Ellsworth American., 1914-11-11
UGLY DRIVER ANTS
All Living Creatures Fly Before
These African Terrors.
THEY BUILD LIVING BRIDGES.

When m Army Of Those Formidable
and Ferocious Insects Want TO Gross
. River q Suspension Tube Of Their
Own Bodies Provides the Way.
Why should driver ants cross riversi
The ants Of our own woods have no
such desire: they are busy little people.
too much engaged In the practical task
Of finding and storing food to have any
vagaries OF this sort They are con-
tented and harmless II not disturbed
or annoyed. An angry ant II to be
avoided. and an angry swarm can
make Its displeasure felt In a very I'M
pleasant way. an every one knows who
has carelessly broken into a nest But
II left alone they are peaceful little
workmen. absorbed In their own
affairs.
The great driver or Bashikoney ant
however, has nothing peaceable in bis
composition. He Is nothing II not az
| gressive and spiteful: neither Is he con-
tented In the great forests of Africa
these insects multiply to an alarming
extent. They swarm In thousands.
perhaps millions. and. formidable at
any time. during the season OF migra-
tion they are terror to the whole
district In which they live
| Myriads Of these insects are seized
with restless desire for change. Obey
ing some mysterious instinct or follow
Ing the commands Of their queen. they
set out upon their travels. and woe
! betide the man OF. beast that crosses
| their path. In q moment the hapiess
| creature is covered with ants. and in
an incredibly short space OF time moth
| ing is left but bare bones
| The driver ant Is so called because
| 1t drives away all living creatures.
| When this most terrible host Ia on the
march men and animals. great and
small. take flight Lions and tigers
may be seen rushing along side by
! side with the timid gazeile. All are
! too much frightened to dream Of at
tacking or avoiding each other For
once In their lives they are united in
their terror Of the common enemy.
| Size and strength are OF no avail. and
a rhinoceros or an elephant is as much
| terrified and is In as much danger as
| a rabbit
| When the vast army OF ants arrive
| on the bank of a river a halt Is call
ed They have no idea of turning
| back. but to cross that river they must
have a bridge, and the making Of this
bridge takes time. and probably the
| engineers OF the army have to hustle
| up to the front
| The making OF an ant bridge IL one
| Of the most wonderful things In the
world. The ants swarm on a tree.
er. Upon the bough which reaches
| farthest over the stream they mass
| themselves and begin to form a thick
rope Of their own bodies. This they
do by means Of holding on firmly with
their hind legs. while with the front
pair Of legs they grasp the bodies Of
other ants. Constantly fresh ants
range themselves in front. and 70 the
rope grows and grows until at last II
touches the water.
BY and by the floating chain Is car
ried by the current toward the other
side where probably grass and great
reeds spring out OF the water. The
foremost ants seize upon the FIRST OBJ
| ject they touch. and from one slender
foothoid to another they climb until
at last they reach land. The nearest
tree Is quickly climbed. the foremost
| pairs OF legs doing all the work. and
very soon the living rope Is swinging
high above the river. The bridge ia
made. and quickly the army crosses the
| stream.
Du Chaillu. In his African travels.
had an opportunity of observing one of
these bridges. and he declares that II
is made with hollow center. the
living bodies OF the ants forming the
walls Of a tunnel. through which the
main body Of ants travel safely over
the water. When the last ant has
crossed and the bridge Ia no longer
needed. the ants in the rear release
their bold and the rope or tunnel drops
into the river. The ants do not like
water. but they are soon released from
this position. for the vanguard are dis
persing as fast as they can. and the
self sacrificing ants who began the
great chain are quickly upon dry land.
II is all very strange and very won
derful. Why do they travel at alli
BY what direction and by what laws
do they act. and how did they learn to
make bridges? Our naturalists have
learned much of their ways and their
doings. but these questions they cannot
answer; they are part Of the mystery
of life and nature OF which the wisest
knows lttle.-J. Cutler in London Fam
lily Herald.
Even Up.
Snobley-Aw-aw-tt must be very
| uppIaa So uf FOR Won Aruorfcapo tn 10