UNDERGROUND TUNNELS. bay 
place for twelve hours. It was sunrise when I saw them, 
and it was only a little before sunset that their numbers 
began to diminish. An hour before the end of the col- 
umn came, it was not so compact, and I could see that 
these were the stragglers; and many of these stragglers 
also seemed to be of a smaller size: they were evidently 
tired. When I saw them in the morning I did not know 
how long since this vast army of bashikouay had begun 
their march. This was the largest column I ever saw. 
You may imagine how many millions on millions there 
must have been included in this column. I have seen 
much smaller columns on the march, but it generally re- 
quired several hours for them to pass. 
Strange as it may seem, these ants can not bear the 
heat of the sun, hence they could not be found in a 
country where the forests are scarce. If they come to a 
place where there are no trees to shelter them from 
the sun, they immediately build underground tunnels, 
through which the whole army passes in column to the 
forest beyond. These tunnels are four or five feet under- 
ground, and are only used during the heat of the day. I 
have noticed that these open spaces are often passed by 
them during the night to the forest beyond. | 
I suppose that these underground tunnels must be 
numerous; I do not see how otherwise the ants could 
‘protect themselves against the heavy rains.’ I have never 
seen them lying drowned on the ground after a storm. 
Hence they must know, when a storm is coming, how to 
disappear; and generally after a heavy rain these armies 
are more numerous in the forest, for they probably come 
in quest of food, of which they have been deprived 
during their subterranean marches. They always at- 
