THE ATTAS AT HOME 177 



rubbed vaseline on my high boots, and about 

 the tops bound a band of teased-out absorbent 

 cotton. My pick and shovel I treated likewise, 

 and thus I was comparatively insulated. With- 

 out precautions no living being could withstand 

 the slow, implacable attack of disturbed Attas. 

 At present I walked unmolested across the glade. 

 The millions beneath my feet were as uncon- 

 scious of my presence as they were of the breeze 

 ii the palm fronds overhead. 



At the first deep shovel thrust, a slow^-moving 

 flood of reddish-brown began to pour forth from 

 the crumbled earth — the outposts of the Atta 

 Maxims moving upward to the attack. For a 

 few seconds only workers of various sizes ap- 

 peared, then an enormous head heaved upv/ard 

 and there came into the light of day the first Atta 

 soldier. He w^as twice as large as a large worker 

 and heavy in proportion. Instead of being 

 drawn up into two spines, the top of his head 

 WMS rounded, bald and shiny, and only at the back 

 were the two spines visible, shifted downward. 

 The front of the head was thickly clothed with 

 golden hair, which hung down bang-like over 

 a round, glistening, single, median eye. One by 

 one, and then shoulder to shoulder, these Cyclo- 



