52 CRUSOE'S ISLAND. 



leading from my hut on the beach into the deep forest 

 — a path over which I had walked at least a score of 

 times before — and I presently reached a spot where 

 the shade was so dense that it made a sort of twilight. 



Suddenly there appeared to my astonished eyes 

 something that caused me to rub them in doubt wheth- 

 er I were not dreaming ; for right in front of me, cross- 

 ing the path, was a band of green, stretching across 

 the dun-colored earth. And as my eyes became 

 accustomed to the dim light, so that I could observe 

 it more particularly, I saw that this green ribbon 

 was moving regularly along, like the belt over a fac- 

 tory wheel. At first it seemed to be solid and un- 

 broken, but soon I detected many divisions in the line, 

 and saw that it was composed of thousands of bits of 

 leaves, each about half an inch in diameter. Upon 

 turning over some of these leaf -fragments, I found 

 that the motive power of each one was a big red ant, 

 who clung to it desperately, and as soon as released 

 took its place in the ranks again. For many minutes 

 I watched the verdant procession, but it seemed no 

 nearer the end than when I first saw it. 



Out of the dusky woods on one side the path it 

 emerged, and into the depths on the other it disap- 

 peared, traveling tirelessly onward to some destination 

 unknown to me. I could not very well trace its course, 

 the forest being so dense ; but there must have been 

 millions of ants in the column, all marching in per- 

 fect order, and evidently with some definite end in 

 view. 



We know that these insects have excited the won- 



