82 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE CHAP. 
monk who accompanied us to the Rio Negro, 
when, sinking with fatigue, he assisted in 
arranging our accommodation for the night.” 
Life is indeed among animals a struggle for 
existence, and in addition to the more usual 
weapons — teeth and claws — we find in some 
animals special and peculiar means of offence 
and defence. 
If we had not been so familiarised with the 
fact, the possession of poison might well seem 
a wonderful gift. That a fluid, harmless in 
one animal itself, should yet prove so deadly 
when transferred to others, is certainly very 
remarkable; and though the venom of the 
Cobra or the Rattlesnake appeal perhaps more 
effectively to our imagination, we have con- 
clusive evidence of concentrated poison even 
in the bite of a midge, which may remain for 
days perceptible. The sting of a Bee or Wasp, 
though somewhat similar in its effect, is a 
totally different organ, being a modified ovi- 
positor. Some species of Ants do not sting 
in the ordinary sense, but eject their acrid 
poison to a distance of several inches. 
Another very remarkable weapon is the 
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