116 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 
very abundant, and is the most voracious creature I have 
ever met. It is the dread of all living animals, from the 
elephant and the leopard down to the smallest insect. 
At the end of this chapter is the drawing of an or- 
dinary bashikouay, taken by the artist from one of the 
four I had with me. 
No wonder that the animal and insect world flies be- 
fore them! And now I am going to say a good deal of 
what I know about them; if I should tell you all, the ac- 
count would appear so incredible that perhaps you would 
say it must be untrue; but I write this book to instruct 
you, and to show you ‘that the ways ot Nature are won- 
derful. 
These bashikouay, so far as I have been able to ob- 
serve, do not build a nest or house of any kind; they 
wander throughout the year, and seem never to have any 
rest. They are on the march day and night. I never 
saw them carry any thing away; they devour every 
thing on the spot. 
It is their habit to march through the forests in a 
long regular line, just as soldiers would do, and with 
quite‘as much order and regularity. The line is about 
two inches broad, and must be often several miles in 
length. All along this line are larger ants, who act as 
officers, standing outside the ranks, and keeping this. 
singular army in order. These officers stand generally 
with their heads facing their subordinates. They remain 
thus until their squads have passed, and then join them, 
while others take their place. 
The number of a large army is so great that I should 
not even dare to enter into a calculation. I have seen 
one continual line passing at good speed a particular 
