The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1919-03-28
DEADLY Ant ARMY
No Creature Can Remain in Path
OF Horde and Live.
Naturalist, Himself Not Immune From
Danger, Tells of incidents He Saw
as He Watched the Progress
of the insects.

I was doing quietly in my ham,
mock, glad to escape for an instant
the insistent screaming OF a clcada
which seemed to have gone mad IN the
jungle heat, when low ruStlng
caught my cara sound OF moving
leaves without wind; the voice OF
breeze in the midst of breathless heat
writes William Beebe, in the Atlantic
Monthly. There was in it something
sinister and forebOding. l leaned over
the edge of my hammock, and saw
coming toward me, in broad, lrreSu-
lar front, great army of ants, bat
talon after battalion of them flowing
ike sea of living notes over tWlgs
and leaves and stems. .
knew the danger and half sat up.
prepared to roll out and walk to one
side Then 1 gagged my supporting
strands; tested them unit. they vibrat-
ed and hummed, and lay back, watch
ing, to see what would cUme about. /
knew that no creature in the world
could stay in the path of this horde
and live. To kill an insect or great
bird would require only few in
stants, and the death of a jaguar
Or tapir would mean only a few
more. Against this attack, claws,
teeth, poison fangs would be idle
weapons.
In the van fled a cloud of terrified
iEsects-thOse gifted with fight to
wing their way far off, while the
humber ones went running headlong
their legs, four, six or a hundred, max
ing the swiftest pace vouchsafed them.
There were foolish folk who climbed
up low ferns, achieving the swaying,
topmost fronds only to be trailed by
the savage ants and brought down to
instant death.
Even the winged ones were not i'm
mune, for if they hesitated q second,
an ant would seize upon them, and, al
though carried into the air, would not
loosen his grip, but cling to them, OF
struct their flight, and perhaps bring
them to earth in the heart of the
jungle, where, cut off from their kind,
the single combat would be waged t.
saw massacres innumerable; terrible
battles in which some creature-a
giant beside an ant-fought for II!
life. crushing to death scores of the
enemy before giving up.
They were merciless army and
their number was countless, with host
upon host following close on each 9TH
eJ''s heels. a horde of warriors found
bird in my game bag, and left of it
hardly feather. l wondered whether
they would discover me, and they did,
though l think it was more by accident
than by intention. Nevertheless half
dozen ants appeared on the foot
strands, neryously twiddling their an
tennae in mg direction. Their ap-
praisal was brief; with no more than a
seconds delay they started toward me.
l waited until they were well on their
way, then vigorously twanged the
cords under them harpwise, sending
all the scouts into midair and headlong
down among their fellows. So far as
l know, this was revolutionary
maneuver in military tactics, compar-
able only to the explosion of set
mine.
But even so, when the last of this
brigade had gone on their menacing,
pitiless way, and the danger had
passed to a new province: / could not
BILE fate of man who, unable to move
from his hammock or to make any
defense, should be. thus exposed to
their attack. There could be no help
for him if but one of this great host
should scent him out and carry the
vard back to the rank and file.