Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1908-04-03
THz PRICE or F
Woman Explores Tells some of Hes
Expcrfen,cs In African Ni1ds.

~ oman EXPLORER IcbIA SOInS Oh hhOD
Expcrienrcs In African Wilds.
OF all the countless perils OF the
African bush none Is more dreaded
than the driver ant. a creature, not
more than half an inch in length, but
of the most yoraclous and pestIferous
kind, whose pet trick Is to invade the
bamboo huts of the whites and natives
and literally force them to vacate their
homes, writes Miss Ida Vera S%imonton,
a daring Pennsylvania woman. lately
returned from a trip In h wilds OF
western Africa.
One night / was awakened by some
thing crawling over me, and, upon hear
Ing the yells and shrieks of the natives,
was Mortified to see an army Of ants
swarming into our hut. There Is only
n thing to do when these insects take
possession OF your abode, md that is
to move out at once. Even as I jumped
out OF bed they covered the ioor and
stung my feet. Their stings are some
into the hut by the smell of the palm
kernels that l used In cooking and by
the candles, for they dearly love grease
of all kinds. Well, they simply took
complete possession, and when we en-
tered our home In the morning it was
as clean rs a new pin. They had eaten
up every bit OF dirt and dust and, be-
Ing satisfied, filed Off again, making a
road through the jungle. They are the
great ~scayengers OF Africa and perforn
a service Of vast value in this respect.
These ants travel in armies, thow-
Ing out sentries and scouts, h latter
nosing around to discover good feeding
grounds and running back to report to
the main body. Their speed is little
short Of electric. They also have a
corps OF engineers, whose special bust.
ness is to throw bridges over obstrue~
tions and crevasses, hundreds Of ants
Juggling pieces of twigs which they
place as Orders and filling up the hosr
Of the bridge with grasses and earth.
Then the millions Of ants move over
with Incredible swiftness. Often they
travel scores of miles on a single jaunt.
Their tiny roads may be seen all
through the African bush. Often an
army Of them can be seen, each ono
carrying a twig or piece Of earth on
his back. At such times they are emf
grating to a new home and carrying
their building material along. Miss
Slmonton's first experience with them
was when a string OF the pests dropped
from 4 tree and literally covered her.
inficting a score Of painful stings
Fortunately these stings are not poi.
sonous.
There is no defense against them e1-
cspt IRE, said she, and it was one Of
the grandest, most spectacular sights
OF the jungle to see the blacks beating
back the ants with tlambeaus of bam-
boo. with the forests and picturesque
bamboo huts as a background and the
forms Of the men ~siuhouetted against
tie gloom by the Hickering flames OF
their bamboo whisks the scene was one
thAt would have made d wonderful pho
tograph could It have been taken The
blacks looked oil the world like SO
many devils fighting spirits. AS they
advanced with their flaming sticks
they had to keep brushing OF the ants
from their bodies with their hands and
elbows.
Besides these little, red-brown ants,
which tho natives call Ntyuna, the bush
= full OF other pestiferous creatures,
some Of which are deadly poison and
I menace to human life. Among these
are scorpions, huge spiders and house
lisards. Eternal vigilance ID the price
81 life In those vast, uncultivated
Wflds.