncountable
ones, and the rest following in a solid
mass.
up one of the posts headed the
leader, and up the post followed those
behind, disappearing in the cracks and
crevices between the weather boards.
Then every upright became alive with
the little pirates. Into. the place they
went, spreading everywhere, under the
roof, on the rafters, on the walls, till
it made one dizzy to see the black,
crawling mass.
Wait till you see a centipede fight
said one of the native foremen, and
barely had he said so than a blue
streak shot with the speed of light
ming down wall from hiding spot
under the roof. The centipede landed
in the middle of the floor, and it looked
as if he were going to dash clear of
the tormentors, when he made a ia
tai stop that doomed him, as it dooms
everything else that fails to run clear
of the attacking force before fighting
the ones fastened in the body.
Around and around spun the pois-
onous insect thrashing the floor wildly
in an effort to squash the attacking
party. Afterward we found thou
sands of dead ants on the spot of the
fight, but quick as some fell others
took their places and the centipede
was literally covered with ants, each
one fastening teeth deeply into him.
For all of fifteen minutes of the fight
continued. Then the struggles of the
centipede became weaker and weaker
till gradually he sank to quiet in sheer
eXhaus ton, to be eaten alive Not a
vestlge of the centipede remained by
the time the ants We're finished with
him, and this clearing out process took
place in several other spots in the
camp, one of the victims being a taran-
tula and another a rat.
Cleaning Out the Camp.
mot till noon was the army finish
ed. AT that time the camp presented
wonderful sight from the outside
High as an ordinary barn, every side
and the roof of the building, formerly
light brown, were a mass of gfistening
black, as If painted with jet dripping
under the fierce rays of the sun. Grad
ually as it had come the army pro-
ceeded about it's business. Outside of
the provisions rescued on the fortified
table everything was cleared out of
the camp clean as a whistle. A great
bunch of bananas that had hung in
corner had disappeared, all but the
bare stumps But within the building
there was not a thing of life left. NOT
fly, not a spider. not even a rival
ant was to be found in the place. and
the floor was eaten clean and clear.
as If ii had been swept and scrubbed.
But the army was not finished with
its destruction in our immediate neigh
borhood. A huge tree-larger than the
biggest oak / have ever seen any
where-was stripped OF its foliage in
less than an hour. The tree was i've
feet in diameter and the way the lit
tie ones tackled IL showed both sense
and system. Up one side they went.
crawling and pushing, and presently
down the other side of the trunk came
the vanguard, while the army stood
backed 10 a stands I'll 20 give the lead
ers chance 10 mount the space 100
narrow 20 accommodate the entire
number AZ once. IL was as n human
army had suddenly come 20 a halt al
a bridge 70 give those ahead q chance
20 cross
AS each ant came down from shove
be carried small triangular piece q