Habits of the " Drivers' of West Africa. 13 



danger. They would occasionally drop their bodies to the ground 

 again, run off to one side, and fiercely work their jaws and antennae, 

 as if having detected some strange sounds in the distance. Dis- 

 cerning nothing, they would quickly return to their posts and 

 resume their positions, thus acting as scouts. The hour for ful- 

 filling appointments having arrived, I left, designing to make 

 further experiments ; but on my return I found that the fowl had 

 been stolen by some of my covetous, perhaps hungry parishioners, 

 who excused the act of aggression by saying that the Drivers 

 were their most grievous enemies, often depriving them of the 

 two things they mostly loved, — poultry and sleep ; and that I was 

 entertaining them with undue hospitality ; others more jokingly 

 said, that I was making them my Fetish, and offering to them 

 sacrifices of birds and fowls. 



Being in the immediate vicinity of our teacher's house they be- 

 came troublesome, killing six of his chickens in one night ; we 

 had therefore to decide forthwith upon their destruction. This 

 was effectually and instantly done by a few gallons of boiling 

 water poured into their domicil. 



Like all their habitations that I have seen, this was on the side 

 of a hill, and consisted of a slight excavation about eighteen inches 

 in depth, made for the interment of a human body, according to 

 the custom of this tribe, covered over with the fragment of an old 

 canoe. On removing this covering vast numbers of the ants with 

 their pupae were discovered dead, and the spot, which might be 

 called their nidus, occupying a space of about eighteen inches in 

 diameter. The soil was composed of clay and small stones ; the 

 latter were abundant, the interstices of which seemed to be their 

 only cells. In every instance that has fallen under my observa- 

 tion the soil selected has been of this loose character, and the 

 interstitial spaces so occupied. 



This was the smallest community I had seen ; whether it was a 

 colony or not I cannot say, but it was supposed to be the remains 

 of the one destroyed by fire, as no other was known to be in our 

 neighbourhood. 



They do not treasure up their food for any length of time, 

 which may be inferred from the construction of their domicil. 

 They go forth in search of prey at all seasons, but more especially 

 during the ^' rains,'' which corresponds to the winter of temperate 

 climates. Their more frequent appearance at this season is ac- 

 counted for on the ground that the weather then is generally 

 cloudy and. cool; perhaps, also, they are driven forth by the accu- 

 mulation of water in their habitation. 



