Year: 1863

A BATTLE BETWEEN ANTs.--" Walden" by the late Henry D Thoreau. contains, in the chapter entitled Brute Neighbors," the fol- lowing account of an ant fight:

 "One day when wont to my woodpile I observed two ants. the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch long and black. tercely contending with each other. Having once got hold, both struggled and wrestled and rolled on the chips necessarily. Looking fur. ther, was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such comba,tants, that i, Was not duellun, but 5ellum, war be- tween two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black. and frequently two reds to one black. The legions of these myrnidons covered all the hills and wales in my woodyard, and the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying. both red and black.

 On every side they were engaged in dead iy combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so res oiutely. l watched couple that were fast locked in each others embraces in little sum- ny valley amid the chips, now at monday, prepared to fight until the sun went down or life went out. The smaller red champion had 'astened himself like vice to his adversary's front, and through all the tumbling on that field never for an instant ceased to gnaw at one of the black ones feelers near the root, having already caused the other one to go by the board; while the stronger black one dashed him from side to side, and, as saw on look ing nearer, had already divested him of several of his members. They fought with more per tinacity than bulldogs. Neither manifested the least disposition to retreat. In the mean while there came along single red ant on the hillside of this valley, evidently full of excite ment, who either had despatched his fo., Or had not yet taken part in the battle--probably the latter, for he had lost none of his limbs. He saw the unequal combat from afar-for the blacks were nearly twice the size of the reds he drew near with rapid pace till he stood on his guard within half an inch of the combat ants then, watching his opportunity, he sprang upon the black warrior and commenced his operations near the root of his right fore leg, leaving the foe to select among his own mem bers, and SO there were three united for life. as if new kind of attraction had been invented, which put all other locks and cements to shame.

 took up the chip on which the three l have particularly described were struggling, carried it into my house and placed it under a tumbler on my window sill in order to see the issue. Holding microscope to the irst-men- l tioneo red ant. that, though he was as- sidueusy gnawing at the near fore leg, having severed his remaining fesler,. his own breast was all torn away, exposing what vitals he had there to the jaws of the black warrior, whose breastplate was apparently too thick for him to pierce, and the dark carbuncles of the suf ferer's eyes shone with ferociy such as war only could excite. They struggled half an hour under the tumbler, and when looked

 

 of his foes from their bodies and the still liv- ing heads were hanging on either side of him like ghastly trophies at his saddle-b bow, appa- rentlY as firmly fastened as ever, and he was endeavoring with feeble struggles, being with out feelers, and with only the remnant of a leg, and know not how many other wounds, | q ; | to divest himself of them, which at length af- ter half an hour more he accomplished. raised the glass and he went of over the win dowsill in that crippled state. Whether he finally survived that combat and spent the re- mainder of his days in some Hotel des Inva- lides, I do not know, but thought that his i'm fdustry would not be worth much hereafter. l never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of the war but I felt for the rest of that day as if had had my feelings excited and narrowed by witnessing the struggle, the ferocity and carnage of human battle before my door,"