INSECT ENGINEERING. 191 



morning ; for it helped me to interpret the behavior that 

 led Dan quite astray." 



"lam reminded," I remarked, "of an incident re- 

 lated to me b}^ Professor Hayden of the Geological Sur- 

 vey, One day while engaged in geological studies on 

 the great American plains, he found himself widely 

 separated from his party, and started out in search of 

 it. Presently, the outlines of human forms appeared 

 upon the horizon, and thinking them to be his friends 

 he turned his steps toward them. As he drew nearer 

 he perceived that they were a band of Indians. Greatly 

 alarmed, for there were hostile tribes in the vicinity, he 

 turned and fled. But the Indians already had seen him. 

 At best he was no match in speed for them, but he was 

 now weighted down with specimens of various rocks and 

 fossils, and was soon overtaken and surrounded. He 

 was bidden to dismount, and immediately the savages, 

 who had also dismounted, began to strip him of his 

 personal possessions. Knife, hammer, watch, disap- 

 peared. Then the red hands w^re plunged into his 

 pockets and withdrawn full of— stones ! Again and again 

 this was repeated ; pockets, pouch, saddle-bags, all were 

 emptied, and, as the pile of rocks grew upon the ground 

 beside him, his plunderers broke into a loud laugh. 

 Tlien they looked at him carefully, touched their fore- 

 heads significantly, as much as to say "he is crazy," 

 and with that strange reverence for the insane, which 

 characterizes our American Indians, they respectfully 

 returned to him all his goods, mounted their broncos 

 and rode away. I suspect that the savages are not 



